How to Choose the Best Business VoIP Platform in 2023: The Ultimate Guide
As businesses increasingly move their communications to the cloud, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has become the go-to phone solution for companies of all sizes. VoIP offers more flexibility, features and cost savings compared to traditional landlines. But with so many providers and plans to choose from, how do you find the best business VoIP platform for your specific needs?
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll break down everything you need to know to make an informed decision and get the most value from your business phone system. Whether you‘re a small startup or a large enterprise, read on to learn how to choose the ideal VoIP provider and set your team up for success.
What is Business VoIP?
Business VoIP is a technology that allows you to make and receive phone calls over the internet instead of traditional copper wires. It converts your voice into digital packets and transmits them online, essentially turning your internet connection into a phone line.
VoIP offers several advantages over legacy phone systems:
- Lower costs – No expensive hardware to install or maintain, and domestic/long distance calling is generally much cheaper
- Location flexibility – Make/receive calls anywhere you have an internet connection using your business number
- Scalability – Easily add or remove users and phone numbers as your business evolves
- Advanced features – Enjoy capabilities like auto attendants, call routing, voicemail-to-email, call recording and more
By switching to business VoIP, companies can reduce their phone bills by up to 60% while enabling their team to stay connected from the office, home or on the go.
Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a Business VoIP Provider
With the VoIP market becoming increasingly crowded, it‘s important to carefully evaluate providers to find the best fit for your business. Here are the key criteria to look at:
- Pricing and Contract Terms
Business VoIP pricing can vary widely depending on the provider, plan and number of users. Generally, expect to pay around $20-50 per user per month. Some providers offer discounts for annual contracts paid upfront.
Watch out for hidden fees for things like number porting, toll-free minutes, international calls or exceeding your plan‘s limits. Ideally look for a provider that offers transparent, all-inclusive pricing.
Also pay attention to the contract length and terms. Some providers require multi-year commitments and have steep early termination fees. More flexible month-to-month plans are becoming common.
- Calling Features
The best business VoIP providers include a robust set of calling features to power your communications. Look for essential capabilities like:
- Unlimited domestic calling
- Auto attendant to greet and route inbound callers
- Call forwarding to mobile/other numbers
- Voicemail-to-email and visual voicemail
- Call recording for training, compliance and quality assurance
- Real-time call analytics and reporting
- Integrations with CRM and helpdesk systems
More advanced features may include call whisper, video conferencing, SMS/MMS texting, power dialing and more. List out the must-have features for your business to narrow down providers.
- Ease of Setup and Use
One of the biggest advantages of cloud VoIP is how easy it is to set up compared to traditional PBX phone systems. There‘s no hardware to install – simply configure your settings online, and your team can start making/receiving calls.
However, some VoIP platforms are more intuitive than others. Look for a provider that offers a clean, user-friendly portal for administrators to add users, adjust call routing and access reports.
The best VoIP providers also offer plug-and-play IP desk phones that are pre-configured to work out of the box. This eliminates time spent manually provisioning handsets.
- Call Quality and Reliability
Consistently clear call quality is table stakes for any business phone system. VoIP call quality can vary based on your internet connection. You‘ll want sufficient bandwidth, low latency and minimal packet loss to avoid choppy audio, echoes and dropped calls.
The best VoIP providers have robust infrastructure and built-in redundancies to maximize uptime. Look for a provider that maintains multiple data centers, has strong peering relationships with ISPs and offers an uptime SLA of at least 99.99%.
It‘s also good to have a backup internet connection and/or 4G failover in case your primary network goes down.
- Customer Support
Despite VoIP‘s general reliability, issues can still arise that require expert troubleshooting. Look for a provider that offers 24/7 phone, email and live chat support from a knowledgeable, responsive team.
The provider should also have detailed online documentation, user guides and video tutorials to help your team get up to speed quickly and independently resolve basic issues.
Some VoIP providers also assign dedicated account managers and/or onboarding specialists to enterprise customers to ensure a smooth transition and ongoing support.
- Mobile and Desktop Apps
More and more business communication is happening beyond the office walls. Look for a VoIP provider that offers robust mobile and desktop apps to keep your team connected anywhere.
Key app features to look for include:
- Ability to make/receive calls from your business number
- Access to your office extension and voicemail
- Team messaging
- Video conferencing
- Call recording and reports
- Multiple call handling (transfer, hold, mute, etc.)
The apps should be available on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows and provide a consistent, user-friendly experience. Regular app updates and new feature releases are also a good sign.
- Security and Compliance
Business communications often contain sensitive customer data that needs to be protected. The best VoIP providers use enterprise-grade security measures like encryption, multi-factor authentication, and regular security audits to safeguard your data and prevent unauthorized access.
If your business is in a regulated industry like healthcare, finance or government, you‘ll also need a VoIP provider that is compliant with relevant standards like HIPAA, PCI, FINRA, FISMA, etc. Look for providers with documented compliance certifications.
Top Business VoIP Providers in 2023
Now that we‘ve covered the key considerations, let‘s take a look at some of the best business VoIP providers on the market today.
- Nextiva
Nextiva is an all-in-one business communications platform that offers VoIP, video conferencing, team messaging and customer support. Their VoIP plans start at $18.95 per user per month and include unlimited calling, auto attendant, call forwarding, voicemail and more.
Nextiva stands out for its intuitive admin portal, feature-rich mobile and desktop apps, and built-in AI that provides actionable insights on your calls. They also have an extensive library of integrations with popular business apps like Salesforce, HubSpot and Microsoft Teams.
Nextiva is a good fit for businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises. They offer volume discounts and have a proven track record of serving large distributed organizations.
- RingCentral
RingCentral is another leading business VoIP provider that offers a robust set of calling, video, messaging and contact center features. Their MVP plans start at $19.99 per user per month and include unlimited calls, auto attendant, call forwarding, voicemail-to-email and more.
One of RingCentral‘s key strengths is their open API platform that allows businesses to integrate their VoIP with hundreds of other cloud apps. They also offer strong analytics and reporting capabilities.
RingCentral is great for mid-market and enterprise companies, especially those with international presence as they offer plans with unlimited calling to 40+ countries. However, they do require annual contracts.
- Ooma
Ooma Office is a business VoIP solution designed for small businesses with big communication needs. Their plans start at $19.95 per user per month and include unlimited domestic calling, virtual receptionist, extension dialing, call parking, music on hold and more.
Ooma is known for their excellent call quality and reliability backed by a 100% uptime guarantee. They also offer affordable international calling rates and easy number porting.
Ooma is a good fit for small businesses, especially retail, real estate and professional services. However, they have more limited third-party integrations compared to some providers.
- 8×8
8×8 is a cloud communications provider that offers VoIP, video conferencing, team messaging and contact center solutions. Their 8×8 Express plans start at $12 per user per month and include unlimited domestic calling, auto attendant, mobile and desktop apps.
One of 8×8‘s unique selling points is their global coverage – they have full PSTN replacement and offer local numbers in 120+ countries. They also provide extensive reporting and analytics capabilities.
8×8 is well-suited for businesses with international operations as well as call centers. However, some of their more advanced features are only available on higher-tier plans.
- Dialpad
Dialpad is a modern business communications platform that leverages AI to provide features like real-time transcription, sentiment analysis and agent coaching. Their plans start at $15 per user per month and include unlimited calling, SMS, auto attendant and more.
Dialpad‘s Voice Intelligence (Vi) can transcribe calls and voicemails in real-time, analyze caller sentiment, track keywords and provide post-call summaries.
Dialpad is great for sales and support teams that want to extract more insights from their conversations. They also offer strong integrations with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
- Zoom Phone
Zoom may be best known for video conferencing, but they also offer a full-fledged cloud business phone system. Zoom Phone starts at $10 per user per month and includes unlimited domestic calling (requires Zoom Meetings plan), auto attendant, call management, voicemail and more.
The biggest benefit of Zoom Phone is the tight integration with Zoom video conferencing, allowing seamless call escalation and unified user management. It also offers a familiar interface for existing Zoom users.
Zoom Phone is a good fit for businesses already using Zoom video for remote work and want to consolidate their communications stack. However, Zoom Phone has fewer advanced calling features compared to other providers on this list.
Tips for Evaluating and Implementing Business VoIP
With the above criteria and providers in mind, follow these tips to find and deploy the best VoIP solution for your business:
Identify your must-have features and calling patterns – Do you need call recording for compliance? Video conferencing for remote teams? Make a list of your top requirements to narrow down potential providers. Also analyze your current domestic and international calling patterns to ensure you choose a plan with sufficient minutes.
Compare "all-in" pricing – Get quotes from multiple providers based on your specific needs. Pay close attention to any additional fees, contract requirements or hidden costs beyond the base user price. Ideally look for a provider that offers transparent, all-inclusive pricing.
Read customer reviews and try before you buy – Once you‘ve narrowed it down to a few top contenders, read customer reviews on sites like G2 Crowd and TrustRadius to get unbiased feedback. Better yet, most providers offer free trials – sign up and have your team test the apps and features to see if it‘s a good fit.
Check your network readiness – VoIP requires a fast, stable internet connection to ensure high call quality. Work with your IT team or provider to assess your network‘s bandwidth, speed and firewall settings. You may need to upgrade your router or optimize your QoS settings to prioritize VoIP traffic.
Consider your hardware needs – While VoIP can work with analog phones and softphones, you may want to invest in dedicated IP desk phones for better call quality and features. Look for a provider that offers a good selection of pre-configured, plug-and-play phone options.
Plan your number porting and configuration – If you want to keep your existing business numbers, work with your new provider to port them over. This process can take a few days to a few weeks. In the meantime, configure your VoIP settings, auto attendants, call routing and user profiles in your admin portal.
Train your team – Once your VoIP system is set up, make sure to train your staff on how to use the desk phones, mobile apps and key features. Many providers offer live or recorded training sessions. Create an internal knowledge base with how-to guides and FAQs to minimize issues.
Monitor usage and performance – Once deployed, keep an eye on your call quality metrics, usage patterns and costs. The best VoIP platforms offer real-time and historical reports to help you optimize the system. Survey your team regularly to identify any persistent issues or feature requests.
The Future of Business VoIP
Business VoIP has already revolutionized business communications over the past decade, but the best is yet to come. Here are some of the top trends that will shape the future of VoIP:
AI and automation – With advances in natural language processing and machine learning, VoIP systems will become smarter and more proactive. Imagine virtual agents that can handle basic customer inquiries, automatic language translation on calls, and predictive call routing based on past behavior.
5G networks – As 5G becomes more widely available, VoIP providers will be able to deliver even better call quality, lower latency and support for bandwidth-hungry applications like AR/VR. 5G could also make VoIP more resilient by providing a viable backup connection to wired internet.
Unified communications – VoIP is converging with video conferencing, team messaging and contact center to provide a single pane of glass for all business communication. This consolidation will provide a more seamless experience for users and unlock new collaboration capabilities.
Integrations – VoIP will continue to deeply integrate with other business apps and workflows to provide a more intelligent and automated communication flow. Imagine automatically logging all sales calls in your CRM, triggering SMS appointment reminders from your calendar, or getting a Slack notification when you miss a call.
Choosing the right business VoIP provider is a critical decision that can impact your team‘s productivity, customer experience and bottom line. By understanding your requirements and evaluating providers based on the key criteria outlined in this guide, you‘ll be well-equipped to find the best VoIP platform for your business needs.
The VoIP market will continue to evolve and innovate at a rapid pace. By partnering with a forward-thinking provider and planning ahead, you can set up a future-proof communication system that scales with your business. Use the tips and insights in this guide to take your business communications to the next level.
){kind=link}