Getting your business reliable phone service starts with the right phone system. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) offers an easy way to make and receive phone calls at a low cost.

But one key decision remains: should you use a fixed or non-fixed VoIP phone system?

There are a few noteworthy differences between non-fixed and fixed VoIP service regarding your business phone lines.

In short, it can affect the response times of emergency services, but there’s an easy solution to ensure your virtual number is protected.

This guide details key distinctions between fixed and non-fixed VoIP phone numbers.

VoIP Phone Service Basics

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, works by placing calls through your internet connection. In fact, VoIP calls work on any internet connection, unlike traditional phone lines.

VoIP calls turn voice phone calls into data packets and are sent through a VoIP phone service provider. From here, your hosted VoIP service provider relays calls between your device and the public telephone network.

Phone numbers are either tied to a physical location, like traditional landlines, or they are virtual phone numbers that exist on the Internet.

Since the widespread adoption of broadband, reliance on a physical landline isn’t needed. As a result, many businesses now use a non-fixed VoIP phone number.

A few areas in which non-fixed and fixed VoIP differ include:

• Outgoing Caller ID
• IP address accessibility
• Unified communications
• Emergency call routing

You don’t want your potential and existing customers to avoid answering their phones when you’re calling. This is where choosing the right VoIP number option helps.

Let’s dive deeper into this VoIP technology and how it could affect your business.

What Is a Non-Fixed VoIP Phone Number?

A non-fixed VoIP phone number isn’t attached to a physical address. It’s also known as a virtual phone number. Just like fixed VoIP numbers, it can be used as a residential or business phone line as part of a company’s phone system.

Since they don’t require a fixed address, non-fixed VoIP numbers can be associated with one or more geographical locations. It means they’re a great solution for serving customers in areas where you don’t have a physical location.

With non-fixed VoIP, you don’t need to have a physical address to have a number that matches it. It’s excellent for people who work remotely or businesses with a virtual workforce. For instance, if you have a virtual call center.

Non-fixed VoIP numbers are easy to get, and they’re often issued by free and low-cost services like Google Voice. Unfortunately, this means they also attract fraudulent activity and scams.

One criticism of a non-fixed VoIP phone number is that phone calls to 911 from a non-fixed number aren’t easily traceable. If you choose this option, make this limitation clear.

🚨 There’s an easy solution to ensure emergency services respond quickly when dialing 9-1-1. Setting up Enhanced 911 (E911) allows you to transmit your physical address regardless of which VoIP system or VoIP phone you use.

Related: What Is STIR/SHAKEN & How Does It Help Businesses?

What Is a Fixed VoIP Phone Number?

A fixed VoIP phone number is bound to a physical address. Make no mistake, it’s still an internet-based phone line. It has an account owner and a real address assigned to it. Such fixed VoIP numbers are assigned to one subscriber at a time, typically found by directory assistance.

This address can be a residential one or a company’s office. VoIP numbers can easily be reassigned to different phone services through a process known as porting, in case you relocate or change VoIP providers.

The advantages of a fixed VoIP number include:

• Simplicity: Each phone line is installed by the telephone company and generally doesn’t change after it’s set up.
• Emergency services: Without a doubt, an emergency call can only come from the actual address of the telephone company, so dispatchers know exactly where to send public safety personnel.
• Independence: Fixed VoIP numbers give the owner flexibility in updating their caller ID and republishing to a CNAM database.

Since these types of phone numbers relate to a single user or operator, it’s unlikely a VoIP call will be deemed suspicious. A large volume of outbound calls can get flagged by telephone companies, but it’s not an issue here. 

In general, fixed VoIP numbers are more trustworthy than non-fixed VoIP ones. It means they’re less likely to be used by fraudsters and scammers because it’s harder to mask their identity.

Fixed VoIP numbers make the subscriber location match the user of the phone. Want to see how others see your telephone number? You can check it out here.

Comparison of Fixed VoIP & Non-Fixed VoIP

First, let’s have a look at what fixed and non-fixed VoIP numbers have in common:

• Relying on an internet connection
• Same types of VoIP phones and devices
• Identical VoIP benefits, like lower cost and ease of use
• Can be used to send and receive text messages

Fixed VoIP vs. Non-fixed VoIP at a glance

Feature	Fixed VoIP	Non-Fixed VoIP
Associated Physical Address	Yes	No
Location Portability	Low	High
Call cuality & reliability	Excellent, single point of failure	Excellent, multiple redundancies
Emergency services	Accurate location provided	May route incorrectly
Number of users	One	Multiple
Scalability	Requires number administration	Numbers easily added/changed
Cost	Higher initial cost	Lower costs
Fraud prevention	Excellent caller ID verification	Higher fraud potential

Fixed VoIP specifics

With a fixed VoIP system, a physical address is necessary. If your company is well established in your location(s) and serves local customers, that’s no issue. In fact, it’s an advantage. It makes your presence there authentic.

However, if you have customers globally, fixed VoIP numbers make it hard to build a presence where your customers are if you don’t have an address near them.

There’s no way around this if you choose the fixed route. This is why VoIP phone services are rarely entirely fixed unless the service is provided by a local phone company known as a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC).

Another downside is the cost you’ll incur for long-distance and international calls.

Non-fixed VoIP specifics

A non-fixed VoIP system is an ideal solution when you need a local number but don’t have a local presence. For example, you’re in the U.S. but also have Canadian customers or customers elsewhere.

If you have a distributed workforce, you can make sure each person’s individual phone number, known in the industry as a Direct Inward Dialing (DID) number, matches your company’s format. This ensures everyone has a direct number relevant to the location they serve without needing multiple physical phone lines.

Depending on the VoIP service provider you choose, you can also get unlimited calling and features like recording business calls, voicemail transcription, call queuing, and conference calls.

Although non-fixed VoIP numbers are often the solution of choice for fraud, there’s been consistent progress in systems that counteract it. This gives non-fixed VoIP a better reputation and opens its doors for businesses even more.

Even if you have a non-fixed VoIP number, register your business listing on places like Yelp, Google Business Profile, and Bing. At a minimum, this will at least display your company information when people search for your phone number.

Some softphone apps match your phone number to your business information found online, which improves the rate at which people answer the phone.

Types of VoIP Services

Wondering how to get your hands on a VoIP solution? Here are three standard options:

☎️ Business phone service: This is an end-to-end solution that gives you high-quality phone calls at a lower cost. It’s completely portable, scalable, and offers international calling. It hosts all of your communications, from audio and video calls to live chat and even a CRM.

🏢 SIP trunking: You can take your PBX equipment into a cloud system without new equipment or service disruptions. Your calls no longer use traditional phone lines but rely on your internet connection. It gives you advanced multi-line phone system features and centralizes your voice and data in one place.

🤝 Contact centers: Running a call center in the cloud means you can make it more productive. Cloud-based call centers let you handle massive inbound call volumes and automate multichannel customer support, as well as offer self-service options. The best part is that these contact center solutions are hosted entirely in the cloud without any difficult setup. You don’t even need desk phones — calls can be made entirely from your computer.

Takeaway: Non-Fixed VoIP is Better

In 2024, non-fixed VoIP is the better option for businesses so they can provide remote work capabilities for their team, easily add more locations, and eventually add a call center if they need to.

Despite the nuances of non-fixed virtual phone numbers, most of their limitations have been addressed. Your needs as a VoIP user will help you determine your best choice based on what we’ve outlined in this guide.

Thanks to secure internet services, data warehouses, and frequent updates of the CNAM, concerns about a non-fixed VoIP number are put to rest.

However, VoIP phone numbers certainly affect your ability to reach public safety services in a timely manner; make sure to train your staff to use their cell phones instead and be sure to update your E911 records on file.

It all comes down to choosing the best VoIP provider. Select the one with great customer service and an excellent track record. Ask questions about everything you need so you can set up your phone system with ease!

FAQs

Every sales call is an opportunity — a chance to learn or grow revenue.

Sales calls are full of feedback, key moments of excitement, and insights for your sales team. These insights enter a salesperson’s mind and are quickly forgotten or disappear on sticky notes.

If your sales tools don’t also help you record sales calls, you risk losing these actionable insights and missing this quarter’s quota.

As a sales leader, you need to save call recordings to update and enhance your go-to-market motions.

Read on to discover easy methods to record sales interactions, best practices, and helpful call center features to grow revenue.

5 Ways To Record Sales Calls

Cloud phone systems offer call-recording features that let you choose suitable ways for different use cases. Take a deep dive to understand more about when to use them. 

1. Automatic call recording

The automatic call recording feature lets sales team members record all calls without manual intervention. These can be cold calls, follow-ups, demos, or critical business conversations. 

When you record every call automatically, sales reps can:

• Replay and hear important details shared on the call.
• Capture context from conversations where the prospect’s accent is unclear. 
• Avoid asking prospects to repeat the same information in subsequent calls.

These recordings later become helpful for training, onboarding new account executives, and quality assurance. They assist in legal compliance for financial services, healthcare, and telecommunication businesses. 

What makes these recordings automatic? You can toggle on the option within your cloud phone system. No beeps, wires, or cassette tapes. Simply log in, and you can listen to calls anytime.

2. On-demand call recording

Salespeople can start and stop recording specific parts of the conversation. 

You can respect your customers’ privacy and comply with legal requirements tied to key discussions. When it’s switched on, both parties will hear a message such as “Recording in progress.”

Phone systems allow you to customize these messages as per your choice. An easy option is to mention in your call flows that calls may be recorded for quality and training purposes.

Salespeople are better equipped to record conversations of value rather than everything. When you come back for replays, it’s less clutter. You can jump into the core right away rather than sliding through conversations to find what you need. 

3. Supervisor-initiated recording

Sales leaders use supervisor-initiated recording to monitor sales calls remotely and provide feedback. 

Often, these recordings don’t announce whether a call is being recorded, avoiding any customer speculation. For this reason, professionals sometimes call it selective silent recording. 

Here are some situations where supervisor-initiated recordings help:

• Monitoring a team’s performance and helping them improve.
• Recognizing and appreciating salespeople who follow best practices on calls.
• Revisiting tricky discussions to address them through cross-functional support.

4. Conference call recording

Records multiple people’s voices on a conference call. 

Large organizations use conference call recording to maintain records of different verticals’ priorities and updates. It’s like a standup meeting on a large scale, where department heads report. 

Companies use it for various other reasons, including the following:

• Capturing details over group discussions or brainstorming sessions.
• Keeping a record of cross-departmental meetings.
• Providing access to the recording to all participants after the call so they’re on the same page.

5. Video meeting recording

Salespeople use video meeting recording in industries where visual presentations or demos are key to successful sales. Software as a Service businesses rely on it to review potential customers’ sentiments after the call. 

Businesses see its benefits in several areas: 

• Optimizing their sales motion for particular use cases.
• Reviewing actual pains of their potential customers and engaging them with relevant marketing collaterals.
• Collecting prospects’ feedback on what they expect from your product or service.

Related: How to Record Customer Service Calls & Why You Should

Best Practices To Record Sales Calls

Now that you know how to choose a call recording method, you need a few best practices to set it up for success. Below are a few practices you can follow while recording sales calls. 

✅ Stay in compliance

Go through local, state, and federal laws related to recorded conversations. Many laws mandate that you get consent from both parties before recording begins. 

These laws vary from state to state. Some require the consent of one party, while others need it from all parties. Check what applies to your business.

♻️ Automate recording notifications

Your salespeople can verbally ask prospects and customers if they can record the call. However, it isn’t a part of the core conversation. Potential buyers trust you with their time. And you should quickly be able to share how you can help without going sideways. 

VoIP systems can automatically notify customers at the beginning of the call so you can drive them into the core discussion right away. 

ℹ️ State the purpose 

It’s important to state and honor the purpose of recording. Tell the parties why you’re recording the conversation, and adhere to the promise. 

Whether it’s for training, legal documentation, or quality assurance, add it to your recording notification, or state it verbally if you can’t append it. 

🔒Keep recordings safe

Protect customer data as your own. Safeguard call recording and transcriptions against security threats that affect confidentiality. You can adopt role-based access controls to make sure only authorized people or systems can access sales conversations. 

Identity and access management software will let you configure these security measures, keeping recordings safe from internal or external threats. 

🖊 Review recorded calls

Call recordings give conversation intelligence to your team that can push their sales performance metrics to the next level. You can see why a particular account turned into a deal or dropped off. This feedback lets you coach people and offer sales tips so they improve.

Regularly reviewing these recordings maintains a consistent flow of opportunities for your sales, marketing, and product teams and other business functions. Marketing gets a hint of what assets they can create, and product teams get actual customer feedback to ideate their future sprints. 

👍 Respect customers’ preferences

If a customer doesn’t want to be recorded, don’t record. But have a process to handle objections, so your normal workflows don’t create a hurdle that prevents customers from having the best possible experience. 

Sales coaching helps your team navigate these situations, amplifying their overall performance.

Related: How To Record Business Calls and Why It Matters

Alternatives To Call Recording

There are several alternatives to phone call recording. Based on your use case, you can decide what would fit the given situation. 

1) Live call monitoring

Supervisors can listen to inbound or outbound calls with call monitoring. Salespeople and customers may or may not be aware of it. Sales leaders use this feature for real-time quality assurance. It motivates sales reps to follow best sales practices. 

If calls go sideways, you can provide real-time guidance to maintain call quality per the company’s standards. 

Here are some notable benefits of live call monitoring:

• Improves customer communications: Managers listen to calls and provide immediate feedback, encouraging their teams to match set quality standards and motivating agents to perform at their best.
• Reduces periodic training costs: As employees learn on the job, training costs are reduced. 
• Reveals issues in real time: Call monitoring uncovers issues preventing salespeople from effectively engaging their prospects. A sales manager can provide timely guidance or interventions if necessary using Barge-in. 

2) Barge-in

Barge-in functionality allows sales managers to join a call. They can speak to all parties involved in the discussion to assist in a complicated sale. When a call isn’t going as planned, you can correct it with an intervention. 

Below are some of its notable benefits: 

• Provides direct feedback: Get feedback on the quality of service and overall satisfaction with the salesperson’s assistance. 
• Increases confidence with collaboration: Salespeople are reassured they’ll have help when they’re in need. Barge-in lets you collaborate with them as a leader, showing you care about the numbers but are willing to pitch in and navigate tricky situations with them. 
• Speeds up the sales process: If salespeople need support from engineers about a particular customization, they can add them to the same call to offer suggestions. This reduces back and forth and speeds up the process. 

3) Post-call surveys

In a post-call survey, customers receive a call from a company right after talking to their sales rep.

They pick up and hear, “Thanks for speaking with XYZ. How satisfied are you with the call on a scale of one to five? Five being highly satisfied.” They press a number on their phone and give feedback. 

Some companies do these surveys on call, while others send a text message with a link to submit feedback. 

A post-call survey offers many benefits for companies that implement it, including:

• Increases customers’ trust: It shows customers that their opinions are valued and considered.
• Aids in employee training: Feedback helps in improving training programs.
• Sets up quickly and easily: A post-call survey is typically easy to implement and execute.

4) Sales manager callbacks

These are follow-ups made by a sales manager to the customer after a sales interaction. You can perform them to understand the customer’s experience and resolve unaddressed issues or concerns. 

Several benefits come with sales manager callbacks, including: 

• Increases customer satisfaction: Buyers see you value their pain points and feedback when you set an extra layer of quality assurance and oversight. 
• Demonstrates accountability: You show that your company takes responsibility for resolving issues if a salesperson can’t handle them effectively. 
• Increases sales opportunities: Managers can identify and act on additional sales opportunities during these calls.

Contact Centers Simplify Call Recording for Sales Teams

Cloud-based contact centers bring the scalability and flexibility of the cloud to sales organizations, allowing you to make, record, log, and analyze phone calls at scale. Here’s a quick overview to get you up to speed on cloud contact centers. 

🧭 Increases efficiency

VoIP phone systems let you record calls and save them for easy access when needed. You can avoid the hassle of running after notes or finding the conversation snippets you sent out to your manager. 

It gives you the context you want at the time you choose. But, of course, only if you have permission to access the recordings. 

Here’s how it increases efficiency: 

• Adapts quickly: Expanding teams deal with fluctuating call volumes. VoIP systems can easily scale up and down based on their needs without any heavy lifting to build physical infrastructure. 
• Improves training: It helps you train sales reps with real examples, letting them ramp up quickly and get up to speed in their roles. 
• Makes decision-making data-driven: There is less chance of reiterations on your sales process when you set it up with what best works for customers.
• Connects easily with existing business systems: VoIP phone systems such as Nextiva offer integrations to connect with your existing CRMs and other systems. 

🤙 Delivers better customer experiences

VoIP systems let you pair call recording with other alternatives and complements such as live call monitoring or post-call surveys. This improves customers’ experience as you can provide real-time assistance and implement customer feedback as it comes in. 

These factors play a pivotal role in enhancing customer experience: 

• Optimize sales tactics: You can tailor sales strategies based on customer feedback to better address their needs. 
• Resolve issues faster: VoIP call recording gives you context around the issue, allowing support teams to pitch in and resolve it.
• Keep communication quality consistent: Call recordings help managers coach their entire team. It allows everyone to handle situations in the same way.

🔏 Reduces expenses and increases security

With a VoIP phone system recording calls, you don’t invest significantly to set up a physical infrastructure. It reduces your upfront expense of adopting traditional systems. 

Moreover, VoIP security strictly enforces call encryption and other measures to ensure business communications are safe and secure against threats.

Here are a few other benefits that make a strong case for VoIP phone systems:

• Updates automatically: VoIP solution providers take care of updates and patch the system to protect against vulnerabilities. 
• Reduces maintenance expenditure: The maintenance costs decrease since you don’t add new lines as you scale. 
• Maintains reliability and data security: VoIP phone systems such as Nextiva offer a 99.999% uptime, keeping your phones operational 24/7/365. These solution providers perform rigorous penetration testing to locate vulnerabilities and adopt fraud mitigation strategies. 

🌐 Offers global reach

Cloud-based VoIP services give companies a global reach. You can make calls over the internet to anyone, anywhere, without high costs. Likewise, customers abroad can call you at their local rates, making your business more accessible on a global level. 

Here are a few reasons to consider VoIP if you operate internationally:

• Reduces calling expenses: With VoIP, international calls happen over the internet, and you can save the recordings easily. It doesn’t require you to pay international dialing charges.
• Opens up a global market: Calling or recording shouldn’t restrict you to the local market. Leverage VoIP features to make international calls and attract customers globally. 

Recording Made Simple With Nextiva

Sales call recording tools deliver the knowledge nuggets you need to close more deals. While dialing prospects on your phone or hosting a video demo, use call recordings to refine the sales workflows with valuable insights.

Nextiva’s cloud call center records such sales calls. It makes analysis a breeze and streamlines sales performance management. Taking a route through the cloud is cheaper, more secure, and, most importantly, more adaptable to your team’s needs. 

It comes with enterprise-grade reliability and security paired with ample flexibility to handle calls from NextivaONE. 

Related: How Call Center Recording Software Is Changing

VoIP phones are great alternatives to landline systems. They offer better call quality and reliability at a fraction of the cost of traditional phone lines or PBX.

But even the best technology can encounter hiccups. If you’ve ever been on a VoIP call plagued by choppy audio, dropped connections, or robotic voices, you know the frustration.

83% of companies lost a customer, missed a major deadline, or terminated an employee due to a communication issue. You don’t want that happening to you due to a VoIP problem that’s easily resolved with the right knowledge and technology.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the most common VoIP problems and offer troubleshooting tips to fix recurring issues. You’ll save your IT staff time and get your business phone system in top shape in no time.

Common VoIP Problems

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems send calls over the internet and rely on your local network and bandwidth capacity. A weak link in the chain can negatively impact voice quality.

Here are the most common VoIP issues to be aware of and fix:

1) Poor call quality or choppy audio

Since VoIP calls are transmitted in real time as data packets, any disruptions to voice packets reaching a destined IP address will get heard as choppy, distorted, or delayed audio on calls.

If you’re experiencing call quality issues, look out for these common culprits:

• Insufficient Bandwidth: VoIP requires adequate upstream and downstream internet speeds for high-quality calls. When your network’s bandwidth is full, or you have network instability, audio quality falls back to the most reliable, lower-bandwidth audio formats so as not to drop the call.
• Network Jitter: If packets are delayed or arrive out of sequence due to network congestion, calls will be choppy. Network jitter is the primary cause of most call quality issues.
• Packet Loss: Network issues may cause data packets to get dropped completely. This significantly impacts call quality.
• Improper QoS Settings: Failing to prioritize VoIP traffic can lead to choppy call quality due to packet loss and jitter as other network tasks compete for bandwidth.

How to fix choppy voice

Start by checking your internet bandwidth. Insufficient upload/download speeds are the most common cause of choppy VoIP calls.

Run speed tests and make sure you meet the bandwidth recommendations from your VoIP provider. Nextiva offers a handy VoIP speed test, enabling you to see how your network performs.

Next, test your network for issues like high latency/jitter or packet loss during calls and troubleshoot accordingly. This may involve router firmware upgrades or contacting your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

A few more tips to fix choppy audio:

• Enable Quality of Service (QoS) on your router so VoIP traffic gets priority. This prevents VoIP packets from being delayed and helps calls sound smoother. Most modern routers, modems, and switches allow administrators to implement Quality of Service protocols that prioritize voice traffic.
• Use a wired ethernet connection rather than WiFi whenever possible. Wireless is more prone to interference, which introduces latency and jitter. Wired connections are more reliable for crystal-clear calls.
• Disable unused network hardware like VPNs, guest networks, and high-capacity applications like YouTube, Netflix, and other streaming services, or double NAT configurations that could be impacting call quality over the network. Reduce internal network congestion from making calls within your office space.
• Place your phones on a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) to segment them from other network traffic.

If the problem persists, check your VoIP network or VoIP device. Reach out to your telephony provider because a problem could be at their end.

2) Dropped calls

A VoIP call disconnecting abruptly is incredibly annoying. This usually happens on outbound calls on high-volume networks.

The first culprit is not having the most up-to-date firmware on your device. A quick call to your phone provider should confirm this.

The second issue might be a UDP Timeout, which is the amount of time a UDP route stays open on a firewall or router.

UDP network traffic is faster because it lacks the error-checking capabilities TCP offers. As a result, it’s susceptible to firewalls closing the connection and terminating the call unexpectedly.

How to fix dropped calls

Start by troubleshooting internet connectivity problems. If temporary ISP disruptions or using WiFi in dead zones causes dropped calls, use wired connections or mesh WiFi to strengthen signals.

• Reset VoIP phones to re-register them with the VoIP server fresh. Power cycling fixes registration timeouts causing dropped calls.
• Check that firewalls, VPNs, or routers are not blocking access to critical VoIP ports and protocols. SIP ALG settings may need to be toggled.
• Adjust router settings to allow for longer UDP timeouts or switch devices to use TCP.
• Monitor your network quality during calls using built-in phone graphs and logs. Packet loss is a major culprit for call failures.
• Use Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches to hardwire IP phones. This provides consistent connectivity and power in case of WiFi drops or electrical outages.

3) Echo/feedback

Hearing your own voice reverberating back through the phone makes conversations very difficult.

Three potential problems cause echo/feedback on voice calls: audio configuration issues, headset lag, or network latency.

How to fix echo/feedback

Observe if the echo only occurs under certain conditions or directions to narrow down the root cause before troubleshooting.

• Use Proper VoIP Headset/Mic Setups — Use equipment designed for VoIP systems and position microphones away from speakers. Enable echo cancellation features if available.
• Fix Audio Configuration Issues — Misconfigurations commonly cause echo. Correctly calibrate volume levels, gain settings, and other parameters. An experienced VoIP technician can troubleshoot misconfiguration. Configure audio parameters like jitter buffers, packet sizes, and codecs used optimally for your network.
• Enable QoS Settings and VLAN assignments to prioritize voice traffic on your network so latency is minimized. Latency can exacerbate echo issues.

If you still experience echoes, you may need to improve your network stability.

4) Call connects with no sound

Hello, can you hear me? One-way audio is a common VoIP issue.

Voice reliability depends on the intermediate network, firewalls, and audio software stack working properly.

Improperly configured VoIP phones, faulty/loose wiring and connectors, incompatible codecs, heavy network congestion, and QoS misconfiguration causing excessive latency, jitter, and packet loss can stop real-time audio despite calls connecting fine at VoIP protocol layers.

Your local system security software may also be blocking the RTP media traffic even while allowing the VoIP control traffic to flow normally.

How to fix call audio issues:

Fully plug headset/handset connections into the VoIP phone ports. Also, check the volume levels on the VoIP phones are turned up and not muted.

Inspect phone configurations to select the correct audio input/output settings. Devices may use wrong inputs like Bluetooth when wired headsets are expected.

Toggle between available codecs on the VoIP phones to rule out codec incompatibility issues. Also, reboot phones to reinitialize codec handshaking after switching.

Don’t forget to update VoIP phone firmware in case existing installations have bugs related to call connectivity algorithms that get addressed in later revisions.

5) Unable to make calls

If you have a giant “X” on your screen or are unable to make outbound calls, chances are you have two routers that drop certain critical packets of data.

This VoIP issue has less to do with your router configuration and more with the network layout.

Certain protocols are processed by the Application Layer Gateway (ALG) and rewritten for better flow through a firewall or NAT (Network Address Translation). However, it causes numerous problems for VoIP applications.

How to fix this VoIP issue:

To solve this VoIP problem, disable SIP ALG and avoid having double NAT or two routers inhibiting your flow of packets. Placing your VoIP phones on a VLAN can also help.

6) Calls go to voicemail unexpectedly

It’s a big VoIP call quality problem when your phone doesn’t ring. But it’s a pretty simple fix! A possible setting was likely forgotten, or your phone is no longer registered with the VoIP provider.

You’ll also want to check that your phone is not in Do Not Disturb (DND) mode. You’ll know that this is the problem if a circle has a horizontal line inside it.

Review your current configuration for call forwarding and verify that all of your phones are registered and active.

7) One VoIP phone works but another doesn’t

If you’ve tested one phone and it isn’t working, but you try another device, and it is, chances are your VoIP Phone MAC address might not be registered or the configuration itself needs updating.

We recommend testing using a known working location and network port. If one phone works in both places and the other fails, it’s a problem with the phone.

If both phones work successfully at one location, it could suggest that an Ethernet drop is not functioning.

Otherwise, you must contact your VoIP service provider support for possible firmware or configuration updates.

You may need to replace your device if no updates are available and you’re still experiencing this issue.

8) Security breaches

VoIP systems may be vulnerable to security issues. Packet sniffing like man-in-the-middle attacks allows cybercriminals to eavesdrop on unencrypted calls routed over the internet.

VoIP systems have been compromised to rack up fraudulent international charges. The reason is that many VoIP providers do not include encryption by default.

How to stay clear of security breaches

Keep phones and systems fully patched and reset default passwords. Use VPN connections to secure sections of your network carrying VoIP traffic.

Also, make sure to pick a reliable VoIP phone service like Nextiva offering enhanced privacy with TLS & SRTP encryption and meeting security standards set by the ISO/IEC 27001 certification.

VoIP Troubleshooting Tips

When things go wrong, VoIP issues often feel daunting to diagnose and resolve.

Here are some basic first steps to troubleshoot common VoIP issues:

• Check Internet Speeds/Stability — Use speed test tools and analyze connection metrics during calls. High latency, jitter, or packet loss indicate problems.
• Conduct Test Calls to remote offices or vendors regularly. Identify and resolve minor quality issues before they disrupt important client calls.
• Check VoIP Configurations:
  • Segment VoIP phones on your network into their own VLAN for higher performance.
  • Prioritize SIP traffic with QoS. Confirm that your router and switches prioritize VoIP traffic and devices.
  • Use CAT5e/CAT6 cabling with the same media type (10BASE-T vs. 1000BASE-T). Poor wiring causes excess latency.
  • Your ping should be less than 80 milliseconds and your jitter less than 30 milliseconds.
• Test QoS Settings — Toggle QoS settings to check whether they’re causing call quality issues. Resetting to default or consulting with a VoIP provider is recommended.
• Update Firmware/Software — Updating to the latest firmware versions for phones, routers, and other hardware is an easy fix for bugs.
• Use a VPN — Establishing a Virtual Private Network just for your VoIP traffic separates it from general internet congestion.
• Contact Your VoIP Provider — Most quality VoIP phone systems have 24/7 technical support teams. They can access diagnostic tools and logs unique to their platform for rapid resolutions.

Related: How Does VoIP Work? The Beginner’s Guide To VoIP Phone Systems

Best Practices To Avoid VoIP Problems

While technical problems generally require technical solutions, following best practices helps avoid issues proactively.

• Use business-class internet – Invest in dedicated business broadband at suitable bandwidth tiers for reliable connectivity.
• Limit phone calls over Wi-Fi whenever possible — Use a dedicated Ethernet line instead.
• Invest in quality VoIP hardware — Choose reputable brands and tested models known to work best with your chosen VoIP platform.
• Train employees — Provide users with proper headset/mic usage guidelines and general system dos/don’ts to avoid basic user errors impacting calls.
• Have a backup plan — Make sure remote teams have cell phones enabled as a backup way to make and receive calls if the VoIP system has interruptions. Your VoIP provider should offer a business phone app like NextivaONE to enable calls on the go.
• Choose established provider — Stick to prominent business VoIP providers (like Nextiva!) with solid track records, security, and excellent technical support.

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FAQs on VoIP Issues

Grasshopper, the cloud-based virtual phone system, is a great choice for solopreneurs and small businesses. But as your business grows, Grasshopper’s limitations become more evident.

If you’re here looking for alternatives to Grasshopper, we got you. 

In this blog, we’ll go through the top ten Grasshopper alternatives so you can evaluate the best choice for your scaling business. We’ll compare the features, pricing, who they’re best for, and more to help you make an informed choice!

Grasshopper Alternatives at a Glance

Need a TL;DR? Here’s a quick overview of the top 5 Grasshopper alternatives.

Solution	Nextiva	GoTo Connect	OnSIP	Phone.com	Mitel
Price/month (starts from)	$17.39	$29	$49.95	$12.74	$20.99
Best for	Cloud-based business communications	Business phone system with fewer features	Hosted PBX for small to medium-sized remote teams	VoIP phone system	Team collaboration
Top Features	Low international calling rates Unlimited calls & video conferencing Advanced IVR with Conversational AI Analytics and automation Smart call routing	International calling plans Hold music and call queues Drag-and-drop editor to configure call flows	Auto attendant or virtual receptionist  Queues and groups International dialing	Business text messages (additional fee) Voicemail to text Local business phone numbers	Team collaboration software Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology  Mobile app dialer

But first, let’s take a closer look at Grasshopper.

What Is Grasshopper?

Grasshopper is a virtual phone system that offers business numbers and basic call management features such as VoIP calls, text messaging, voicemail greetings, phone extensions, and inbound faxing.

Small businesses in the US and Canada typically prefer Grasshopper due to its ease of use, quick setup, affordable pricing, and user-friendly mobile app. Porting your existing phone number is also easy. You can choose between vanity numbers, local numbers, and toll-free numbers.

Grasshopper’s features list is simple. The most popular features include:

• Ruby Receptionist: A live US-based receptionist that answers your Grasshopper calls 
• Instant Response: Send automated texts to callers when you can’t answer
• Incoming Call Control: Screen callers, block calls, and set a custom schedule based on your working hours
• Vanity Numbers: Select unique, easy-to-remember numbers like 1-800-MYBRAND
• Voice Studio: Get customized greetings recorded by professional voice actors in English and Spanish

Pricing: Grasshopper offers four main pricing plans based on the number of users, phone numbers, and extensions you need. The base plan starts at $14 per user monthly.

Why Consider a Grasshopper Alternative?

Although Grasshopper is a good introduction to virtual phone systems, its limited capabilities and call quality will leave you wanting more. 

As you scale, Grasshopper may struggle to adapt to your growing business communication needs, prompting you to look for a more comprehensive Grasshopper competitor.

1) It isn’t built for scale 

Grasshopper doesn’t integrate directly with everyday business apps like Zoho, Salesforce, and HubSpot, making it difficult to consolidate important customer data and work from a unified interface. 

Smart automation, too, is limited on Grasshopper. There’s not much business owners can do besides sending automated texts.

These limitations and the lack of add-ons will likely slow down your workflows and impact call-handling effectiveness when your business scales. 

2) It only offers basic call management features

Though Grasshopper is a cloud-based virtual phone system, you cannot make video calls with it. You can’t send or receive files, or share your screen using Grasshopper.

Limited call analytics, fewer auto-reply options, no shared number or shared email, and no call recording facility, make it less appealing for businesses that want an advanced communication solution. 

3) It can be expensive 

With Grasshopper, calling international numbers can be expensive. Grasshopper’s international calling rates aren’t competitive, so you may rack up a hefty bill.

When it comes to a richer feature set, the plans are expensive compared to virtual phone services like Nextiva, which offer unlimited minutes for voice and video calls, voicemail, toll-free numbers, business integrations, and unlimited internet fax right from the basic plan.

Grasshopper’s plans lack advanced features; you need to pay additional fees for additional features you use. Some users also cite poor call reliability, customer service, and analytics as other reasons they would switch from Grasshopper.

The good news is there are many Grasshopper alternatives available to meet your communication needs.

Here’s a walkthrough of the top 10.

Top 10 Grasshopper Alternatives

1. Nextiva

Nextiva is a cloud-based business phone system that meets the needs of small businesses while offering enterprise-grade functionality.

Nextiva is an all-in-one communications solution. It offers business phone service with video conferencing, collaboration tools, and more for businesses of all sizes.

U.S. News named it the best business phone system for four years running. Popular review sites like G2 also rate Nextiva highly compared to other VoIP solutions.

More than 150,000 businesses across the U.S. use Nextiva. Notable customers include Amazon, Cisco, Netflix, and the Pac-12 Conference. Nextiva has been helping companies supercharge their phone systems since 2006.

Key features

Nextiva offers voice & video calling, text messaging, third-party integrations, and robust call management features. Instead of using multiple services and apps, you can maximize efficiency with Nextiva’s highly rated business phone app — NextivaONE.

Nextiva has a robust VoIP phone service with more than 40+ standard and advanced features.

Here are some features that make it a better alternative to Grasshopper:

• Low international calling rates
• Unlimited calls & video conferencing
• Advanced IVR with Conversational AI
• Analytics and automation
• Smart call routing
• Business text messaging
• Unlimited online faxing
• Voicemail transcription
• Customizable Caller ID
• On-demand call recording
• Business call forwarding
• Mobile and desktop softphones

Nextiva’s monthly pricing

Nextiva has three plans that offer powerful VoIP features without breaking the bank. You can also request a no-obligation quote to see if you’re eligible for additional discounts and offers. 

Essential, $17.39 per user: Ideal for small businesses. Includes unlimited voice and video calling, voicemail, toll-free numbers, integrations with Outlook and Google Contacts, and unlimited internet fax.

Professional, $20.74 per user: Excellent fit for smaller teams and has everything from the Essential plan, plus more. You get unlimited conference calls for up to 40 participants, video conferencing, screen sharing, multi-level auto attendant, SMS, and MMS on mobile and desktop. Salesforce and HubSpot integrations are also included.

Enterprise, $27.44 per user: Supports small-to-medium-sized teams. Easily add unlimited participants to voice and video conferencing, record calls and videos, and voicemail transcription. Enterprises can also take advantage of SSO and advanced integrations.

Why is it better than Grasshopper?

Nextiva goes above and beyond just VoIP. Its powerful capabilities, along with CRM integrations, advanced features, and all-around performance, ensure a reliable and seamless communication experience. 

It’s the top pick for businesses seeking efficiency and reliability in their communication solutions. 8,400 Nextiva reviews and a rating of 4.6 out of 5 on review sites like GetVoIP show how much Nextiva prioritizes its customers’ needs.

The ease of setup and use, excellent customer support, great features, great return on investment, enterprise-grade security, and all-in-one business communication solution make Nextiva the best Grasshopper alternative.

2. GoTo Connect

Best for startups looking for a business telephony system with fewer features.

Formerly known as Jive, GoTo Connect is a VoIP phone service, much like Grasshopper. They typically offer products for conference room calls, delivering training, and running online webinars.

Key features

• International calling plans
• Hold music and call queues to keep callers on the line
• Web-based video conferencing for up to 250 participants
• Drag-and-drop editor to configure call flows
• Integrations with tools like HubSpot, Zendesk, and Microsoft

Pricing

GoTo Connect offers two pricing options. The Basic plan starts at $29 monthly. The Standard plan starts at $39 monthly and offers all the features of the Basic plan plus additional benefits.

3. OnSIP

Best for small to medium-sized remote teams looking for hosted PBX.

OnSIP is a hosted VoIP services provider offering video conferencing and high-quality VoIP phone calls. It’s designed to help businesses upgrade traditional landlines and switch to a modern alternative that moves with their team, wherever they are.

Key features

With OnSIP, you get enterprise PBX features and a cloud platform’s productivity-boosting capabilities.

• Auto attendant or virtual receptionist 
• Queues and groups to handle incoming calls
• Remote office capabilities 
• HD calling & conference suite
• International dialing

Pricing

OnSIP’s Basic Plan starts at $49.95 per month per account. Calling minutes aren’t included; they’re charged at $0.032 per minute. The Unlimited Plan starts at $18.95 per month, but a five-user minimum means you’ll end up paying at least $94.75 monthly.

4. Phone.com

Best for businesses looking for a basic VoIP phone system.

Phone.com is a business phone system provider. It offers entrepreneurs and small businesses an easier way to manage their business communication.

Key features

Phone.com offers 50+ features across their business phone system packages, including:

• Business text messages (additional fee)
• Voicemail to text
• Phone number porting
• Local business phone numbers with area codes for each location
• Hold music

Pricing

Phone.com offers three different pricing plans. The Basic plan starts at $12.74 per user per month (billed annually).

5. Mitel

Attractive for businesses looking for advanced team collaboration capabilities.

Much like the other Grasshopper alternatives, Mitel offers a suite of business communication tools, including a VoIP phone system, contact center, and collaboration software. 

Key features

Mitel’s cloud phone system includes some great features like:

• Team collaboration software
• Video conferencing
• Integrations with Microsoft Teams, Chrome browser, Google Cloud, and Salesforce
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology to greet direct and divert callers
• Mobile app dialer to provide business phone number connectivity (iOS/Android)

Pricing

Mitel has three main plans for its business VoIP packages. The Essentials plan starts at $20.99 /user/month.

6. Google Voice

Ideal for US-based users who use Google Workspace heavily.

Google Voice is Google’s VoIP offering, allowing you to make and receive calls over the internet. The easy-to-use tool uses conversational AI for intuitive calling experiences and time savings. In addition to phone calls, you can also send texts via Google Voice. 

Key features

• Calls between Google Voice numbers
• Calls to the US, Canada, and most European countries
• Text messaging, call forwarding, and call recording
• Voicemail transcription
• G-suite integration & Mobile apps (Android & IOS)

Pricing

Google Voice has three convenient plans with an increasing number of features. You can expect to pay $10, $20, and $30 per month per user for their Starter, Standard, and Premier plans.

7. 8×8

Decent option for businesses solely looking for a VoIP phone system.

8×8 is not a complete business communications platform, much like Grasshopper. It’s a VoIP service with a unified platform for contact center, business phone, video, chat, and APIs. Each runs through a company’s privately hosted PBX platform managed by 8×8.

8×8 provides businesses VoIP features like auto attendants, call recording, and voicemail to email. As a Grasshopper alternative, 8×8 is a step up.

Key features

• International calling to 14 countries
• SMS, MMS, and team chat
• Audio and video conferencing
• Microsoft Teams integrations
• Mobile and desktop apps

Pricing

8×8 has two pricing tiers. X2 Plan costs $24/user/month. It’s an entry-level plan. X4 Plan costs $44/user/month and includes 8×8’s higher-tier UCaaS software.

8. Zoom Phone

Helpful to use in tandem with the video-conferencing app Zoom.

Zoom is best known for helping businesses host online meetings. It also offers other communication features through its Zoom Phone — a business phone service that allows users to make and receive calls.

It’s not as feature-rich as Nextiva, but it’s a good alternative to Grasshopper. 

Key features

Zoom has some great features in its communications package, including:

• Intelligent call routing
• Integrations with Slack, Google, Zapier, and Calendly
• Online whiteboard to collaborate visually mid-conference  
• Video and audio calls made through Zoom’s VoIP network are high-quality and secure

Pricing

Zoom offers a free plan for video conferencing. To access its virtual phone system, you’ll need to upgrade. For the US & Canada, pricing starts from $120 per year per user. Pro Global Select for international calling costs $240 per user per year. 

9. Aircall

Best for small teams and VoIP call centers.

Aircall is a VoIP platform made especially for contact centers. It integrates with helpdesk and CRM software and is designed specifically to manage customer conversations. It’s a strong Grasshopper competitor if you want VoIP call center and call monitoring functionality.

Key features

• IVR menus and ring groups
• Conversation tags to categorize and filter previous call recordings
• Custom business hours to stop incoming calls from heading to voicemail
• Analytics like missed call rate, call volume, and first-call resolution
• Desktop notifications for incoming calls

Pricing

Aircall has two main pricing tiers. Pricing for the Essentials plan starts at $30 per month, purchased for a minimum of three users, while the Professional plan starts at $50 per month for the same number of users.

10. Dialpad

Best for businesses looking for an AI solution.

Dialpad focuses heavily on artificial intelligence (AI) and could be an overkill for businesses looking for basic call functionality. Nevertheless, its advanced VoIP functionality gives it the upper hand over Grasshopper.

Key features

• Real-time call transcription and post-call summaries
• Transfer your business phone number (porting)
• AI-enabled coaching to help sales teams communicate more effectively
• Predictive CSAT tools to anticipate and change customer satisfaction in real-time

Pricing

The Standard plan starts at $15 per month. For custom pricing, you’ll need to talk to their sales team for a quote.

Choosing the Best Grasshopper Alternative

When looking for the best Grasshopper alternative, consider your specific needs and the features most important to you.

If you’re looking for a best-practice Grasshopper alternative that offers advanced VoIP features at affordable prices, go for Nextiva.

Amazing Service is integral to Nextiva’s team culture. When it comes to physical security and network security, Nextiva has superior reliability. Calls are handled through one of eight military-grade data centers across the United States.

Nextiva has all the essential and advanced phone, communication, and collaboration features your business needs. With flexible pricing options for businesses at any stage, you’re sure to find Nextiva to be the best Grasshopper alternative.

When a new barista starts working behind the counter, they shadow their coworkers to learn how to make different drinks, how to clean the equipment, and how to interact with customers.

You wouldn’t want to just throw them into the fray and wish them luck on their first day. You’d end up with a lot of customers waiting a long time, only to receive messed-up orders.

Training and learning are important parts of any customer service philosophy. It’s important to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes. The same applies to new members of sales, service, and other customer-facing teams in the corporate world.

You’ve got to have resources that accurately reflect real-world scenarios. The best case is to record your best and worst experiences so that new and current reps can learn from them and feel better prepared for anything.

With the right call recording software, capturing and learning from customer interactions and phone conversations can uncover opportunities and unlock advantages.

Why Businesses Need To Record Calls

Call recording can be used in a lot of different ways across teams to help build more effective sales, support, and collaboration workflows.

Recording calls in sales

For sales teams, recording inbound and outbound phone calls with customers and prospects can help individuals and leadership find patterns — sometimes, these are opportunities for improvement as a team and other times, it helps identify and address common issues for each rep early on. 

By reviewing even a small sample of customer calls regularly, sales managers quickly gain visibility into reps’ day-to-day interactions so they can course-correct them together if necessary.

Here are a few ways to use recorded sales calls and make an impact:

• Ensure accuracy and consistency: Recordings allow managers to monitor customer interactions and verify details such as pricing and product capabilities. This early detection of deviations from spoken agreements can help to prevent miscommunication from affecting deals.
• Improve training and coaching: Recordings also offer useful content for training sales teams in objection handling and closing techniques, allowing managers to provide customized feedback based on each employee’s interactions. 
• Enhance performance evaluations: Voice recordings help managers conduct objective, evidence-based evaluations. Using recordings, managers can recognize employee-customer interaction patterns and use these to guide constructive feedback and work on areas for growth.
• Gain customer insights: Call recordings enable teams to gain a deeper understanding of subtle customer cues and needs — insights that can inform pricing, features, and product positioning strategies. This helps businesses align offerings more closely with customer expectations, ultimately creating a more desirable and profitable product.

Related: How To Record Sales Calls: What Team Leaders Need To Know

Recording calls in customer service

In customer service, recording calls, especially those involving complaints and concerns, can greatly improve client interactions. Call centers and shared services teams use these recordings to:

• Uphold quality standards: Managers use recordings to score calls against criteria such as correctness and courtesy. This call monitoring approach helps ensure staff adhere to internal guidelines and helps flag when retraining or coaching is needed.
• Accelerate onboarding: Authentic call examples are invaluable for training new hires and existing agents. They offer practical learning experiences over theoretical roleplays, showcasing best practices and common errors.
• Resolve disputes: Recordings are crucial for settling disputes about agent commitments in situations such as returns or service upgrades. They provide clear evidence of what parties actually discussed on a call, which helps protect the business from false claims while enhancing customer trust.

How internal teams collaborate better with call recording

Call recording systems help improve alignment for internal meetings while driving smoother cooperation between departments that rely on shared situational awareness. There are several key benefits here:

• Facilitate collaboration: Recordings ensure that teams (sales, marketing, and operations) all share a consistent understanding of decisions and discussions, which reduces misunderstandings and aids cooperation.
• Reinforce commitments: Recordings quickly clarify why decisions were made, promoting transparency and accountability and settling any concerns effectively.

3 Most Common Types of Call Recording

But what are the main methods for capturing these recordings? There are a few ways to record calls, and each has its advantages and disadvantages depending on your unique needs.

1. Automatic call recording

Automatic call recording integrates seamlessly with your existing telephony infrastructure, such as VoIP, business phone systems, and contact center platforms that route calls. You can configure it to record all or specific calls based on criteria such as phone numbers or user groups. 

Advanced tools organize and index these recordings, making it easy to search by date, representative, or product.

Additionally, analytics features offer managers vital insights into call trends, handling times, and other performance metrics, helping them make informed decisions about staffing, training, and operational strategies.

Related: What Is a Contact Center? Definition, Features, and Uses

2. On-demand call recording

An on-demand call recording feature contrasts with automatic, always-on recording, enabling team members to have more precise control during customer interactions. Users can manually start and stop recording as required.

For instance, recordings are often halted if confidential information, such as credit card numbers, is being discussed. Similarly, law firms can use on-demand recording to take recorded statements from clients or witnesses when necessary. 

3. Video meeting recording

Finally, video recording entails capturing audio, on-screen activity, and video feeds from virtual meetings, training, and events via platforms such as Nextiva or Zoom Meetings. 

Key use cases for video meeting recording include documenting critical meetings to share with personnel who couldn’t join live and structuring asynchronous training sessions for onboarding materials.

As remote distributed work continues to be the norm, video recording ensures transparency and alignment with all teams.

How To Set Up a Call Recording

Businesses that use Nextiva’s industry-leading call recording software can easily set up call recording by following these three steps:

1. From the NextOS admin home page, select Users > Actions > Voice Settings > Monitoring > Call Recording. 
2. Choose when the user’s call should be recorded (“Never,” “Always,” “Always with pause/resume,” “On-demand,” or “On-demand with user-initiated start”) and set up call recording announcements to inform the caller they’re being recorded by clicking the “Play recording start/stop announcement checkbox.”
3. Click the “Record voice messaging” checkbox to record users’ voicemails. Click “Save.”

NOTE: If “Always with pause/resume,” “On demand with user-initiated start,” or “On demand” is enabled, you can also set up alerts and notifications to alert the caller when recording is enabled/paused.  After enabling call recording for a user, additional steps will need to be taken by Nextiva Support to make sure that an administrator, supervisor, or the agent themselves can access recorded calls. To contact our amazing service team, click here.

Legal Aspects To Consider When Recording Calls

While call recording delivers immense value, it also introduces important legal considerations surrounding participant rights and preferences and tight data privacy protocols.

👍 Consent 

Businesses must inform participants and secure consent before recording interactions to align with local laws. 

In two-party consent states like California or all-party consent localities like Canada, businesses must gain approval from every party on a call before recording can legally commence.

Companies typically notify callers when recording starts through audio queues or on-screen prompts. Representatives then log all verbal or electronic consent received to shield against future disputes.

In many one-party consent states, businesses must obtain permission from at least one party before recording calls. Still, upfront notification is considered a best practice to uphold transparency, even in these regions.

Nextiva cannot provide legal advice here. Check with a licensed attorney in your state to understand your call recording obligations and restrictions.

🤝 Transparency

Further, companies implementing call recording must manage access to accumulated interaction data in compliance with regulations. Leaders must limit internal access to sensitive customer recordings only to roles requiring playback for call center quality assurance, dispute investigation, etc.

🔐 Privacy protection

IT and security teams must also adhere to far-reaching regional privacy rules, such as GDPR in Europe and CCPA in California while storing, accessing, and processing call recordings. Legal departments commonly establish retention rules to age out old recordings balanced against continued business value.

Another federal law businesses must be aware of is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which “defines national standards for security and privacy to safeguard protected health information.” Nextiva provides full HIPAA-compliant voice, fax, and video services to its healthcare communications clients. 

📋 Employee training

Lastly, businesses seeking to implement call recording must thoroughly train team members on the laws pertaining to securing consent locally. They must coach personnel on company guidelines regarding how to disclose recording procedures, respect caller preferences to stop recording, and protect private data.

With the proper precautions around obtaining permission and dialing-in privacy safeguards, companies can confidently unlock the performance benefits of call recording while avoiding unnecessary legal and reputational risks.

Start Recording Your Calls With Nextiva

Implement call recording processes across sales, service, and other teams to unlock data-driven performance gains — legally and securely.

Using Nextiva’s call recording features can bring several practical benefits to your business, focusing on enhancing communication and operational efficiency:

• Seamlessly record various media such as voice calls, video calls, and chats. 
• Analyze trends across large volumes of interactions.
• Quickly search and retrieve specific recordings.
• Provide ongoing consent management as preferences evolve.
• Shield sensitive interaction with metadata.

Related: How to Record Customer Service Calls & Why You Should

Your team is exhausted from switching tools just to have a quick meeting or ping a coworker with an update. If you’ve ever felt a pit in your stomach when deciding between an email or text message or hunting for a Zoom link — you’ll appreciate what unified communications software can do. 

Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) helps businesses consolidate multiple communication channels on a centralized platform.  

Today’s UCaaS solutions offer notable cost savings with numerous advanced features in one package.

When exploring UCaaS service providers for your business, you’ll find many options, and narrowing them down can be overwhelming. We’ll tell you about the top five UCaaS platforms so you get a firm idea of their features, pros and cons, and pricing. 

Let’s take a closer look at the upsides of UCaaS and the features of an ideal provider.

Why More Businesses Choose UCaaS

UCaaS brings the benefits of the cloud to your communication system. It combines business phone systems, instant messaging, video conferencing, and other collaboration tools, creating a single place for all business communications. 

This unified interface offers several benefits for businesses. 

💰It lowers expenses

UCaaS works on cloud infrastructure. You need a computer or mobile device and an Internet connection to work with it. It makes costly physical maintenance obsolete, saving you time and money. 

Adopting a UCaaS system requires no upfront investment. In most cases, a simple subscription fee applies to each team member using the communication service.

It’s easily affordable for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Most importantly, UCaaS pricing is based on the number of users, which makes the costs predictable and doesn’t tie up your budget unnecessarily. 

If you compare cloud-based Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems and UCaaS, the former are comparatively cheaper as they primarily focus on voice calls. With UCaas, you get unlimited calling (including video calls) among its collaboration features. 

Businesses prefer UCaaS since it helps them manage not only their phone interactions but also the entire communication system. In 2021, around 57% of businesses increased spending on video meeting apps, such as Zoom, as a part of their UCaaS solution. 

📈 It scales

An organization’s communication needs aren’t the same all the time. There are busy months, and there are quieter periods. Your communication system should be able to grow and shrink as needed. 

A UCaaS solution makes adding new staff members very easy. And if needed, you can reduce capacity to meet business needs. This flexibility benefits high-growth businesses and companies with seasonality or a fluctuating market. 

When you expand operations on a global level, you won’t need additional on-premises private branch exchange (PBX) servers or new phone lines. You can just add more users to your subscription plan.

Since no physical maintenance or security is required, you can invest more in delivering a remarkable customer experience through unified communication. 

📍It promotes collaboration

UCaaS provides a centralized platform for communication and collaboration. For example, a retail business works with enterprise-grade telephony; messaging; audio, video, and web conferencing; and other communication channels. 

UCaaS software brings them together while adding contextual intelligence and real-time dashboards. Integrating different tools helps businesses collaborate better and be more responsive in communication. It facilitates file sharing and screen sharing while making team collaboration easier.  

UCaaS allows employees to sync while working in different locations so you can deliver a consistently remarkable customer experience wherever you are. 

🧮 It supports multiple teams

Customer-facing teams rely on customer relationship management (CRM) tools, analytics software, call recording tools, and others for their day-to-day operation. A UCaaS platform has these features built-in. It helps team members focus on their jobs rather than going back and forth between tools. 

The teams that benefit most include sales, support, and customer success. UCaaS benefits teams that deal with large volumes of calls daily — for example, a car dealership.

UCaaS comes with call routing capabilities to route potential or current customers to the appropriate department, helping you to serve customers with excellence. 

☎️ It’s the standard for office communication

Remote work and hybrid environments are a priority for both employees and employers.

On LinkedIn, more than 50% of job applications received in February 2022 expected remote work options. UCaaS solutions provide this much-needed flexibility for remote or hybrid work environments. 

UCaaS is easy to scale up or down without setting up any physical hardware. You can grant access to new remote team members, and they can collaborate internally and externally with UCaaS cloud communications features. Softphone functionality gives users the convenience of a mobile app to stay in touch. 

Most importantly, UCaaS vendors handle updates and platform security, helping businesses access the latest communication tech without worrying about the risks.

With these benefits in mind, here are several characteristics to look for when evaluating a UCaaS vendor.

What To Look For in a UCaaS Provider

Businesses’ priorities largely depend on their market segment. For example, small businesses may care much more about costs than mid-market or enterprise companies. 

On the other hand, larger enterprises need a UCaaS that can support a large number of team members in several departments, along with more extensive requirements. 

UCaaS for small businesses

• Ease of use: No one has time to waste learning new apps — UCaaS tools must be easy to work with. It reduces costs if your team can implement it without much external support.
• Affordability: Check whether the platform provides multiple pricing tiers so you can select the one that offers the required features. Add-on features come at a cost, but you can still save money. Compare what you currently spend on extra tools, such as Slack, conference call services, and virtual meeting platforms, to get a benchmark for cost savings. 
• Scalability: As your business grows, the UCaaS should adapt. If your company needs to add 20 or 200 more users, the platform should be able to accommodate it easily. When functionality such as video conferencing becomes a priority, the UCaaS platform should be able to add it for all users. 
• Proven reliability: Uptime is essential for your business operations. Check whether the UCaaS provider maintains a trust page or if its social media reflects an outage pattern. Opt for a solution with a strong communications industry history extending beyond UCaaS. 

UCaaS for mid-market and enterprise businesses

• Advanced features: A UCaaS solution should offer advanced telephony functions and features such as automatic call distribution, call forwarding, auto attendant,  and interactive voice response.
• Integration with other apps: UCaaS should bring together your CRM tool, email system, call center system, and other apps you use. It helps you get a holistic view of operations and lets your team level up their workflow. Beware if a UCaaS platform only provides an application programming interface (API) — it’s a sign that you’ll need to build the integration at your expense. Opt for ones with ready-to-use cloud-based integrations. 
• Enhanced security: Larger companies often employ sophisticated security technologies such as single sign-on. A strong UCaaS platform will offer deep integration with trusted identity systems to ensure your team can access it securely and reliably. In addition, calls and messages should be encrypted to prevent eavesdropping. 
• Contact center integration: Large enterprises with a call center or customer service team often manage separate communication platforms that lack tight-knit integrations. When evaluating UCaaS providers, check for CCaaS integration, which provides an enhanced user experience for team communication.
• No-code infrastructure: The primary reason for switching to a UCaaS platform is that you don’t have to build and maintain on-site servers or telephony. Essentially, your IT team should only need to concern themselves with adding and removing access as needed in a secure admin portal. 

Top UCaaS Providers

As the UCaaS market keeps expanding, selecting the perfect solution for your business is increasingly important. We have narrowed down a list of unified communication platforms known for their performance and reliability.

1. Nextiva

Nextiva offers an all-in-one UCaaS solution to bring voice, video, messaging, and fax together with other business applications. The platform is famous for its user-friendly interface and affordable price. You get dozens of highly rated features that serve over 150,000 companies. Nextiva’s pricing starts at $17.95 per user monthly. 

Nextiva allows companies to: 

• Work efficiently in on-site, remote, and hybrid work environments.
• Collaborate on multiple projects in a single workspace. 
• Deliver a fully integrated customer experience.
• Integrate with Microsoft Teams for unlimited calling with a familiar user experience.
• Connect numerous communication channels and business applications.

What users love about Nextiva 

• Integrated communication tool for email, voice, text, and meetings.
• Superior reliability across eight data centers in North America.
• Personalized customer support that tops the industry.
• 24/7 customer support with exceptional service quality (#).
• Regular updates for better usability (#).
• Seamlessly integrates with many CRM tools (#).

Areas where Nextiva can improve

• Video meetings are limited to 45 minutes on lower plans.
• Business texting and conferencing are only available in higher-priced plans.

Who Nextiva is best for 

Nextiva is suitable for businesses of all sizes. It addresses the needs of remote or hybrid businesses in the SMB market segment. For a large business that requires 24/7 support, Nextiva’s UCaaS solution is top-notch.  

👉 Get your custom quote from a communications expert for your business today.

2. Vonage

Vonage’s UCaaS platform has a wide array of communication features for global businesses. It offers advanced call routing to connect calls quickly to the right department.

The video conferencing feature manages virtual meetings, where teams from across the globe collaborate and share in real time. Its Premium plan starts at $20.99 per user monthly. 

Vonage helps global businesses operate efficiently. For effective UCaaS software geared toward international use, consider Vonage. 

What users love about Vonage

• Intelligent features such as smart numbers and real-time transcriptions.
• Simple collaboration.
• Remote call answering (#).
• Easy and time-saving connection (#).
• Simple user interface (#).

Areas where Vonage can improve

• Vonage has complicated pricing for businesses with multiple users and complex needs.
• Features such as switching from call to text directly are difficult to use. (#)
• The desktop app lags while sending SMS messages (#).
• The UIs for calls and messaging are separate (#).

Vonage is best for

Vonage is suitable for enterprises and multinational corporations. It may not be the right fit for high-growth businesses requiring a scalable solution. 

Related: Vonage Pricing: Is It Worth It for Small Businesses?

3. Dialpad

Dialpad provides an AI-powered communication solution as its UCaaS offering. Its features adapt to users’ needs. AI learns from interactions to improve call quality and offers real-time insights that lift productivity. Dialpad’s Pro plan starts at $25 per user monthly. 

Dialpad’s solution streamlines workflows for teams and simplifies call transcription and analysis. After you leave a meeting, it sends an automatic call summary to your inbox.

The platform comes with a 100% uptime service-level agreement and integration with applications such as Salesforce, Zendesk, and Google Workspace.

What users love about Dialpad

• Real-time AI transcription.
• User-friendly interface.
• Integration with popular business apps.

Areas where Dialpad can improve

• Options for calling international numbers are limited.
• Calling options are inconsistent.
• New CSRs take time learning to use Dialpad. (#)
• Sometimes calls fail to connect.(#)

Dialpad is best for

Dialpad is ideal for startup, tech-savvy SMBs deeply invested in AI communication tools. As G2 suggests, companies in the mid-market segment usually work with Dialpad for business communications.

4. RingCentral

RingCentral brings a phone service, messages, videos, and analytics together in a unified communications platform with over 300 integrations. You can leverage workflow automation to complete repetitive tasks. RingCentral’s Advanced plan starts at $25 per user monthly.

You can use RingCentral MVP on your phone, tablet, computer, or desktop via VoIP phones and headsets. 

What users love about RingCentral

• Comprehensive cloud PBX solution.
• Wide variety of telephony functions. 
• Unlimited audio conferencing.

Related: RingCentral Pricing, Plans, & Feature Breakdown

Areas where RingCentral can improve

• Some advanced features cost extra.
• The limited number of data centers can affect reliability.
• The extensive range of features can present a steep learning curve for users.
• Integrations with business applications could be improved (#).

RingCentral is best for

RingCentral is a good option for businesses seeking a user-friendly and versatile unified communications solution. It’s suitable for businesses of all sizes, but large businesses prefer it as their communications solution.

Related: The Top RingCentral Alternatives for Business Phone Service

5. 8×8

8×8’s UCaaS solution helps businesses deliver an exceptional customer experience. It comes with features such as omnichannel routing and contact center analytics.

The platform allows companies to engage their customers at scale with SMS, voice, chat apps, and video APIs. According to Forbes, 8×8 costs $24 per user monthly. 

Overall, 8×8 increases productivity by connecting to various business and CRM applications. 

What users love about 8×8

• Omnichannel contact center solutions.
• Strong international calling capabilities.
• Over 60 partner integrations.

Areas where 8×8 can improve

• The interface can be overwhelming for new users. 
• 8×8 doesn’t provide some settings and features (#).
• Sometimes, the support team isn’t helpful (#).

8×8 is best for

8×8 is a suitable option for businesses that need a flexible UCaaS solution. It’s a reasonable choice for companies that are growing or have a lot of remote employees globally. 

Related: 8×8 Pricing: Is It Worth It?

Considering a UCaaS Provider?

You’ve got to give Nextiva a try. 

Its unified communication platform adds flexibility and scalability to business communication in a cost-effective manner. Plus, you’ll get around-the-clock customer care any time you want it. 

Nextiva has the features that businesses care about — reliable cloud phone service, video meetings, team collaboration, Call Pop, voicemail transcription, online faxing, business SMS, email integration, and dozens of other features to improve business communication. 

With Nextiva’s connected and centralized platform, your team is always in the know when helping customers or collaborating with coworkers.

When you’re considering migrating to UCaaS, start by defining your goals and determining what you would need to accomplish them. Assess how many employees would be using it and what features and functionalities they would expect for their day-to-day operations. Then, use this guide to narrow down software options to one that best fits your expectations. 

Talk to a communications expert to see how Nextiva checks all your boxes for an ideal UCaaS platform. 

Customer-focused contact centers have come a long way from the outdated cost centers of the past.

Modern contact center solutions and compassionate customer service help solve customer issues faster, build better loyalty, and drive customer engagement and retention. Your customers are no longer stuck in a phone tree, and you no longer have to deal with bulky equipment and choppy call quality.

From AI and automation to predictive analytics and sentiment analysis, these support centers now provide deeper insights into customer needs and the tools to deliver personalized and better customer experience.

In this guide, we round up what a contact center is, the top features it provides, and how companies use it to scale.

What Is a Contact Center?

A contact center is a team of agents that handle all incoming and outgoing customer communications via phone calls, email, live chats, social media interactions, and other communication channels.

Whether you’re calling to rebook an airline ticket, inquire about a credit card charge, or troubleshoot why your new laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi, you rely on support centers, big and small, to solve issues and provide service.

Contact centers integrate people, processes, and technology to offer efficient customer support across multiple communication channels. With robust analytics and enterprise-wide visibility, they create high-quality interactions that drive customer and business growth.

Contact center technology supports various business functions. These can be call centers where staff (usually called agents) only handle calls. Or they can be multichannel contact centers where agents handle transactions from digital channels such as email, social media, and phone calls.

The term contact center can refer to a variety of different uses, so don’t get confused when you come across these.

• Contact center software: The programs used by agents to manage customer transactions. You can expect call handling, reports, and queue visualization, among many other customer management features.
• Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS): The deployment model of contact center software is known as CCaaS. It’s delivered over the internet like that of Netflix or Spotify, with all features and functionality included. There’s no need for on-premises equipment.
• Contact center department: The team of people who use call center software. These people (agents) are responsible for handling calls and other telecommunication methods. The department includes management and specialist roles like quality assurance and resource planning.

Related: Customer Service Contact Center 101: Features, Metrics & More

Contact centers vs. call centers

Call centers focus on managing high-volume inbound voice calls. Many businesses try to use a typical VoIP phone service as a contact center, and that’s the wrong approach. Why? Because it is not designed to handle huge volumes of calls, so you would get a lot of voice mails or “busy signals” vs. a contact center, which is built for the use case of high call volumes.

On the other hand, contact centers take a much more expansive, omnichannel approach to customer interactions. They allow seamless integration across multiple channels customers prefer to use today, including phone, email, messaging, web chats, and social media. 

Contact centers offer a much more personalized and consistent customer experience than a call center.

6 Types of Contact Centers

Contact centers come in many shapes and sizes to suit the scale and scope of different business needs.

Here are the six key types:

• Inbound
• Outbound
• Multichannel
• Omnichannel
• On-premises
• Virtual/Cloud

Let’s look at them in detail.

Related: 5 Types of Call Centers: Which Is Right for Your Business?

1) Inbound

An inbound contact center only handles inbound transactions. 

This might be an inbound call center, where contact center agents (aka call center agents) handle inbound calls only. In this case, staff in other departments will handle other digital channels. For example, your marketing team might handle social media inquiries. Or they might go unmanaged completely.

Within an inbound call center, you have call routing features like auto attendants, interactive voice response (IVR), and call queues. More on these in the features section further down.

Some inbound support centers manage other digital channels like web chat, email, and social media.

An important part of inbound contact center management is that contact center managers can report on all the channels. Most call center software includes comprehensive reporting and analytics.

2) Outbound

An outbound call center is a team of agents dedicated to calling customers to start a new transaction. Unlike inbound call centers, these teams don’t typically handle incoming calls.

Companies use outbound call centers to grow sales, conduct surveys, collect market research, and proactively deliver customer service.

Agents have pre-populated contacts to call from a database and are assisted by automatic dialing technology called a dialer.

Typical use cases for outbound call centers include:

• Lead generation
• Upselling
• Debt collection
• Market research
• Customer surveys
• Appointment setting
• Managing renewals
• Proactive customer service

3) Multichannel

Multichannel refers to the ability of support agents to handle customer queries via a multitude of contact channels.

As well as handling inbound calls, multichannel centers include:

• Email
• Web chat
• Twitter
• WhatsApp
• Facebook
• Instagram
• SMS (text messages)

You still get access to call management features, like in a multichannel call center. Multichannel access gets included on top of this functionality.

The same applies to reporting on these various channels. You get all your call reports and analytics, as well as the same across other channels.

4) Omnichannel

Omnichannel refers to using a multichannel support center in a way that connects all the channels. This means that agents have a holistic view of the customer journey when a customer calls in to follow up on their email, web chat, SMS, or social media transaction.

Rather than having to find the agent that dealt with the previous transaction, agents can access the exact email, web chat, etc., and help the caller right away.

Not only does this improve first-call resolution (FCR), but it also makes for a better all-around customer experience. When both your customer and agent have unified communication experiences, everyone benefits.

5) On-premises

On-premises contact centers are, for the majority, a thing of the past. Thanks to advancements in cloud technology, the features available on-premises have been replicated and improved by cloud contact centers.

On-premises deployments still exist in niche use cases like financial institutions and data-sensitive industries. When legislation dictates that customer information must not leave a physical location, migration to cloud technology is difficult.

Function	Cloud contact center	On-premises contact center
Setup Time	1–4 weeks	6–12 weeks
Equipment	Optional	Mandatory
Scalability	Features delivered on-demand	Requires extensive hardware upgrades
Integrations	Numerous API-based integrations	Limited middleware integrations
Flexibility	Employees can work in the office and remotely	Employees must work within an office
Analytics	Real-time customer journey analytics	Limited to agent dispositions
Pricing	Approx. $100 per agent per month that grows with you	Approx. $75,000 upfront per agent, plus software licenses, trunks, and maintenance
Reliability	Redundant upstream carriers monitored 24/7	Less susceptible to jitter over the Internet

6) Virtual/cloud

A virtual contact center, otherwise known as a cloud contact center, refers to software deployed via the internet.

There is no need for a physical installation in your office. Agents can access a virtual desktop interface via software and log in using a username and password.

Choosing from these types can look daunting at first. But figuring out what you need is much easier when you dive into your specific use case.

Benefits of a Contact Center

Improved customer service

Contact centers allow for omnichannel support, shorter response times, personalized interactions, proactive outreach, and faster complaint resolution. By prioritizing the customer experience, they drive increased satisfaction, loyalty, and referrals.

Operational efficiency

Sophisticated routing tools distribute high volumes of inquiries across the right channels and available agents. This increases productivity, first-call resolution, process consistency, and the capacity to handle more interactions without expanding headcount.

Valuable data and insights

With comprehensive integration of CRM and other data sources, businesses gain holistic customer intelligence to understand customer expectations, behaviors, and preferences. Predictive analytics and interactive feedback also fuel strategic decision-making.

Enhanced sales and revenue

Many contact centers have dedicated sales teams and outbound representatives to drive lead generation, cross-selling/upselling, appointment setting, and higher deal closing rates. Their efforts directly impact top-line revenue gains.

Cost savings

Consolidating customer interactions allows businesses to use economies of scale and newer technologies to reduce overhead. Outsourced and offshore models provide additional budget flexibility. Investments in automation and self-service also contain long-term costs.

Key Contact Center Use Cases

Proactive customer service

By providing your customers with a logical way to contact you, rather than phoning and getting through to random staff, their queries get answered faster and by the right people.

One example of proactivity in contact centers is auto attendants, which provide automated options for callers to choose from. 

For example, “press one for sales or press two for support” immediately sends customers into the correct queue for a team that can handle their query. 

Here, you can configure logic as simply or complex as you deem necessary. Some businesses opt to provide information, like opening hours or website details, upfront so customers don’t need to queue for an agent.

The same applies across other channels too. 

👉 If your business sounds like this use case, consider an omnichannel contact center.

Outbound sales and lead generation

Instead of dialing each phone number, getting the occasional wrong one, and losing time due to inefficiencies, an outbound dialer can pull contacts from your database and automatically call each number when an agent is free.

If there is no answer, contacts get added back into the queue. If the caller doesn’t wish to be called again, the agent can choose “Do not call.”

Success can be viewed thanks to the use of sales analytics, usually included in outbound dialer technologies.

👉 Consider an outbound call center if your business sounds like this use case.

AI-powered self-service (Artificial Intelligence)

Making a payment no longer needs human intervention. Instead, when a customer needs to pay a bill, they call you, choose “make a payment,” and get directed to a self-service payment line.

Secure and automatic collection of credit card payments is possible thanks to contact center solutions that comply with PCI-DSS standards. Customers can simply enter their card information using their dial pad and make a payment. If they need help, they can opt out of the self-service call and get connected to a live agent.

Other use cases, like knowledge bases, provide your customers with answers to FAQs. Instead of queuing to speak to an agent, you can redirect customers to a comprehensive bank of helpful content.

When human intervention is needed, customers can escape the chatbot and get connected for non-AI help.

👉 Use an automated contact center if your business handles transactions and payments regularly.

IT Helpdesk

Whether internal or external, a support center license is often used to facilitate helpdesks.

Here, IT managers can manage their incoming tickets while providing a proactive experience to colleagues reporting issues.

Mimicking the inbound call experience of a customer contact center, IT can optimize the experience. After all, if you’re looking after your clients, why wouldn’t you look after your employees?

👉 Look into an enterprise telephony system if your business needs to streamline IT requests.

Contact Center Technology & Features

We’ve touched on the basics a little. Let’s dive into 10 high-quality contact center features that can really transform your customer care or sales operation.

1) CRM integration

Integrating your contact and customer relationship management (CRM) software is a no-brainer. 

When you receive a call from a customer, you need to know who it is—not just the company they’re calling from, but their recent and historical activity.

When you empower your agents with information, you set them up to provide the best possible customer experience.

Integrate Your Apps: See Which Ones Integrate With Nextiva

2) Inbound call routing

Call routing directs inbound phone calls to any person or team in real time, given a set of rules. Call routing rules can be as simple or as powerful as you want. 

You can choose round robin-routing, which rings different agents in a circle. Or you could choose to provide the next call to the person who’s answered the fewest phone calls this morning.

3) Advanced call routing (ACD)

For more advanced capabilities, you can allow customers to say why they are calling and route them to the most qualified agent.

This allows you to add more context to the call and be even more specific with your agent routing. 

With this conversational AI approach, you can save customers’ time holding for the wrong person and queuing for long periods.

Advanced call routing knows whether there’s a long queue—and whether calls to that queue are usually long—so it offers a callback when a specialized agent becomes available.

In some cases, like booking appointments and making payments, there’s often no need for a human whatsoever.

4) Website chat

Nobody likes waiting on the phone. This is where chatbots come into play.

They can be resourceful when well-executed. New data from Gartner suggests consumers are less enthusiastic about bringing their customer service concerns to a website chatbot.

But it’s not all bad, either.

Live chat is an excellent way to quickly provide information to visitors without the burden of calling in, navigating their IVR phone system, and maybe reaching someone in less than five minutes. Answering a prospect’s questions accurately and quickly is a worthwhile business investment.

5) Social media channels

Like your live chat on your website, you can use almost any social media channel to manage customer inquiries. 

Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Facebook are commonplace in businesses. 

If a customer is on your social media and wants to reach out, offering a way to do so without leaving that channel is a win-win for both the customer and the business.

If customers can immediately contact you, there’s little friction and minimal wait time.

6) Knowledge base integration

The best customer experience is the most integrated. There’s no need to keep everything in different places. That just keeps your customers searching.

When customers have access to everything they need without the need to call and ask for it, they become more autonomous and self-sufficient.

Check out Nextiva’s knowledge base as a prime example. You can access support materials for all products, chat with an agent, or submit a ticket, all from the same place.

7) Workforce management

“Failing To Prepare Is Preparing To Fail” —Benjamin Franklin

The best-performing support centers embrace workforce management (WFM) for their workflows.

In high-demanding and ever-changing environments, it’s important to be accurate with staffing for each area.

WFM is forecasting software that uses data to suggest how many agents are needed to manage customer inquiries at certain times of the day or season.

Staff reallocations must be based on data if your business suffers a major outage. The more data in your WFM software, the more accurate your forecasting is.

8) Customer experience analytics

When a customer contacts you, it pays to be aware of their entire journey. 

Rather than only knowing their most recent call was three hours ago, viewing their hour-long web chat, email message, and public social media rant adds a lot of context to the next conversation.

Analytics tracking the customer experience also flags this scenario as happening, so it doesn’t have to get to this situation anyway.

When looking at historical customer data, you can see where things went wrong in your process and put in place changes where necessary.

9) Conversational analytics

Customer journey analytics are those applied to the entire call, while conversational analytics are those applied to specific conversations.

These customer analytics can be over the phone or via written channels like email, web chat, and social media.

Reflect on trigger words, emotional responses, and raised voices in a conversation. These all show that something happening in the call could lead to a different outcome.

10) Quality monitoring

If you’re not monitoring the quality of your contact center, you’re never going to improve.

Quality monitoring is the process of checking in on agents’ calls or transactions to ensure they’re doing a good job.

This might be the role of a specialized or senior agent or supervisor. Whoever is tasked with quality monitoring will be aided by the use of quality monitoring software, usually included within a modern contact center package.

Here, you can select flagged calls or choose randomly, then evaluate agent performance on that call.

As a result of consistent quality monitoring, you can learn about repeat issues, compile training sessions, and escalate agent or customer issues that need intervention from senior staff.

Related: Enterprise Contact Center Solutions: Overview & Key Features

Developing a Contact Center Strategy

The right contact center for you may differ from someone else’s.

Just because a manufacturing firm uses one vendor for their inbound call center doesn’t mean a technical support function must use the same one.

Consider these five key areas when choosing your contact center:

1. Your business objectives: are your business and contact center purchases aligned?
2. Your customer communications channels: do your shortlisted vendors support them all?
3. Your critical integrations: if you use a specific CRM all day long, is it supported?
4. Reporting and analytics capabilities: can you get comprehensive reports specific to the data you truly need?
5. Your customers’ experience: is there a correlation between your purchases and the improvement of your customers’ relationships with you?

Then there’s the overriding factor: can you afford it? 

A more effective perspective is to ask yourself: is there a clear return on my investment? If the answer is yes, move on to onboarding and support options.

If you run a 24/7 support function, does your contact center provider mirror these hours? If you need help setting up 200 agents, can your provider help with this?

These are all crucial factors when considering which provider to choose.

Related: The Leader’s Guide to Call Center Strategy

Futureproof Your Contact Center

When looking into a contact center for the first time or renewing your existing one, make sure every element is right for now but as well-prepared as possible for the future.

Think about features you will use immediately versus features you will need in the future.

For example, you might not need web chat or social media today. But if you know your customers try to send you messages via other mediums, it makes sense to factor this into your plan.

The same applies to AI and automation features that may seem like too much of a step into the future.

That’s where selecting a flexible vendor with proven deployments of traditional and futuristic support centers pays dividends.

Nextiva was a lifeline to a benefits administrator that was frustrated with its on-prem call center. The company switched to a cloud-based contact center without doing all the work — Nextiva did.

The utmost importance of providing for the now while planning for the future is recognized throughout the Nextiva client base.

Nextiva is the 2022 winner of G2’s Best Software Award, an award voted for by users, and is recognized by Gartner, the leading provider of research and consulting services for businesses in the IT sector, as being rated the best in the world.

🙌 Case Study: How a FinTech Company Scaled Growth With a Contact Cente

Contact Center FAQs

Everyone is familiar with the annoyance of cables cluttering up the office space. It looks messy and disorganized and can even be a trip hazard.

But what if you cut the number of power cables you’re using — even slashing it in half?

Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology lets you power office phone systems using a single network cable. Let’s talk about how they work, their advantages, and some recommended PoE-ready equipment. 

What Is PoE?

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a standard that allows network cables to carry electrical power. A single Ethernet cord can provide both data connection and electrical power to devices instead of needing a cable for the internet and a cable for electricity. 

How PoE works

PoE uses existing Cat5e and higher cables to provide power to compatible devices. The electricity comes from power source equipment, such as a network switch or router. 

There are two types of PoE specs:

• Active PoE: The device interacts with the network switch to determine its power requirements, which operate between 15 and 100 watts.
• Passive PoE: The power source equipment supplies a fixed voltage — between 24 and 54 volts — to network devices.

What Is a PoE VoIP Phone? 

VoIP phones work by making calls via an internet connection instead of a landline or mobile network. This internet connection can be established in various ways, most commonly over a wired Ethernet connection. 

Almost all VoIP phones include a separate power supply that plugs into the user’s electrical outlet. However, these come with drawbacks: space and reliability.

A VoIP PoE phone lets team members make and receive business calls over a single Ethernet line that provides both electricity and an internet connection. 

How Does PoE Work With VoIP Phones?

Certain VoIP phone systems are PoE-compatible. In this situation, power is supplied through either a PoE switch or a PoE injector. 

An Ethernet cable will connect to the PoE switch or injector, which contains twisted wiring for both data and internet connections. The Ethernet cable transmits power to the device — in this case, the VoIP phone. 

This video from our friend Prince Rich explains how PoE phones work: 

Are All VoIP Phones PoE-Compatible?

No, not all VoIP phones are PoE-compatible. However, all phones that Nextiva sells are PoE-ready. 

VoIP phones come in a variety of models and specifications. PoE is a specific feature, and not all models possess it. 

1. PoE-compatible VoIP phone

PoE-compatible VoIP phones can receive power and data through a single Ethernet cable as long as it’s connected to a PoE switch or injector. We’ll discuss specific PoE-compatible VoIP business phone systems later in this post, including popular VoIP desk phones. 

2. Non-PoE VoIP phones

These phones require a separate power source and lack PoE compatibility. In many cases, they’ll require a traditional AC adapter plugged into an electrical outlet. This can cause cord clutter, which is one reason businesses may opt for PoE models instead.

3. Wi-Fi VoIP phones

Some VoIP phones may connect to the network wirelessly via Wi-Fi. These phones also typically require a separate power source, as Wi-Fi does not provide electricity. 

These phones also carry some risk. If there’s ever an interruption in the wireless network, the VoIP phone can lose connectivity or experience low call quality. 

Benefits of PoE VoIP Phones

Businesses that are choosing new communication systems often have a number of reasons for preferring VoIP phones that are compatible with PoE. The advantages of PoE-compatible phones are especially important when upgrading an office network.

Simplified wiring

Fewer cables are required since power and data are carried over a single Ethernet cable. This is easier to maintain and makes it much faster to install the VoIP system. The office will also look much more organized, with fewer wires cluttering the space. 

Cost-effective

With fewer wires needed and a faster installation process, there’s a reduced need for electrical wiring and outlets. This can reduce installation costs. 

Reliability

PoE VoIP phones typically include battery backup features, ensuring that phones remain operational during power outages. 

They’re also typically more reliable than Wi-Fi VoIP systems, which may be prone to connection issues and rely entirely on functioning routers. 

Scalability

All businesses should consider scalability, and VoIP PoE systems are, by definition, scalable phone systems.

You can easily add new phones or relocate them. You only need to manage your network connections, so there’s no need to worry about separate power supplies. Your system can easily scale up and down with your business. 

Energy efficiency

The latest PoE technology often comes with energy-saving functionality that provides a phone with only the amount of power needed to operate it. This can result in long-term cost savings, especially at scale. 

What Kinds of Businesses Use PoE VoIP Phones?

PoE VoIP phones are ideal for traditional office environments, call centers, and any in-person location where several phones are needed. They’re also invaluable for businesses that plan to grow rapidly and those that may need to either reorganize their office space or move to a new location in the foreseeable future. 

PoE is less common for people who work from home, but with a PoE switch or injector, home users can also use PoE. 

PoE-compatible VoIP phones can simplify infrastructure, are easy to manage, and can reduce clutter in your business location. 

Top 5 PoE VoIP Phones

PoE VoIP phone systems are only as strong as the VoIP service providers and the PoE devices themselves. 

So, it’s important to get started with the right device. Let’s discuss the top five PoE VoIP phones for 2024, all of which are available as Nextiva VoIP desk phones.

1. Yealink T33G IP phone

The Yealink T33G IP phone offers a dual-port Gigabit Ethernet with integrated PoE. 

It’s an entry-level IP phone with a color screen, high performance, and the ability to offer support for up to four lines. It supports a wireless headset and has an adjustable, multi-angle stand support. 

This is a high-quality, cost-effective solution, making it a popular choice for many Nextiva customers.

Price: $160

2. Nextiva X-835

The Nextiva X-835 is an IP phone offering a color LCD display and the ability to support up to 12 lines.

It has a multipage approach that allows users to program additional keys for speed dialing as they see fit for greater ease of use. This phone is also cost-effective, yet it still consistently provides high audio performance. 

Price: $160

3. Yealink T46U IP phone

The Yealink T46U IP phone is a mid-range option that provides extraordinary audio quality and a large, full-color display. 

It has dedicated call-handling buttons, a hearing aid–compatible handset, and the ability to handle up to 16 lines. It supports multiple options for headset connection, including a wireless Bluetooth option. It also allows for Wi-Fi connectivity. 

Price: $200

4. Poly Edge E350

The Poly Edge E350 has a sleek look that’s ideal for a modern office, but it’s still packed with features. It was designed for hybrid working, and it comes integrated with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality for strong performance. 

This phone supports up to eight lines and has a 3.5-inch color LCD display.

Price: $230

5. Poly CCX 500

The CCX 500 is a relatively new addition to the Poly brand of phones and offers outstanding audio quality with strong functionality that makes it a great option for brands looking for a cloud communications platform. 

This phone has a five-inch color touch screen and can support up to 24 lines. 

Price: $420

Additional PoE Equipment You May Be Interested In

In addition to the PoE VoIP phones themselves, businesses should consider PoE switches and routers to integrate into their existing network infrastructure. 

PoE switches

PoE switches deliver both power and network connectivity to connected devices via Ethernet cables. They come with multiple ports, each one capable of delivering the power needed to run a device. 

PoE routers

Some routers have built-in PoE compatibility, allowing them to power devices directly. This is less common than in PoE switches, so you’ll want to ensure that you’re choosing a router with PoE functionality.

Choosing a PoE-Ready VoIP Phone System

Using a PoE VoIP phone system in your office allows for flexibility and scalability while still offering a superior level of reliability in call quality performance. 

Now that you have your list of PoE VoIP phones in hand, it’s time to find a VoIP service provider to help you get the most out of your devices.

Nextiva’s VoIP phone system is known for its consistent call quality and service uptime, and we offer the advanced call features a growing business needs, all with an intuitive interface. 

You can count on features such as the following:

• Call routing
• Call recording
• Call analytics 
• Auto attendants 
• Conference call solutions 
• 24/7 customer support 
• Team collaboration tools 
• Free local and toll-free numbers
• SMS messaging 
• Voicemail-to-email transcription

Every Nextiva plan offers unlimited calling and exceptional customer support. As a result, combining Nextiva’s PoE-enabled phone devices with your VoIP phone service is an easy way to quickly improve your communications system.

Picture this: A customer hangs up after getting a busy signal calling your sales phone number.

Scary, thought, isn’t it? That’s what you risk with a traditional phone setup that relies on analog phone lines.

These days, small businesses depend on a reliable and cost-effective approach to business communications. You shouldn’t limit your success by as far as landline copper wires can reach.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is at least comparable to the telephone lines of the past but with dozens of advanced calling features.

As you weigh your options between PSTN vs. VoIP, we’ll make the case for both types of phone systems and technologies. But there are a few cases when PSTN beats out voice over IP.

New to VoIP? Check out our definitive guide to VoIP — it’s beginner-friendly!

But first, let’s tackle the acronyms.

Phone System Acronyms

Let’s navigate the alphabet soup – PSTN, VoIP, PBX, POTS, and SIP and give you a quick primer on them.

PSTN

PSTN is short for Public Switched Telephone Network and describes the physical network of dedicated lines connecting telephones globally. These phone lines transmit your voice data in analog format, allowing you to reach any other user on the network with their phone number. When referring to PSTN, it means you can dial anyone across the public telephone network consisting of area codes, switching centers, and various exchanges. The emphasis here is on the network established between telecom providers.

POTS

POTS stands for Plain Old Telephone Service, which is an informal alias for PSTN technology. It emphasizes the fundamental nature of traditional landline telephony, relying on dedicated copper wires and basic voice calls.

POTS lines refer to the actual technology consisting of analog wiring that runs from your building to a local central office. These voice signals traverse over various switches and network terminals to reach the PSTN.

PBX

PBX means Private Branch Exchange and is how a company establishes phone service for multiple users within an organization. PBXs can operate on a PSTN system or VoIP phone system.

Traditional on-premises PBX systems require a significant level of telecom expertise to manage, but VoIP flavors are much easier to set up and manage. Speaking of VoIP …

VoIP

VoIP is short for Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP means that voice signals are sent over an internet connection through a business phone service provider rather than through analog-based phone lines.

SIP

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is the technical foundation of Voice over IP. A lot of real-time communication apps use this technology for high-quality audio, video, and messaging.

Most commonly, SIP is used for SIP trunking, which is like a bulk set of VoIP lines often used for call centers.

PSTN vs. VoIP Differences

If you’re thinking of switching to a new business phone service, you should know some key differences between VoIP vs. PSTN.

PSTN

PSTN refers to the traditional landline phone networks that have been around for decades. PSTN uses analog signals transmitted over copper wires to make phone calls. The telecommunications system relies on dedicated circuits being opened between exchanges to connect your call to the other person — hence long-distance charges.

In addition to this, it’s important to note that the PSTN uses a variety of signaling techniques to manage the calls:

• Dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF): Used by touch-tone telephones where each key press sends a specific sound frequency. This system replaced older pulse dialing used by rotary phones.
  
• In-band Signaling: Early signaling method where the signals (like dial tones and busy signals) are carried over the same path as the voice. This was susceptible to interference and fraud.
  
• Out-of-Band Signaling (Common Channel Signaling): Modern method where signaling (call setup and control information) travels on a separate digital channel, not through the voice channels. SS7 (Signaling System #7) is the standard set of protocols used globally, allowing more efficient and secure management of calls and services like caller ID and call forwarding.

How PSTN Works

To fully understand how the PSTN works, we need to break down its components and also the process involved in establishing a phone call. 

Key Components of the PSTN:

• Telephone Lines: Copper wires that connect homes and businesses to the local exchange. These are also known as ‘subscriber lines’ or ‘local loops’.

• Exchanges: Facilities that house switching equipment to connect calls locally or route them to long-distance services. These can be small for rural areas or massive buildings in cities.

• Trunks: Larger capacity lines that connect exchanges to each other. Unlike the local loops, trunks carry multiple calls simultaneously using multiplexing techniques.

• Switches: Devices at exchanges that connect incoming calls from one line to another, enabling communication between two endpoints. Originally mechanical, modern switches are digital.

• Signaling Systems: Methods used to communicate information necessary to set up and manage telephone calls.

Call Setup Process in PSTN:

Initiating a call:

• The caller lifts the handset, which sends a signal to the local exchange.
  
• The exchange provides a dial tone, indicating readiness to receive the dialing input.
  
• The caller enters the destination number using DTMF tones.

Routing the call:

• The local exchange processes the received number and determines the route for the call through the network of switches and trunks.
  
• If the call is local, it might only pass through one or a few switches. For long-distance calls, the routing becomes more complex and may involve several exchanges and trunks.

Sending the ring signal:

• Once the route to the destination is established, the exchange sends a ring signal to the receiver’s phone and a ringback tone to the caller, indicating that the call is being connected.
  
• The receiving phone rings until the call is answered or disconnected.

Establishing call connection:

• When the receiver picks up the handset, the circuit between the two phones is completed, allowing voice signals to flow through the network.
  
• This connection is maintained as an open circuit for the duration of the call, with voice converted to electrical signals via the microphone, transmitted across the network, and converted back to sound at the receiver’s handset.

Disconnecting the call:

• Once the conversation is over, hanging up the handset at either end disconnects the call.
• This signals the exchange to disconnect the circuit and release the network resources.

The PSTN’s analog nature and dedicated circuit for each call provide a very reliable and high-quality voice transmission but lack the flexibility and scalability of more modern technologies like VoIP. The transition to digital has been driven by the need for more efficient use of the network and broader service capabilities.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

VoIP is a better phone service technology that works using the Internet. With VoIP, your voice is converted into digital data packets that are transmitted over the Internet, similar to how emails or downloading files work. Since the data packets take different pathways through the Internet, no dedicated circuits are kept open.

VoIP Protocols

• Session Initiation Protocol (SIP): The most commonly used protocol for initiating, maintaining, and terminating real-time sessions that include voice, video, and messaging applications.

• Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP): Carries the actual stream of digital voice data (and sometimes video) in packets across the network.

• Real-Time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP): Works alongside RTP to provide control and quality feedback for the data delivery.

How VoIP Works

VoIP involves several key components and processes to effectively convert, transmit, and reconstruct voice communications over IP-based networks.

Key Components of VoIP:

• IP Phones or Softphones: These can be physical devices similar to traditional telephones or software-based phones that run on personal devices like computers or smartphones.

• VoIP Servers: Typically manage calls within the network, handling functions such as call routing, voicemail, and connectivity with traditional phone networks.

• Media Gateway: Converts data between different formats or networks, such as converting VoIP calls to a format suitable for the PSTN.

• Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Servers: Facilitate the setup and teardown of VoIP calls, handling signaling and control for initiating, maintaining, and terminating communication sessions.

• Routers and Switches: Network devices that manage traffic within VoIP networks, ensuring data packets are sent to the correct destination.

VoIP Call Process:

Initiating the call:

• A user initiates a call through a SIP invitation from a SIP client (softphone or IP phone).
• The SIP server processes the invitation and sends a request to locate the recipient of the call across the network.

Signal setup process:

• SIP messages are exchanged between the initiating and receiving SIP clients to negotiate session parameters using SDP (Session Description Protocol) contained within the SIP messages.
• These parameters include codec selection (e.g., G.711, G.729), which determines the method of compressing and decompressing the voice data.

Transmitting voice data:

• Once the session parameters are agreed upon and the call is accepted, RTP packets begin to flow between devices. 
• Each packet contains a portion of the encoded audio data, packet sequence information, timestamp, and payload type. 

Reception and reconstruction of voice data:

• At the receiving end, RTP packets are decoded back into a voice signal that can be heard by the receiver.
• Packets may arrive at different times or out of order. However, the receiving device uses sequence information and timestamps to reorder packets and smooth out delays, ensuring a coherent conversation.

The RTCP monitors delivery statistics and network conditions, such as packet loss and jitter. This information can be used to adjust the quality of the service dynamically. For instance, switching to a lower bitrate codec during periods of high network congestion to reduce bandwidth usage. 

The main advantage of VoIP is that it allows making phone calls using any IP address rather than needing a landline. VoIP also tends to have lower costs compared to traditional landline services. The sound quality can be lower than landlines in some cases, but VoIP call quality keeps improving.

VoIP vs. PSTN Comparison

Function	VoIP	PSTN
Technology	Digital – transports calls over the internet	Analog – transports calls over copper phone lines
Cost	Lower monthly fees typically	Higher monthly fees typically
Hardware	Requires IP phones or adapter	Uses traditional landline phones
Flexibility	Easy to add numbers and lines	Adding new lines requires new wiring
Reliability	Dependent on internet connection	Very reliable, dedicated circuits
Maintenance	Primarily software updates and network management.	Requires physical maintenance of lines and hardware.
Features	Advanced features like video calls, call routing, virtual numbers, conference calling, etc.	Basic features like call forwarding, caller ID.
Integration	Seamless integration with CRM systems, email, voicemail to email, etc.	Minimal integration with other digital services.
Mobility	High mobility; users can access their phone system from anywhere with an internet connection.	Limited to physical locations connected by wiring.
Network Management	The user or provider can manage, allowing more control over system configuration and customization.	Managed by service providers with little control by users.
Business Scalability	Dynamic configuration options accommodate business changes, including remote work setups.	Static and limited adjustment to business growth or downsizing.

🗞️Case Study: Media Publisher Thrives with Flexible Phone System 👇

VoIP & PSTN Limitations

PSTN limitations

Here are some of the common issues with PSTN that compel business owners to move on from traditional phone lines.

Infrastructure Dependency

PSTN relies heavily on physical infrastructure that includes copper lines, telephone poles, and exchange centers, which can be susceptible to damage from natural disasters and aging. This infrastructure requires regular maintenance, which adds to its operational costs. 

Additionally, expanding service or adding new lines requires physical construction that can be both costly and time-consuming, making it less adaptable to rapid changes or business growth.

Cost Considerations

Operating a PSTN system incurs higher costs due to the need for ongoing maintenance and repairs of its extensive physical network. Moreover, the charges for long-distance and international calls are typically higher with PSTN compared to VoIP. These costs can accumulate significantly for businesses that require frequent international communication, making PSTN an expensive option in the globalized market.

Scalability Issues

Scaling up a PSTN system can pose logistical challenges and often requires significant financial support. Adding additional lines and hardware involves not just cost but also considerable effort, which can hinder a business’s ability to adapt quickly to changing demands.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the limitations of a Voice over IP system.

VoIP limitations

When researching VoIP technology, there are a few concerns that you want to plan around. In most cases, most businesses are unaffected by these — we’ll share solutions below.

• Reliability issues: VoIP call quality and functionality depend on a high-speed internet connection. Slow internet speeds or high traffic volumes can cause lag, jitter, or call drops. Power outages will cause the hosted VoIP phone system to go down unless proper battery backups are connected.
  
  ✅ Solution: Test your internet connection for VoIP call capacity and set up redundant battery backups on critical systems.
  
• Emergency call limitations: VoIP users must register their location so 911 operators can identify their address. Without registration, operators may be unable to pinpoint the caller’s location. In a power outage, VoIP users typically cannot make emergency calls unless using a softphone installed on their mobile device.
  
  ✅ Solution: Update the actual physical address (E911) of each user on your VoIP phone system. Recommend users download the free VoIP app that works on Wi-Fi and cellular connections.
  
• Legacy hardware challenges: Using VoIP requires new IP phone hardware or adapters for analog phones. Installation and setup take some time across an office. As a cloud-based system, VoIP relies on servers rather than direct copper wiring. This transition could mean replacing old telephony equipment.
  
  ✅ Solution: Retire analog phone equipment that no longer meets business needs, such as fax machines. Set up the equivalent of cloud communication, such as online faxing.

Comparing VoIP vs. POTS Lines

Function	VoIP	POTS
Connectivity	Uses data networks, no new infrastructure needed	Requires dedicated voice network with special techs
Call Capacity	Low bandwidth needs, burstable	Reserved bandwidth per call, costly to upgrade
Remote Extensions	Easy software additions	Physical lines required
Resilience	Forwards calls on power outage	Stays active in power outage
Call Management	Includes call waiting, forwarding, transfer	Add-ons cost extra fees
Emergency Calls	Not location traceable	Location traceable
Pricing	VoIP is often priced per user monthly. Many advanced features are included in one fee.	POTS is often priced per line monthly with additional fees for long-distance or other calling features.

POTS uses dedicated infrastructure, so it has high resilience and emergency call traceability. But upgrades require new analog lines and hardware, which is costly as the business grows.

VoIP also enables value-added features like auto-attendants, voicemail-to-email, and softphones. Upgrading is a lower cost since it leverages your existing data network.

20 Popular VoIP Phone System Features

• Audio conferencing – Host large conference calls with many participants with your same VoIP provider
• Auto-attendant – Customizable automatic voice greetings that route calls to correct people and departments
• Call analytics – Advanced analytics on the number of calls, durations, missed calls, and more
• Call forwarding – Direct calls to your cell phone, another phone number, or a voicemail box automatically based on business owners or your availability.
• Call pulling – Switch phone devices on the fly, such as a desk phone and your mobile phone.
• Call queuing – Manage calls so incoming calls wait in line to be answered
• Call recording – Record inbound and outbound calls for quality assurance
• Call rejection – Block incoming calls if they don’t disclose their caller ID
• Group calling – Seamlessly connect multiple people/offices on a single call
• On-hold music – Upload your own audio files instead of default hold music
• Presence detection – See if colleagues are available, busy, away, and more
• Softphones – Make and receive calls on computers and mobile devices
• Team messaging – Real-time text chat integrated with the phone system
• Text messaging – Send and receive SMS or MMS text messages from your VoIP line
• Toll-free phone numbers – Get a trusted toll-free number (800, 866, 888) and pay pennies per minute for incoming calls. 
• Unlimited calling – No per-minute fees for domestic or international calls
• Video conferencing – Meet with team members and clients over HD video conferencing
• Virtual phone numbers – Set up a virtual phone number in any area code desired, regardless of your physical location
• Voicemail transcription – Convert voicemails into text for reading inside your email or text messages

The Bottom Line on PSTN vs. VoIP

While PSTN has its place for some use cases where internet access is limited or legacy telecom installations prevent an upgrade, the best option for businesses is VoIP phone service.

VoIP beats PSTN in every category:

• Scalability: Easily add or adjust the number of lines or users whenever your business needs.
• Advanced calling features: Access dozens of calling features your team needs to help customers, collaborate, and outmaneuver competitors.
• Emergency services: Have confidence that you can dial 911 accurately with E911 capabilities.
• Redundant internet service: Reliable broadband is the norm, and even if you lose service, cellular (4G/5G) has you covered.

Change can be hard, but resisting change is even harder. 

Go easy on yourself and choose a reputable business VoIP provider. See why over 150,000 businesses choose Nextiva for their company’s phone service. Get a customized quote today!