Great telephonic customer experience is the key factor in either converting a caller into a repeat customer or one that will never return again. Ensuring that you have a good telephone system for your business, therefore, is imperative. You may want to know what entails a good telephone system. It’s easy! State of the art telephone systems have pristine audibility and capture every call that is vital to your business. Callers’ expectations are well managed as they wait to be tended to and they are promptly channeled to the person they are trying to reach. Added to this, a good telephone system will enhance internal communications within your company with your employees.
We have searched high and low for a telephone system in the market that works at its optimum best with features that will enhance both your business’ efficiency and customer experience.
Quality Phone Systems for your Business
When considering the best phone system for your business, the choice is endless. Below is a list of some of the market’s best phone systems for your business:
- 8×8 X Series
- RingCentral Office
- 4Com HiHi
- BT One Phone
- Berry Technologies Cloud Phone System
- Mitel MiCloud Connect
- Lily Cloud
If you are wondering what they hype around these phone systems are, then carry on reading to get their individual reviews which will include how much they cost, what their specifications are and so on.
8×8 X Series
8×8, a company that has won industry accolades introduced the X Series. It is an all-encompassing phone system that has been tailored primarily for small to medium businesses. With High Definition audio quality, the technologically advanced phone system uses the cloud in order to function which allows for mobility of employees and remote operations. The X Series also has advanced desktop and mobile apps that can enable any device to become a phone for your business.
X Series Review
Advantages:
The premium plans allow your business to reach a number of countries outside of England making it perfect for international trade
Provides a free trial of a substantial period of time (30-days)
Has among the most affordable lowest rates on of all the other systems
Disadvantages:
Premium plans can come at a high cost for small enterprises
8×8 X Series: What you need to know
The 8×8 X Series is a cloud-based VoIP that has unlimited inclusive minutes per user. It allows for your business to reach up to 47 countries (as much as your price plan will allow) and gives small businesses a 30-day free trial. The 8×8 X Series costs between 8 – 90 Pounds per month for each user.
Features
The kind of features that you get per plan are completely reliant on the amount of money that you pay, however, there are standard features that are present on all X Series plans. These are as follows:
- Voicemail
- Auto-attendant
- Click-to-dial
- Apps for both desktops and mobile phones
- Instant messaging (for quick internal communications)
- High Definition video conferencing
- G Suite and Office 365 integrating capabilities
A cut above the X Series X2 plan that accommodates 20 Pound (per person, per month) budget of a small enterprise allows you to include call analytics, call recording, call queues, hold music, voicemail transcripts as well as integration with Outlook, NetSuite, Saleforce and Zendesk.
RingCentral
Considered the leader in cloud communications provider, RingCentral provides affordable and adaptable business telephone system packages. A RingCentral frontrunner, RingCentral Office is a cloud-based VoIP phone system suitable for small enterprises. It is simple to install and expand RingCentral Office where the need arises as you can get free training and implementation as well as customer service line that is always available day or night.
RingCentral Review
Advantages:
Ease of adaptability to a varied number of business software programs for more efficient operations
Has among the most affordable lowest rates on of all the other systems, with the most expensive plan being budget friendly for a small business
Disadvantages:
Limits your minutes as opposed to other phone systems
RingCentral: What you need to know
It is a cloud-based VoIP phone system that for your business that includes anywhere from 100 – 4000 minutes per user as determined by the selected price plan. RingCentral Office offers a 14-day free trial.
Features
There are standard RingCentral features that cut across all of its price plans. There are as follows:
- Apps available for both desktop and mobile phones
- Instant messaging, chat facilities and file sharing through a Glip collaboration tool
- Call recording
- Microsoft, Google, Box and Dropbox integration
- Voicemail-to-email
- Call logs
If you increase your RingCentral payments for each user, you will get added features such as call monitoring, call analytics, video conferencing, IVR, internet fax, Salesforce, Zendesk and Desk.com integration facilities and so on.
4Com HiHi
Considered the world’s most instinctive telephonic device, the HiHi is a thing of beauty. Complete with a wide touchscreen that is detachable and can be used as a tablet for the employee on the move, the HiHi allows users to save files and is customizable with apps best suited to your business.
You may think that the HiHi looks way too expensive for your small business but thanks to 4Com’s cost cutting ways that allow you to pay for the device using the amount deducted from the business phone system cost saving methods, you can pay for the HiHi device at a value less than the norm.
4Com Review
Advantages:
It has an aesthetic appeal with a tablet interface that comes in a range of colors for your using pleasure
The fault reporting system is simple and can be done day or night
Disadvantages:
There are grey areas when it comes to pricing and the allocation on minutes, meaning that you may have to consult 4Com for further explanation
4Com HiHi: What you need to know
The HiHi is a cloud-based VoIP business phone system. Its minutes and free trial period are undeterminable however and you will need to contact the company for a quote.
Features
With the HiHi business phone system you can get the following:
- HiHi Connect and HiHi There mobile apps
- Video conferencing
- Call reporting
- Call recording
- On-Hold marketing
- Plug-and-play scaling to make expansion simple
- OTA software updates
Berry Technologies Cloud Phone System
Boasting over 16, 000 users of the phone system, the industry accolade winning Berry Technologies takes pleasure in providing tailored customer service coupled with a team of account managers, quick tech support (opposed to a number of telecommunications companies) as well as support line that is reachable day and night.
Berry is completely adaptable and has an office phone system tailored to your business needs. Considering Berry’s unparalleled customer orientation, its suitability as a cloud-based office phone system for small enterprises goes without saying.
Berry Review
Advantages:
Highly tailored to your business as you can select your desired features
You get an account manager exclusively dedicated to your needs, round the clock telephonic support and technical assistance with a fast turnaround time
Disadvantages:
There are grey areas when it comes to pricing and the allocation on minutes, meaning that you may have to consult Berry Technologies for further explanation
Berry Technologies Cloud Phone System: what you need to know
The Berry is a cloud-based VoIP business phone system. Its minutes and free trial period are undeterminable however and you will need to contact the company for a quote.
Features
Berry provides an array of phone system features that allow you to design a custom-made system that encompasses all the capabilities that are best suited to your business and its needs.
These features are:
- Auto-attendant
- Hunt groups, pick up groups and paging groups
- Call recording and live monitoring
- Voicemail to email
- Hold music
- Instant messaging
- Conferencing plus screen sharing and video
- Integration with Lync and Skype for Business
- Hot desking
- Mobil phone pairing
- Call reporting and analytics
- Call center capabilities
BT One Phone
Selecting BT’s number one phone system is no simple task. The communications giant has a number of outstanding – yet dissimilar systems for your business and any small business. These range from cloud-based VoIP to on-premises PBX (and on-premises VoIP for a holistic experience). The BT One Phone is however our focus for today. With the use of SIM cards, mobile apps and an online portal, BT One Phone transforms the cellphones of your employees into business phone systems which is vital for making sure that even the most remote or non-grounded employee is always reachable.
BT One Phone Review
Advantages:
Ideal for remote or on-the-move business operations
Does not need new handsets but allows for desk phones to be added to the system if needed
BT is a pioneering and bankable name in telecommunications
Disadvantages:
It is more costly than many of the other business phone systems
BT One Phone: what you need to know
It is a cloud-based VoIP business phone system.
Features
With BT’s assurance, the One Phone system offers small businesses 250 features and more. The most noteworthy of all these features are:
- A portal online that helps you route calls
- Call and data usage real-time reporting
- International roaming capabilities
- Mobile intranet for office use
- Obtain WIFI from over 5 million hotspots
- 4G and WIFI calling capabilities in the absence of mobile network
Mitel MiCloud Connect
Renowned as the best system for small businesses, Mitel MiCloud Connect adapts to any office set up with great affordability. It comes in three packages but what’s great with the Mitel MiCloud Connect is that it enables you to pick and choose your desired features from any of the available plans. For instance, if a large number of your employees would much rather opt for the Essentials plan with only a few opting for the integrated Elite plan, the company will permit for payment to be made for the packages selected according to the quantities selected. This kind of personalized offering is one that will most certainly attract a growing company.
Mitel Review
Advantages:
Highly personalized offering, giving you the ability to choose features across plans
Prices are budget friendly for a small business
Disadvantages:
High restrictions on the most affordable of its plans permitting only 8 users to utilize the video and audio conference facilities and no more than four online conference facilities
Mitel MiCloud Connect: What you need to know
Mitel is a cloud-based VoIP business phone system.
Features
The Essentials:
- Conferencing capabilities for audio, video and online facilities
- Instant messaging
- Softphone capabilities
- Mobile apps
- Outlook, G Suite, and Connect Telephony for Microsoft integration
- SMS capabilities for businesses as well as Mitel Teamwork
- A portal for admin
If you upgrade to Premium, you will get Salesforce CRM integration, voicemail transcription as well as the popular call recording. Elite on the other hand comes with all the above mentioned as well as always-on recording, archiving and a function for an operator.
Suffice it to say, Mitel ensures more audio, video and web conference participants with the amount that you pay.
Lily Cloud
A product of Lily Comms, Lily Cloud has a smart offering that is tailored to what you ordered. It has popular features and same-day provisioning plus it affords you the ability to select users efficiently which is ideal for the unpredictable circumstances that small businesses operate under. We can confidently assure you that the support offered by Lily Comms is outstanding as well, with round the clock support and an account manager assigned exclusively to you.
Lily Comms Review
Advantages:
Lily is support oriented with round the clock service and an exclusively assigned account executive
According to Lily Comms, over 80% of its new sign ups were able to save money
Disadvantages:
There are grey areas when it comes to pricing and the allocation on minutes, meaning that you may have to consult Lily Comms for further explanation
Lily Cloud: What you need to know
Lily Cloud is a cloud-based VoIP business phone system. The minutes and free trial period are undeterminable however and you will need to contact the company for a quote.
Features
There are a number of office phone system features offered by Lily Cloud. These are:
- Auto-attendant
- Call recording
- Personalized messages
- Custom hold music
- Softphone capabilities
- Online and mobile app accessibility
You also have the option to incorporate Collaborate with your office phone system, a communications platform from Lily Cloud. By so doing, you will unlock teamwork enabling features such as:
- Audio and video conferencing
- Web collaboration
- Instant messaging
- Integration with Outlook
- Presence
Next steps
It is important to get a phone system that will best suite your business. The constraints in resources such as space mean that big, noisy and expensive landlines cannot be stored. The systems featured by this guide therefore mean that small business can have a more practical alternative. If you have your phone system stored outside of the business which could be in the cloud, then you can minimize your on-set payment in order to be able to pay for a personalized plan that will suit your business’ needs.
Given the myriad of office phone systems and the terminology used where the matter is concerned, finding a good starting point can prove monumental. It is for this reason therefore that we want you to remove the clutter of chitter chatter so that you can efficiently settle on an office phone system that is just right.
To do this, we have compiled a list of questions that you may have and solutions to them.
FAQs
What phone can be considered the best for home offices?
Any and every one of the office phone systems that are mentioned in this guide are good phones for your home business. It ultimately boils down to your needs and desires. The best part about a home office device is that you can also use it for personal calls as well. We have a range of cordless models that will allow for mobility around your home while on the phone.
How much are office phone systems normally charged?
There is no definite answer to this question. The reason being that the amount that you pay is determined by several factors which are; your preferred supplier, your business size, you desired office phone system, your selected features and so on.
What is the difference between the traditional PBX and VoIP?
To cut the story short, a PBX system enables a user to make and receive calls the traditional way, which is through a landline. A VoIP system on the other hand enables communication through the internet.
While users are able to receive multiple calls at once when using both the PBX and VoIP systems, the PBX relies on an on-site digital switchboard to direct incoming calls to various devices in the business, whereas the VoIP system utilizes, and server based in the cloud.
Traditional PBX phone system
The PBX phone system is best suited for small enterprises with a small number of employees. What is needed is the main phone line coming in and several devices connected to it to enable ease of answering incoming calls from anywhere in the office. This is ideal for a company that receives a substantial number of calls on any given day.
With a PBX phone system, your traditional phone line can be transformed into a system with multiple lines through having extensions added to each device. The PBX auto attendant exists to route each incoming call to the intended extension, thus ensuring the main line is not too busy and always available.
While PBX phone system features are considered basic as opposed to those of the VoIP, users can still control incoming and outgoing call, make call transfers and manage voicemail and extensions.
The best part about the traditional PBX system is that a large number of suppliers allow you to design your own IP PBX system. By linking a landline system to the internet, you are able to make calls online and take full advantage of the VoIP functionality while also making calls the traditional way through the landline.
VoIP phone systems
The quantity of VoIP phone systems is determined by the number of users who use the system simultaneously. For instance, a company with 2 employees will need 2 systems. One with 10 employees may be given up to 7 systems and one with 100 employees will get up to 20 systems.
VoIP systems come in cloud-based and non-cloud-based versions.
One may ask what the difference is between business IP phone systems and VoIP systems. Basically, IP systems rely on a private data network to transmit conversations further. VoIP in the other hand uses a public data network for the same function. VoIP is best for those with no access to a private data network. If correctly installed, the differences are inconspicuous.
How do I know which phone system is right for my business?
These 10 questions are a good starting point for analysis when considering a phone system for your business:
- How many lines are needed?
- How many extensions are needed?
- What features would you like your system to have?
- How many line provider sockets are needed?
- If your business grows, will your phone system grow as well?
- Will your business need call forwarding to cell phones as well as integrate them into your system?
- Will you need your phone system to redirect calls to remote staff members?
- Would you like a fast data network installed? One that will also utilize wireless technology.
- Will your business need to integrate the phone system with the Information Technology used?
- Will you need Caller ID and the ability to call directly from the computer using Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)?
- How much are you willing to spend for the line rental fee?