Are you in need of the top notch cloud phone systems for remote teams?.
Today, people no longer need to meet physically to work as remote jobs where you sit at the comfort of your home is now the thing. In situations like this, having a cloud-based phone system is a good option when your employees work from home or remotely.
But choosing the best cloud phone system isn’t just a walk in the park, as making bad decisions could negatively impact our business and customers.
However, we will be comparing the best-cloud system including their features, pro, and cons in this article.
Table of Contents
What is a Cloud Phone System?
A cloud-based phone system which could also be referred to as a cloud phone, is a phone service that enables businesses to make calls over the internet unlike the regular traditional analog phone. They can also be hosted in one or more offsite secure data centers.
The good thing about the cloud phone is that your employees can receive calls from anywhere without having to physically connect since it makes use of the Internet.
The cloud phone system is something that every remote team needs and should have.
It is better than giving out their personal phone number to receive business calls when they can receive calls via a virtual business phone number app on their phone.
That being said, let’s now look at the top cloud phone systems for remote teams.
1. Nextiva
Nextiva is one of the best Cloud phone systems that is very easy to make use of and very ideal for remote teams. Nextiva provides you with all the features and functionality needed for your business communications.
Some of this amazing features includes;
- Unlimited free domestic calls
- Advanced call routing
- Voicemail to emails and text
- SMS messages
- Auto attendant
- Online faxing
It has a very easy to use and manage web-based admin panel. It offers you with;
- Free local or toll-free number,
- Toll-free number
- Free number porting etc.
Some of its features are, Caller ID, call forwarding, custom greetings, auto-attendant, Advanced IVR and lots more.
If you are within the US and Canada, you will be able to have unlimited VoIP calling with Nextiva.
It also provides some additional powerful features that integrate with your phone system.
These features includes;
- A fully-featured CRM and,
- Live Chat.
Nextiva also has online surveys and call analytics. The voice analytics software offers you with real-time insights on the activities carried out across your organization using the phone. With this, you are able to monitor call volumes and detect potential problems.
Nextiva is used by Large companies, contact centers, and call centers so as to transition their existing private branch exchange (PBX) system into a powerful cloud phone system.
Nextiva can also be used with your existing deskphone or you can get IP phones for your remote team to make use of instead.
The Nextiva can be used on various platforms such as Desktop computers, Android and IOS devices.
With its ability to provide you with great call quality and connectivity via their incredibly reliable data center with zero outages, Nextiva is one of the best cloud phone systems to make use of for Business phone service.
Price: Nextiva price ranged from $19.95/user/month. The price per user differs depending on how many users you have.
2. RingCentral
This is yet another Cloud phone system for remote teams that is popularly used by a lot of organisations. Some of their outstanding features includes includes
- Unlimited Call
- Call forwarding
- Call Waiting
- Text
- Online Faxing
- Automatic call recording, etc
It also allows you to have video conferences with screen sharing, and also you to integrate with Google Workspace, Dropbox, Microsoft Office365, Salesforce and other services.
Just like Nextiva, you can also have unlimited free calls on RingCenter in the US and Canada. Your remote team members can receive calls via the RingCentral mobile or the desktop app, providing them with plenty flexibility.
It also operates as a cloud PBX, which allows incoming calls to be routed easily to the right department or extension. More extra virtual phone lines can be added if needed.
RingCentral can be used to Buy vanity phone numbers like 1-800-GoFedEx.
Price: RingCentral price ranges from $19.99/user/month, billed annually.
They also offer a free 15-day trial available. This gives you a max total of 5 users and 50 minutes of talk time per user.
3. Ooma
Ooma is a popular American based telecommunication company that develops one of the best Cloud Communication solutions for remote teams.
- Some of its features includes;
- Virtual Receptionist
- Extension Dialing
- Hold Music
- A mobile app, etc.
It allows you to have a toll-free number for free. Some toll-free calling plans are also made available so as to get more minutes of incoming toll-free calls per month.
Setting up a Cloud VoIP business phone system with Ooma is very simple and easy. It provides you with the option to retain your existing business phone number or get a new one from Ooma.
Just like Nextiva and RingCenter, Ooma can be used as a cloud PBX or hosted PBX system. Therefore calls can be easily transferred and collaboration between remote employees are made possible.
Phones can be purchased from Ooma or from a third party for team members. Alternatively, you can cut costs by creating a new line that directs to the employee’s existing phone either Android or iOS device.
Note that regardless of any phone system, your team members should have a reasonable amount of bandwidth (upload speed) for high-quality calls.
Price: Ooma price ranges from $19.95/user/month.
4. Grasshopper
Grasshopper is one of the greatest cloud phone systems especially for small businesses. With a virtual phone number that forwards calls to any phone number or mobile device.
Features of Grasshopper includes;
- Forwarding
- Routing
- Hold Music
- VOicemail to email etc.
It can be used on various platforms such as Mobile and Desktop computers for your team’s convenient use while working remotely.
With Grasshopper, you can access a US or Canadaian local or toll-free number.
Custom Greetings and other extensions can also be added and all Grasshopper’s plan has Unlimited minutes with it.
However Grasshopper has a shortcoming which is, the inability to make outgoing calls. You will need to make use of your regular phone to do that. IIn addition, grasshopper is just available within the USA and Canada.
Price: Grasshopper price ranges from $26/month, billed annually. This is only for one phone number, but extensions can be added.
5. Phone.com
This is a simple web interface and mobile application that can be used to manage your cloud office phone system. Just like all the phone system providers we have looked at in this article, Phone.com offers you lots of incredible features such as;
- Call Routing
- Caller ID
- Text Messaging
- Voicemail to email etc.
Phone.com is available in Canada and some European countries in their local call minutes. Therefore calling out to those countries is much cheaper.
More features can also be paid for such as call recording and more phone number with Phone.com
Phone.com’s cheapest plan limits you to just 300 monthly minutes and 2,000 text messages which may be sufficient for your business if it’s a small company that doesn’t make so many calls.
Price: Phone.com price ranges from $12.99/user/month.
6. Google Voice
This is a cloud phone system developed by Google itself. Having all the needed features like,
- Free calls to US and Canadian numbers
- Call forwarding
- Voicemail transcription
- Text Messaging
- Call screening etc.
You can also integrate google voice with Google Calendar Google Fi, and Google Meet
The Google voice number can also be used via your cell phones and desktop application with a dialer, allowing your employees work to be done more effectively.
They have the ability to set up their voice number to forward to their mobile phone or any other device.
Price: Google Voice is free only for personal use. It also has a business plan pricing that ranges from $10/user/month.
7. eVoice
Last but not the least we have the popular VoIP service provider called eVoice.Some of it’s features includes;
- Unlimited Calls
- Call Routing
- Custom greeting
- Call forwarding
- Conference calls
- Text Messages
- Voicemail to text etc.
This os one of the best options if your remote team is international especially in Uk, as eVoice provides a wide coverage in the UK, EU, USA, and Canada
It’s a good option if your remote team is international or based in the UK, as eVoice Price: The price ranges from $16.67/user/month (billed annually).
Which is the Best Cloud Phone System for Your Team?
Per our research, Nextiva is the best cloud phone system for remote teams, as it has a lot of advanced features and magnificent support. It can easily add remote team members and set up call forwarding rules and regulations.
It is also very easy to use, which makes it a perfect option for remote teams, when hands-on training is difficult.
In addition, Nextiva’s unified communication platform is accompanied with an in-built CMR coupled with live chat features.
The best alternative for Nextiva is RingCentral which has similar features.
Conclusion
All being said, I hope this article about the best cloud phone systems was very helpful to you and you got one or two interesting tips.
