Olivia Maier
Today we are excited to bring to you a tool that will be incredibly useful as you search between VoIP providers. No matter where you are in your VoIP search, this is a great way for you to objectively compare a variety of providers. With so many different solutions on the market, you no longer have to feel overwhelmed as you try to figure out how to make the switch to a new business phone system.
After all, no one wants to waste time switching between different solutions for months until you find the right one for your team. And even worse, no one wants to deal with phone downtime, missed calls, and confused teammates. That is why we are here to help you with this process.
We’re going to start this process off by explaining what VoIP systems are. Don’t worry, we won’t get too technical with you. Instead, we’re just going to lay out some important background information, so that everyone is on the same page as we continue our discussion.
From there, we’re going to give you a checklist of both benefits and features that your team shouldn’t be living without.
After that, we’re going to put the checklist into action as we compare some of the top VoIP providers! This comparison will include the following systems, in no particular order:
If that sounds good to you, then we can’t wait to get into it!
As we said, it can be helpful to make sure that everyone reading this article is on the same page. While you may be further along in your process, it can still be helpful to get a refresher on what VoIP phones are, and how they work.
A Virtual Phone System is an internet-based system that no longer requires old-fashioned telephone wires to be operated. Instead, these systems use the latest technology to transmit your voice over the internet.
The technology behind the phone system is where one of the key differences between traditional phones and these systems lies. Instead of relying on the antiquated phone lines, aka those copper wires that were installed decades ago, your phone is able to send and receive voice signals over the internet. The process can be broken down into a few steps:
This process is done instantaneously. There is no delay between voice signals from a VoIP system and voice signals from telephone wires. That means you won’t experience any lags in the call or awkward pauses.
This technology is not detectable to users on either end, outside of providing a crystal clear voice communication experience.
Within virtual phone systems, also known as VoIP solutions, there are both on-premise and cloud-based options available for teams to choose between. An on-premise solution means that your business would be hosting all of the necessary servers at your physical location. This can come with a lot of maintenance and overhead expenses, and is really only feasible for large enterprises with the means and space to host these bulky servers.
With a cloud-based solution, you are taking advantage of servers that your provider is hosting for you. That can help reduce associated costs, and you won’t have to worry about the logistics involved in maintaining the associated infrastructure.
While VoIP technology, in general, is a great way to take advantage of the next-generation tech, a cloud system helps you avoid the significant expenses that come with an on-premise solution.
There are so many VoIP systems that your team could choose between, but they aren’t all equal in terms of what they are able to provide your team. That is why this checklist will be a beneficial tool as you try to differentiate between systems.
We split the checklist into two components, but you will want to make sure that your potential new provider is able to check all the boxes across both checklists!
Aka, putting the checklists to use. As we mentioned earlier, we will be looking at the following providers today:
As we go forward with our comparison, we hope you get a deeper understanding of how important of a tool our checklist can be! Let’s get started looking at some of the top VoIP providers that your team may be considering.
Yodel is a robust business phone system that comes complete with advanced features. Yodel is able to check all of the boxes when we look at the benefits that your team can see. With two pricing options that are priced per user, you can easily find the savings you are looking for. Yodel is also able to check all of the boxes in terms of the features we mentioned, and it is worth especially noting the following two:
While Aircall is able to check many boxes, such as call monitoring, text messaging, virtual phone options, and increased scalability, it is important to understand the boxes they don’t check.
When you are getting started with Aircall, you are able to take advantage of their live resources making it an easy-to-configure solution. Aircall appears to be compatible with most hardware solutions, and will provide business texting. Their IVR system does not appear to be fully conversational, and instead relies on multi-level IVR routing configurations to be most effective. This may be a bit tricky to set up, and doesn’t eliminate the annoyance of listing too long menu lists.
Aircall is also consistently one of the most expensive VoIP services in the top rankings, which makes it not a great fit for many businesses. It is important to look at pricing for all solutions, but with Aircall make sure that you are really getting more with the increased pricing.
It is hard to say if CallHippo is able to check certain boxes such as reduced costs and other features. That’s because CallHippo has many features that are available as an “a la carte” add-on to your system.
This pricing model gives you a basic plan to start with, and you can add on features for additional costs. If you were to add all the features available that are on the checklist, you still would be missing out on features such as Voice IVR. Adding on all the features will also make it one of the pricier options available, and therefore is not a great solution when compared to our checklist.
We hope that you have been able to learn everything that you need to know to make an informed decision about the best VoIP system for you to take advantage of. You should feel ready to tackle the virtual phone system search, and find the perfect solution for your team. When you do, make sure that your phone system has all of the benefits and features that our checklists laid out for you, as that will help you find a robust and comprehensive solution.
If you are ready to get started today, then be sure to check out Yodel’s free 14-day trial. You can take advantage of our demo call or live webinar to get started, so you can make sure you are starting on the right foot. Check it out today!
