Today, we are going to talk about one of the most talked about companies on the internet today 🥁.
You may have already guessed it from the title of this blog—but a little drama is important too.
So yes, we’re talking about RingCentral in this blog.
It is a cloud-based communications company that offers unlimited calling, team messaging, enhanced business SMS, toll-free business lines, and document sharing throughout the United States and Canada.
Let’s first talk about how RingCentral really works
RingCentral uses the cloud to facilitate simple access to cutting-edge team communication solutions.
That’s pretty much how most similar companies work, right?
There’s also a bonus: when you use RingCentral, your company gains access to RingCentral University resources, 24/7 RingCentral customer service, and a comprehensive product knowledge base.
Now that’s cool!
What does RingCentral offer?
With a more organized approach to company communication, RingCentral’s VoIP services assist in replacing conventional landline telephone technologies. RingCentral VoIP is a component of a safe and dependable virtual phone service that also uses cloud PBX options.
In addition to conventional voice phone calls, RingCentral also provides organizations with online meetings, SMS, group messaging, and sophisticated call management features. The company provides a comprehensive cloud communications platform without the use of costly wires and infrastructure. Computers, laptops, and mobile phones that can connect to the internet are all you require.
Specific RingCentral products include:
- RingCentral MVP: Includes messaging, video, and phone services
- RingCentral Video: Includes free video meetings and messaging
- Contact Center: Handles inbound and outbound communication
Moving towards RingCentral features
Let’s take a look at some of the prominent features offered by RingCentral below.
1. Cloud PBX
A cloud PBX system is built on cloud technology, which dispenses with the requirement for on-site PBX hardware to store and transfer data over the internet.
Let’s take a look at what this feature details
- Provides a list of the employee’s names: All employees’ voice directories are available for self-service phoning.
- Admin templates: Batch setups can be created and applied to several users at once.
- Hosting PBX: The requirement for local PBX hardware was eliminated by hosted telephony infrastructure.
- Interactive Voice Response with Multiple Levels IVR: This is a phone menu that enables speech and keyboard interaction from callers.
- Call logs: Analysis of previous calls and trending indicators.
2. Call Management
Individual phone system configurations.
- Rules for answering: Having the option to enter rules that will forward calls to the main number or other extensions in case of absence
- Call park: The ability to place calls on hold and then access them from any phone in the system.
- Alert messages: Get voice and fax message notifications by SMS and email.
- Recording calls: Calls are automatically recorded, both incoming and outgoing
- Call filtering: Ability to voicemail calls or block specific numbers from calling.
3. VoIP system collaboration
Using a cloud phone system to collaborate with others.
- Visual conference: Internal video conferencing features.
- Screen sharing via video: On video conference calls, users can share their displays with other attendees.
- Voice conferencing: Employees can conduct voice calls.
- Instant communication: Through an instant messaging or chat facility, users can chat with each other or with other users in a group.
4. Compatible apps
Apps are compatible with mobile devices.
- iOS
- Android
Pros
Depending on their requirements, VoIP clients may find RingCentral to be a great alternative. The following are some benefits of selecting this brand:
Easy setup. RingCentral provides a wizard-based configuration alternative if you are unfamiliar with configuring a cloud-based voice-over-internet-protocol solution. RingCentral is one of the simplest VoIP service alternatives to learn and manage, according to both customers and reviewers. After signing up, you can use the service right away.
There is no upper-user limit. RingCentral enables you to share account access with hundreds of people without the need to set up several separate accounts, in contrast to other rivals who could place a cap on the number of prospective users.
Free meeting resources. Not all service options require an upfront purchase. For instance, RingCentral offers free, limitless team texting and video meeting features. This is a very competitive benefit; other service alternatives may offer free video messaging features with stringent restrictions to entice users to sign up for a premium service agreement.
Highly scalable. RingCentral may initially target small businesses with its service. However, a brief glance at its solution menu reveals that its services are appropriate for a range of commercial endeavors. As your business expands, you can improve.
Remote-friendly. RingCentral provides cloud-based solutions that enable teams to communicate from any location. As a result of the pandemic, many workers started working remotely. As a result of the pandemic, many workers started working remotely. For the flawless operation of phone and video conferences, RingCentral offers its users high-definition audio and video.
Integration. Customers and reliable review sites routinely express their happiness with the range of integrations that RingCentral offers. Popular corporate programs like Slack, Google Workspace, and Salesforce are easy to connect to the platform.
24/7 customer assistance. RingCentral provides live chat support services around the clock. If a customer is outside the United States, they can also call the company via a number that is specific to their country.
Cons
While there are advantages to using RingCentral, some drawbacks can cause prospective clients to think twice, for example:
Possible flaws in the setup. While the wizard may be fantastic for people who have never launched a VoIP service, anyone hoping for a more complex and advanced user experience may be let down. They can also think the features offered by the service are too few.
Contracts may not meet expectations. Long-term contracts may result in cost savings, but they are not suitable for everyone. The problem is that some customers allege that it’s difficult to get out of their RingCentral contracts and that the company forced them into lengthy agreements even if it wasn’t what they wanted.
Potential call quality or RingCentral customer service issues. Some companies reported call drops. One business reported that following their affiliation with RingCentral, landline users were unable to call them.
RingCentral customer service problems. Although RingCentral does give users the option to contact customer support through chat, phone, or by creating a case number, numerous reviews complain that the available support is insufficient. It is important to note that RingCentral includes customer support access in its service plans; however, the quality of the support offered may vary depending on the service tier.
Finally, the advantages and disadvantages will differ based on the size, spending capacity, and service requirements of your business. You should think carefully about the features you want from a VoIP service and whether RingCentral provides them.
RingCentral Pricing
The four business phone service tiers offered by RingCentral are Essentials, Standard, Premium, and Ultimate. Each plan is charged per month per user, though there may be a discount available if you want to purchase an annual subscription or a plan with 100 or more members.
The majority of RingCentral’s services are available for a 14-day trial period, but you must first register and complete the checkout process. Please be aware that the free trial does not include SMS. Additionally, the free trial is limited to five individuals.
- Essentials: Unlimited calls within the US and Canada; business or toll-free number and toll-free minutes; enhanced business SMS; voicemail-to-text, voicemail-to-email, and visual voicemail; team messaging; document sharing; high definition voice calls; call management and phone system administration; and call log reports. Starts at $19.99 per user per month paid annually or $32.99 paid monthly.
- Standard: Everything in Essentials; the ability to add Video Pro and Video Pro+ users; unlimited internet fax; unlimited audio conferencing; video meetings with up to 100 participants; high definition video; multi-level audio attendants; quality of service reports; access to integrations such as Slack, Google Workplace, and Microsoft 365; professional implementation; and on-demand call recording. As low as $27.99 per user per month paid annually or $40.99 paid monthly.
- Premium: Everything in Essentials and Standard; video meetings with up to 200 participants; automatic call recording; single sign-on (SSO); hot desking; multi-site admin and management; up to eight-digit extensions with site codes; real-time analytics; advanced call handling options; CRM integrations such as Salesforce and Zendesk; industry-specific integrations, including Canva; and the ability to develop custom integrations. As little as $47.99 per user per month when paid annually, or $34.99 when paid monthly.
- Ultimate: Everything in the other tiers plus device status reports, status alerts, and unlimited storage. As low as $49.99 per user per month paid annually or $62.99 paid monthly.
RingCentral support for remote workers
Through its desktop app for Windows and Mac and mobile app for Android and iOS, RingCentral enables organizations to support their remote staff. You can operate a remote and hybrid-friendly system with the help of these tools. No matter where your staff is, hold conference calls or video meetings with them. RingCentral enables businesses to share screens and crucial documents without employees having to physically visit the office.
How safe is RingCentral?
RingCentral has professionals monitoring and optimizing the platform around the clock to ensure service remains at the highest level possible, with a 99.999% uptime SLA. RingCentral uses seven levels of security and redundant data centers to assure user protection and high availability. To effectively protect you against system failure caused by operational faults, cybercrime, and natural catastrophes, RingCentral additionally makes use of geographically scattered data centers and strict security procedures.
Alternative to RingCentral
Chanty
We are building a platform for team collaboration and communication for teams of all sizes.
It helps improve overall productivity by 55% with its intuitive and easy-to-use interface. The best part about Chanty is that it is much cheaper in price than Ring Central and offers the same (and some more) features.
Forgive us for being biased (but also honest); Chanty is among the best collaboration tools to use. The teambook and kanban board views are a blessing to use given the clutter of tasks and deadlines that employees have to face.
Everything on Chanty seems like a simple click away with its multiple integrations and seamless process.
From the quality of voice and audio calls, voice messages, file storage, screen sharing, unlimited searchable message history, built-in task management, having multi-conversation guests, to a dedicated support line, it all seems to fall into place when you use Chanty.
So our favorite alternative is definitely Chanty. What about you?
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