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RingCentral Review

CW Staff

June 1, 2019

VoIP has been around for close to two decades. As such, you can expect to find a variety of good all-around services. However, it is extremely rare to come across a truly innovative and dominant service that separates themselves from the rest of an industry, specifically in regard to VoIP providers. Nevertheless, RingCentral is this rarity and has done just that. Founded in 2003, RingCentral is by far the largest VoIP service provider in the industry, as they cater to over half a million customers worldwide (300,000+ of which are businesses). Their strength and complete supremacy can be found in every aspect of their service. RingCentral delivers a wide range of useful features, quality support and stellar reliability, in addition to intuitive usability and unbeatable value for any type of customer. From individuals to large corporations, RingCentral has a quality plan for everyone.

Features

Individual users or corporations who choose RingCentral as their VoIP service provider can expect to receive a long list of technologically advanced features. In fact, RingCentral leaves no VoIP feature out of their service, and they are constantly innovating and adding new features to the lineup. As an example and one businesses will love, a stand out (and new) feature is RingCentral’s ‘Paging’ feature, which allows you to make announcements to multiple phones and paging devices. They also provide you with an option to hold HD video meetings (up to 25 people) and web conferencing. They even offer the standard “music on hold” which is excellent for businesses who take a lot of support inquiries. However, these are just a few of the bonus features you will receive with RingCentral. Some of the main features include:

• Unlimited minutes (upgraded plan)
• RingCentral app for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry
• Call transfer
• Speed dial
• Conference calling
• Toll free number
• Call blocking (block specific phone numbers)
• *69 (call return)
• e911 (enhanced 911 – assigns specific location to your virtual phone line to help emergency personnel locate you)
• Internet fax (send and receive faxes from PC, mobile device, cloud storage provider, etc.)

It is also important to note that RingCentral gives you the option of choosing your area code, and they provide you with software (in the form of a dial pad) should you want to communicate directly through the computer. Further, you can pay a little extra for a virtual phone number (a designated number for your computer with no need for a regular phone line). And, as you would expect, RingCentral offers a feature called “Find Me” which forwards calls to several phones in case the previous line does not answer, as well as voicemail and an auto receptionist.

Ease of Use

In regard to usability, RingCentral is quite literally for anyone, even for users with no background in VoIP or technology for that matter. The download process for your PC/Mac takes a few short minutes. Follow a few prompts and before you know it, you are ready to use RingCentral. Additionally, their online management platform is pleasantly streamlined, making it both intuitive and straightforward. Everything in the interface is right at the tips of your fingers and only a few clicks away. From sending/receiving faxes to billing information, everything is easily accessible both on your PC and smartphone.

Pricing

RingCentral offers 3 plans, which is excellent for users looking at VoIP services, as it does not overwhelm all while providing the perfect range of payment options. We have compiled a chart on the 3 plans that are offered by RingCentral along with the main features customers look for in a VoIP provider:

All RingCentral plans come with a 30 day free trial so just in case you were unsure, you now have nothing to lose by trying the best VoIP service in the industry. We would like to point out, however, that the free trial is only accessible to new subscribers with 2 or more users. Additionally, if you happen to use any actual hardware from RingCentral, you must return it within 21 days to avoid any charges.

Customer Support

RingCentral comes with a nice array of customer service options. You can get in touch with them via chat, e-mail or phone. It is worth mentioning that their support options operate 7 days a week however not 24/7 (generally speaking, the support center opens at 8AM EST and closes at 10PM EST). The service representatives are helpful, knowledgeable and efficient. RingCentral also has an entire webpage dedicated to customer service. It is there that you can find a wealth of useful information including tutroials, user guides and a knowledgebase.

Reliability (Call Quality)

One aspect that is often overlooked in a VoIP provider is the quality of their service. While no VoIP company has any significant control over the connection and sound qualities, there are a number of steps a company can take to help make sure you have the best possible quality of service. RingCentral does just that. Their website documents a detailed explanation on what affects calls quality, including latency, jitters and packet loss. They also list a number of recommended routers for customers to use. Lastly, the RingCentral website offers you the ability to test your bandwidth, the number of simultaneous calls, the duration of a call and the codec.

Summary

RingCentral clearly separated themselves from the rest of the VoIP industry. They offer the largest selection of features along with the easiest to use platform we have come across. In addition to this, you will be hard pressed to find a VoIP provider with a better record in regard to helping deliver a high level of service quality. While the price may seem a bit more expensive than other VoIP services, there are no setup or cancellation fees, and you get far more features and support than almost any other company. This makes for not only the best VoIP service on the market but one of the best value proposition companies you will find.