An easy-to-use virtual phone system

Also sometimes called cloud phone systems, “virtual phone systems” are becoming a more and more popular communications solution for businesses—especially ones with distributed offices and remote or hybrid teams.

It helps that they’re easy to set up (and affordable), but why are both small businesses and larger organizations moving toward this kind of phone system?

Let’s look at what exactly these virtual phone systems are, how they work, and some creative ways that businesses are using them.

What is a virtual phone system?

With a traditional landline phone system, you’re pretty much limited to using that system at a singular, defined location—which means employees can generally only work from the office. Want to do work on your mobile phone? Forget it.

Not so with a virtual phone system, which pretty much removes all those limitations and lets you make and receive phone calls from anywhere if you have a reliable Internet connection.

Today, the best virtual phone systems go beyond phone calls too—for example, Dialpad is a full-fledged communication platform that works across mobile devices (Including iOS and Android) and desktop apps.

Virtual phone systems tend to be affordable too, with options for monthly or annual plans. You’d pay per team member, and can choose different tiers depending on what you need, which makes this much more budget-friendly than traditional business phone services.

How does a virtual phone system work?

The unique thing about virtual phone systems is that they give you everything you need for business communications without clunky hardware.

Virtual phone systems use VoIP (or Voice over Internet Protocol) technology, which is what makes it possible to have a phone call via the Internet—no landlines needed. The system is cloud-based and hosted by your provider, which means you don’t need any IT equipment in a closet or room in your office.

This means you can quickly set up a virtual phone number, including international and local numbers, and even vanity numbers for your business.

Dialpad: More than a virtual phone system

A checklist for choosing the right virtual phone system

1. Does it cover your basic business needs?

And by basics we mean things like call recordings, call routing, hold music, integrations with software you’re already using (like your CRM), and your choice of phone numbers including toll-free numbers and vanity numbers if you need them.

2. Is it secure?

Your business probably handles sensitive information. It may also handle payments. That means your virtual phone system should also be highly secure. For example, Dialpad can help you stay compliant with SOC2® Type II, GDPR (if you have customers in the EU, this is essential), PCI (if you’re dealing with payments, then you need to have a system that is PCI compliant), and HIPAA.

3. What are the SLAs? (service level agreements)

SLAs are basically a way of making sure you get reliable service from your business phone provider. You need a phone system that is reliable and has an absolute minimum of downtime because—well, you don’t need us to tell you what happens if you can’t communicate with your prospects and customers.

4. How easy is it to set up or install?

Some virtual phone systems take weeks—even months—to set up. No joke. Always check to make sure what the setup process is like. With Dialpad, for instance, setup can be almost instantaneous. As an admin, you can assign new users, give them phone numbers, sync them with tools, and have them up and running in a matter of minutes.

5. What do the reviews say?

Of course, you can just check out the website—which is what most people do—but if you really want to see the good, bad, and ugly of a phone system, look at the reviews.

For example…

For virtual phone systems specifically, the top review sites tend to be G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot. (And if a provider that you’re considering isn’t listed there, that’s a red flag and you should probably cross them off the list.)

6. What does it (really) cost?

When you’re looking at costs, don’t just look at the price tag. The pricing for virtual phone systems should cover a number of factors including both initial pricing and ongoing costs. Because these usually follow a SaaS pricing model (pay monthly or annually), it’s very startup friendly compared to traditional phone systems.

However… Make sure you know what each pricing plan includes. Some phone system providers will say their plan is only a few dollars a month—but charge you by the minute for phone calls, call recordings, and other basic things. (Dialpad gives you unlimited calling in your country, the US, and Canada in the least expensive plan, along with a ton of other features.)

So, make sure you check the price. It’ll make your CFO happy.

7. What’s the customer support like?

Many small businesses may not have a dedicated IT team beyond Chuck (who also doubles as your sales manager, your shipping supervisor, your….well, you get the idea).

Even if you do have an IT team, their focus won’t just be on your virtual phone system. That means you want to choose a provider that offers great customer support—worldwide, not just in the US. Dialpad’s support team is always around to help, 24/7 for Pro and Enterprise customers (24/5 on the Standard plan), and there’s also a comprehensive Help Center online so that you can find answers to most questions anytime you want.