The days of using traditional PBXs are over. That old business phone system you’ve relied on for many years is now ridiculously outdated and simply won’t be fit for purpose. Why? Because modern businesses rely on data, there’s only so much you can gain from a regular phone system that runs on a landline.
Instead, businesses are moving to the cloud with VoIP services that can revolutionise the way they make and receive calls. Cloud-based business phone systems unlock so many new capabilities, such as:
- Call recording
- Automatic call screening
- Better call routing
- Voicemails sent right to email
- Call analysis & reporting
These are just a few of the key features to look for when browsing these systems. They allow you to take a simple phone call and make it far more advantageous for your business. Plus, VoIP allows for crystal-clear calls without any of the annoying background static that traditional PBXs bring to the table, giving your business a more professional look.
All of this leaves you with one question: what are the best cloud-based business phone systems available? The best way to answer this is with a list!
1. VoIPstudio
Our Top Pick
When researching the best cloud-based phone systems for businesses, we came across VoIPstudio. This provider stood out to us because it has so many advanced capabilities that can transform how any business handles phone calls. You basically get a system that acts as a call centre and can use the latest AI technology to unlock additional intelligence like call analysis, call reporting, call transcription, and much more.
While a lot of VoIP providers can compete with its features, VoIPstudio goes the extra mile by giving you most of the key tools in the basic package. Businesses will have access to 40+ call and collaboration features, including CRM and webhook integrations – plus multilingual support, in the base pricing model. You normally see these features in expensive upgrade tiers, so this makes the lowest level of VoIPstudio the best in terms of value for money.
2. RingCentral
A Modern AI Phone System
If you want a VoIP provider that really leans into AI technology, then RingCentral might have what it takes to garner your attention. The company has existed for many years and is always on people’s lists of the top VoIP systems out there. There are good reasons for this: it lets you connect with numbers from so many countries and provides 24/7 support and carrier-grade reliability at all times.
That being said, it’s mainly on this list for the AI usage. RingCentral now comes equipped with so many AI tools that give you amazing insights into your calls, so you can analyse things like average call times, sales call success rates, and so on. It also lets you set up custom and automated greetings and responses from an AI call advisor, which is often a great way to free up your customer support team while starting the call screening process.
3. 8×8
Unify Your Communications
Initially, 8×8 looks like a standard VoIP system that does everything we’ve already spoken about. It gives AI call routing so incoming callers can be sent to the right departments, and it has all the necessary security and productivity functions that you’ve come to expect from this type of cloud-based system.
So, what makes it stand out enough to reach this list? Other than being a very competent VoIP system for your business, 8×8 promises to be a unified contact centre that can bring all of your communication methods together. This means it connects calls with messages and everything else. It can allow for better collaboration – but it’s also useful during customer service if someone starts contacting you via direct messages and then wants to initiate a phone call. 8×8 lets you do this with ease, and there are so many other hidden features worth learning about.
4. Nextiva
Get Small Business Phone Systems
Nextiva is best known for how well it works with small businesses. The VoIP system is incredibly scalable and starts at a very affordable price for most small enterprises. With the base plan you get inbound & outbound voice services, a business SMS service, video meetings, screen & file sharing, call routing, team chat and a mobile app – plus the company’s new XBert AI Receptionist.
That’s a lot of bang for your buck, but then you can increase the different features as your business capabilities change. Do other VoIP services do this just as well? Yes, but what’s really good about Nextiva is that it has two separate pricing options: small business and enterprise. The former is designed to make the service more affordable for smaller companies instead of forcing them to pay the same as a much larger business.
5. Aircall
Live Call Coaching
Over 23,000 companies trust Aircall as their VoIP provider, and we can see why. A quick look at the site shows that this service has it all. It’s another one of those systems that will happily merge your communication methods and let you manage them in one place, but it also has some great phone-call-specific tools that can rival some of the best in the business.
If we have to single out one feature, it would be the live AI assistants that help you during phone calls. Your team will get live coaching from an AI advisor to help them with each interaction. The AI is trained to understand phone calls and recognise the best responses someone can make given the situation. It’s obviously not 100% perfect, but it’s a great way to help onboard new recruits.
Upgrade Your PBX With A VoIP System
Full disclosure: it doesn’t really matter which of these providers you decide to pick, as long as you pick one of them to upgrade your old PBX system. You need a VoIP service to unlock new potential in your business and to move it into this era of AI technology and data analytics. The final decision is up to you, but our top choice is currently VoIPstudio because it offers the best value-for-money and gives you the most advanced features within the lowest pricing tier while still offering loads of additional features if you need them.
