A traditional PBX (Private Branch Exchange) requires physical equipment to connect your phones to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). The servers and hardwired handsets must be installed on your premises by an engineer. As you can imagine, there’s a high cost attached to this—and then there’s the ongoing maintenance to consider. It’s also much harder to scale an on-premises setup because you’d have to go through all that again for each new location. Cloud-based phone systems don’t need any hardware, as it’s all owned and looked after by your provider. You don’t even need desk phones—you can use their own mobile devices or turn computers into cloud phones using software. You could have employees use their own devices if you want to. On-premises systems mean your phone number is tied to a specific location, with all phone handsets plugged into the network. With a cloud system, you can use virtual numbers (toll-free, vanity, or local), and log into your system from almost anywhere Another big difference is the cost of calling. Cloud-based solutions make calls more affordable, including long-distance calls (because they’re not charged by distance, like landline calls are). And you’ll be getting advanced features included in the price of your plan or package.

Cloud phone systems let you use any device to make and receive calls over the internet via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony technology. (You can even stick with a traditional desk phone if you want to, using an adapter to turn it into an IP phone.) Other than that, the experience of using a cloud phone is pretty similar to the traditional method. You simply tap in a number or click on a contact to call someone, and your business VoIP provider handles the routing and connects the call. The difference lies in the way the calls are transmitted. Cloud-based VoIP solutions harness your existing internet connection to transfer telephone calls. The VoIP phone system takes an analog signal (your voice) and converts it into digital “packets”, which it sends via the internet. At the other end, they’re instantly turned back into audio. You can use your cloud phone to call someone who’s using a landline, and vice versa.

The pros of cloud-based phone systems are almost too numerous to squeeze into one FAQ. Here are the key benefits: Cost savings: You can eliminate hardware installation and maintenance, and VoIP enables cheaper calling (with RingEX you get unlimited calling in the USA and Canada); plus you’re paying a flat fee every month. All things that make a cloud PBX system more cost-effective. Flexibility: The system is accessible from anywhere on any device (ideal for remote teams), and you can use virtual numbers as you’re not tied to a location Ease of use: User-friendly interfaces mean it’s easy to manage your phone solution without needing to call IT Functionality: Advanced call management features are included, and the system will integrate with other business tools (especially if it’s part of a unified solution) Scalability: You can quickly spin up new branches, recruit from anywhere, and add (or remove) users whenever you need to Reliability: Cloud phone providers use remote data centers with built-in backup and redundancy Security: VoIP phones can be more secure than landlines, as long as you choose a provider with robust security protocols Future-proofing: Traditional landlines won’t be around for much longer, with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deregulating copper wires and much of Europe switching to digital. Mobility: With a cloud phone system, anything can be a business phone—desk phones, laptops, tablets, mobile devices. The best solutions will provide a mobile app (for iOS and Android), desktop app, and even be usable via browser. How about the cons? There are a couple, but in most cases you can mitigate them by choosing a reliable and secure cloud phone provider. You do need a stable internet connection and fast networking equipment You might experience occasional phone call quality issues like latency and jitter—that’s just the way of the internet Like any form of digital technology, VoIP cloud phone systems can be targeted by cyber attacks, which can be mitigated by choosing a secure provider If you make an emergency call, the operator may not be able to see your location or phone number. (RingCentral offers the Enhanced 911 service, which provides an accurate location).

Few business owners want the hassle of changing their business number. Luckily, most business phone service providers allow you to keep your existing number(s) when you sign up to their solution. This is done through a process called “number porting”. The porting process may vary somewhat between service providers, so check with yours to make sure you’re aware of how it all works. This includes making sure your existing number is eligible for porting, and providing certain information (such as your account number and billing address). You can only port in a number that’s still active with the old provider, so don’t cancel your existing plan just yet. Once you’ve provided the requested information to your new cloud phone service provider, you can expect to wait somewhere between one and two weeks for the process to complete. It’s worth noting that if you ever decide to leave the new cloud-based phone service, you should still be able to port your number out again.

The RingEX provides everything you could want from a cloud-based phone system, and much more besides. Take a look at some of the exciting features included: Auto attendant & virtual receptionist RingEX includes all the call management features you’d expect from a cloud phone system, including easy call forwarding, call transfer, and more. What’s more, there’s an auto attendant feature to help you further improve customer experience. RingEX's auto attendant welcomes your callers with a customized greeting and routes the calls to the most suitable destination—whether it’s a specific company department, a mobile number, or a voicemail inbox. This virtual receptionist offers callers a number of options, which they can select via their keypad or with spoken responses to an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menu. Auto attendants are always on duty, handling high volumes of incoming calls, helping you manage call queues, and keeping your business or call center running around the clock. Your choice of phone numbers With a cloud phone system from RingCentral/Red ICT, you get a free virtual number as part of your subscription. You can also choose toll-free, vanity, and local phone numbers to make your business more memorable and encourage people to call you. Toll-free numbers let customers call you with no charge to them, while vanity numbers contain easy-to-remember digits and letters. Local numbers let you establish a virtual local presence in 200+ area codes—so your customers can dial a number that’s local to them. Visual voicemail and voicemail-to-email With visual voicemail, you can preview voice messages in text form when you’re not able to listen to them—when you’re driving or in meetings. Receive them in an inbox-like interface or have them sent to your email with a voicemail transcription and the audio attachment. You can easily see who left the message and what time, and then listen and respond at your convenience. Then delete, store, or forward messages and return calls with a single tap in your RingCentral app. AI-powered insights RingCentral AI Assistant is your personal AI assistant, taking care of manual tasks so you don’t have to. It provides automated note-taking on outbound or inbound calls, transcribing conversations and sending post-call summaries with action items and personalized insights. You can view high-level snapshots or detailed intelligence including sentiment analysis. RingSense AI will also help you to write or edit messages, and translate them into other languages. Plus, you can ask a question—even in mid-conversation—and it’ll pull the answer from your knowledge base or previous interactions. Your other communication channels in the same place RingEX is also more than just a cloud-based phone system. It’s a unified communications platform that brings together all your business communications channels. That means as well as managing phone lines, phone extensions, and business calling, you can also handle text messaging, audio and video conferencing, video calling, and more. All in the same place.

The RingEX provides everything you could want from a cloud-based phone system, and much more besides. Take a look at some of the exciting features included: Auto attendant & virtual receptionist RingEX includes all the call management features you’d expect from a cloud phone system, including easy call forwarding, call transfer, and more. What’s more, there’s an auto attendant feature to help you further improve customer experience. RingEX's auto attendant welcomes your callers with a customized greeting and routes the calls to the most suitable destination—whether it’s a specific company department, a mobile number, or a voicemail inbox. This virtual receptionist offers callers a number of options, which they can select via their keypad or with spoken responses to an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menu. Auto attendants are always on duty, handling high volumes of incoming calls, helping you manage call queues, and keeping your business or call center running around the clock. Your choice of phone numbers With a cloud phone system from RingCentral/Red ICT, you get a free virtual number as part of your subscription. You can also choose toll-free, vanity, and local phone numbers to make your business more memorable and encourage people to call you. Toll-free numbers let customers call you with no charge to them, while vanity numbers contain easy-to-remember digits and letters. Local numbers let you establish a virtual local presence in 200+ area codes—so your customers can dial a number that’s local to them. Visual voicemail and voicemail-to-email With visual voicemail, you can preview voice messages in text form when you’re not able to listen to them—when you’re driving or in meetings. Receive them in an inbox-like interface or have them sent to your email with a voicemail transcription and the audio attachment. You can easily see who left the message and what time, and then listen and respond at your convenience. Then delete, store, or forward messages and return calls with a single tap in your RingCentral app. AI-powered insights RingCentral AI Assistant is your personal AI assistant, taking care of manual tasks so you don’t have to. It provides automated note-taking on outbound or inbound calls, transcribing conversations and sending post-call summaries with action items and personalized insights. You can view high-level snapshots or detailed intelligence including sentiment analysis. RingSense AI will also help you to write or edit messages, and translate them into other languages. Plus, you can ask a question—even in mid-conversation—and it’ll pull the answer from your knowledge base or previous interactions. Your other communication channels in the same place RingEX is also more than just a cloud-based phone system. It’s a unified communications platform that brings together all your business communications channels. That means as well as managing phone lines, phone extensions, and business calling, you can also handle text messaging, audio and video conferencing, video calling, and more. All in the same place.