A hosted voice solution has added
VoIP, offering small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) a mix
of traditional landline, mobile and VoIP communications for both
incoming and outgoing calls, features that have been somewhat
neglected in the
SMB market.
Online hosted voice provider RingCentral Inc. this week released
a new VoIP service that lets companies unify and manage their
phone, fax, mobile and email communications. Called DigitalLine,
the new VoIP service integrates into RingCentral's hosted phone and
fax service, letting SMBs make and receive VoIP calls over
broadband. It offers IP PBX functionality in a hosted
environment
"RingCentral is focused on the needs of small businesses and
mobile professionals -- a market that's been underserved by
traditional carriers and hardware manufacturers," said RingCentral
CEO Vlad Shmunis, adding that small business users are looking to
revamp their communications strategies to present a more
professional image to the outside world while also maintaining
control over their communications tools.
Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group, said using VoIP
capabilities to round out a rich communications service fills a gap
in the SMB space, giving smaller companies a competitive edge
mostly enjoyed by only enterprises.
"Small businesses need the same kind of communications services
large businesses need, but without the cost or the administrative
overhead," Enderle said.
Jay Blazensky, RingCentral's vice president of business
development, said what sets the DigitalLine offering apart from
other SMB VoIP and mobile solutions is it doesn't require a
business to rely solely on VoIP. Instead, it integrates various
forms of communications like mobile, home and office phones and fax
and email. The VoIP component can be used with a softphone client,
IP phone or ATA adaptor, Blazensky said.
The goal, Blazensky said, is for the SMB to be more productive and
to improve response time to customers, while not incurring the
overhead involved with a rip-and-replace VoIP system.
Blazensky said DigitalLine is targeted at smaller companies that
need the functionality of a PBX but can't afford to buy and manage
one in-house. Instead, with RingCentral's options, the only
necessity is a broadband connection.
Small companies, Blazensky said, struggle with three hindrances:
presenting a unified image to customers; managing calls; and trying
to present an image that makes them look bigger from the
outside.
The new DigitalLine component lets RingCentral users assign
DigitalLine to any extension in their suite and use answering rules
to route calls to DigitalLine phones based on day, time and caller
ID. A unified call log keeps track of all incoming and outgoing
calls. An enhanced call controller function used in conjunction
with a softphone enables calling, conference calling and recoding
capabilities from the PC. Companies can also use their existing
analog phones with an ATA adaptor or digital Internet phones that
tap into the network. The system is also compatible with SIP
devices. It integrates with Microsoft Office and features an
enhanced e911 service.