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The Buyer’s Guide toVoIP Providers2019 edition

Table of ContentsWhy Read This Guide?About TrustRadiusVoIP or UCaaS: Which One is Right for Your Business?Spotlight on 7 Leading VoIP Providers34510Product Comparison Tables12Fuze14Cisco Unified Communications Manager15RingCentral16Google Voice178x8 X Series18Jive Hosted VoIP19Grasshopper20

Why Read This Guide?For small businesses and enterprises alike, it can be difficult to figure outwhat type of communication software will fit your business needs best.Voice communication, whether using traditional PBX (private branch exchange)phones or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, is a classic formof business communication. But businesses are increasingly turning toother software for their communication needs as well. Evaluating yourbusiness needs and considering whether you should start out with a voicesolution and scale as necessary, or look for a unified communications platformthat encompasses a range of communication capabilities is a critical firststep. This buyer’s guide includes information and tips to help you identifythe scope of your business communication needs and compare across7 of the most popular VoIP providers.3

This guide aims to provide buyers searching for a VoIP solutionwith a free resource to help them make better purchasingdecisions based on insights from software end-users. Ourgoal is to help you differentiate between 7 widely used VoIPproviders to find one that will meet your current business needs.This guide is based on detailed information from 5,838 VoIPsoftware reviews and ratings published on TrustRadius, as wellas 207 additional survey responses from VoIP software usersabout their experience with these solutions. Each review andrating has been individually vetted by a TrustRadius researcherto ensure we’re providing authentic feedback from real endusers of the software.45K professionalshave usedTrustRadius toresearch VoIPsolutions this year.In the guide, readers will find: Insights about the relationship between VoIP software and Unified Communications as aService (UCaaS) platforms. Information about how to identify the extent of your organization’s communications needsand assess whether a VoIp or UCaaS solution will fit your circumstances best. Summary profiles for 7 of the most reviewed VoIP providers, including highest and lowest ratedfeatures and customer demographics.About TrustRadius200,000 reviews& ratings from 100%verified users.TrustRadius is the most-trusted review site for businesstechnology, bringing transparency to the 3.7 trillionB2B market. We help buyers make confident decisionswith in-depth reviews and ratings from real software users.Every reviewer on TrustRadius is authenticated and everyreview vetted by our Research Team before publication. Wealso help vendors engage and convert buyers by puttingtheir customer’s voice to work, authentically and at scale.Headquartered in Austin, TX, TrustRadius was founded bysuccessful entrepreneurs and is backed by the MayfieldFund and LiveOak Venture Partners.To learn more, visit www.trustradius.com. 2019 TrustRadius. All rights reserved. Reproduction or sharing of this publication in any form without TrustRadius’ prior written permission is strictly prohibited.For information on reprints, please contact marketing@trustradius.com. TrustRadius is a trademark of T-Radius Holdings, Inc. All other trademarks arethe property of their respective owners. The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. TrustRadiusdisclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information and shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequaciesin such information. This publication consists of the opinions of TrustRadius’ research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Theopinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.4

VoIP or UCaaS:Which one is right for your business?Phone calls and email have been the two main business communication methodsfor decades. But companies are increasingly using other technology, likevideo conferencing and instant messaging applications, to help serve theirdaily communications needs. While voice communication, using eithertraditional PBX phones or VoIP technology, and business email aren’t goinganywhere, the use of other types of digital communication software is expanding.For enterprise companies using multiple types of communication software,consolidating all their communication technology under one platform may bethe best move. But for smaller businesses only using one or two of theseapplications, transitioning to a UCaaS platform may be overwhelming and tooexpensive for their organization.5

Only 8% of surveyrespondents fromcompanies with1-50 employees saidthey would be using aUCaaS platform in 2020.Is VoIP being swallowed by UCaaS?The short answer to the question ‘is VoIP being swallowedby UCaaS’ is no. But the larger story does involve the integrationof the two. VoIP technology, which allows users to make voicecalls over the internet rather than using traditional PBX phonesystems or cellular data, is part of the underlying technologysupporting UCaaS platforms.UCaaS platforms typically cover four main capability areas:1. Voice/VoIP2. Meeting solutions (including audio and video conferencing)3. Team collaboration (e.g. document sharing, screen sharing)4. Instant messaging/chat and presence technologyWhile VoIP is one component of these larger unified communications platforms, most vendorsthat have comprehensive UCaaS platforms still offer their Voice/VoIP solution as a stand-aloneproduct. This is because many companies have their communication technology organized in adecentralized fashion, and still use separate solutions for different communication needs.The data collected from our recent survey confirm this: along with their VoIP solution, 83% ofsurvey respondents use a messaging application and 76% use video conferencing software.Yet only 13% of respondents said their business would be using a UCaaS Platform by 2020.Especially for SMBs that may not need all the capabilities of a UCaaS platform yet, it may be moreaffordable for them to have separate VoIP, online meetings, and messaging solutions. Only 8% ofrespondents from companies with 1-50 employees said their company would be adopting aUCaaS platform in 2020. For certain industries, it also doesn’t make sense to immediately scale upto the UCaaS platform if a sizable portion of end-users won’t be fully utilizing the platform.However, centralizing communication software within oneplatform instead of having multiple separate online communicationtools may be an attractive option for enterprises. 1 out of 3survey respondents from companies with 10,000 employeessaid they would be using a UCaaS platform by 2020.1 out of 3 surveyrespondents fromcompanies with10,000 employeessaid they would beusing a UCaaSplatform by 2020.6

Will your organization be using a UCaaS platform by 2020?70%68%65%Yes60%56%NoI’m not %20%16%9%8%1 - 5051 - 2008%201 - 500501 - 1,0001,001 - 10,00010,001 Number of EmployeesThe key takeaway is that the UCaaS landscape is still evolving. Even though enterprises are morelikely to adopt a UCaaS platform than SMBs—organizations of all sizes are still figuring out if thisis the right move for their company. 54% of survey respondents from all company sizes were notsure if their company would be making the switch to UCaaS in 2020.Vendors in the market recognize that the level of centralization or decentralization of communicationsoftware can vary by company size, or composition of the user-base. Many VoIP providers thatoffer a fully featured UCaaS platforms have bundling options that allow businesses to select onlythe communication capabilities they need. This allows organizations to scale up their communicationsolution as needed.7

83% are using amessaging/chatapplication along withtheir VoIP software.Factors to consider when evaluating VoIP andUCaaS softwareMore and more businesses of all sizes are using multiple typesof communication software. Messaging and video conferencing/web conferencing applications are most likely to be used intandem with a Voice/VoIP solution. Of the 207 VoIP userswe surveyed, only 1% did not use any other type of communicationtechnology.What other communication software do you llaborationContact CenterSoftwareNone8

Given there’s a good chance your business is already usingtwo or more types of communication software, how do youknow whether a stand-alone VoIP solution or UCaaS platformis the right fit for you organization?Here are a few questions to ask before you start evaluatingproducts that will help identify which type of software willsuit your current needs best:76% are using both aVoIP and video/webconferencing solution.1. How many separate communication solutions is your business currently using?If you’re using three or more individual communication products, it might be more cost effective tocentralize then within one platform. On the other hand, if you only use one or two differenttypes of communication solutions at work, scaling up to a fully-featured UCaaS platform mightbe overkill—and over budget.2. What size is your company, and will the majority of employees need access to variouscommunication capabilities (e.g. voice, video and audio conferencing, and messaging)?Stand-alone VoIP solutions are often a better choice for SMBs, at least when they’re first startingout with the software. Many VoIP providers also offer a free trial or free version of their software,which may be the perfect fit for self-employed workers or micro-businesses with 1-10 employees.Larger companies that need a majority of employees to have access to these capabilities shouldkeep in mind that individual VoIP or web conferencing solutions often have a maximum numberof users. These companies may require more bandwidth in terms of number of seats available thanstand-alone products can offer.3. Will users need to have access to information from other conversations that may take placeover a web conference, voice call, or chat?One benefit UCaaS brings is the ability for users to share and access information from otherconversations. This can be especially useful for call centers, sales teams, or customer support/service teams that need to track customer interactions. On the other hand, if your organizationwould primarily use a VoIP solution for internal communications, having access to this type ofinformation may not be as necessary.9

Spotlight on 7 LeadingVoIP Providers1More and more businesses are using a range of communication software,including VoIP/Voice, instant messaging, and audio/video conferencing, fortheir daily communication needs. Understanding where VoIP/Voice softwarefits into your business communication and whether or not you need a solutionthat can be scaled up to a UCaaS platform will give you a strong foundationfrom which to start your product evaluation and selection process. The productprofiles below detail the main capabilities of each solution, customerdemographics, and scenarios that each product is best suited for based onreviewer feedback.Information contained in the product matrices, product comparison charts, and on the product pages is accurate as of October 14th, 2019. Company size definitionsare: Small Companies (1-50 employees); Midsize Companies (51-1,000 employees); Enterprises (1,001 employees).110