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 phone numbers, including international and local numbers, and even vanity numbers for your business.