RingCentral Office VoIP Service | technological radar

RingCentral Office VoIP Service | technological radar

With modern businesses increasingly relying on the Internet for most communications, many companies such as RingCentral (opens in a new tab) have begun offering all-in-one web communications packages that incorporate voice over Internet protocol technology. Internet (VoIP), which are the calls made. over the Internet instead of traditional phone lines. But with so many providers available, it can be difficult to choose the best VoIP service (opens in a new tab) for your business.

RingCentral offers one of the leading products on the market here: RingCentral MVP, formerly known as RingCentral Office. Although not covered in this review, the company's video conferencing suite, aptly named, Video, is also very popular.

In our RingCentral MVP review, we take a look at the popular provider and evaluate its pricing, features, interface, support, and security to see how it stacks up against the competition. Read Next: Nextiva vs RingCentral VoIP Review.

RingCentral MVP Pricing October 2022

RingCentral offers a range of plans for businesses of different sizes (Image credit: RingCentral)

RingCentral MVP: plans and prices

There are four main pricing options suitable for different sizes of businesses.

The cheapest is the Essentials plan, which costs €29.99 per user per month. This includes one dedicated phone number per user, which can be used via the included mobile app or on separately purchased hardware, with 100 free minutes. The plan allows unlimited calls to the US and Canada, unlimited texts and team messages. However, there is a maximum of 20 users allowed on this plan.

For companies with more than 20 employees, the cheapest option is the Standard plan, at €37.99 per user per month. This has no user limit and includes 1,000 free minutes. There's unlimited audio conferencing, video conferencing with up to 100 participants, Internet faxing, and integrations with various apps like Microsoft 365, G Suite, and Slack. You also benefit from access to 24/7 support, which can be essential for companies looking to implement custom collaboration and productivity tools.

The next plan is Premium, which costs €44.99 per user per month. This includes 2500 free calling minutes, video conferencing with up to 200 participants, advanced analytics, call handling options like whisper and barge, and a development platform. A broader range of integrations is also possible, including Salesforce, Zendesk, and industry-specific apps like Canvas and Smarsh. Premium can have a peu plus de sens pour les entreprises disposant d'un vast réseau d'outils en ligne grâce à la prize en charge de l'authentification unique (SSO), tan que les avantages supplémentaires de ce niveau contributor à justifier son prix highest.

Finally, there's the Ultimate plan for €59.99 per user per month, which includes everything in the Premium plan and 10,000 free minutes, device health monitoring, and unlimited storage.

The prices may start to seem quite high compared to other VoIP platforms on the market, but there can be several advantages to choosing a well-known company that specializes in providing communication tools. Additionally, customers can currently save between 17% and 33%, depending on the plan, for annual commitments, and large organizations with more than 100 employees will once again have access to even lower prices.

For most small and medium-sized businesses, the Essentials plan may be too basic, so the Standard and Premium options will be the ideal options. You can try RingCentral with a 15-day free trial. Although you are limited to a maximum of five users, that should be enough for an internal IT department to determine if RingCentral MVP is suitable.

RingCentral MVP Review 2

On video calls, teams can share and discuss work (Image credit: RingCentral)

RingCentral MVP: Features

A separate app integrated with RingCentral MVP, Glip is a way for teams to connect and work collaboratively. Texting and video conferencing are brought together on a single platform, accessible via a mobile or desktop app, and you can create dedicated threads for projects and topics.

RingCentral recognizes that meetings are increasingly taking place via video rather than in person. From the Standard plan it is possible to organize video meetings for teams or conferences of up to 100 people (200 in the Premium and Ultimate plans). Video is in HD and meetings are password protected for added security.

RingCentral has begun integrating AI capabilities into its platform using technology developed by a startup called XSELL. Using machine learning, this technology monitors sales agents' discussions with customers, both via text chat and calls, and can recommend strategies. You can also monitor employee performance to help management identify and reward employees who follow best practices. While that may sound like a bit of Big Brother, and indeed a recent Dutch court hearing (xxx) concluded that surveillance of staff using webcams and screen-sharing tools is "disproportionate" and ultimately wrong, the use of computational methods such as AI and ML is much more sensitive and often anonymous data collection.

For RingCentral Video users in particular, more AI enhancements were rolled out in September 2022, including improvements to live transcription, noise reduction, and automatic video summaries designed to deliver quick insights in a reel-like fashion.

RingCentral 3 MVP Review

Phone calls can be made and received from the RingCentral app (Image credit: RingCentral)

RingCentral MVP: interface and in use

It's very easy to set up your business on RingCentral. In a few basic steps, you select a phone number to use with your account, set the number of users you want, and then enter your personal and payment information. After that, you can use the main dashboard to dig deeper.

The main interface from a user perspective is the RingCentral app, which works on both mobile and desktop devices, and access is also available from a web browser. The app is simple and easy to navigate and has all the necessary features. Phone calls and text messages can be accessed from this interface, and RingCentral Video is also integrated, so conference calls can be joined from here. For users transitioning from more widely adopted video conferencing and collaboration tools like Teams, RingCentral should feel familiar enough.

RingCentral Support October 2022

RingCentral's support website directs you to the Knowledge Base first (Image credit: RingCentral)

RingCentral MVP: Support

The RingCentral site hosts a knowledge base and community forum where you can find solutions to a wide variety of problems. There's also a live chat option, though it's an AI that directs you to relevant knowledge base posts, so it's not much more than a search engine.

If you have an issue that requires you to contact support, your options are to call them or create a support case online. If you have the Standard plan or higher, the phone lines are available 24/7. The online ticketing system takes a bit longer to complete, but the answers are generally helpful as long as you've shared as much detailed information as possible.

RingCentral MVP 5 Review

RingCentral has comprehensive security processes (Image credit: RingCentral)

RingCentral MVP: Security

It is crucial to know if your communication systems are secure, especially if your company handles sensitive information. Fortunately, RingCentral is open about the security processes it has in place and regularly conducts independent audits of these processes, which appear to be quite extensive.

All communications are encrypted using Transport Layer Security and Real-Time Secure Transport Protocol to prevent interception. In addition, network firewalls are installed, administrative functions require multiple levels of authentication, and data centers are securely protected by electronic systems and on-site specialists.

It would be irresponsible to say that the company's services are attack-proof, but they are as good as they come.

Competition

A popular rival is 8x8 All-in-One Communications (opens in a new tab). It's a cheaper option, with plans starting at €15 (€10) per user per month, and the basic plan is more comprehensive than RingCentral's, with unlimited national calling and video conferencing.

Another option is Dialpad (opens in a new tab). Its basic plan also costs €15 per user per month, which is slightly cheaper than RingCentral, though moving up the subscription hierarchy can quickly add to the cost. It's another good all-in-one service that recently updated its video conferencing offerings.

final verdict

There are many things to like about RingCentral MVP. It has a useful application interface from which employees can easily access voice calls, team chat, video conferences, etc. It can also be integrated with a wide range of software, including impressive artificial intelligence technology.

It's not the cheapest option available and the Essentials plan is quite limited, but starting with the Standard plan, RingCentral MVP proves to be a worthwhile investment for many small and medium-sized businesses. It's also reassuring that their security systems are among the best on the market.

You can sign up for RingCentral here (opens in a new tab).