Cloud-based phone systems or VoIP telephony has become increasingly popular for London-based businesses due to the inherent flexibility and effectiveness of the technology.
These are some of the top cloud-based phone systems for operating in a busy environment such as London City Centre.
RingCentral
RingCentral is widely recognised as one of the best overall cloud-based phone systems.
The interface is user friendly and the range of features means it is a good overall package for most businesses. RingCentral is also especially suited to larger businesses with the standard plan having no limit on the number of users and the premium plan featuring options such as call recording, real-time analytics, and integration with other CRM platforms, such as Salesforce and Zendesk.
RingCentral also includes software for video calls, collaboration suites and AI-based tools. In terms of core features, RingCentral can do call forwarding, multiple extensions, company directories, and an auto-attendant system. RingCentral also boasts an impressive 99.999% uptime in the service level agreement.
RingCentral is a good all-rounder with few disadvantages. However, the minimum price plan can be somewhat basic and users have reported that the admin portal can be slightly difficult to navigate with the amount of information being presented making finding specific details tricky at times.
Pros
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Good VoIP service
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User friendly
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Variety of price plans
Cons
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Very basic lower plans
Price
£7.99–£24.99
8x8 Experience Communications
8x8 experience is a very affordable offering considering the number of features included, making it especially useful for smaller businesses or those with less budget to spend on communications systems.
Expert Market recognises 8x8 experience communications as the best for UK-based businesses in cities like London. With 8x8 you get unlimited minutes, text messages, video conferencing, and a range of impressive features.
The system is easily scalable making it particularly suited to expanding businesses. For enterprise-level businesses, the X Series X4 plan offers unlimited calls, with 14 separate countries, call quality reports, management analytics, and multichannel associates.
However, the higher-level plans do come at a significant cost and there is no lower-cost option other than the basic plan. The level of customer support available has also been found wanting.
Pros
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Competitive pricing
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Variety of features
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Simple setup
Cons
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Support can sometimes be lacking
Price
$28–$140 per user per month
Nextiva
Nextiva is a brilliant option for UK and London-based businesses, with a modern and elegant interface including high-quality calls, conferencing, and collaboration tools. Nextiva also offers powerful analytics and reporting.
However, some of the options that are featured as standard on their competitors’ products would require the more expensive enterprise tier package. Nextiva features calendar and contacts integrations with Google and Microsoft although the contact synching is one direction only.
Pros
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Free trial available
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HD-quality calls
Cons
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No 24/7 phone/email support
Price
£18.95 per month
Dialpad
Dialpad is perhaps one of the best solutions for remote workers with the ability to work from anywhere and using any device through the cloud calling system. Dialpad makes use of a range of high-end capabilities, such as employee productivity-boosting and AI-powered voice intelligence for automatic note-taking and detecting customer attitudes from calls.
Setting up new users is relatively easy with one central admin portal where users can be assigned phone numbers and connected with other office suites like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
Dialpad is also very competitive in terms of price and, combined with the cloud functionality and ease of scalability, this makes it ideal for remote working environments.
Pros
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Very price competitive
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Easy to use
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Lots of features even at entry-level
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Built for the cloud
Cons
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Video conferencing is not included as standard
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Less accessible developer platform
Price
$15 per user per month
Lyon Tech
At Lyon Tech, we provide businesses in London with some of the most sophisticated VoIP technology and cloud-based phone systems, allowing them to communicate effectively and securely, whilst making use of a wide range of additional functions.
Through our cloud-based communication systems, London businesses can utilise the inherent flexibility and scalability that comes with unlimited storage and computational power, with access to high-end AI capabilities, virtual processing units, and remote desktop interfaces.
At Lyon Tech, we offer a fully managed VoIP solution—this means that along with cloud-based comms systems and fibre leased lines, our clients also benefit from 24/7 help desk teams and live infrastructure monitoring, business continuity support, and live cybersecurity monitoring.
This ensures the continual operation of all business activities and communications with the added layer of security from professional analysts and technical engineers, meaning that if any issues should arise they would be dealt with swiftly and effectively—so that business can resume as normal.
When it comes to business communications, especially in remote working environments or complex networks, you don’t want to be left in the dark and wondering what action to take to reinstate your vital operations.
This is where fully managed solutions, such as those provided by Lyon Tech, come into their own, offering businesses a broad range of communication options with extra protection from disruptions and rapid response teams available should any problems occur.
Contact Lyon Tech
If you are thinking about shifting towards a fully cloud-based remote or hybrid working environment for your London business but are unsure which option would be ideal for your situation, get in touch with our expert advisors today.
We can take you through the range of solutions available and advise which would most cater to the needs of your business, depending on off-site working or remote access requirements, what sort of call volumes you typically handle, and where your customers are based, whether locally or internationally.
With the right cloud-based phone solution, combined with dedicated support teams and the most cutting-edge technology, Lyon Tech provides the most streamlined and flexible communication system that can adapt to the changing needs of your business.
