Ooma Office doesn't offer all of the bells and whistles that other business VoIP services provide, but if you’re a small business on a strict budget, this package is an inexpensive alternative. If your business is not concerned about integration with CRM services, Ooma Office may work very well depending on the company's needs.
PROS: Low Price, easy to set up, includes a standard multi-level auto attendant
CONS: No CRM integration
People are so very attached to their smartphones these days, and bringing your own devices (BYOD) has become more popular than ever before. With this in mind, a place is needed for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) providers. A majority of the services that are available tend to target enterprise customers with lots of employees. Ooma Office is different.
Ooma got its start by selling VoIP products a decade ago. VoIP in a box was one of the company’s first endeavors. Ooma wants to help smaller businesses by offering them enterprise-quality phone service. According to the company, this strategy is allowing small businesses to be able to present themselves professionally.
Many VoIP services have been reviewed over the years including 8x8 Virtual Office Pro and RingCentral Office, but Ooma Office is different in that it has only one pricing option and no add-ons. All of their features come standard for $19.95 per month.
Some companies are probably wondering if Ooma has the same kind of functionality that one of the more expensive RingCentral packages has. RingCentral can be as expensive as $34.99 per month for their Premium package, but their Essentials package is priced about the same as Ooma’s basic service plan at $19.95 per month.
This review will compare Ooma’s basic features with those of their competitors.
As previously discussed, Ooma’s packages are $19.95 per month for each line including fees and taxes.
This modestly-priced package will allow small businesses to take advantage of 35 different features which will be discussed in more detail later on. In addition, this subscription gives companies unlimited calling in Canada and the US, a conference line number, a virtual fax number, a direct dial number, a main business number, and free number transfers. All of this seems like a great deal, but what, exactly, are those 35 different features?
All of the most important features are included with Ooma’s basic package. Setup is relatively painless and easy, businesses have access to a user portal where they'll be able to check their call logs and voicemails, and they can also send virtual faxes.
Likewise, Ooma Office has call parking. This allows employees to transfer callers who ring the wrong department by mistake. Similarly, they won’t have to worry about losing potential clientele during network outages or power failures. Ooma allows businesses to set their calls up to be rerouted to any number of their choice.
There is yet another question that needs to be answered, however. Does Ooma have a dedicated mobile app, CRM integrations, or a multi-level auto attendant? RingCentral has all three of these which is why they are more appealing than Ooma. On the plus side, Ooma Office does have two of these functions.
It is multi-level, which lets someone program it to ask questions that will transfer callers to the correct department. Ooma’s virtual receptionist lets a company set up their business hours so that customers who try to contact them after hours will know when to call back. The virtual receptionist can also dial by name which is great for customers who know exactly who they want to speak with and it can relay customized messages and route callers.
It goes without saying that a VoIP service wouldn't be complete without a mobile application. This is pretty standard for most VoIP services. Ooma Office's Mobile app is accessible on all Android and iOS devices and includes all of the basic components of a company phone system companion.
Call forwarding is very easy to set up and will transfer all desk phone calls to a mobile device when someone is away from the office. An employee can even have their cell phone and desk phone ring at the same time when someone tries to call their business number.
Ooma Office has lots of fantastic features. This review has only been able to touch on a few of them. Some other features include a single conference bridge for each user, ring groups, and transfer and hold music.
All of Ooma’s features are simple to use and the initial setup is fairly cut and dry. All someone needs to do is plug a compatible phone into a network jack and they'll be ready to start using the VoIP service. Another option they have is to purchase a $199.99 Ooma Office base station which will allow them to connect to their service wirelessly.
Small businesses who need a VoIP provider that’s affordable, easy to use, and includes most of the features they’ll need in order to complete their day-to-day operations will find Ooma Office to be very useful. What’s great about this service is, of course, the price. It's hard to beat $19.99 per month per user.
RingCentral offers the Essentials plan for the same price as Ooma Office, but it lacks internet faxing abilities and a multi-level auto-attendant – two things that Ooma Office has. RingCentral’s higher tier (the Office Standard plan) costs $24.99 per month and provides these features as well as voicemail-to-email transcriptions and CRM integrations.
