If you’re looking for an opportunity to access a no-strings-attached free phone line and service, then Google Voice could be everything you need – depending on the unique requirements of your business. Although it’s not the most comprehensive service out there when it comes to communication, the positives surrounding Google Voice adaptation often outweigh the cons. After all, with Google Voice, you can do everything from forwarding your incoming calls to mobile phones and softphones, to sending and receiving SMS messages.
User-friendly and innovative, it’s clear to see why numerous smaller businesses are choosing Google Voice as the ideal way to handle their business-based communications. However, because this service wasn’t actually designed for businesses, the features included aren’t exactly the same as what you might get from a complete VoIP provider. With that in mind, let’s look at what you can get from a hosted PBX, that you wouldn’t be able to get from Google.
Google Voice Has Its Limitations
As a free phone line service, it’s hard to ask from more from Google Voice. After all, as a cost-free consumer-based opportunity for communication, Google Voice is probably one of the best applications around. However, that doesn’t mean that it can fully replace every Hosted PBX service. If you need more than just the standard free services that Google offers, then you’re going to struggle when it comes to leaving paid solutions behind.
With a Hosted PBX option, you get:
- Secure and Sturdy Redundant Networks
Since its powered by Google, you can rest assured that Google Voice is hosted on a great network. However, when your communication services are essential to the health and performance of your business, it might be a better idea to source your solution from a provider that focuses exclusively on your phone system. Many hosted VoIP providers will run several data centres around the world, often with at least a single level of redundancy. That means that you don’t have to worry about losing contact opportunities if your phone system goes down. Google Voice doesn’t offer the same security.
- Great Customer Support (Usually)
While some hosted PBX providers will offer better levels of support than others, any kind of service at all is still better than nothing. Though you can find plenty of information about Google Voice online, and can attempt to submit a thread into Google’s support forums, you might find it difficult to get help if something goes wrong. If your business relies on your phone system, then you need that instant customer support to make sure that you can get yourself up and running as quickly as possible. In other words, Google Voice might not cut it if you can’t wait days or weeks for a forum response to turn up.
- Additional Features
Google Voice offers a very impressive list of standard features to those in search of a quick and cost-effective communication solution. You get everything from call forwarding, to a free phone number, texting, and voicemail recording too! You can even use video conferencing if you don’t mind switching to Google hangouts. However, Google Voice still doesn’t match the same level of features you can get from access to a fully-fledged VoIP provider. Though the services you get will differ from one provider to the next, you can often expect multiple phone lines, numbers, toll-free numbers and more.
The Truth about Google Voice
The truth about Google Voice is that it’s a fantastic service, brimming with incredible features and capabilities. However, that doesn’t make it the best solution for those who really need a hosted PBX service to thrive. If you rely heavily on your phone system to keep your business up and running, then Google Voice as it stands today might not be an adequate replacement for a paid service.
