Ooma Assessment – The Good and Unhealthy for 2023

With a free plan and inexpensive costs for extra feature-rich plans, Ooma helps prospects arrange an entire cellphone system. You get the necessities, like voicemail, name forwarding, and name blocking, plus varied different options that will help you tailor the system to your particular wants.

We love Ooma for small to mid-size companies missing IT groups, particularly ones that also need to use desk telephones in some capability. If that seems like your state of affairs, you’ll recognize Ooma’s easy-to-use setup and customized cellphone system capabilities that may deal with conventional landlines, IP telephones, and cell units with equal aplomb. 

Learn on to be taught extra about this main VoIP cellphone service and the way they stack up towards our different high VoIP techniques.

Evaluate Ooma to the Finest Enterprise VoIP Telephone Companies

Ooma is one in all our high picks for VoIP cellphone techniques due to their easy-to-grasp pricing construction, potential to combine along with your current cellphone gear, and suitability for conventional workplace settings. Let’s check out our Golden Eggs, our three favourite total options from our full publish on the perfect VoIP suppliers and cellphone techniques:

Nextiva is an unbeatable all-around VoIP cellphone service that may work nicely for many companies, whether or not they want a platform for exterior communication, inner collaboration, name facilities, or any mixture thereof. Get began by getting a quote on your Nextiva plan immediately.

Ooma is the favored resolution of conventional places of work changing to VoIP from an outdated cellphone system, as a result of you’ll be able to maintain utilizing the telephones and different gear you’ve got whereas additionally tapping into superior VoIP options. Join Ooma and get a free native and toll-free quantity.

Vonage gives a big selection of options and capabilities that you would be able to select from to bolster your name middle and make it extra environment friendly and efficient. Get a quote from Vonage by speaking to one in all their consultants about your wants.

Ooma: The Good and the Unhealthy 

The Good 

Buyer help: You doubtless gained’t need assistance organising your new cellphone system. However if you happen to do, Ooma makes it straightforward to get in contact with a pleasant and educated skilled. Past stay chat and electronic mail help, Ooma enterprise customers have a separate help quantity from house prospects. This helps make sure you get quick assist whenever you want it.

You gained’t be directed to the identical help line as a whole bunch of house cellphone customers, and also you gained’t should take care of lengthy wait instances or transfers to the best division. Moreover, Ooma additionally has an energetic neighborhood discussion board that covers finest practices, suggestions, inspiration, and even solutions to fundamental questions.

Straightforward setup: Ooma options an out-of-the-box setup that will get the whole lot up and operating with no headache. It requires zero technical information to put in your Ooma cellphone system, and the whole lot is absolutely configured upon arrival.

This auto-configuration expertise detects the entire correct settings required for the system to work. Briefly, this straightforward setup permits you to skip a number of steps that may usually be required to put in a brand new VoIP cellphone system.

Full-featured cell app: Each Ooma plan comes with a cell app. The cell model actually turns out to be useful everytime you’re on the go or away from your property or workplace desk computer systems. The cell app is out there on the Apple App Retailer and Google Play Retailer, so it’s suitable with iPhones and Androids alike.

You make and obtain calls, examine your voicemail, and replace your account info proper out of your smartphone. This can be a vital benefit over different cellphone techniques which might be tied to bodily desk areas or places of work.

Digital receptionist: Ooma’s Digital Receptionist is right for guiding requires your online business. You possibly can arrange a customized greeting, ship callers to totally different extensions, or present a menu of choices that may information callers to the best particular person. Whether or not you’re a solo enterprise proprietor or have a multi-staff firm, the Digital Receptionist function acts like one other set of palms that will help you deal with calls.

Truthful pricing: Numerous enterprise cellphone companies seem to have low entry-level pricing. However then you definately rapidly notice that it’s worthwhile to buy costlier tiers to get what you’re actually on the lookout for. That’s not the case in any respect with Ooma.

With plans beginning at simply $19.95 per consumer per thirty days, it’s a fairly good price when you think about the truth that even the entry-level plan comes with over 50 normal options. You gained’t should pay additional for issues like name forwarding, digital extensions, name logs, digital fax, and the entire fundamentals.

Limitless calling: Ooma affords limitless calling throughout the US, Canada, Mexica, and Puerto Rico with any Ooma Workplace plan. This can be a nice perk if you happen to don’t need to fear about utilization restrictions or paying by the minute.

So if the overwhelming majority of your online business calls are happening right here in these areas, you gained’t should pay additional for high-volume calling.

The Unhealthy 

Restricted fundamental options: Ooma’s entry-level house and enterprise packages embrace options that work nicely for many individuals. However to get a number of the extra sought-after options, you might have to improve to a better tier. Options like textual content messaging, video conferencing, name recording, and voicemail transcription aren’t out there on the lowest tier.

Most enterprise customers will doubtless have to begin on the mid-tier Professional plan as nicely as a result of the Necessities package deal doesn’t include the Ooma desktop app. You’d simply be pressured to only use the cell app.

Wi-Fi requires add-on: If you need your system to connect with the web wirelessly—a good suggestion if you happen to don’t have hardwired hookups for every cellphone in your house or workplace—you’ll want to purchase a separate Wi-Fi adapter for $49.99. Moreover, companies may have to purchase an Ooma Workplace Base Station to attach their telephones and different units.

No name middle options: Ooma isn’t actually arrange for name facilities. So if in case you have dozens of cellphone help brokers or gross sales reps which might be dealing with a excessive quantity of inbound and outbound calls per day, you’d doubtless want to contemplate an alternate choice.

Ooma Pricing and Choices 

Ooma affords each residential and enterprise VoIP cellphone companies. Since we’ve simply centered on their business-oriented options and advantages on this evaluation, let’s zoom in on what an Ooma package deal on your workplace or group may cost you.

Ooma Workplace Telephone System 

Ooma segments its pricing and packages into two classes—residential and enterprise.

Residential customers can begin with a 100% free plan. The one value is for the cellphone system itself, plus any gear you may have to rise up and operating. The free residential plan, generally known as Fundamental, affords connectivity with the cell app, HD audio, name forwarding, and different must-haves.

For extra companies like a second line, backup quantity, voicemail monitoring, name forwarding, and name blocking, you’ll be able to improve to Premier—beginning at $9.99 per thirty days.

Enterprise customers have three totally different packages to select from:

• Ooma Workplace Necessities — $19.95 per thirty days
• Ooma Workplace Professional — $24.95 per thirty days
• Ooma Workplace Professional Plus — $29.95 per thirty days

All three companies come normal with greater than 50+ options to help enterprise cellphone wants.

With the Necessities pricing tier, you obtain a digital receptionist, maintain music, digital fax, and the power to robotically ship voicemails as audio attachments to your electronic mail tackle.

Moreover, the Necessities tier permits you to arrange Ring Teams. These are teams of your workforce members who’re eligible to reply sure forms of incoming calls, reminiscent of a billing name, a tech help name, or a basic customer support name. You possibly can arrange this function in order that it rings on the telephones of all members of the suitable Ring Group on the identical time or in order that it rings on one cellphone at a time for the members of the Ring Group till somebody solutions it.

Once you leap from Necessities to Professional, you’ll get added options just like the Ooma desktop software, video conferencing, name recording, name blocking, voicemail transcription, caller data match, dynamic caller ID, Google and Microsoft 365 integrations, name analytics, and extra.

For an additional $5 per thirty days, the Professional Plus plan helps Salesforce integrations, name queuing, and scorching desking. That’s a no brainer improve for companies already utilizing Salesforce. 

Ooma Residential and Enterprise Telephone Numbers

Getting a cellphone quantity by means of Ooma is straightforward, whether or not you’re a house or enterprise consumer. House prospects can register a quantity after they register their Ooma Telo machine. Ooma makes numbers out there in virtually any space code, so you’ll be able to even choose a non-local quantity if you happen to’d favor. Enterprise prospects can register both a neighborhood quantity or a toll-free quantity for his or her enterprise. 

Ooma additionally permits you to switch your present quantity to your Ooma setup by means of porting. That is helpful for companies that have already got a longtime buyer base that makes use of the present cellphone quantity. You gained’t want to vary your advertising or replace your quantity anyplace if you happen to change to Ooma from one other firm.

Each Ooma buyer owns their cellphone quantity, permitting them to switch their quantity to a different supplier in the event that they change companies. Simply be sure that your account with Ooma is present and in good standing earlier than making an attempt to port the quantity to a brand new service.

Ooma Digital Receptionist

No automated function can absolutely change a real-life receptionist for your online business, however Ooma’s Digital Receptionist is about as shut as you will get. For those who’re a enterprise proprietor and don’t thoughts counting on an automatic system that directs calls to the proper division or particular person, then the Digital Receptionist can prevent from an additional particular person in your payroll.

The most effective half in regards to the Digital Receptionist function is that you would be able to set a schedule for whenever you need it to take over. Say you’ve got a receptionist out there from 9 a.m. to five p.m. Set the Digital Receptionist to begin working at 5 p.m. to direct calls even when your online business is closed for the day.

Relying on the dimensions of your online business and what number of departments you’ve got, you may as well arrange the Digital Receptionist as a multi-level system, fielding calls to totally different departments. The tip result’s a extra environment friendly calling system for you and your prospects.

Ooma Name Recording

Out there to enterprise prospects, Ooma’s name recording function allows you to file and play again cellphone calls as wanted to ensure you don’t miss any necessary particulars. This operate is a should for capturing necessary info from a cellphone name that you just’d like to have the ability to evaluation later, particularly if you happen to’re on the go and don’t have the chance to take notes.

Select between on-demand name recording and steady name recording. The latter robotically data any inbound or outbound name. You could need to use this function if your online business prefers to evaluation calls to observe customer support. Name recording can be out there for audio conferencing, permitting every participant to have a recording of the assembly for future use.

All recordings stay in your name logs in Ooma Workplace. From there, you’ll be able to play, obtain, or delete them as wanted.

Ooma Enhanced Name Blocking

Ooma lets house and enterprise customers cease undesirable calls by means of name blocking. The function is out there solely on the higher tiers of every plan kind—Premier and Ooma Workplace Professional—however is totally value the price if you happen to dislike your cellphone line being tied up with spam calls.

Particularly necessary for companies, enhanced name blocking robotically searches by means of a robocall database to find out if the calls coming into your line are legit. Detected spam calls get blocked robotically as an alternative of coming by means of as a hoop to your cellphone. Meaning extra time for productive cellphone calls.

You too can manually block numbers that will not get robotically detected by Ooma however are nonetheless creating an issue on your house or enterprise. And select whether or not you need your cellphone to ring when an nameless caller is making an attempt to get by means of. 

In different phrases, your blocking profile is fully customizable, however you may as well fall again on preconfigured blocking ranges if you happen to’d like. Management any settings associated to name blocking by way of Ooma Workplace or the cell app.

Ooma Video Conferencing

Use Ooma for extra than simply audio calls, due to its video conferencing capabilities. The straightforward interface permits a number to create a gathering inside seconds by means of Ooma Workplace. Then others be part of by coming into a gathering ID or clicking a shared hyperlink. Conferences can occur on just about any machine with Ooma’s cell app.

As much as 25 folks will be in a gathering at one time. Like different main video conferencing applications, Ooma permits individuals and hosts to display screen share, even concurrently, making a collaborative house to share details about a venture. There’s additionally a chat function, muting capabilities, and password safety for conferences.

One downfall of the system? There’s at present no function for recording video conferences such as you get with different companies, reminiscent of Telephone.com and RingCentral.

Ooma Voicemail Forwarding and Transcription

Having an intuitive and dependable voicemail system is essential to each house and enterprise cellphone customers. Ooma house cellphone customers get all of the anticipated voicemail fundamentals, together with a customizable greeting and the power to examine voicemail remotely by way of the cell app. 

There’s additionally voicemail forwarding for house or enterprise customers. The system sends your voicemails to your electronic mail inbox with the clicking of a setting. Irrespective of the place you might be, you’ll have the ability to examine your voicemail by way of an audio recording in your electronic mail, even if you happen to don’t have your Ooma cellphone out there. For individuals who prefer to examine work voicemail from house, this can be a clear profit.

Reap the benefits of much more fashionable voicemail conveniences with voicemail transcription, additionally out there for house and enterprise plans. The function creates a textual content model of your voicemail and sends it to your electronic mail. 

Fundamental house cellphone plans use automated expertise for transcription. Premier customers get human-assisted transcription for extra accuracy. Sadly, there’s no choice for human-assisted transcription for enterprise plans, and solely Ooma Workplace Professional customers have the function out there.

Ooma Desktop and Cell Apps

Ooma ensures that you would be able to change settings and suit your cellphone system to your wants by making its back-end out there on a variety of units. Use the desktop app or cell app, relying in your preferences and what units can be found to you, to vary settings, examine voicemails, route calls, and extra.

Ooma affords its desktop app to enterprise prospects solely. Permit workforce members to entry the back-end to replace settings or undergo their voicemail inbox. The app encompasses a listing, permitting workforce members to contact each other by extension with ease. The desktop app is at present solely out there in Ooma Workplace Professional.

The Ooma cell app is simply as intuitive. Use it similar to you’ll your Ooma cellphone, however by means of your cellular phone as an alternative. Make calls, take calls, examine voicemail, and arrange group chats, permitting you to remain productive, even whenever you’re away out of your important Ooma setup.

Evaluating The Finest Enterprise VoIP Telephone Companies

Ooma could or is probably not the best resolution on your house or workplace, however our in-depth opinions of the finest VoIP cellphone suppliers ought to lead you to the best one.

Ooma has a lot to supply house and enterprise cellphone prospects, from its customizable setup to its handy options, like name blocking and name forwarding. Ooma Workplace is likely one of the finest VoIP cellphone companies for small companies with out an IT division to do all of the setup. Its simplistic setup can get your workforce up, operating, and understanding the system with minimal hiccups alongside the best way.