Working from home has become the new normal for several businesses. Although most operations of businesses have not been hampered, communication between employees, customers, and partners of the business has taken a setback. Getting multiple phone lines in one system can be difficult, especially for small businesses with small IT departments. This is where VOIP systems play a crucial role. When you have VOIP systems in place, you can shift direct extension to different geographical locations with just one click of your mouse.

But how do you know which VOIP systems are the best? To help you, here is a list of the best VOIP systems providers.

8X8
The pandemic brought a lot of uncertainty with it, especially for small businesses that have to fight harder for survival. Therefore, picking a low-cost VOIP system makes more sense. Thankfully, 8×8 is one such VOIP systems provider that offers affordable plans loaded with features. This means you can get all the necessary features of VOIP systems and still keep your costs down. With an 8×8 VOIP system, you also get third-party integrations with apps such as Netsuite, Salesforce, and Zendesk. All the plans offered by 8×8 come with features such as screen sharing, team messaging, and video conferencing of HD quality. With these features, you can keep all your employees who are working from home engaged and connected. Contact centers that are working remotely can use features such as omnichannel routing. This lets the employees stay connected with the customer using different channels such as phone, text, and social media. Also, one of the most unmissable features is internet phone services, costing just $12 a month. The introductory plans provide customer support that can assist you with transferring calls to the required extension. This feature is available in other VOIP systems at higher prices.

Grasshopper
Remote work has made several businesses realize that having employees in the office all the time is not required to run operations smoothly. Grasshopper is one of the best VOIP systems in the market for businesses that are mobile. These include pop-up stores and food trucks. Just like most VOIP systems, Grasshopper’s VOIP system offers apps on both Android and iOS that lets you make and receive business calls on your mobile phone. But what’s different about Grasshopper is that it lets you customize call forwarding. With this system, you can customize rules of call forwarding for every phone extension that has been added to your plan. This will help all your employees to manage their calls in whichever manner suits them the best. A Grasshopper VOIP system is a good option for small businesses. However, you might not be able to turn a blind eye toward the fact that there are cheaper options available in the market that might be good for you if you are working on a bootstrap budget. The entry-level plans of Grasshopper start at $26 a month. This is a little on the higher side, considering that with this plan, you will only get one business phone number with up to three extensions. But what’s interesting about Grasshopper is that it has the same set of features available across all its plans. So, like other VOIP systems, you will not have to upgrade your plan just because you want a business texting feature.

Mitel
This VOIP systems provider focuses on small businesses that mainly operate on their mobile phones. The plans offered by Mitel start at $20.99 per line per month. The features offered in the plan include audio conferencing, video conferencing, unlimited minutes, and integration with various programs such as G suite and outlook. Considering the effects of the pandemic on businesses, Mitel is offering free service till 2021.