Get a virtual phone number for your business
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Written by Roman Tobe
Director, Product Marketing
Reviewed by Esther Yoon
VP, Product & Industry Marketing
Updated: 22 July 2024
What is a virtual phone number?
A virtual phone number is just like a normal telephone number, except that it’s not limited to one physical location. And, it’s accessible via a cloud-based system that let’s you make calls over the internet.
Such virtual, cloud-based phone services or systems are modern business communications solutions. They combine the best features of enterprise-level phone systems and the flexibility and mobility of web-based tools.
These telephony solutions provide access to a virtual number for business use that users can get on any internet-connected device. They also typically boast a suite of more advanced features to aid business communication and collaboration.
As a result, you don’t just get a solution for making voice calls—you get a complete virtual phone service that manages your incoming calls and lets you send internet fax and SMS as well as host and join conferences from anywhere.
Why go virtual with your telephone service?
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the technology that allows us to make and receive phone calls over the internet in real-time. It’s a set of protocols working together to deliver internet telephony functions similar to regular phone lines or PSTN (public switched telephone network).
It’s VoIP, then, which makes virtual phone services work and provides flexibility and mobility that’s not possible with traditional telephony. By delivering voice calling functions over internet connections, it allows anyone to use virtual business numbers from anywhere via their laptops, desktops, or smart devices. Thus, supporting remote and hybrid working, among other benefits.
Why virtual phone numbers for business are popular?
The modern business technology landscape has evolved and changed apace in the past few decades. In the past, enterprises had a huge advantage over smaller businesses because much of the most advanced business technology required huge capital investment.
Business communications was a prime example. For the longest time, on-premises phone systems were considered enterprise-level only because, well, only large enterprises are able to afford them.
That all changed with the arrival of the cloud. Instead of businesses hosting the service within their premises, providers host their service on their own cloud data centers and deliver the service through the internet.
This setup has given this business communications solution a distinct edge over on-premises systems and gave organizations more reason to go virtual with their business phone service.
Now, most business tools are delivered via the internet–and that includes how a business communicates.
How does a virtual phone service work?
A virtual phone service works by combining different communications tools into one solution, which leverages the cloud. This makes it accessible from anywhere around the world.
To understand how a virtual phone service works, you have to understand each of its basic components:
The best business phone numbers available anywhere
Unlike regular phone numbers that are tethered to single landlines, virtual phone services feature phone numbers that can be accessed from anywhere as long as there is an internet connection.
That means you can choose the best virtual phone number for business—be it a local, vanity, toll-free, or other option—and make it available to your team, wherever they are.
The benefits of a virtual phone number for business
Your virtual phone number works by leveraging VoIP technology (more on that later) so users can make or receive calls using their business phone numbers instead of their personal numbers. This adds an air of professionalism as the calls are made from an official business number.
And that’s just one of the benefits of a virtual business phone number.
In addition, users can also distinguish calls coming to their personal cell phone number versus calls coming into their virtual business phone numbers. This way, they can ignore unknown calls going to their personal number but still pick up calls from unknown phone numbers to their business phone number—which could be potential customers.
VoIP as a replacement for traditional business phone services
Virtual numbers for business—and virtual phone services as a whole—are only possible thanks to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). It’s the technology that makes internet telephony a viable alternative to traditional phone systems.
VoIP vs PSTN
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the traditional method of connecting phone calls. It uses circuit-switched phone technology to transmit voice. PSTN uses the telephone carrier’s infrastructure, so every call made is charged based on the use of this resource.
VoIP, on the other hand, harnesses the flexibility of the internet to connect phone calls from any web-connected device. It works via packet switching, where voice data is broken up into multiple small packets that are transmitted over the internet.The packets are then reassembled and played on the receiver’s end in real-time.
This is possible through a set of protocols working together to mimic the telephony function of PSTN. Because it does not use the regular carrier’s networks for transmitting voice calls, it greatly reduces your call costs, especially on long-distance calls, while getting more flexibility by being accessible from anywhere there’s an internet connection.
Why do you want a virtual landline?
The problem with traditional phone services is that they are usually tied to one telephone. If someone wants to work outside the office or needs to do some field work, they would have to use their own cellular minutes and personal phone numbers.
With a virtual phone service, that’s no longer a problem. Due to VoIP serving as its telephony component, it can act as a virtual landline that allows users to make and receive calls using their virtual phone number from anywhere.
VoIP is designed to transmit multimedia content, like voice calls, over IP networks, in real-time. It replicates the functionality of a regular telephone service but incorporates the flexibility of online services.
There used to be criticism that VoIP call quality is inferior from regular phone calls. That is now just a myth.The technology has come a long way and, in fact, a lot of the top VoIP providers—like RingCentral—offer HD VoIP, which provides HD quality voice calls (even on desktop computers and cell phones).
Flexibility, mobility, and HD quality voice calls—VoIP has really established itself as the best telephony option, especially for businesses.
Cloud PBX handles the virtual phone service call routing and management capabilities
Virtual business phone numbers backed by VoIP technology mean you can make and take calls via your internet connection. But what about routing and managing the calls that you do receive? That’s where cloud-hosted PBX (Private Branch eXchange) comes in.
Cloud-hosted PBX vs on-premises PBX
On-premises PBX, as the name implies, is the on-premises call routing component of traditional office phone systems. The main infrastructure consists of a number of servers housed within the building it serves. It receives all incoming calls and routes them to the right extensions.
Cloud-hosted PBX, on the other hand, is housed remotely in the provider’s data center and is delivered and accessed via the Internet.
Through a group of servers hosted in their data centers, virtual phone service providers are able to provide call routing, auto-attendant capabilities, virtual extensions for departments or users, and other call management features to businesses.
This allows businesses to automatically answer all incoming calls and route each call to the right department or individual within the company.
And, like VoIP and virtual phone numbers, the service can also be accessed from anywhere there’s an internet connection.
Each component of a virtual phone service, therefore, leverages the reach of the internet to give businesses and their users a more flexible and mobile communications solution compared to its traditional counterparts.
More than just a business phone number app: The best virtual phone service
Each business has different business communications needs so the best virtual phone service for each one can also be different.
RingCentral, however, is highly rated by small businesses and enterprises alike. It’s an industry-leading unified communications solution that’s so much more than simply the best business phone number service around.
Aside from getting the above main communication components, RingCentral provides businesses with other communication tools, too—including an advanced online meetings solution with screen sharing as well as team collaboration and messaging features.
The best part is that all these features are unified and can be accessed through a single platform from your desktop and mobile.
Why move to the RingCentral virtual phone system
Built to support businesses
The basic capabilities include unlimited VoIP and conference calling, virtual toll-free numbers, and caller IDs you can personalize. You can access more features like texting, faxing, and even HD video online meetings without switching to other systems.
Communications with mobility and flexibility
Use your business phone number to make calls, send text messages, and fax from any mobile device. You can receive business calls through the same automatic call routing flow you've set up for work.
Simple and easy setup
Start using your business phone numbers in 24 hours or less. Customize the system to align with changes to your organization - scale up, scale back, and update processes and preferences.
No need for hardware
Sign up and start making calls over the internet. You can configure the virtual phone service to work with your office's network through your account dashboard--you don't need cables or any other hardware to add extensions. You can remove lines with just a few clicks.
Reliable customer support
Our award-winning support resources are available 24/7, and include staff that can set up your phone system for you. Reach out to us for recommendations, consultations, and technical support.
Robust phone service plans
You get just one itemized bill each month covering everything you can ever need for your business communications--voice, chat, text, fax, meetings, and more.
Business phone numbers with no boundaries
Build a national or local presence with virtual phone numbers
Whether you want to build a national presence or establish your business in a local community, RingCentral has a virtual number for businesses like yours.
- Toll-free numbers: Establish a nationwide presence with 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, or 800 numbers. Make your business accessible all over the country.
- Local numbers: Build a virtual presence in another location, even without a physical presence there. Choose from more than 200 available area codes in different regions across the US.
- International numbers: You can build your global presence in foreign cities around the world. You can set up a local or toll-free number for over 80 countries.
Use your business telephone numbers anywhere and on any device
Your business phone numbers are not tied to a specific phone or location. You can bring and use them wherever you go. As a result, you can keep personal and business calls separate by using your RingCentral phone number to not only make voice calls, but also send internet fax, SMS, or MMS when you’re out of the office. So instead of using cellular minutes, you are using your RingCentral phone service instead. Just download the RingCentral unified app for your PC or Mac® or for your Android™ or iOS® device to turn your computer or smartphone into a business line.
Complete feature-rich virtual phone service
An HD VoIP-enabled phone system
RingCentral leverages VoIP as its main inbound and outbound calling component, but takes it to a whole new level by supporting HD VoIP across all plans and pricing. It provides subscribers a best-in-class call experience that is at least twice the sound quality of typical voice calls made on an analog landline.
The best part is that it is not limited to just the HD-enabled IP desk phones. HD voice is enabled by default on RingCentral unified apps for both desktops/laptops and mobile devices.
A virtual PBX system with auto attendant and advanced routing capabilities
RingCentral also expertly forwards all incoming calls to your virtual business phone numbers. The auto attendant feature answers all calls with a customizable greeting before routing it to the right department or individual extension. You can further customize the way your company handles calls by configuring your company’s answering rules using conditions based on time of day, date range, incoming caller ID, and more.
Phone integrations for your business apps
Integrate virtual phone service with the most used business applications
RingCentral has integrations with top business applications such as Salesforce®, Hubspot, Google, and Microsoft Teams. While each integration is different, the main idea is to add communication components from the RingCentral virtual phone service to the applications used by companies. It improves efficiency and productivity by removing the need to switch from one app (or device) to another.
Integrate telephony and other communications functions into your custom apps
If you have custom applications and the existing integrations do not fit your workflows, you can use RingCentral open APIs to integrate communication options to your own custom apps instead. Aside from voice, you can also add SMS, messaging, and conferencing functions into your business applications. You can even add data and analytics components to gain insights on how you can better use your app together with your virtual phone service.
More business communication tools in one virtual phone system
So, you’ve learned that the basic virtual phone system leverages virtual phone numbers, VoIP, and cloud PBX as its main components.
RingCentral, however, is more than just your basic virtual phone service. It’s a complete, industry-leading communications solution that meets most, if not all, business communications needs.
Aside from the basic functions, RingCentral also provides:
A compliant business SMS and internet faxing service
Aside from voice calls, RingCentral also provides other communication avenues for businesses and their users. Internet faxing lets you and your team send and receive faxes without a physical fax machine. You can access your faxes through your online account or through the RingCentral app.
The same goes for business SMS. Instead of using your personal phone number to send SMS or MMS to clients and customers, you can instead use your business phone number. This adds credibility to your text message, as it uses a telephone number associated with your company.
An online meetings solution
RingEX® subscribers will also get an online meetings solution that can solve your business’s need for face-to-face meetings without increasing your travel expenses. Impress your customers and your team with HD-quality video and voice.
The online meetings feature also lets you share your screen with all participants, ensuring that you’re all on the same page. If people have no access to their computers, you can also host a teleconference or audio conference that people can join using any phone available to them.
A team collaboration suite
Get more done by improving collaboration within your team. The RingCentral app provides businesses a real-time team messaging app that also allows for quick file sharing and task management. Your team can also instantly set up a video meeting from the app if there is a need for face-to-face conversation.
A unified communications platform
The best part is that all these features can be accessed from a unified platform. RingCentral removes the need to shuffle from one app to another to access all their features. This allows you to seamlessly transition from calls to video meetings and to team messaging without losing track of what you are working on.
Sign up for a RingCentral account now and get the best virtual phone number for business as part of a holistic virtual phone service and unified communications solution.
RingCentral business communications plans for your small business
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More resources about VoIP and internet phone services
What VoIP is and how it works
Internet phone service
VoIP phone systems
VoIP provider
VoIP network
Small business phone service
How a virtual phone call works
Important details and disclaimers