Are dropped calls hurting your business?
Juggling poor call quality and unreliable connections makes your team sound unprofessional. It also leaves customers feeling frustrated with your service.
This constant battle with technology is exhausting. Worse, it costs you valuable clients when communication breaks down during a crucial conversation.
The challenge is that many providers promise perfect uptime but hide costs and complexities. This makes choosing the right one feel like a gamble.
But you can find a reliable system. This guide is designed to cut through the noise and provide you with absolute clarity.
In this article, I’ll review the best hosted PBX system options. I’m focusing on providers that deliver crystal-clear calls and dependable uptime.
You’ll discover solutions that reduce IT headaches and support your team’s growth, whether they are in the office or working remotely.
Let’s get started.
Quick Summary:
| # | Software | Rating | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nextiva → | Large enterprises with CX needs | |
| 2 | RingCentral → | Scalable SMBs with remote teams | |
| 3 | 8×8 → | Global businesses seeking efficiency | |
| 4 | Dialpad → | IT-focused mid-sized companies | |
| 5 | GoTo → | SMBs needing simple solutions |
1. Nextiva
Do you dread managing complex phone systems?
Nextiva offers a Unified-CXM platform that consolidates all your customer interactions, simplifying communications for your team. This means you can streamline workflows and enhance your customer experiences effortlessly.
Imagine reducing IT maintenance and boosting collaboration with an integrated solution that drives competitive advantage. You’ll enjoy clear, uninterrupted calls and seamless team communication.
Here’s how to simplify your communications.
Nextiva’s cloud-native architecture provides high availability with no maintenance windows, ensuring your calls are always clear and uninterrupted. This means you can eliminate downtime worries and focus on what matters most: your customers.
The platform offers a robust ACD algorithm for intelligent routing, ensuring calls go to the right agent based on situation and skill, alongside features like real-time dashboards and detailed reporting. You also get capabilities such as Speech to Text Transcription, Sentiment Analysis, and AI Classification, which all boost productivity by offering deep insights into customer interactions and automating tasks.
This simplifies managing your communications and customer interactions.
Key features:
- Unified Communications: Manage voice, live chat, SMS, and video meetings from one platform, streamlining customer interactions across all channels.
- AI & Automation: Leverage Generative AI knowledge base, sentiment analysis, and intelligent routing for efficient customer journeys and agent productivity.
- Integrated Platform: Benefit from an open architecture with REST APIs for continuous innovation, scalability, and compliant hybrid cloud deployment, reducing IT overhead.
Nextiva features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: If you’re seeking the best hosted PBX system that simplifies communication, reduces IT burden, and offers comprehensive customer engagement tools, Nextiva is a strong contender. Its AI-powered Unified-CXM platform streamlines operations, evident in its ability to help companies like Tata Play achieve 40% cost reduction, ensuring uninterrupted service and enhanced customer journeys.
2. RingCentral
Worried about dropped calls and disjointed communication?
RingCentral consolidates your calls, messages, and meetings into one AI-powered platform. This means you can empower every employee with AI-powered calls across devices, ensuring consistent connectivity for your remote teams.
Furthermore, it helps you manage agents, coach performance, and improve customer satisfaction with every interaction, addressing those crucial reliability and support concerns you might have. You’ll simplify operations and reduce maintenance burdens.
Here’s how to gain clarity.
RingCentral’s AI Receptionist acts as a 24/7 digital concierge, handling up to 93% of calls by answering questions, routing calls accurately, and even sending text follow-ups. This reduces the burden on your IT team.
Additionally, their conversation intelligence, RingSense, integrates deeply with your CRM, providing automated recordings, customer insights, and AI-powered coaching to drive sales and enhance customer experiences. Plus, RingCentral offers global scale and reliability with 99.999% availability, ensuring uninterrupted service for your business across over 100 countries. This platform is trusted by over 400,000 customers.
Seamless communications, simplified growth.
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Key features:
- AI Receptionist: Offers 24/7 support by answering questions, routing callers accurately, and sending texts, handling a high percentage of incoming calls.
- Conversation Intelligence: Integrates with your CRM to provide automated call recordings, customer insights, instant summaries, and AI-powered coaching to boost sales.
- Global Reliability: Delivers mission-critical communications with 99.999% availability across over 100 countries, ensuring secure and compliant service from anywhere.
RingCentral features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: RingCentral stands out as a strong contender for the best hosted PBX system, particularly for SMBs seeking a scalable, AI-powered platform. Its integrated communications, global reliability, and AI features like AI Receptionist and conversation intelligence, streamline workflows and enhance customer satisfaction, making it ideal for teams prioritizing uninterrupted service and seamless growth.
3. 8×8
Tired of fragmented communication systems?
8×8 offers a single, intelligent platform to connect your employees and customers globally. This means you can achieve clarity and ensure uninterrupted calls for your business.
This unified approach modernizes legacy systems, enabling your team to stay ahead and build customer loyalty. Your company can mitigate risk, build trust, and ensure secure, compliant communications.
Here’s how to simplify your tech stack.
8×8 solves communication challenges by consolidating tools into one platform. You can elevate customer experience and maximize operational efficiencies with powerful automation and data-driven insights.
Your agents can use AI-powered Contact Center solutions to simplify operations and delight customers. Additionally, 8×8 Work connects teams with an AI-enabled communications suite, and its no-code Communications APIs help you connect with customers on their preferred channels. This platform also supercharges your Microsoft Teams with communication capabilities and contact center integrations.
This unified approach delivers real results, empowering all your customer-facing teams to stay connected and support customers with ease.
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Key features:
- Unified Communications: Connects your global teams and customers through an AI-enabled communications suite for seamless internal and external conversations.
- Contact Center with AI: Powers up your agents with artificial intelligence to simplify operations and delight customers, boosting customer satisfaction.
- Communications APIs: Provides no-code CPaaS solutions to connect you to customers on their preferred channels from a single, integrated platform.
8×8 features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: 8×8 is an excellent choice for a best hosted PBX system if you’re aiming to modernize your communications, improve customer experience, and boost operational efficiency. It’s trusted by over 3 million business users, with customers like San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance reporting significant improvements in call handling and revenue.
4. Dialpad
Struggling with complex phone systems and hidden costs?
You’ll find Dialpad helps streamline communications by providing calls, messages, and meetings with instant AI summaries. This means you can keep your focus on what matters.
Dialpad helps your team gain clarity and ensures uninterrupted communication, reducing the burden of maintenance and integration challenges. It simplifies your journey to better communication.
Here’s how to simplify your communication.
Dialpad solves these issues with an AI-powered customer communications platform. It’s built on a dual-cloud architecture for best-in-class resiliency and reliability, ensuring your operations remain smooth.
This allows you to benefit from real-time AI insights, coaching, and automation for your sales, support, and overall business communications. Your team gains greater efficiency and better outcomes.
Additionally, Dialpad integrates with essential apps like Salesforce, Zendesk, Microsoft Teams, and Google Workspace, making your business run smoothly by bringing teams and workflows together. This consolidation reduces the complexity of managing multiple systems, helping save your company time and resources.
Your communications become remarkably efficient.
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Key features:
- AI-Powered Insights: Get instant AI summaries and action items for calls, messages, and meetings, enhancing customer interactions and streamlining workflows.
- Reliable Dual-Cloud Architecture: Ensures best-in-class resiliency and reliability for your communication platform, minimizing downtime and supporting global operations across 70+ countries.
- Seamless App Integrations: Connects with popular business tools like Salesforce, Zendesk, and Google Workspace, unifying your team’s workflows and improving overall efficiency.
Dialpad features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: If you’re an IT director or business owner seeking the best hosted PBX system, Dialpad offers a solution that streamlines communications with powerful AI insights and robust integrations. With customers like RE/MAX seeing a 2-week reduction in core product training and Randstad saving 10% of time with AI-powered transcriptions, Dialpad is designed to boost efficiency and ensure uninterrupted calls.
5. GoTo
Tired of complex communication systems?
GoTo Connect, an all-in-one platform, addresses this by simplifying your business communications. This means your team can unify various communication tools, overcoming the common challenge of disparate systems.
You’ll avoid the usual headaches of managing multiple vendors or struggling with integration complexities, allowing your IT staff to focus on higher-value tasks rather than constant system maintenance.
Here’s how GoTo transforms your operations.
GoTo Connect offers a smart business phone system with over 100 features. This includes a cloud-based phone system and softphone, perfect for remote teams needing reliable call quality.
You can streamline your entire customer experience with their comprehensive CX suite, integrating phone, softphone, digital channels, and advanced reporting. Additionally, the AI-powered Contact Center empowers agents and informs supervisors with intuitive IT management.
Plus, GoTo’s innovative AI Receptionist works 24/7, answering calls and automating tasks, reclaiming your team’s time for higher-value work and ensuring no customer inquiry is ever missed. The result? Uninterrupted communication and clearer insights.
Key features:
- All-in-one business communication: Offers a unified cloud platform for phone, softphone, and digital channels, reducing IT maintenance and streamlining communication for your entire team.
- AI-powered solutions: Includes an AI Receptionist that automates call handling 24/7, freeing up your team to focus on more strategic tasks and improving customer service reliability.
- Comprehensive customer experience tools: Provides a full suite of CX tools with advanced reporting and an attendant console to elevate customer engagement and satisfaction.
GoTo features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: GoTo Connect stands out as an excellent hosted PBX system for SMBs seeking to simplify communications and boost productivity. Its all-in-one, AI-powered features, including the AI Receptionist, ensure clarity and uninterrupted calls, making it ideal for businesses prioritizing seamless operations and enhanced customer service without overwhelming implementation complexity.
6. Ooma
Struggling with complex, unreliable business communication?
Ooma offers business phone service, internet, and POTS replacement solutions, simplifying your communication infrastructure.
This means you can streamline your workflows and reduce maintenance burdens, ensuring your team stays connected and productive, even supporting remote workers. It’s about achieving clarity and uninterrupted calls for your business.
Here’s how Ooma delivers.
Ooma provides phone, video, and messaging solutions that are highly customizable for any size business. This means you can get a system that fits your specific needs, whether you’re a small startup or a growing enterprise.
You’ll benefit from features like a desktop and mobile app for flexibility, a virtual receptionist to manage calls efficiently, and call recording for quality assurance. Plus, with integrations for tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and QuickBooks Online, your existing CRM and business applications work together seamlessly, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.
Additionally, Ooma supports team collaboration with videoconferencing and team chat, ensuring your employees can communicate effortlessly, regardless of their location. This comprehensive approach helps you reduce IT maintenance and adapt to business growth.
Simplify your business communications today.
Key features:
- Comprehensive Communication Solutions: Offers customizable phone, video, and messaging, including business internet and POTS replacement, suitable for any business size.
- Advanced Call Management & Collaboration: Provides virtual receptionist, call recording, mobile and desktop apps, videoconferencing, and team chat to enhance productivity and flexibility.
- Seamless CRM Integrations: Connects with popular business tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and QuickBooks Online for streamlined workflows and improved data synergy.
Ooma features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Ooma simplifies complex communication challenges with its robust features like call management, comprehensive integrations, and flexible solutions, making it a strong contender for the best hosted PBX system for SMBs aiming for clarity and uninterrupted calls.
Conclusion
Still battling unreliable call quality?
I know the frustration. Choosing a provider feels like a gamble when everyone promises perfect uptime but hides complexities, making software selection a massive headache.
This indecision is more than just an inconvenience. When your calls drop or sound unprofessional, you risk damaging client trust and losing valuable business opportunities with every interaction.
Here’s what I recommend instead.
From everything I’ve reviewed, Nextiva truly stands out for bringing absolute clarity and rock-solid reliability to your communications infrastructure.
For those also navigating the complexities of software selection in specialized fields, my analysis of best long term care software offers additional insights.
Its powerful Unified-CXM platform helped companies like Tata Play achieve 40% cost reduction. The best hosted PBX system should deliver that kind of tangible ROI.
I strongly recommend you book a free demo of Nextiva to see firsthand how it can eliminate dropped calls and streamline operations.
Your team will finally get clarity.
