Ooma: Standard-Setting Business Communication

About Ooma

Ooma's platform provides Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP, services along with other features that businesses find useful in communicating externally and internally. The company also offers Ooma Telo, a residential phone service, as well as Ooma home security services. They are actually a Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) provider that offers solutions that include video conferencing, voice calls, text messages, call center operations, business software applications, and so on, all integrated into one interface. They boast that they have clear HD-audio calls, and offer clients over 50 perks like free toll-free numbers and local phone numbers, virtual receptionists, and ring groups. Their services are currently available for customers in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Canada.

They advertise their phone systems primarily towards small businesses, but they may conceivably fit all business sizes; as large enterprises, start-ups, small businesses, and solo entrepreneurs can all benefit from their services. For larger companies with more than 20 users, they have higher-tier packages under their Ooma Enterprise banner. They cater to a large variety of industries, including hospitality, restaurants, healthcare, real estate, manufacturing, retail, franchises, law firms, nonprofits, technology, construction, professional services, financial services, auto shops, churches, advertising, education, and insurance. 

They state that they use government-level encryption technology to secure data and communications, ensuring user privacy and safety. Ooma's AirDial architecture connects through a managed facilities-based voice network (MFVN), avoiding the public internet. Cellular carriers work with Ooma to create a direct wired connection to the Ooma cloud, terminating at public switched telephone network (PSTN). This eliminates the need for traffic to be handed off to the public internet, unlike many other VoIP solutions. However, Ooma does not encrypt your stored data, so with regards to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance, for example, healthcare users should turn off data storage features or implement policies to prevent their use. However, pairing with analog fax machines helps with HIPAA compliance by encrypting patient information and keeping it off the public internet.

They have a great reputation in the telecommunications industry, winning many awards for their VoIP and unified communications products from the likes of Inc. Magazine and Elevator Magazine; and have won PCMag's Business Choice Award for Best VoIP System for ten years from 2014 and 2023. However, they are not currently accredited or rated by the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Ooma Business Phone Features

They offer many services as part of their UCaaS business solutions, boasting over 50 features— although many perks are reserved for higher-tiered plans. While we cannot list all of these features here, the ones that stand out are:

• VoIP telephony features: First and foremost, they offer unlimited domestic calling in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico with low international rates. They provide a main company number, 911 service, and a toll-free number with the first 500 minutes of inbound calls for free. If you already have a business phone number or landline, you may port it over for free. They will also provide a direct dial number for every user, in case clients want to reach certain employees directly
• Phone call management: They have a long list of useful business phone perks, much of which you would expect to find in such a system like call forwarding and transfers, transfer and on-hold music, extensions, 3-way calling, voicemail, blocking, ringtones, company directory, and so on. They also provide call parks, which is an advanced type of transfer that allows you to switch locations or devices while callers wait in 'parking spots'
• Virtual receptionist: This tool will route incoming calls, provide important business information, and offer a language menu and department selection options for callers
• Ring groups: This is a solution for businesses with a team of employees that can answer calls, where multiple users and their devices can be assigned to a Ring Group. When a call comes in, it rings all associated devices either simultaneously or sequentially until someone picks up
• Virtual faxing: Faxing may be necessary for some companies, so they offer online faxing capabilities. You can add the feature to any user's extension or have users review the company’s virtual fax logs
• Conference bridge: For hassle-free meetings, companies can use a conference bridge with a PIN for up to 10 participants per user. It's useful for internal meetings, client communication, and meetings with partners and agencies
• Mobility options: They provide services that free you from being tied down to the office. Among those is their mobile device app, available on iOS and Android, which has many useful perks like making calls, call flipping, Do Not Disturb (DND), transcribing voicemail, recording calls, and so on. They also offer voice-to-email audio files, extension dialing to app, and simultaneous ring, where you would have multiple devices ring when a user is called
• Desktop app: Available for Pro users and above, this app allows you to use your system from your desktop and send texts from there
• Videoconferencing: Also for Pro users and above, Ooma provides this functionality on the web or via the mobile app, boasting noise-free, multi-featured performance; with the ability to record meetings and integrate into your Google or Microsoft calendars
• Call recording: They allow you to record your calls, either automatically for all your calls or on-demand, and place them in an easy-to-find section of the dashboard
• Hot desking: This feature allows your hybrid or remote users to use their work lines wherever they are in the office
• Hardware compatibility: They have a lot of handsets and other tech that you can purchase, which include many wired and WI-FI IP and conference phone models, as well as adapters. They also offer an easy POTS replacement solution
• CRM integrations: They allow you to sync into such applications as Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce, wherein your tasks and information would be made available and calls could be initiated

If you're interested in learning more about the rest of their feature set that they offer, you may visit their small business or enterprise webpages, or request a quote and inquire.

Ooma Plans & Pricing

Ooma has two categories of advertised plans, Ooma Office for small businesses and Ooma Enterprise for businesses with over 20 users. Each of these offers three plan tiers with increasing feature sets and costs. Their business phone plans for small businesses can all be taken on a month-to-month basis, with no contract necessary, and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. They are as follows:

• Ooma Office Essentials: This plan costs $19.95 a month per user, and comes with all standard VoIP service and management features discussed above, as well as the mobile app functionality, virtual receptionist, ring groups, call park, conference bridges, forwarding calls during outages, intercom, and virtual fax, among other things. They also promise an easy installation procedure, user portal, and analog fax machine support. When you buy one IP phone, you get another free
• Ooma Office Pro: This costs $24.95 a month per user, and comes with all Essential features, as well as the desktop app, text messaging, videoconferencing for up to 25 participants, and robust call recording outside of mobile app
• Ooma Office Pro Plus: For $29.95 a month per user, you get the features of Pro plus being able to have 100 participants during videoconferencing. You also get CRM integration, team chat, hot desking, and call queuing functionalities

If you opt for an Ooma Enterprise, these are your choices:

• Standard: With this plan you get similar features to those in Essential, above, and for a similar price of $19.99 a month per user. However, you also have audio meetings, text messaging, hot desking, and the desktop app on top of the mobile app. On top of that, you receive 'White Glove' onboarding support and your own 'customer success heroes' assigned
• Enhanced: With $27.99 a month per user, you get the features in Standard along with video meetings, 'enhanced' text messaging and call blocking, call recording, voicemail transcription, CRM integration, and business analytics. You also get a web-based admin portal with an open API framework
• Call Center: This top-tier plan comes at a much higher cost, $49.99 a month per user, but adds to the above with advanced features like skills-based routing, unlimited call queues, call-backs, advanced real-time reporting, intelligent reconnect, Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), Interactive Voice Response (IVR), and so on

Keep in mind that Ooma may impose a $29.95 activation fee for business phone plans, and the availability of international toll-free numbers are restricted.

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The Perks of Ooma Business Phone Systems

There are many advantages to engaging Ooma's services for your business's VoIP and communications needs. Those include:

• 24/7 customer support: Ooma provides excellent 24/7 customer support for all subscription levels, ensuring assistance is available whenever needed
• Compatibility with existing non-digital office phones: Ooma's system can be used with existing non-digital office phones, allowing businesses to leverage their current hardware
• Entry-level plan includes many features: Even the entry-level plan includes a plethora of phone service and management features, including perks such as digital fax, providing essential communication tools for businesses
• Dedicated onboarding and support: For enterprise clients, even the lowest plan comes with 'white glove' onboarding to ensure your transition is as painless as possible, and they even include dedicated customer success heroes to support you with your every day inquiries
• Flat and transparent pricing: They advertise their flat and transparent pricing without long-term commitments, making it easy for businesses to understand costs

Disadvantages of Ooma Business Phones

• Toll free numbers cost extra: Additional charges apply for toll-free numbers, which may increase costs for businesses requiring this feature
• Limited UCaaS in basic plan: Basic plans do not include video conferencing, and their messaging capabilities may be limited, which may be a limitation for budget-conscious businesses requiring alternative communication methods
• CRM integration only available for top plans: Integration with CRM systems is limited to the highest tier plan, potentially restricting access to this feature for some users

The Ooma Customer Experience

This company receives mixed reviews from customers online. They get a score of 2.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot. On the other hand, they get higher scores elsewhere, such as garnering a 4.5 out of 5 score on G2, 7.8 out of 10 on TrustRadius, and 4.5 out of 5 on Capterra. That being said, these scores come from a smaller pool of reviews than those on Trustpilot.

Positive feedback

Many reviews were ecstatic about Ooma's system performance and feature set. They praised their reasonable service quality, clear voice quality on calls, good quality desktop office phones, easy initial setup, and helpful customer service. Some reviewers went out of their way to recommend Ooma Office for small businesses due to its cost-effectiveness, outstanding customer support, feature-rich service, and reliable communications solution. They liked that they allow users to take business calls on personal cell phones without exposing personal numbers, and thought they simplify communications for virtual offices.

A lot of users appreciate Ooma's business phone system's affordability, feature richness, and flexibility. The consistent praise for cost-effectiveness, convenience, and customer support indicates a fairly positive impact on various businesses.

Critical feedback

However, there were many recent negative reviews of Ooma. Some points those users brought up include difficulty canceling the service, erratic customer service, technical problems such as sound quality issues, number porting difficulties, and frequent service outages. Some were frustrated with the company continuing to charge them after cancellation, leading to long wait times on customer service calls. Others expressed concerns about Ooma's longevity, with system downtimes lasting several days eliciting the need for improvements or a new service.

Other complaints include deceptive practices, allegations of intentional obsolescence tactics, and inadequate equipment for businesses. A few reviewers were unhappy with Ooma's telemarketing calls, which those reviewers say raises concerns about privacy and data access. Inconsistencies in features and connectivity across Ooma's mobile and PC apps are also reported by some users, as well as other occasional technical issues and long wait times for customer support on occasion.

They have a fair amount of complaints on the BBB regarding cancelations and a few of the other points above. Ooma responds very promptly, although only to state that the issues have been resolved satisfactorily, which indicates that they did so through private channels. The speed of complaint resolutions shows that they are committed to high customer satisfaction.

Ooma Customer Service

There are many ways to access their business customer support, which is available 24/7. Those methods are as follows:

• Telephone: For small business plan users, the number is 1-866-939-6662. For Enterprise users, it is 1-866-688-6662
• Email: Enterprise users can email support at [email protected]. There is no publically shared address for small businesses, however
• Live chat: You can access this by submitting a request here
• Help guide: You may access a long list of helpful documents at their online support center

Conclusion

Ooma's Business Phone System offers a diverse range of features catering to various business sizes and industries. The platform is designed to provide VoIP services and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), incorporating video conferencing, voice calls, text messages, and call center operations. Ooma Office is a great option for small companies because they have an affordable entry-level plan with no contracts. As for enterprises, this VoIP company offers UCaaS solutions with various features to keep business running as smoothly as possible.

Ooma's Business Phone System offers scalable and feature-rich communication solutions for businesses of all sizes. However, advanced features are limited to higher-tier plans, and customer reviews are mixed. The system offers transparent pricing, hardware compatibility, and strong security measures. Positive feedback highlights affordability, feature richness, and outstanding customer support. Negative feedback mentions difficulty canceling services, sound quality issues, and occasional service outages. If you're searching for the best buy for your business, you should weigh the mixed reviews and consider specific feature requirements against the costs before deciding.

We have various resources available to assist you in making informed purchase decisions. You can start by checking out our reviews page, which lists the top companies in the industry. Once you have narrowed down your choices, you can compare them against each other. If you are unsure about any industry-specific standards or jargon, we regularly publish blog articles that may be helpful to you. Selecting the right VoIP and business phone solutions provider for your business can be difficult, but we aim to simplify the process for you.

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