Best Business Phone Systems 2019

Finding the perfect business phone system in 2019 can be a challenge. With dozens of options on the market, each with its own valuable features and tools, deciding which one is the best fit for your business isn't so simple. To help in your search, we researched and analyzed more than 75 providers. Our best picks are below, as well as a comprehensive list of phone system and unified communications providers in case our choices don't fit your needs. To learn more about phones systems, check out our guide to choosing a business phone system.

Today's business phone systems offer much more than just a way to make and receive phone calls. A number of today's solutions, including some of our best picks, are considered unified communications systems.

Instead of focusing solely on a business's calling needs, unified communications systems support all of the ways employees now communicate with customers, clients and co-workers. This means not only traditional phone calls, but audio conferencing, video conferencing, instant messaging, online faxing and text messaging.

While many organizations offer these services to their employees, each component used to be provided by a different vendor. A business might have had one provider for its phone system, another for its conference calling and a third for its video conferencing. Unified communications systems tie all of that into one platform.

These are the main components of a unified communications system:

• Phone calls: This is traditional phone service that allows employees to make and receive calls.
  
  
• Conference calling: Unified communications systems include a conference bridge that allows each user to host their own conference calls. The number of people who can be on a call at one time depends on the provider. Some systems allow conference calls with 5-10 people, while others allow for hundreds of people at one time.
  
  
• Video/web conferencing: This allows employees to host video meetings with video conferencing hardware, or via a computer equipped with a camera and microphone. Employees can host meetings and see others' faces on the call. In addition, most of these services allow for screen sharing, which lets everyone in the meeting view documents or presentations together. The number of participants who can be on a video call at one time varies by provider. It can be just a handful or as many as 100.
  
  
• Instant messaging: Many unified communications systems include the ability for employees to instant message each other. By logging in to the system, they can send messages back and forth to ask questions and collaborate on projects.
  
  
• Text messaging: Some solutions allow you to send text messages from your business line. Since texting has become so popular, this allows employees the ability to send messages without giving out their personal numbers.
  
  
• Faxing: These systems allow users to send online faxes rather than using a dedicated fax machine. They can send a fax to a recipient's email or fax machine from the platform.

Having all of these tools on one platform can make communication much easier for employees, in turn making them more productive.

Cloud-hosted systems have really driven the expansion of unified communication systems. Instead of paying tens of thousands of dollars for an on-premises system that house all of these features, cloud-hosted services offer all of this for a low monthly, per-user fee.

To help you find the right business phone systems, we researched and analyzed dozens of options. Here is a roundup of our 2019 best picks for business phone systems and an explanation of how we chose them.

Locating the Best Services

To determine the best business phone systems, we started by listing all of the vendors that have good reputations online (i.e., services that other websites favorably and consistently reviewed). Next, we interviewed small business owners to learn which systems they use and like. If it was a new system not on our list, we then added those companies to our preliminary list.

Choosing the Best Services

We ultimately settled on the following 25 phone systems to consider as best picks: 8x8, AT&T, Avaya, Booth, Cisco, Comcast, Dialpad, Digium, ESI, eVoice, FluentStream, FreedomVoice, Grasshopper, Jive, Mitel, NetFortris, Nextiva, OnSIP, Ooma Office, Phone.com, RingByName, RingCentral, Skype, Toshiba and Vonage. (See our full list of business phone systems and their websites below.)

Researching Each Service

Next, we researched each provider by investigating its services, watching tutorials and how-to videos, and reading user comments. We also contacted each company's customer service department, posing as business owners to gauge the support each provider offers. Finally, we considered the pricing that was viewable on these services' websites or what was quoted to us during customer service calls. We analyzed each system based on the following factors: deployment options, level of service, reliability, customer service, calling features, collaboration tools, mobility options, cost, and Better Business Bureau accreditation, ratings and complaints.

Q: What is unified communications?

A: Unified communications is the ability to access all of your communication tools from one platform. Many of today's business phone systems are in fact unified communications systems. While these systems still offer traditional phone service, they also include a number of other communication tools that professionals now rely on.

Among the added features in unified communications services are audio conferencing, video and web conferencing, instant messaging, and text messaging. Previously, in order to use all of these communication tools, organizations had to use a different service provider for each. Unified communications streamlines the process by allowing you to access all of these tools from the same company. This not only boosts production among employees, but can also be a significant cost-saver for businesses.

Q: What should I look for in a business phone system provider?

A: There are multiple factors to consider when choosing a business phone system provider. First and foremost, you want to ensure the system has all of the functionality and features your business needs. Can it support the number of employees who need the service? Does it have all of the features your business relies on or would benefit from?

While some businesses only want standard calling features like caller ID and voicemail, others want added functionality like ring groups, automated attendants and on-hold music. Also consider any other communication tools your business needs, like video conferencing and instant messaging.

Another factor to consider is a business phone system's reliability. A phone system is of no use if it isn't always up and running when you need it. This is especially important for a cloud-hosted solution. Be sure to ask each provider what its annual uptime percentage is. If it isn't 99.999 percent, find out what the company is doing to correct those issues. In addition, be sure to ask about its service-level agreements and if it has any uptime-related clauses. Many business phone system providers will give users money back if the system doesn't hit a certain uptime percentage.

Finally, what type of customer support does the company offer? If you don't have a full-time IT staff that can handle any issues, you want a business phone system provider that will be available to answer questions when you have them, preferably through multiple channels and online resources.

Q: What is the best business phone system?

A: Since every business is different, it is hard to say that one business phone system can fill the needs of every business. That's why our recommendations for the best business phone systems are based on specific use cases, like best for small businesses, best for remote employees and best for call centers.

For each use case, we looked at the functionality and tools those types of businesses would need from a business phone system. We then compared and contrasted the various phone system providers based on those criteria.

After conducting our research, we recommend 8x8 as the best business phone system for small business, Ooma Office as the best business phone system for very small businesses, RingCentral as the best business phone service, Grasshopper as the best virtual business phone system and Mitel as the best business phone system for call centers.

You can read specifics on each selection above and in our in-depth reviews, as well as more details on how we selected our best picks.

The uses and capabilities of business phone systems will continue to expand in 2019. One trend sure to continue is the growth of unified communications systems. Businesses no longer use their phone systems to simply make and receive phone calls. These systems are also being used for instant messaging, video calls and faxing.

Research from RingCentral shows that many employees struggle to balance all of their communication outlets. More than 70 percent of workers say their communications volume is an obstacle to getting work done, with 68 percent saying they toggle between different communication tools at least 10 times a day. Of those employees, more than 30 percent say going back and forth between their different outlets causes them to lose their train of thought.

"Today's workforce is under siege by a flood of communications apps," said Riadh Dridi, chief marketing officer of RingCentral, in a statement. "More than ever, our attention is scattered across a wide array of different apps and communications channels. These apps are meant to bolster our productivity, but managing myriad apps is proving difficult – with serious repercussions for businesses."

Employees appreciate access to all of their communication tools from one platform, according to the data. The study discovered that 67 percent of workers believe it helps them achieve better workflow, while 65 percent say it makes them more productive. 

With that in mind, we expect an increase in the number of businesses adopting unified communications systems to increase productivity among their employees and consolidate their communication tools.  

As more organizations adopt these systems in 2019, you can also count on more phone system providers to look for ways to beef up their unified communications offerings. For example, in recent months, 8x8 launched a new team messaging tool for enterprise organizations, and RingCentral unveiled a new UC-specific mobile app.  

Any business phone system providers still focusing solely on phone service will certainly be looking to see how they can expand their offerings to include more communication options. Providers that don't move toward a unified communications platform will likely see many of their customers switch to a provider with that level of functionality.

Want to learn more about choosing the best business phone system? Check out our full coverage here:

• Business Phone Systems Buying Guide
• Best Business Phone Service
• Best for Small Offices
• Best Virtual Phone System
• Best for Call Centers