Latest software update broadens and solidifies RingCentral's position as a global communications platform for businesses of all sizes.
Market pioneer goes global
As the old wired business phone call is replaced by the IP phone call, the old on-premise PBX system is also going away, being replaced by smart, cloud-based solutions that deliver HD quality phone calls, SMS texting, e-faxing, audio conferencing and video meetings —all from just about any internet connected device. Since 1999, RingCentral has been at the forefront of that Unified Communications revolution. Now, with their latest platform release (version 8.1), RingCentral is clearly focused on enabling businesses of all sizes to easily and affordably "go global" in a big way.
RingCentral's newest release includes enhancements in the areas of multiple languages, contacts sharing across devices, "hot desking", consolidated multisystem administration, and —most importantly— in-region outbound dialing from 18 base countries out to a total of 79 calling destination countries across 4 regional calling zones.
Crossing the VoIP pond
For several years now, RingCentral has been the platform of choice for many North American and UK businesses wanting to establish an overseas presence. RingCentral enables companies with branches (or headquarters) in North America or the UK to easily add in-country phone numbers to their PBX in many other parts of the world. A foreign phone number means they can accept inbound phone calls from international sources without incurring toll costs.
Conversely, many overseas companies wishing to branch out to the UK, US, or Canada also leverage RingCentral as a way to communicate across many parts of Europe or the entire North American market without incurring international toll charges. By setting up US, UK, or Canada phone numbers, overseas RingCentral subscribers are able to take "local" calls from their European or North American clients, right from the comfort of their overseas headquarters.
The downside? Outbound calling. For example, calling the local restaurant overseas from any RingCentral line (from within country or not) requires dialing long distance codes and incurs international tolls. The solution? RingCentral's Global Office add-on offering.
Global Office — Telephony without boundaries
In their 8.1 release, RingCentral has "sweetened the international pie" by making their Global Office add-on service available to all RingCentral subscribers in all price tiers. Formerly an exclusive enterprise product, Global Office completes the overseas puzzle by allowing local outbound calling from 18 different countries (soon to grow to 32). Now, any RingCentral subscriber can become a truly global enterprise.
For each Global Office subscriber, the company is assigned 1,000 monthly "bucket" calling minutes for use within the calling region from which each overseas extension originates. These "bucket" minutes are aggregated at the company level and can be shared among all extensions (Global Office or not). For their 8.1 release, Global Office support has also been expanded from 14 base countries to a new total of 18 (with another 15 countries coming soon).
RingCentral's agreements with multiple carriers worldwide means outbound dialing is a seamless, secure, in-country experience, complete with local caller ID, local emergency services dialing (i.e. 112, 999, 911), and in most cases, even bundled mobile minutes. And thanks to a new global distribution partnership, any desk phones ordered can ship directly to any overseas location within the supported countries in a matter of days.
Speaking your language
Also part of their global initiative are the beginnings of support for multiple languages on RingCentral's web portal, desktop, and mobile apps. Originally available in US English only, RingCentral's localization efforts are bringing support more languages to their UI.
The 8.1 release now supports German, French, Canadian French, and UK English. As RingCentral's Global Office service continues to expand to more countries such as Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Italy and Israel, expect to see additional languages added to their apps. Personally, I can't wait for Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese support.
"Hot Desking" — the ultimate multi-user desk phone
A new 8.1 feature that is available only to Office Premium and Enterprise subscribers is the ability to keep unassigned desk phones active so that multiple users can sign into them as guest users. Referred to as "Hot Desking", this feature allows oversubscribed desk phones to serve as reusable devices that any employee can sign into to retrieve all their personal extension settings. This feature supports several use cases such as traveling staff, seasonal hires, and multiple work shifts sharing the same desks.
Business Communications, Amplified
RingCentral's latest release is by far the most powerful yet. Whether your company requires multiple local, national, or multinational extensions, mobile business communications, or simply a way to keep business separate from personal, RingCentral is the most flexible, most feature rich tool for the job.
Automation USA is proud to be a RingCentral Partner. We are ready to help elevate your business with a cost effective RingCentral solution. Call us at 800-515-3795 for a free consultation.