Did someone say “CPaaS”...?
If so, then you’ve come to the right place, because today we’re talking about the CPaaS (Communication Platform as a Service) platform Vonage Business.
For those looking into communication platforms, Vonage may have come up toward the top of your investigation list.
But what is Vonage, exactly? And should you give it a try for your own business? What are some competitors? And how does it compare to them?
That’s what we’re here to explore.
So let’s dig in and become the Indiana Joneses of CPaaS!
(Source: GIPHY)
Vonage Business is a prominent cloud-based communication system and CPaaS, geared particularly toward enterprise businesses. “Vonage Business” is not an official name but refers to the use of Vonage for business purposes. Vonage could also be classified as a UCaaS and CCaaS.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey, Vonage was purchased in 2022 by Ericsson.
Vonage has several features that can be implemented in a business setting for a variety of communication purposes and goals, including SMS and voice APIs.
Their goal is to make “communications more flexible, intelligent, and personal, to help enterprises the world over stay ahead.”
What features does Vonage offer that can help businesses?
Perhaps most prominently, Vonage offers voice and SMS APIs. These allow businesses to communicate via both voice call and text message with whoever it is that they need to communicate with—whether that’s customers, employees, partners, or sales prospects.
Below is a list of several features they offer (note that most of these are taken from Vonage’s website):
Vonage, of course, isn’t the only communication service out there.
Here are some others!
If what you’re looking for is SMS, Mobile Text Alerts will be a good option for you.
Mobile Text Alerts gives you an out-of-the-box SMS platform and API to manage sending text messages on a large scale.
If SMS is your primary need, it may be overkill to go with a more robust communications platform such as Vonage.
G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5
Twilio is (arguably) primarily known for their SMS services, but they offer several communications services including VoIP and email (via their acquisition of SendGrid).
Twilio is API-based, so you’ll need developer help to get it up and running, but it may be able to cover whatever communications needs you have.
G2 rating: 4.2 out of 5
RingCentral dubs itself as “the leading AI-powered communications solution” and “the world’s most reliable communications platform.”
Like Vonage, they offer a business phone system as well as SMS. But they have a heavy emphasis on AI technology and that is implemented in unique ways—such as a “personal AI assistant” and AI video meetings.
G2 rating: 4.2 out of 5
Similarly to RingCentral, DialPad bids itself as AI-focused and in fact has changed their branding specifically to “DialPad Ai.”
They have a variety of offerings such as voice services, contact center services, and sales-streamlining services. If you’re interested in exploring AI communications features, it seems RingCentral and DialPad would both be decent options to investigate.
SoftwareAdvice rating: 4.2 out of 5
Rather than focusing itself as a communications platform, Nextiva is a “customer experience management platform.”
What this means is that in addition to standard communications offerings such as voice and SMS, Nextiva also offers more productivity-related services. For example, they have workflow automation and analytics tools and collaboration options.
G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5
While we tend to think of Zoom as primarily a “meetings” service, they offer a variety of other communications-related services as well.
More specifically, Zoom offers a chat option as well as Zoom Phone which provides calling and team SMS.
SoftwareAdvice rating: 4.6 out of 5
Microsoft Teams is a popular workplace communication management service. And one of the services that they offer as a part of this is “Teams Phone.”
Teams Phone allows you to set up a robust calling system for your business communication. However, one feature that doesn’t seem to be offered is SMS.
SoftwareAdvice rating: 4.5 out of 5
Lastly, 8x8 is a communications solution that offers the standard fare of services as far as these types of communications services go.
They present themselves as a platform for the “customer obsessed,” showcasing that they have an emphasis on customer communication in particular.
They offer a business phone option and also have APIs for SMS, voice, and even chat apps.
GetVoIP rating: 4.3 out of 5
What about Vonage itself?
What kinds of reviews does it have regarding its own service?
Here are some notes from different review platforms.
G2 reviewers rate Vonage Business as a 4.3 out of 5.
The most commonly expressed pro of Vonage Business is that it’s easy. Reviewers in general are complimentary of its calling services.
The biggest complaints are call connectivity and call dropping issues.
Example positive review:
“It is very easy to handle and the interface is so pretty and so attractive and its features is very useful and helpful to use it easy way its really very comforting in all device like mobile, laptop as well as Desktop and its features for texting really amazing. Easily we can communicate with clients without any lacking and it is very easy to install in all devices.
Example negative review:
“I dislike that if you are in an area with bad service the call will drop or you can not hear the other person on the line.
GetVoIP reviewers rate Vonage Business as a 3.8 out of 5.
The pros listed in Vonage’s profile include an affordable and customizable pricing structure.
The cons listed include that add-ons can drive up the fees, and issues with the SMS feature.
Example positive review:
“Efrain Thomas went above and beyond to ensure our Church phone system was up and operating in a timely manner. He was professional, patient and friendly. He followed up after a series of problems we had to make sure it was fixed. My pastor and I greatly appreciate all Efrain did for us. We are impressed with Vonage.
Example negative review:
“Downtime is consistant, They are VERY slow to fix issues when you are down, and out of bussiness, Texting has been down and useless for almost as much as it has been running, sound quality is hit or miss, and they simply do not care.
TrustPilot reviewers rate Vonage Business as 4.0 out of 5.
Reviewers on TrustPilot are mixed, as customer service is mentioned as both a major positive and a major negative.
Many reviewers mention specific Vonage reps who provided them with good service, while others mention difficulties getting in touch with support.
Example positive review:
“Chris was very pleasant, he was very informative and genuinely concerned with getting me the plan that best fit my business needs. He made the process as painless as i think possible. Chris was just a great customer service rep, and good customer care/service is so valuable but extremely rare these days.
Example negative review:
“We’ve been trying to get our numbers provisioned for text going on 6 months now. They don’t have phone support any more and when you try to chat all it does is open a ticket which it takes days to even get a response. We are switching phone providers ASAP.
Here are some other questions people have about Vonage Business…
Yes, Vonage Business is able to support MMS (multimedia messaging service), which allows for the attachment of images.
You can log in to Vonage Business here.
You can contact Vonage Business Communications at 1-866-901-0242, or you can open a ticket with Vonage customer service here. You can check Vonage system status here.
For Vonage Enterprise support, you can call 1-888-616-6414, or you can chat with support or open a ticket here.
The Vonage Business app is available for both Android and iPhone.
We’ve gone over everything from what Vonage Business is to competitors to reviews to FAQs.
You’ve seen that Vonage Business is a viable CPaaS solution that helps you use and coordinate communication services for your business.
But the bottom line is this—is Vonage Business right for you and for your business specifically?
The information in this article can help you make that evaluation for yourself. But if your communication needs are more narrow, you could consider a more streamlined product like Mobile Text Alerts.
Try Mobile Text Alerts for yourself now and see if it’s right for you.
Start sending mass text messages to your entire list today!
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