A transformative leader in the business communication space with the most convenient self-service cloud communications platform: Phone.com

The invention of the telephone was one of the groundbreaking milestones for businesses in the communications technology segment. In today’s digital world, the internet has grown enough to be prevalent, but the telephone is still being used as a staple communications system. As a base technology or a conceptual form, the telephone will not go away because of the advantages in business phone systems. As the businesses leverage the latest technology to grow, they also want their communication system to grow with them. Business phones are modular, and they are usually designed to meet the needs of a business of any size.

A competent business telephone system benefits your clients and your employees as well, and Phone.com is a firm specializing in providing a modern, cloud-based, mobile-centric, business phone system for entrepreneurs, small and growing businesses. Users can communicate via voice, video, text, and fax, as well as manage file-sharing and collaboration from their computer or mobile device. Phone.com’s unified communications (UCaaS) and business phone services offer flexibility and choice. So, for the old school, IP-enabled desktop phones can also be used. Phone.com’s communications platform and services portfolio include all the features you’d expect from an enterprise phone system, including automated attendants, conference calling, call queues, multiple lines, transcription for video meetings, conference calls, and voice mails. All of this is available for a fraction of the price. In addition, Phone.com’s recently enhanced browser-based HD-video meetings service is proving to be quite popular. With high-quality video, messaging, screen, and file-sharing, Phone.com’s updated video meetings service delivers crystal clear communication and seamless collaboration anywhere at any time. Users can conduct team video meetings, instant message colleagues, as well as share screens and documents with ease. As a clientless offering, anyone can start or join a meeting from their web browser without ever having to download, install, or update applications. Innovation is in their DNA, and Phone.com will continue to provide customers with cutting-edge tools that can be tailored to their companies’ specific workflows.

While every service provider touts APIs, Phone.com’s ability to integrate with third-party business services is truly unparalleled. Phone.com succeeds where others fail because everything they do focuses on simplifying the user experience. By virtue of Phone.com’s low-code library of open APIs, we can easily connect with CRM [customer relationship management], online accounting and finance tools, HR solutions, marketing automation, and other cloud services, extending communications services via custom integrations. It’s also important to note that these trends are ever-present in the fastest-growing segment of our economy: small businesses. SMBs, entrepreneurs, and even sole proprietors are no longer priced out these solutions; they can now afford tools that were once available only to large enterprises.

Phone.com was founded in 2008 and it is based in New York.

In conversation with Ari Rabban, Co-Founder and CEO of Phone.com

Q. SMEs associate cloud communication with big business, and therefore assume it is expensive. How do you manage to maintain your affordability and profitability of your services?

Phone.com is used by more than 35,000 companies across the United States and Canada. Because we have so many customers, we don’t have to charge anyone an arm and a leg to fund our innovation. Everyone pays a low monthly price, and all share the features we develop. Phone.com is very happy catering to our ever-expanding base of entrepreneurs and small businesses. Phone.com’s omnichannel business phone systems are purpose-built for small businesses, which, as I mentioned, is the fastest growing and largest contingent of the U.S. economy. We take pride in empowering customers with the competitive advantage of the industry’s highest-quality services at an affordable price point. Also, unlike other providers, we do not lock our customers into multi-year, long-term contracts - they can cancel service at any time without penalty or hassle.

Q. One of the strengths of the cloud is also one of its greatest weaknesses, which is its flexibility of access from any location. Businesses must have a strategic backup plan against cyber-attacks and data loss. How do you help your clients to remain proactive in such situations?

 Security is a primary focus for us at Phone.com. Our voice video and messaging services are HIPAA, HITECH, and PCI compliant. Adhering to these industry mandates reflects our developers’ commitment to - and understanding of consumer privacy and encrypted communications. Every year, we audit all our technologies and infrastructure from top to bottom, including data centers, to ensure our solutions remain compliant. We have partnered with the Compliancy Group to certify that we comply with HIPAA leverage encryption and other types of transport layer security (TLS) and secure SIP.

Q. Skill gap is the biggest challenge in cloud technology. Do you have qualified individuals associated with advanced cloud platforms?

Absolutely, our team members are our biggest asset. In fact, our CTO and Executive Vice President, Alon Cohen, is widely recognized as the godfather of the VoIP industry. Alon has earned countless awards for his innovations and contributions to IP telephony, achieving mainstream status. In fact, Alon co-founded VocalTec Communications, the first company to execute a phone call over the internet. It’s truly amazing to work alongside someone with Alon’s pedigree - he’s definitely set a high bar for all of us! We are deliberate about who we hire, ensuring our collective wisdom grows every time someone new joins the team.

Q. Have you launched any new services that enable the sudden shift to remote work?

Yes. Our voice services have always been designed to support workers on any device, from anywhere, and we’ve recently added a couple of new services to make that even easier. I mentioned our HD-video solution earlier. We’ve always recognized the importance of video collaboration, but it’s more essential than ever these days, so we’ve released our drop-dead-easy-to-use HD Video Meetings solution. All attendees have to do is click on a link, and they’re in. Another service that is a big help to customers in this situation is our Live Receptionist service. Skilled inbound call professionals pick up the phone for you. They can take messages, transfer calls, collect lead information, or just filter out SPAM calls. It’s a surprisingly affordable way to convey a professional image and provide excellent customer service - even when your team is in a less-than-ideal telecommuting situation.

Meet the leader behind the success of Phone.com

Ari Rabban is the CEO and Co-Founder of Phone.com. Ari is a veteran of the IP-communications industry. He served as president and advisor for two VoIP companies that were acquired. He has also served as a senior executive at VocalTec Communications, the VoIP industry pioneer, and a strategy manager for Lucent Technologies. Ari serves on the boards at the NJ Technology Council and the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership. He holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, and a law degree and BA in Economics, both from Tel Aviv University.

“Today, we believe that as powerful as smartphones get, as fast as technology evolves, and as virtual as business becomes, the cornerstone of a successful company continues to be communication.”