I’ve been playing around with a service called RingCentral over the last few days. RingCentral subscribers get dedicated 800 or local numbers with set minutes per month for set prices. Packages start at $15 for 100 minutes. Nothing crazy, right? Well, check out the functionality they offer on top of the number. Not only can you route your RingCentral number to any other number (like a cell phone), you can:
- route outgoing calls through your RingCentral number so it shows up on recipient caller ID
- receive faxes via email
- send faxes directly from email
- receive voicemail audio files via email
- configure virtual a PBX switchboard (5 extensions for the $15 packages)
- configure separate voicemail boxes for virtual extensions
- drop a pre-configured click-to-call widget onto a website
Additionally, you can load rules on top of the number based on time and caller ID, so can easily do things like route calls directly to voicemail after business hours or block calls from specific callers. I’ve had the number for a bit more than a week and haven’t yet to received a spam fax and have been blown away by their customer service. I had an extensive chat with a salesperson who talked me through the product and have called tech support several times since I signed up to figure out features. I reached helpful people on the phone extremely quickly. This is more than I can say for eFax: terrible customer support and tons of spam. It was even an ordeal to cancel my account with them. Leave a comment if you’re thinking about signing up with RingCentral and I’ll give you a referral code. Thus far I highly recommend the service.
GrandCentral (who I’ve written about before) offers similar services but is targeted towards personal use and has been closed to new users since they were acquired by Goooooogle. Interestingly, according to GigaOm, their pricing plan was nearly identical to what RingCentral currently offers ($15/100 minutes/month). However, GrandCentral recently changed ~400 subscriber numbers, which is illustrative of the dangers involved in using a service like this - the number you get is not technically yours. GrandCentral stated that they had to change the numbers because a “pre-acquisition underlying carrier stopped providing services to certain areas”. It’s unclear which providers are underneath GrandCentral, but I’m pretty sure Ingenio is under RingCentral.
RingCentral has an interesting background to say the least. They were founded in 1991, were part of Motorola from ‘98 - ‘99, and raised a $6.25m A round in January ‘07 from Khosla and Sequoia. There are no typos in that sentence. They went 16 years from founding to Series A, with a corporate acquisition in between. So Sequoia and Khlosa put $6m into a 16 year old RingCentral in January and Google bought nearly identical GrandCentral for ~$50m in June. I’ve already written about my theory on the GrandCentral aquisition. Maybe I’m right on that, maybe I’m wrong. Either way there is some interesting stuff going on in this space. Of course I could be way off and GrandCentral could have been bought so every GPhone user has a GNumber…
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September 14, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Thanks for the insight. Am interested in the referral code. Thanks!
September 21, 2007 at 5:46 pm
THANKS FOR THE INFO, LOOKING FOR THE REFERRAL CODE
October 4, 2007 at 12:46 pm
I’m looking for a Virtual PBX system and Ring central looks like it may be for me.
October 16, 2007 at 11:13 pm
I am signing up right now and thought I would look for a promo code first. If you wouldn’t mind, please send as soon as you can, I am really excited about getting my business started with Ring Central. Thanks
October 27, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Thanks for the information, I have been trying to compare all these companies. I actually like Grandcentral but due to they use the VoIP to transfer the calls, the quality is actually not that good. But I really like the feature that you can store all the contact numbers online, so when somebody call, you can know who is calling without them saying their name. That is the only complain that I have to the others companies that have the similar service. Also, Grandcentral does not offer service to businesses, which I’m really interested to it. I’m using GoVmail right now, but it’s kind of expensive and it’s hard to use their features, which I don’t really like. I have been researching online to switch company, and I think I’m gonna switch to Ringcentral, because it seems to be cheaper and more user-friendly. Please don’t forget to send me the code. Thanks!
November 8, 2007 at 5:07 pm
I’m going to give it a try. Send referral code please…
November 14, 2007 at 10:11 pm
WOW thanks for the info…. Can’t wait to sign up. Whats the referral code?
November 21, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Can I have a referral code?
November 23, 2007 at 6:19 am
Hi, Rob - I am interested in RingCentral for a small business and would appreciate a referral code. Many thanks, Helena
November 28, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I saw that you are doing referral codes, I need to get a messeging service because private phone, which is owned run by net zero, will be closing down on new years eve so I have been shoping around for another one thank
Ian
November 29, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Please send me your referral code.
November 30, 2007 at 7:49 pm
I was looking at ringcentral sometime. I thought I would give them try. I am getting tiered of vonage day by day. You would imagine call forwarding would be a simple task, which works by now. For some reason vonage eats 10-15 seconds to forward a call.
Anyway i was looking for the referral code, when i reached here. If you can sent it, i would appreciate it.
Aji
December 8, 2007 at 6:47 am
Ill follow suit here….ahem….referral code? I am halting signup until I hear back. Thanks in advance.
December 9, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Please send me a referral code.
December 21, 2007 at 1:07 am
Please send me the code
December 21, 2007 at 1:47 am
Please send me the promo referral code
December 27, 2007 at 3:22 pm
I’d been researching Grand Central and similar srvcs. when I ran across your review. RingCentral actually sounds as though it would be more suited to what I’m looking for. I especially like the toll free no. and the added fax svc.
I would greatly appreciate a referral code if you could be so kind as to provide one.
Thank you again!
BJ
January 6, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Please send me the referral code
January 8, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Please send me a referral code for RingCentral fax service. Thx.
January 9, 2008 at 2:41 am
referral code please
January 9, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Referral code for ring central please. Thx.
February 12, 2008 at 8:52 pm
great article, really helped out my research.
i’m really only looking for the fax to email, and it looks like ringcentral is the lucky winner, they have a decent price structure..
could i get that referral code?
February 15, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Referral Code Please
March 4, 2008 at 12:51 am
Great article! Please send referral code ASAP
March 4, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Nice job.
Please send me the referral code.
Mark
March 27, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Can someone send me a referral code!? Thanks!
April 1, 2008 at 6:36 am
Please provide a referral code.
April 10, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Great writeup, thanks! Can you send me the referral code?
April 19, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Looking for the referral code
April 22, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Hello,
Please send a referral code - Thanks!
April 29, 2008 at 4:34 am
Please give me a referral code, Thank You.
May 6, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Please give me a referral code, Thank You.
May 23, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I would appreciate it if you woudl kindly provide me with the referral code. I am not sure if it helps me on price or offers you a credit/discount of any sort. However, if I get a price break: fabulous. If you a credit/discount: fabulous & thanks for sharing your knowledge of the company with me! Ginger
May 28, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Could you send me a referral code please?
Thanks, Alex
June 3, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Hi I’d like to get the code too. Please.
June 4, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Just found your blog… Looks like a great RSS add. please send the referral code for ringcentral - thanks
June 8, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Hi,
Could I get the referral code for ringcentral?
Thanks!
June 9, 2008 at 5:33 am
Hi Rob,
Could you send me a referral code for ringcentral account?
Thanks,
greg.
June 14, 2008 at 4:05 am
Good review! Please send me a promo code!
June 18, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I went to sign up for ringcentral because of their “rollover minutes”
What a surprise - they are not what I understand rolleover minutes to be.
Rollover minutes are typically defined as anyminutes in your monthly plan that are not used can rollover to the next month.
Not inRongcentrals eyes.
They say rollover minutes, but what they really offfer is just a one time 100 minutes that canbe used anytime within your fiorst year.
It confused me and nearly got me to sign up for something that is contrary top what i expected.
Shame on ringcentral
July 14, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I’d love a referral code… Thanks!
July 15, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Hi, I’m completing the sign up info now, please send me a referral code. thanks a bunch!!
July 16, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Thanks for the review. May I have a referral code as well?
July 16, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Would appreciate the referral code, if still available.