When the most advanced smart phones were introduced, they provided a great deal of mobility to small business owners and entrepreneurs. With these advanced devices, e-mail can get forwarded to just about anywhere in the world, allowing folks to respond to such communications on the beach or golf course as if they were sitting in the office back at home.

But what about true freedom? True mobility. What happens with the direct calls that the receptionist or assistant answers, or the faxes, or the direct calls that go to voicemail?

The first paragraph mentioned how the smart phone’s technology has helped with mobility. Given the technological advances in the past few years, companies can now manage virtually any application digitally and inexpensively. By taking advantage of inexpensive technologies, small business can now project a Fortune 500 image while allowing mobility and, often, reducing expenses.

The solution works rather cleverly. Your clients call or fax a computer, which translates the data into a digital format and essentially redirects the call or data to any mobile phone, hard-line phone, voicemail, or e-mail inbox (you pick which one). This simplistic description truly affords you the opportunity to work from any corner of the globe using your existing web-enabled smart phone or computer!

The best provider in this arena and the one Quote Stork Solutions recommends is RingCentral. The nice thing about RingCentral aside from its reputation and quality is that this single company can propel your small business image to the big-time. And since image these days has an elevated importance in the marketplace, RingCentral is a name you will want to remember. Here is how they accomplish this:

Toll-free number. This feature has a particular importance for companies whose client base reaches across different area codes. Consultants, service & support providers, mobile sales agents come to mind, and a toll-free number allows their clients to reach them wherever they are and wherever the entrepreneur or small business owner is located. Not only this, but toll-free numbers provide a Fortune 500 image.

Virtual Receptionist with music while callers are on “hold” and voicemail. Call any large company and you will probably hear music before your call gets patched through to the right party. Now you can offer this same feature even if you area one-person business. While features like this might incur additional charges with some providers, they are free with RingCentral.

Call Queues. If you are on the phone and don’t want to lose your next client, they can go into a call queue rather than find your voicemail. Since you sell your product or service best, you want to make sure you don’t miss another prospect call. Again, this is a Free feature.

Internet Fax. Send and receive faxes online or by e-mail. This feature alone allows a tremendous amount of freedom from the office, and it also eliminates courier costs. Another Free feature.

The feature list has a surreal quality in that items you might expect to be “optional” are actually standard. Still, there is one disappointment with RingCentral. Their DigitalLine VoIP function is optional when they offer so much else for free… what gives? In reality, however, this option has little importance to most small business owners. And, for subscribers who absolutely need VoIP capabilities, the extra $7.99 is more than justified.

Whether you choose RingCentral or another provider, the key motivators for using such a service include mobility for you and your employees, true cost-effectivness, and instant image enhancement (your customers won’t know whether you work out of your basement or out of the 40th floor of a Wall Street Tower. Most plans cost roughly $30/month with RingCentral’s most popular plan (which includes a lot more standard features than their competitors) starts at $24.99 per month with a Free Trial period.

Popularity: 2% [?]