Google Voice

This would be a great choice for small business or a new company that doesn't have legacy hardware to migrate/provision. Google has a BYO device policy so it's up to you to source equipment, get it provisioned, and configure them on your network. Support is minimal, so if you're inexperienced with provisioning desk phones or configuring VLAN's, etc. this might be a challenge. Not a problem for an experienced administrator except for not being able to access the phone web interface after being provisioned... perhaps this is intentional on Google's part to increase security, but it creates a deployment headache for a large organization that requires the technician to manually input the network settings on each phone after provisioning. Google Voice really shines on the mobile side, as this is where the soft phone has matured over the years. With GSuite it creates a convenient option for an SMB to add-on phone service with the email provider they (may) already have with dead-simple integration and deployment. Service is reliable, so long as your Wi-Fi network is up to the QoS needs of VoIP, and if it's not there is an option to use your carrier's service in place of your Wi-Fi for incoming/outgoing calls and texts. Google also offers a basic automated attendant and call routing which is unavailable with the free version.

Many of our users rely on their mobile devices, especially when out in the field or in our other areas and this is where google voice shines for us. It allows all of the devices to be linked and calls made from any of them without any complications, and it will also work great with multiple numbers. Number consolidation is easy and this the number the person getting the call will see.

Google Voice is well suited for individual to small team use. It is not intended to be used by large enterprises in my opinion. I think it also requires additional features of support should it be used in a larger team environment where mission-critical help may be necessary down the line.

The best thing about Google Voice is that it gives you the freedom to create a specific number based on your needs (from anywhere in the world. It can be useful for your personal or work related needs). This makes the product appropriate for global organizations as well. Usage of the product on different platform is a must to have benefit, as on-the-go usage is important while being away from your desk/office. It allows you to direct calls to your company or personal SIM number - very beneficial if also you are able to distinguish numbers. Search and record functions are beneficial. Although it has a bit of a popular name, due to Google, it is quite useful and does the job.

Though not for every application, Google Voice is a great solution for establishing a business phone number without having to purchase a new phone line, and in a way that affords you some privacy. If you don't want to miss a message, I wouldn't recommend Google Voice as it's easier to neglect. It's a separate service than your personal phone and I often find I forget to reply to Google Voice messages.

Google Voice is best for users across the globe. If you have teams offshore and onshore and need a single platform to connect with everyone, Google Voice is best. Its integration with Android Call and other features makes it easy to use. The only area I see it lagging is in various plans. The other service provides a fix rate plan compared to Google pay as you go. Sometimes it's easier to have a monthly plan.

Anytime I'm at my desk, I always choose to use Google Voice rather than reaching for my phone. It's significantly less effort, as I can quickly open it, contact whoever I need to contact, and easily resume my work on my desktop. I can also very easily be communicating with someone while doing work as well.

Small businesses and technical support pros.

It's really well suited for a situation where you don't want to use your actual phone number for something. Like, Craigslist buying and selling, or any kind of blast type text messages to potential clients. It works well as you'd expect from Google these days.

Saves me hours of weeding through a call log to find the client I am looking for.

We used to interview prospective employees by calling them on our mobile phones. We had a particular candidate that was not chosen to move to the next interview start stalking the person who conducted the interview which evolved into harassment and personal life security issues. By implementing Google Voice on the phones, we have a wall between employee and candidate.

It's really well suited for small scale offices where there are a limited amount of users connecting. It's not so great for larger offices or large communication environments. Google Voice works better for one on one communications, not a large set of concurrent communications. While it has a relatively light hardware footprint, running it in a browser can be slow at times. One also has to have a robust network setup as well.

Coming from Google, this is a great app and service that they offer, I cannot complain about it. The main feature I recommend others to use is the voice calling feature, because is a smooth and straight communication compared to other competitors. Going through your call logs may help to determine your daily goals.

Google Voice can help you avoid giving out your personal phone number if you don't have a business number through your job or something. It's probably not ideal (at least in the free version) to fully replace a business line, but it's good enough for what it is!

Google Voice has worked well for me personally, but the setup and ongoing maintenance can be overwhelming. It may be difficult to implement in an environment where individual users are not highly engaged or involved in the setup. I'm also not confident recommending specific porting options as they seem to be confusing to understand the details of.

It's a solid product that's easy to use if you travel often and/or need to have multiple devices and want to keep them all in sync. That's fairly common in this day in age hence Google Voice.

If you have to interview someone, or record their end of the conversation, Google Voice is the easiest and least expensive way to do it. All you have to do is call the other person using your Google Voice number and hit 4, an automated voice will come on the phone and let you know that the call is now being recorded. Once you're done, the recording can be downloaded from your Voice page using Chrome.

Google Voice is a great free/low cost option for a second phone number for business when you don't want to share your cell phone everywhere. It works well and receiving calls/texts is easy and straightforward.

I think for small businesses that need an "office" phone number, Google Voice is the perfect solution. You can get a local number and have it ring any other phone number, whoever picks it up first gets the call. This is great for someone who has a partner or an admin person that will answer the "office phone". You can call screen so that you know it's a business call. All the features such as text messaging, voicemail transcription and international calling are all great features.

I enjoy using Google voice when brainstorming for reports. It captures the ideas that normally get lost waiting for dictation. It is less appropriate when multiple people are in meetings attempting to use Google Voice, as the voice over conversations do not always pick up.

Google voice is great when you want to have a separate phone number for different functions of life/business. I really like the fact that I can get email/txt message notifications concerning calls and voicemails.

Google Voice is free, for the most part, and aside from the intricacies of setup, very easy to use. I don't know how scalable it is for a larger organization, but I don't see why it wouldn't work, if for some reason you wanted to use Google Voice instead of traditional cell phones for employees.

For one of my nonprofit companies, the free GoogleVoice phone number spells out a word I chose. Phone calls go directly to the included voicemail. The voicemail message is sent to me via text and email, with a copy remaining in GoogleVoice folder. The text of the voicemail is transcribed! I can then instantly respond if desired.

Small business owners and individuals looking for an affordable phone plan and a new number - this is the perfect solution. I much prefer Google Voice & Hangouts over Skype for a myriad of reasons including call quality and phone app implementation. If you have more than one person trying to share the same number you may want to consider an alternative.