Overview
What is NetFortris?
NetFortris provides business phone systems using Polycom and Yealink IP phones. They offer three subscription-based pricing plans, all including unlimited VoIP and desktop phone options. Advanced plans include other features such as video collaboration, softphone, and on-demand recording.
Play with the cloud (communication)
Fonality Review
Low-cost on premise IP PBX with less than stellar support
My year and a half with Fonality
It truly is the Hud!
Disappointed User
My happy experience with Fonality
Small Business - First Phone System
A great (but not perfect) hosted VoIP option
Great!
Great product. I can't imagine by business without Fonality.
Fonality on campus at SEA
TAC loves Fonality!
Upgrade to Call Center
Fonality Cloud based PBX worth a look
Popular Features
- Directory of employee names (78)10.0100%
- Call reports (78)9.090%
- Message alerts (78)9.090%
- Answering rules (89)7.070%
Pricing
Hybrid Software Subscription (Required with Hybrid Premise)
$14.99
Essentials Edition
$19.99
Professional Edition
$24.99
Entry-level set up fee?
- $5 per userRequired
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Starting price (does not include set up fee)
- $30 per month
Product Demos
NetFortris Product Spotlight - Comm-unity HUDWeb Demo
Features
Cloud PBX
A cloud PBX system is based on cloud computing technology where data is stored and transferred over the intenet without any need for on-site PBX equipment
- 7Hosted PBX(58) Ratings
Hosted telephony infrastructure obviated the need for local PBX hardware
- 6Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)(46) Ratings
IVR is a phone menu allowing callers to interact with the system through voice and keypad
- 6.8User templates(2) Ratings
Create and apply batch configurations to multiple users at once
- 9Call reports(78) Ratings
Historical call analysis and trending metrics
- 10Directory of employee names(78) Ratings
Voice directory of all employees for self-service dialing
Call Management
Customized phone system settings
- 7Answering rules(89) Ratings
Ability to enter rules to route calls to main number or other extensions in case of absence
- 7Call recording(67) Ratings
Automatic recording of inbound and outbound calls
- 6Call park(73) Ratings
Ability to hold calls in virtual location and subsequently access from any phone in system
- 8Call screening(67) Ratings
Ability to block numbers or send calls directly to voicemail
- 9Message alerts(78) Ratings
Receive SMS and email message notifications for voice and fax messages
VoIP system collaboration
Team collaboration via cloud phone system
- 7Video conferencing(17) Ratings
Built-in video conferencing capabilities
- 8Audio conferencing(54) Ratings
Audio conferencing credentials for all on the system.
Mobile apps
Apps are compatible with mobile devices.
- 9Mobile app for iOS(46) Ratings
App for iPhone and iPad
- 9Mobile app for Android(33) Ratings
Android app
Product Details
- About
- Integrations
- Competitors
- Tech Details
- FAQs
What is NetFortris?
Rated PCMag's Editors' Choice for Business VoIP 2016, NetFortris (formerly Fonality) is a leading business phone system provider that bundles its unified communications software for a complete business communications solution. NetFortris says it is known for:
- Innovating with Heads Up Display (HUD) so users can see who's available, chat, audio and video conference, record calls on the fly, and more
- Building in fundamental call center features like simple queues
- Offering advanced features that make enterprise-level call center available at the fraction of the price
- Including a web phone and mobile app at no additional cost
- Lowering costs with unlimited calling plans between the U.S. and more than a half dozen other countries and territories
- Providing 24/7 support - even on holidays
- Transparency: if there is an issue, they'll tell users
NetFortris Features
Cloud PBX Features
- Supported: Hosted PBX
- Supported: Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
- Supported: Call reports
- Supported: Directory of employee names
Call Management Features
- Supported: Answering rules
- Supported: Call recording
- Supported: Call park
- Supported: Call screening
- Supported: Message alerts
VoIP system collaboration Features
- Supported: Video conferencing
- Supported: Audio conferencing
Mobile apps Features
- Supported: Mobile app for iOS
- Supported: Mobile app for Android
Additional Features
- Supported: Heads Up Display (HUD) UC applications
- Supported: 100+ Business Phone System Features
- Supported: Softphone (Included)
- Supported: Voicemail Transcription
- Supported: Call Center Software (Built-in)
- Supported: On Demand Recording / Record All
- Supported: Paperless Fax / FaxLync
- Supported: 24/7 Support
NetFortris Screenshots
NetFortris Video
Watch What is NetFortris?
NetFortris Integrations
- Salesforce Sales Cloud
- Box
- Twilio Zipwhip (discontinued)
- Intellinote
- Snap Recordings
- Allstate eAgent
- Blitz Lead Manager
NetFortris Competitors
NetFortris Technical Details
Deployment Types | On-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
---|---|
Operating Systems | Windows, Mac |
Mobile Application | Apple iOS, Android |
Supported Countries | Global (99 countries and territories) |
Supported Languages | English |
Frequently Asked Questions
NetFortris Customer Size Distribution
Consumers | 0% |
---|---|
Small Businesses (1-50 employees) | 40% |
Mid-Size Companies (51-500 employees) | 50% |
Enterprises (more than 500 employees) | 10% |
Comparisons
Compare with
Reviews and Ratings
(162)Attribute Ratings
- 8.8Likelihood to Renew16 ratings
- 8Availability4 ratings
- 8Performance2 ratings
- 7.6Usability8 ratings
- 9.1Support Rating7 ratings
- 7.2Online Training4 ratings
- 8In-Person Training2 ratings
- 9.8Implementation Rating4 ratings
- 9.7Configurability3 ratings
- 8.1Product Scalability2 ratings
- 8Ease of integration1 rating
- 8Vendor pre-sale1 rating
- 8Vendor post-sale1 rating
Reviews
(1-25 of 57)Fonality Review
- Support - very helpful when setting up new features
- Schedules - allows for numerous call schedules
- Communication - very prompt when issues with the service arise
- On call scheduling
- Managing Fonality could be easier - unless you're a consistent back end user, it's not super friendly
- The on-premise server/seat licenses are relatively inexpensive.
- The configuration interface is not too difficult to navigate.
- The sales staff is very helpful and not at all overbearing or pushy.
- Many of these issues might be due to the age of the on-premise server we are using. The config interface can be unbearably slow.
- Creating call flows/phone trees is slow and inflexible.
- When we used NetFortris with SIP providers, service was spotty and troubleshooting was difficult -- much of the fault here lies with the SIP providers, but getting important troubleshooting info from NetFortris/the server was next to impossible.
- Support in general is slow and unhelpful.
- Server hardware is a Dell Optiplex tower with little in the way of redundancy. They do offer more traditional rack servers as well, but I can't speak to what sort of configuration they deploy with those.
My year and a half with Fonality
- The new handsets we purchased do provide a helpful log of calls -- outgoing, incoming, missed, etc. -- however, I imagine that any VoIP provider can also provide this service.
- We now use headsets that allow us to move about the office freely while on calls, which we could not do with our old phone system. Again, this probably has more to do with VoIP and the newer handsets than anything provided to us by Fonality/NetFortris.
- Fonality/NetFortris, for some reason, limits the functionality of the handsets that are compatible with it and which we purchased to compliment it. We are forced to use the HUDweb interface or the HUD desktop app to do simple things like placing calls on hold, transferring calls, and initiating conference calls. In my office, most employees have several windows open at once -- as I'm sure is common in most offices -- and it can be distracting and clumsy to have to minimize windows in order to pull up the HUD to put a call on hold.
- In addition, the lighted buttons on the handset can be used to indicate when another user is currently on the line, or if they are unavailable (I know this because I have been speaking with another VoIP provider who offers this feature); however, Fonality/NetFortris does not allow us to use this feature. Again, we are funneled into using the HUD desktop app, which does provide the information that we want to have handy, but not where we want it (on the handsets).
- Customer service has been less that helpful when we call to address our concerns. Ironically, the call quality with customer service is often very poor, and on more than one occasion, I was greeted with someone who did not know how to help me and didn't make any effort to do so.
- Call Tracking/Reporting. I like that I can log in at any time and track phone calls.
- Messaging features. The IM portion of HUDweb is GREAT. I can't imagine sending emails all day to my employees and how time intensive that would be.
- Set up was so simple. As a small business owner I don't have time to do extensive training, and spend time setting the equipment up.
- I would like more options for my messaging when a caller calls in.
- I would like to be able to have callers be able to dial extensions when they call in.
Fonality on campus at SEA
- From an administrator's perspective, Fonality makes administering the company's phone system easy. Configuration menus and setup options are logically structured and easy to understand.
- Technical support has been very good. Early on in our deployment, we had some nagging voice quality issues which were network related. Fonality provided exceptional support even though it was not technically their issue. It is important to know ahead of time how well your vendors work with other vendors for integrated services like a VOIP telephone system. Fonality support demonstrated their patience and perseverance in helping us resolve our issues.
- Although we don't use remote office capabilities much, the ability to set up phones on the system in remote locations has been a significant help to several of our departments.
- I would like to see a better designed HUD program, the PC and Mac based telephone interface to the Fonality PBX.
- Fonality is well suited for companies who require strict controls on certain phone calling features.
- Fonality works well in cases where staff are located in multiple locations and still want to appear as a single entity with their telecommunications.
TAC loves Fonality!
- Transfer call
- Group meeting
- Customer service
- Availability of IT people - seems I was always getting pushed back
- Connectivity - got very complicated and we lost two full days of work
- User friendliness of server
Upgrade to Call Center
- Reliability of the system
- The customization of the inbound call experience
- Ability to transfer calls to a softphone, hardphone and cell phone
- Great customer service
- More clear on the subscription features and costs at time of quotes
- Remove unusable features from the softphone if subscription does not cover
Fonality Cloud based PBX worth a look
- HUD - graphical display of anyone's status
- Integrates with our CRM solution, Salesforce.com
- Integrated chat
- Remote users are sometimes challenging to set up initially
- Priority support not an option available to us
- Have had some administrative snafus over time with billing
- For the most part, the sound quality is great. Some hiccups here and there but good overall.
- I really do like their HUD and it's better that most out there.
- If our internet goes down it does not mean you lose everything as you can switch it to another device.
- They need to provide their sales and install departments with more knowledge of their own system.
- Give the new user better startup (setup) tools to help implement things in a better format.
- The ability to switch on the fly your status when on the mobile app.
- Flexibility in sales in order to help the user if a promo changes within the first year.
- Can't mass upload your phone book.
Fonality vs. Vonage for small business owners
- Impressed with the quality of the equipment provided (Polycom VVX 4 Series handset). Great speakerphone compared to the phone that was provided by the previous provider with a lower overall cost.
- Like the dashboard and softphone capabilities.
- Customer service and setup was excellent. Available and willing to take necessary time during the setup phase.
- The initial setup is a seemed a little challenging (however, the customer service was very patient in stepping through the process).
- Setting up the remote phone location was a little challenging compared to other lines.
- Would be nice if the record all function was available at a lower cost.
Fonality - Great Phone system for the money
- All my stores are just an extension away.
- Very easy to forward calls to a cell phone, and get transcripts of voicemail in my email.
- Calls are very clear and without lag.
- Initial set up was painful. Many kinks to work out.
- Tech support is below average. It seems as if our own IT department is more knowledgeable about the system than their employees.
- Do not like the fact that if you place a call on hold you can't pick it up without it being transferred.
Fonality does the job
- Fonality gives you a lot of information about who is calling. This is helpful for tracking leads, storing client data, etc.
- Fonality is user-friendly and easy to learn, so not a lot of time is wasted on training staff.
- Fonality makes it easier to transfer calls between office locations or even to cell phones. This allows service professionals to move around and work remotely without any interruption in the client's experience.
- It took Fonality longer than expected (and promised) to set up the infrastructure required for us to port our numbers over and get started.
- My staff has been somewhat reluctant to engage with the online videos, etc., for obtaining support. They are "old school" and gravitate more towards phone support, or even the option of having a person come on-site.
Fonality seems to be more limited in terms of ensuring that staff learn and utilize the features that are available because all of the support must be accessed online.
Overview
- Customer service
- HUD - Heads up Display
- Bundled features
- New technology integration...texting
- Expanding additional services as part of bundled offerings
- Training
Fonality is the Bomb Diggety
- Great Customer Service
- Great Tech Support
- Easy and convenient
- Everytime there is an update, it messes up my calling system
Fonality: the good and the bad
- Ability to be mobile
- Ease of use
- The soft phone (but the app needs work)
- The ease of use for some people
- The setup of call cues
- Need better training when first setting up
Click to Dial Enthusiast
- The Click to Dial feature is one of my favorites. Especially because it integrates directly with Blitz Lead Manager - the CRM I am using. Simply clicking the number in the lead or prospect starts the phone dialing. It saves time with every call, adding time to my day.
- Setting up the phone tree can be a little cumbersome, but it is a great feature. I know that, when a call gets to me, the person on the other end of the line is looking to get a quote for insurance. Once you have a system in place, it works very well.
- Call quality, thus far, has been more than satisfactory. The calls are clear and consistent
- The web launcher has been causing me problems. After it did not initially work (despite numerous attempts to set it up), it started to work improperly. It is still not doing exactly what it is intended to do.
The Polycom phones are a little basic and finding missed calls is a little difficult. Also, the HUD is a little confusing. Depending on how you dial or how the call comes into the office, the call log may only show your extension instead of the external number being contacted.
Outstanding Customer Service
- Customer service is outstanding! They were quick to solve any issue we had.
- During set up the Fonality staff member did not close out our set up ticket until we were completely satisfied and ready to use the system on our own.
- We needed a cordless system to use in our small office and it works great!
- I love being able to keep the Fonality line at my desk and then pass it off to an attorney when my work day ends. It has just been a perfect set up.
- It would be nice if the landline would also ring when you are using the computer hub and a headset.
- A hold button on the cordless device would be wonderful as well.
- Maybe provide a second charging station.
Under impressed with Fonality
- Deployment for employees outside the office. They will ship the phone directly to our remote employee and I can configure the phone from the web panel.
- Their response time to outages is unacceptable. I don't think they realize that our phones are our bloodline for business, their tech support is lackadaisical about when our phones will come back up etc. We probably have an outage 4-6 times a yr. You can't talk to their technical team directly, you have to talk to "Tech support" who talk to the technical team which is just frustrating and takes longer to resolve issues.
- The phone call clarity is just average, we hear other calls in the background (not very loud but still noticeable).
Fonality's HUD is Fabulous!
- Fonality's HUD is outstanding!
- Good Price.
- Rarely down.
- We have had confusion when adding VoIP lines.
- When they did go down their website went down too.
Experience with Fonality
- Monitoring of who's on a call and the duration of that call
- Ease of use
- Can't think of anything. We've been pleased with the system.
Fonality doesn't fone it in!
- The support is usually helpful whenever we have any issues that needs to be addressed.
- The interface provides a lot of options for everything we could need, but is also easy to use!
- The voicemail to email is great for an email-heavy company like ours. Being able to simply search for old voicemails has come in handy.
- Though we're always able to eventually fix our support issue, sometimes the representatives don't seem to listen the first time round to what we are telling them, and offer suggestions that would clearly not work due to the issue we are having.
- Calls can drop a little more often than we are comfortable with while trying to retain a happy and satisfied customer-base.
- Sometimes not all features we put in place take place as instructed, like turning phones off at a particular time. Calls can often come through well before our office opens, or well after it closes, leaving customers on hold for ages since no one is in to pick up the phone.
Fonality brief review
- System has been stable and reliable.
- Support has been good.
- Having a direct contact for ordering and purchasing has been nice.
- Pricing could be better.
- We had issues during our last system upgrade. Did not go as smoothly or quickly as we would have liked but ultimately was up and running.
DTV's Fonality Review
- The user interface is done in an intuitive way where it's easy to set nup and understand. There are many things you can do for call routing and other phone tree setup.
- We went from a standard BCM phone system to VOIP system. So having everything done over IP and UI is a lot easier for users to manage.
- All the different functionality is important too. We can have people working from anywhere and still be connected to the business. You can forward on phone calls to your cell phones. The HUD is a neat feature that [lets] customer service users use a computer app instead of the phone handset.
- The customer service is almost non-existent. It's really hard to get good service with tough questions. With minor things it's fine, but with more advanced things it wasn't very good.
- The HUDWeb, the online versions of the phone software, was really bad at connecting for users that worked from home. But to be fair it could have been their internet connection.
- Call quality has been an issue....if not properly set up. The phone system needs high internet speeds which is something Northfield doesn't have. We've seen diminished call quality when bandwidth is getting sucked up.
Fonality is better hosted VoIP
- Excellent pricing - the per-seat charge is about average, but many competitors are charging additional monthly fees to add additional call groups/queues. Verizon VCE wanted an additional $15/mo/call queue agent, which would've been an extra $180/mo for our small sales floor.
- Customization - I was able to set up call routing to support my company's rather unique desires. We had a key system for many years and users were entrenched in that manual call routing. I was able to set up pushbutton blind transfers and call queues for each person.
- The HUD system - I honestly thought it would go over like a fart in church given our employees' old-school-ness, but the entire sales floor uses the HUD even though we all have full-featured desk phones. We're able to redirect or steal calls as needed, log others in or out, see who is on the phone with whom, how many people are logged in, and how many calls are waiting to be answered.
- Reliability - We switched after Verizon VCE's 3-day recurring outage in October '16. I've only had the system functioning for about 60 days, but in that time Fonality has only had one brief partial outage, which I believe was caused by Level 3 Communications. I'm talking 15 minutes or less... less time than it took to find the right department at Verizon and be told that their regional outage was caused by my system.
- Bugginess - Some things just really need some tweaking. I had to get very creative with my call routing and hold music, because the in-queue announcements don't work right at all. For example, even set to 'play once' it would loop the 'you are the first caller' announcement over and over, and cause call drops. Or my caller-name ID, which shows the registered user's name on each line on outgoing calls, even though it's not set to such anywhere in the CP settings.
- Support - I'll give them 50/50 on this. My experience with Verizon VCE was everyone playing hot potato with issues and saying it was the responsibility of another department, meaning several phone calls and lots of hold time. Fonality doesn't have that issue, I've never really been passed around or blown off. However, some of the 'offshore' CS reps are... wow. I spent about half a dozen emails back and forth with two of them, trying to figure out why queues I deleted from the CP randomly and consistently reappeared in the HUD. Most of those emails were spent trying to explain that no, my issue was NOT that I wanted to create those queues again in the CP.
Fonality VOIP phones
- Technical support is very knowledgeable.
- The web portal is very easy to navigate and make changes on the spot.
- HUD integration is a very important feature to Fonality. I did not have that when I first purchased the system.
- I run a Insurance sales office and would like to be able to log onto the Fonality site and track how many phone call are going out from my sales team and how many incoming calls are picked up by my support staff.
- I have not been able to figure out how to use mobile HUD yet.
- I would like to be able to log into the Fonality site using an app on my phone, preferably using Touch ID.