Item: Broadvoice
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our organization is a smaller non-profit organization (<100 employees), and communication between the small departments is vital. For me, the phone ecosystem is mainly used to reach other coworkers in a prompt and convenient fashion -- it's not always a guarantee someone will be at their desk, so it's much quicker to give them a quick call to see if they're available than walk over to their office only to find they have been pulled away for a different task. Often times in our workplace, sudden things come up, so it would be hard to work around those without the peer communication feature. Occasionally I do also have to speak with guests over the phone, but the main use in my position is for other staff.

Pros and Cons

ease of use
accessible tech support
simple design
short code feature is fantastic

If there is a way to improve the distinction between Transfer and Blind Transfer, I think that would lead to less mistakes when transferring calls. Maybe having them color-coded, or having distinct symbols next to each option to differentiate them more clearly
Option to disable instant calling from the redial/missed call menu. I notice if I have highlighted a call from those menus, picking up the phone causes it to dial immediately. Sometimes it's not my intention to call -- maybe I am looking up the number for later reference and currently need to make a different call (in fact this is mainly the case). So while it is a convenient feature and I understand why it is included, it isn't something I use and the ability to toggle it would be nice.
A customizable ringtone or library of optional approved ringtones would help too. In my area there are multiple phones and though we can change the pitch and speed, they're still somewhat similar. A stark difference in ringtones would be helpful.

Return on Investment

Sadly I can't quite gather any hard numbers since my use of the product don't extend into the admin level where I can see everything. I can say that since installing the phone at my desk though, I've been more reachable by other staff and therefore more present with current happenings in the workplace.
It took a while to get a line for my desk, so I can compare the before and after very clearly. Communication is like night and day, and any questions or problems other coworkers had that in the past they may have had to deal with themselves, they can now reliably reach me and have a convenient option to. This has improved the relationships between me and others at the workplace.

Key Insights

Do you think Broadvoice delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Broadvoice's feature set?

Yes

Did Broadvoice live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Broadvoice go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Broadvoice again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Adobe Acrobat

Likelihood to Recommend

Broadvoice is extremely robust and well-suited for a variety of contexts, but I think it excels best in tighter-knit work environments where contacting each other is the main use as opposed to receiving many incoming calls from outside guests.

There have been a few instances where I think the features would conflict with user intention -- namely, having a number linked to two different phones, but one phone was meant more for receiving outside calls and the other was an office phone in the same area. Because of this, if a guest called, it would disturb the office, but if a vendor called, the guest phone would also ring, leading to confusion. I think this is an instance of the peer ecosystem conflicting with a more customer-facing need, but if a peer line needed to contact that department, it is best to have both of them ring.

A solid and affordable option with many features tailored thoughtfully to our needs

Overall Satisfaction with Broadvoice