RingCentral Provides Solution for Businesses that Use SMS to Communicate

A few years ago, people would have shuttered at the thought of communicating with employers, clients, or business associates via text message. What was once a serious faux pas is now an acceptable business practice, and more and more people are using SMS to communicate with business contacts. Recognizing this, RingCentral (News - Alert) has created the first SMS for business system.

Vlad Shmunis, the CEO and founder of RingCentral, the San Mateo-based recipient of PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award, sees this as a critical way to keep up with the changing nature of the workforce; “Efficient and flexible communication is key as workforces become more mobile and distributed.” Despite this, he notes that legacy hardware-based business phone systems do not allow users to SMS from their business number. RingCentral seeks to change that by “leveraging the cloud to create the high-productivity communication tools that businesses need to be successful.”

One business owner, Adam Fishman of Lyft, notes that texting results in greater response rates, even when people can’t be reached by phone. Rather than rely on personal phone numbers, which looks less professional for businesses, users of RingCentral can use their business number to text with customers, colleagues, and suppliers (even using their personal mobile devices). Users can also track text, voice, and fax messages in one location, text updates to specific departments and send and receive texts from smartphones, tablets, and PCs.

For business owners, like Fishman, who have been looking for a professional solution to their text messaging needs, RingCentral promises to fulfill their needs. 

According to ZDnet.com, users will be able to begin using this new solution in early 2013 as part of RingCentral’s office product. The office package starts at $39.99 per user for a single user and its pricing decreases with the adoption of more users; for businesses with over one hundred users, it costs $19.99 per month per user.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.