Broadvoice | GoContact vs. MiCloud Connect

I would recommend Broadvoice if a business needs a variety of options for inbound and outbound communication. Examples would be insurance agencies, car dealerships -- just about any business that makes a lot of customer contacts per day. A small retail shop or dry cleaner would not experience the same level of customer engagement. In their case, a regular landline or a designated cell number would work just fine.

Incentivized

If your company has relied only on an on-premises system in the past, Mitel is a fantastic alternative. Mitel provides an excellent hosted option for businesses looking for scalability as they expand as well as ease of deployment for use by branch offices and remote employees. However, I would recommend caution if the company plans to utilize Mitel as its only communications platform because its conferencing solutions are not ready for prime time.

Incentivized

• Broadvoice is excellent for customizing/tailoring to a business's specific needs.
• Tech Support is easy to reach, and provides consistent help.
• Onboarding new customers is very thorough and supportive. Changing phone systems is overwhelming and time-consuming. Broadvoice makes it as easy as possible with clear expectations and fantastic training.

Incentivized

• The system up-time has been 100% over 3 years.
• With separate systems and two locations we used to have to fake the system into 4 digit dialing by forwarding all remote extensions to DIDs. Now with Shortel extended to the remote location we have true 4 digit dialing.
• The Shortel desktop application makes managing calls and call routing a breeze for even our most novice users.

Incentivized

• When changing users on the URL page there are some steps that can be a bit clunky based on the type of phone you're using.
• Separating users devices into multiple locations inside the URL is nice but you're not able to move those users around if they do change spots in the company.
• For some reason within the b-hive mobile app if I miss a call and then go into the app to check the call and exit the app I still show a notification icon constantly. It seems to be related to the the Chat portion of the app. If you go to that part of the app and refresh when you exit the app the notification icon is gone.

Incentivized

• The Shoretel Mobility app for iPhone does not work very well and is not very intuitive in my experience.
• We have had many intermittent instances of employees reporting that call quality is bad, sounds like the caller is garbled and underwater.
• I deployed Shoretel Sky to eleven branches in four states over a 6 month period and experiences were not very consistent. Had issues with not enough power bricks being sent with the phones, some phones not having the the face sticker showing messages, directories, etc., user guides (quick start guides) not getting shipped with the phones at some branches, and phones being programmed incorrectly. This made it very difficult to plan my trips to train employees and install these at the various locations.

Our last phone system was very outdated and we were left not getting calls that we needed nor having a seamless way to change voicemail or to get voicemail if we were out of the office for longer periods of time. Broadvoice has erased these issues and has really made our agency more responsive.

Although the price is higher than some of the other Hosted systems out there, the value is definitely worth a renewal. Everything is relative: there are some companies out there who need phones, but don't necessarily care how they work, the functionality/features available/durability etc., they just care that they have phones that make and receive calls. There are other companies that are completely reliant on phones and certain functionality that is provided by the system. There are even some companies who are straight up dependent on the phone system and are losing tons of money anytime they are down, ShoreTel is the perfect fit for theSMB client who sees value in a solid,robust, reliable and high functioning phone system

Incentivized

Broadvoice has been a great investment so far! Its system allows you to easily handle multiple lines & provides you with many useful, easy-to-use, features. It delivers faxes right to your email inbox, how much easier can it get? Through their app, it enables you to easily determine if the call is business or personal related. And you are able to answer calls no matter where you are

Incentivized

I have not used a wide array of communication software, but this far ShoreTel/MiCloud has been the simplest and easiest to get into. My work employs several temps at certain points throughout the year, and they use this piece of software frequently, and new hires seem to have little to no issue using this software. Additionally, this is our primary telephone communication infrastructure, and I have yet to encounter any issues when signed in and regularly using it handling external calls to our department.

Incentivized

AWAYS available to assist when I call. I could not be happier about that!

Incentivized

The system has gone down on us MULTIPLE times. We asked them to move us to a different cluster. Shoretel declined. Basically we had problems or outages every month of the year from June 2012 to date. Our old phone system was just that: OLD, no bells or whistles. But it was up every day and I never had to think about it much until it was time for an upgrade. That's how I want Shoretel to be. I want it so reliable that I never have to think about it.

Any issues are usually overcome fairly quickly. We don't utilize reports offered by the system - we are a small company and the monitoring that would provide is just not something we would utilize.

Incentivized

Even though the system uses a lower bandwidth connection we have experienced a higher call quality than our previous system which required a T1 line and back up broadband connection.

Laura H. our Service Coordinator was exceptionally helpful when the inevitable hiccups occurred along the way. She calmly sought out solutions that kept the project moving so that we could meet our move-out/move-in deadlines. Also, their 24/7 Business Support line is staffed with knowledgeable people that answer my questions quickly and accurately.

Incentivized

ShoreTel Sky's support is amazing. The only reason why I didn't give it a 10 is that we still need to contact them for stuff that we should be able to do, for ourselves, within the management portal. I know their portal is being worked on, so hopefully they will get the "little things" included for self-management.

The in-person was done by phone and was GREAT!

Incentivized

I attended the first ShoreTel installer class in Austin,TX. It was a week of intensive study with a live lab and having hands on experience made the class worthwhile. I have taken all of the sales courses and remaining technical courses either online or self study to keep costs down. I send my techs to the first installer course in Austin as I feel it gives them a solid foundation and most of teh other courses they have taken have been online.

Incentivized

Overcame obstacles of everyone being in different places. Trainer was excellent (do not remember her name!). Open to all questions no matter how technical. The feedback from my colleagues were they were happy

Incentivized

The training identified some things M5 (ShoreTel's cloud division) could provide, however it was only using it every day and asking the Shoretel support several questions that I got the hang of it. The training was able to highlight functions but I did not learn how to use the phone from the training.

It was straightforward to set up. The phone was delivered prior to installation. The script and routing of calls were established prior to installation as well. The on-site technician installed each phone and offered training to anyone who asked. The main setup for hours, calls, and extensions was already set up via online meeting, making the phone install on-site a seamless experience.

Incentivized

I feel that the current features that ShoreTel provides are pretty solid, but in future I would love to see it expand into more features to assist inter team communication if possible. Considering that there was not a single issue with ShoreTel in my whole work period of 6months I think it is safe to say that the implementation is pretty standardized.

Incentivized

There was no comparison for me. Google Voice annoyed anyone calling in, was delayed in relaying missed calls and texts, and was not user friendly in my opinion. Broadvoice is leaps and bounds ahead for business purposes. It addresses each of those concerns and provides a solution that even an entry level professional could use.

Costs are lower with Mitel's offering than was the case with SureTel's offering. Switching from SureTel to MiTel was simple and painless. A software update was pushed by IT, and users migrated with relative ease. The vast majority of users did not need any involvement from IT during and after the switch over

Incentivized

Giving a neutral answer as this is something we do not need and therefore do not utilize.

Incentivized

Shoretel has been very scalable for our organization. We first installed Shoretel in 2003 to standardize three sites on one phone system. As our needs have changed, our Shoretel system has adapted with our growing needs and added locations. Initially, we were using analog phones and have been rolling out VoIP as our budgeting has allowed.

Incentivized

• 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.

• We've definitely seen a business impact on our company in a positive manner. We've been able to provide the best possible service that suits our needs, while not being gouged by ISP's or Telco providers.
• We can better serve our customer service reps and tech support people by managing our own system, creating our own ring groups and control use.