8x8, Inc. Review

8x8, Inc., formerly known as Packet 8, have been in the telecoms industry for well over two decades. The solutions offered through 8x8 are highly affordable, and offer voice, video, and the best of UC solutions for SMBs. More recently, 8x8 have started to appeal to largely distributed enterprises with CRM/Outlook integration and more. Founded in 1996, 8x8, Inc. are currently at the top of the industry, integrating advanced phone services, web conferencing, powerful productivity tools, flexible service plans, and ease in setup and use. All of their technology is homegrown (with more than 80 U.S. Patents to date), meaning a reduction in cost and improvement in service.

 

Installation & Interface -  Getting started with 8x8, Inc. is smooth as silk, with a dedicated agent and sales team taking their time to guide you towards the best option for you and your business. The first 30 days are free with the option to cancel with no penalty. They offer IP phones through their service (allow 3-5 business days for delivery) at a highly discounted price, and users may also bring their own device for use with their subscription. 8x8 schedule a technical installation walkthrough in which an agent will call you at a designated time to setup and configure your 8x8 service. The phone that arrives from them will come preconfigured, so you needn’t worry about provisioning at all.

 

As 8x8 is a hosted solution, you’ll never worry about more than setting up your phone system. Their Java based Virtual Office solution is polished, and highly functional, with a built-in softphone, video conferencing, call recording, and internet faxing all-in-one.

 

Features - While many other companies charge for more advanced features, 8x8 includes them for free. Their call forwarding and failover system is top notch, and works incredibly well. The mobile workforce will also find delight in taking their extension with them via 8x8’s mobile hosted PBX solution for Android/iOS. 8x8’s automated attendant is easy to set up, and is fleshed out with a lot of options to customize your business.

 

From home offices to government operations, 8x8 boosts collaboration to the max with an advanced suite of productivity tools. Recently, 8x8 added new plug-ins for Outlook Integration, Sage ACT, Salesforce, Netsuite, Click2Connect, SugarCRM, and eAgent to streamline and boost business operations.

 

Reliability - High Definition audio only scrapes the surface of the quality users of 8x8 business VoIP enjoy. By appointing a sales agent to each customer, questions and concerns are always addressed with the same, high priority care - whether you’ve been a subscriber for two months, or two years. Some great features offered are free, and work wonderfully to boot.

 

Service and Support - With homegrown, in-house development and support, resolutions are reached rapidly and efficiently.

Their online support section guides you at every turn, with detailed documentation, FAQs, Updates, White Papers, and video demos. 8x8 features support chat online, and operates from 5am – 9 pm PST from Monday to Friday for business technical support calls.

 

Pricing -  8x8 Metered Extension: 250 mins plus 2.9c overage, at $9.99/mo/ext. Activiation is $39.99, and includes all features plus the mobile application.

8x8 Virtual Office – Unlimited Extension: Plan is $19.99/mo/ext, with free activation [Hosted PBX, Auto Attendant, Extension Dialing, On-Hold Music, Ring Groups, Directory Assistance Listing, Online Billing, Online Admin Portal, Local Number Porting (LNP)]. Unlimited calling to the US/Canada.

 

8x8 Virtual Office Pro – Unlimited Extension: Cost is $29.99/mo/ext, with free activation, unlimited calling to the US/Canada, and the same features mentioned above. Extras offered include web conferencing, call recording, and Internet Fax capabilities.