One of the advantages of being a RingCentral customer is that you can take your RingCentral Hosted PBX (or cloud based) business phone system with you wherever you go. Whether you’re based in Calgary, somewhere else in Canada or in the United States, you can take your business phone with you with you when you travel – saving your business money and helping you to stay connected. You can stay connected in one of three ways when you travel: via your IP desk phone, softphone, or smartphone/tablet. Here is a summary of the pros and cons of each option:
IP Desk Phone
If you have an IP desk phone, you can take it with you but keep in mind that it’s bulky and most require a wired connection. That said, many hotels have wired internet connections in their rooms but most require some sort of authentication (login screen with room number or password). Since you need a computer with a browser to do this, now you’re looking at using a switch or most likely a travel router to make this happen. Is it worth it? In our humble opinion, the answer is no. Unless you plan on staying with your in-laws for an extended period or somewhere else where the networking is less complicated, leave your IP desk phone at home.
Softphone
The RingCentral softphone application essentially turns your Mac or PC laptop into your business phone. Since you’re already taking your laptop with you while travelling, you might as well use it for one more task. For hotel access, connect your laptop to the internet in your room (wired is preferred if available) and your softphone should connect to the RingCentral SIP Server. Rather than use your laptop’s mic and speakers, we recommend using a quality headset (like those made by Plantronics) that you can plug in for better call quality. If you have noise canceling headphones that you use on a plane, check to see if they have a built in mic, you may be able to use them instead of packing an additional pair.
Smartphone/Tablet
Do you have an iPhone/iPad or Android phone? If so you may want to consider using it to make and receive calls. With the app running in the background, your smartphone will ring when someone is calling you. The app gives you the ability to make calls over VoIP or not. If your cell minutes are precious and few, consider making calls over VOIP with preferably a good WiFi connection. If you’re outside a WiFi hotspot, you can make the call using 3G/4G. Just make sure that you have a good data plan before doing this (you can turn off 3G/4G calling in the options). If all you have is a cell signal, you can still make calls using the app and it’s ringout feature. RingCentral connects the call between your smartphone and your caller, you only using incoming minutes and your caller ID remains your business number. For more details, refer to RingCentral + Your Smartphone = Balance Work and Personal Life With One Phone Number.
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