We're looking at moving from RingCentral and were curious as to the process as well as any recommendations with regards to SIP providers that don't lock us in long term contracts just in case we have to roll back.
Our current setup is simple with just five digital lines (we don't use direct dials so really just one or two would be fine) and six extensions.
Almost entirely domestic calls with limited/low international usage
Does the Amazong Lightsail solution above need additional firewall work to lock it down properly?
As a SIP provider newbie, any suggestions as to a SIP provider or what to look for?
Does the SIP provider handle porting?
Can we still setup a scenario like this with the standard license?
Inbound calls reach our automated greeting
During business hours calls then ring all online ring desk phones and then ring answering service
Outside of business hours, calls ring desk phones only twice and then ring answering service
Please feel free to share any thoughts, insights, etc.. as any would be much appreciated and apologies in advance for the amateur nature of these questions or if this is not the right forum for them.
You've come to the right place. As far as SIP providers go, there are many that go m2m, ourselves included. As far as the rest of your questions go:
Lightsail has a basic firewall which should more than suffice for your needs.
For the best experience, you want a 3CX supported provider. The two that @3cxnub mention, as well as ourselves fall in that category.
The SIP provider handles porting with information provided by the customer (copy of the phone bill and a signed Letter of Authorization).
3CX will handle your scenario just fine. Do keep in mind that with a typical 3CX setup, your forwarding to an answering service scenario will take 2 simultaneous calls unless your provider can be configured to forward on their end (which we can do)
You will also want to use a SBC which is a minimal cost. And for the Polycom phones did you buy them or are they rented? If rented, you'll need to get new phones which we can help with as well. If owned and they are the newer VVX phones then you can use them, although I would still plan on replacing if budget permitted as they are considered a 'legacy' phone. If they are the older SoundPoint phones then you would definitely want to replace them with a 3CX supported phone. Yealink phones are fully supported on both platforms if you wanted to retain the ability to go back to RingCentral.
