Nextiva VoIP Review
Nextiva is a Arizona-based VoIP and office communications hosting service provider that offers its clients three types of service. Nextiva Connect is a virtual PBX solution for those who don’t need hardware. Nextiva Connect 360 is a complete hosted PBX and Voice over IP (VoIP) product. Online fax is offered as a third product called vFAX.
Virtual PBX – Nextiva Connect
Nextiva Connect is a virtual PBX service, also called hosted PBX. This service provides office phone system functions, but no hardware. There are three levels of service, Connect 100, Connect 500 and Connect Unlimited. As their names suggest, the first two plans have a fixed pool of minutes, 100 or 500, and the unlimited plan has unlimited minutes. Nextiva Connect plans combine inbound and outbound minutes. These plans also provide one local or toll-free phone number. You can keep your current number if you wish.
The three plans offer 10, 20 or 100 virtual extensions respectively, and offer a full array of hosted PBX features including auto attendant with dial-by-name directory, voicemail, voicemail to email, conference calling, day/night mode scheduling, and the ability to customize your greetings. Follow Me is a feature that allows users to input phone numbers where they can be reached, and allow Connect to call all or some of the numbers when a call comes in for their extension.
Account administration is done online in your browser. In order to insure account security, there are three levels of login available: user, manager and owner. All Nextiva customers get phone, email and chat support.
Virtual PBX and VoIP – Connect360
The PBX features of Connect360 are similar to those of the Connect service. This plan adds voice over IP service and hardware, which you purchase when you sign up. This system allows you to use your existing high-speed internet connection to handle all of your office telephone needs no matter where your offices are. Offices in diverse cities interact like they are in one building.
There are a few other differences between the Connect and Connect360 plans that deserve mentioning. In the Connect360 plan, inbound and outbound minutes are monitored and charged separately. All in-network calls are free. That means your calls to people inside your company are free, as are calls to other Nextiva customers. Inbound toll-free minutes incur additional charges. To enhance account security and provide a more efficient interface, Connect360 provides separate portals for managers and employees.
vFAX
Nextiva offers online fax capabilities as a separate product. vFAX gives you the ability to handle your faxing needs anywhere you have an internet connection. You can use your existing fax machine or do your faxing from your computer using your web browser, Microsoft Outlook and Office applications, or your email client. If you have email on your cell phone, you can send and retrieve your faxes that way as well.
The vFAX service billing is based on a fixed number of pages per month.