Momentum Cloud VoIP Assessment
Momentum offers a broad range of cloud VoIP features and functions. They range from basic enough for the smallest businesses to powerful enough for large ones. A key selling point is that they allow customers to select different levels of functionality to fit varying needs. For many this will work better than the one-size-fits-all approach, because it means customers don't need to pay the same full rate for every extension, phone or user.
The choices start with three packages of features:
- Basic service is little more than a line that shows caller ID and call waiting. It is ideal for phones that get only occasional use, such as those in loading docks, warehouses, break rooms and reception areas. Basic lines are available as add-on's to Advanced and Executive services.
- Advanced service provides standard functions necessary for phones assigned to individuals, including voice mail; call forwarding, return and transfer; three-way calling; and voice-mail to e-mail.
- Executive service adds various features that provide more flexibility, including speed dial; find me/follow me; various methods of call forwarding, blocking and acceptance; and Do Not Disturb.
This three-tier approach contrasts with hosted VoIP services that charge the same flat fee for all extensions, even those that are in actual use only a few minutes per day or week.
Customers can also choose between usage plans. Metered extensions let them pay as they go for only the calls their employees make. The basic charge is $0.03 per minute for calls to the continental U.S. and Canada. This is a good deal for companies with low call volumes. The alternative is unlimited extensions, which cost a flat fee for any amount of domestic calls. This is better for companies with large call volumes. Toll-free and vanity numbers are also available. This choice of plans again lets companies pay in a way that best fits their needs.
In addition to the three basic packages of functionality and the different usage plans, a variety of other options further increases flexibility. Mobile apps for Android and iPhone let employees access features of their office phone system, including the company directory and settings such as Do Not Disturb, from their smart phones, and also to make mobile calls via their business numbers. Virtual numbers provide local numbers in any market where a company does business. Smart numbers let employees route incoming calls to up to five destinations. These can be home or office phones, mobile phones or even soft phones. Momentum also markets several specific sets of functions that amount to categories of their own.
One of these is a collection of features and capabilities that qualify as Unified Communications (UC). They include:
- Mobile integration, including access via the abovementioned mobile apps, find me/follow me, and the ability to reach various devices via smart numbers
- Soft phones, which allow employees to make and receive calls via headset-equipped computers
- Presence detection across the various devices and platforms
- Virtual fax, which lets employees send and receive faxes from any device and any location, rather than being tied to physical fax machines
- Integrated instant messaging, which lets employees communicate with one another even when they are on another call. This is particularly useful when the employees are on the line with customers as in contact centers
- Integrated video conferencing, which can significantly improve communication and rapport among employees.
Momentum markets another set of functions as collaboration tools, the components of which overlap to varying degrees with UC features. They include:
- Audio conferencing accessible via the various platforms
- Video conferencing which is similarly accessible in multiple ways
- Web conferencing, a browser-based service dubbed Momentum Meeting that combines various online presentation tools with built-in support for audio and video conferencing.
Momentum's highest-end product is its hosted contact center. It supports agents in multiple locations, including home offices, and includes a robust set of monitoring, supervising and reporting functions. It provides such features as:
- Automatic call distribution (ACD), which routes calls to agents based on factors such as their skill levels, availability, what ring group they belong to, how busy they are and other factors. It permits customized greetings and routing for different categories of customers based on the purpose of their calls and which of the company's inbound numbers they called.
- Monitor and barge functions, which let supervisors silently listen to and also join agents' calls as necessary.
- Call recording, one of the basic necessities of contact centers. Speech analytics make it possible to categorize and index recordings without having to listen to them, while screen capture provides a snapshot of agents' onscreen activities at the time of the call.
- Real-time monitoring of agent and queue activity, via a graphical dashboard that displays agent and queue status on-screen.
- On-screen call control, which makes it possible to make calls by clicking, and to transfer calls by drag-and-drop in order to manage queues more efficiently.
- Mobility management, which lets managers supervise and oversee agents no matter where they are, including at home or at different branches, as if they are at a single contact center.
Momentum puts more emphasis on selling its services via customized quotes than on providing comprehensive online pricing information and automated Web signup. Its Website does note, however, that plans start at $9.95 per month. Momentum sells standard and executive models of Cisco and Polycom phones, which it ships preconfigured. It also provides information about whether customers' existing phones will work with its service.
This assessment is the fifth in a series of articles evaluating the offerings of cloud/hosted VoIP providers. Previous articles evaluated:
About the Author
Robert Poe has written extensively about technology in the U.S. and Asia. He is a portrait, sports and dance photographer, and likes karate, Argentine Tango, bicycling and running. He has worked for two startups, neither of which made him rich. His website for VoIP coverage is VoIP Evolution.
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