Without any doubt, any business that communicates via the phone should have call recording on its list of essentials. We get a series of communications in the form of written paper from email, which has taken over the entire world because of the simplicity it provides.  
 

Likewise, what prevents our phone calls from getting saved for later reference? Well, in most industries, this is a legal requirement, and good practice too. Fortunately, call recording abilities to get provided as an inbuilt feature by most Business VoIP and Contact Center services.

However, you can get a better choice for your business in the market. Instead of using a limited feature provided in your hosted PBX service provider, stand-alone call recording software is a good alternative, as it fits the bill effectively.

Cloud Call Recording substituted legacy Solutions

Although there is no much change in call recording, the latest shift is moving towards the Cloud. Similar to many processes, migrating to the cloud offers some benefits like affordable and flexible service with higher scalability and functionality.

Initially, call recording was performed via on-premise hardware, but that changed after the introduction of Business VoIP services. Without any doubt, you can simply put your phone on a loud-speaker, then record the conversation using another device. However, doing so does not cater to analysis, management, and storage.

Here are some short-comings of legacy recording solutions:

Installing and maintaining the hardware was expensive/ came at extra cost.  

In comparison to modern solutions, the functionality of legacy hardware is limited. Also, it does not feature modern tech developments, such as AI in VoIP.

Recording, storage, and management of calls were supposed to be done by on-site hardware.

Since recordings can only be accessed online via the cloud portal, there is a higher limitation in terms of access.

On the contrary, the call recording service gives vendors the ability to combine the functionality with extra services and tools without hindrances. Also, call recording as a service provides higher flexibility and scalability, stable worldwide access to recordings, and increases the functionality with things such as idea evaluation, and processing of language.

Call Recording Software Against as a Packaged VoIP Feature

Currently, businesses have the choice of using a stand-alone call recording-like service platform, besides normal legacy call recording, and other hosted solutions. Alternatively, businesses can use the functionality which by default is added in their business VoIP service.

Like Contact Center solutions, call recording as a business VoIP feature is still getting embraced by many organizations, making providers continue expanding their platforms, as well as functionality.

Among the features that Hosted PBX providers thought would a powerful addition to their platforms is call recording. However, instead of making their private call recording solution; because it is not a stand-alone platform, the providers were ready to combine the tools that were in existence.

Still, stand-alone call recording is there, and it is a powerful choice for organizations that need additional functionality to be offered via dedicated platforms. Nonetheless, there is no straightforward better choice. Instead, the requirement of your business makes one the perfect option.

If you are facing problems with the quality of calls, you can try the enhanced Voice API.

Call Recording like a Feature

There is a broad range of inbuilt functionality in hosted VoIP solutions, which starts from SMB friendly players to business-ready service providers. With just a single re-occurring cost, organizations can utilize enhanced features without additional costs, when using tools such as routing and IVRs.  

Among the most popular function is call recording, which is provided as an additional feature, or a further platform extension by most business VoIP service providers. If your organization is already using a popular platform, such as Five9, Vonage, RingCentral, or Nextiva, there are higher chances of accessing the call recording feature.

Why should you use an inbuilt call recording functionality? 

If your organization is using a platform that has a built-in call recording functionality, then its already paying for the feature. So, you should use the recording provided by your VoIP service, since simplicity is its most significant benefit.

Integrated communications involve and combine many functionalities in the same platform, and an excellent example of this is call recording. Apart from being user-friendly, solutions with built-in call recording save you time and money, because you do need to keep on managing and juggling from one platform/ application to another.   

Most call recording features are not provided as a stand-alone platform, but as combined functionality to existing solutions. Therefore, your team gets authorized functionality, as internal integration and compatibility is already solved.

Here are the main benefits of using a built-in call recording functionality:

There is no need of worrying about compatibility problems because call recording is either added to your existing service or a built-in feature. Because of the nature of cloud solutions, execution and unification are done via the provider. To ensure everything functions effectively, the feature is built straight into your already-in-place PBX platform.

It offers total simplicity. Since users depend on only a single cloud communication platform, they do not need to use multiple platforms, which comes with an extra cost, management, and organization tasks.

The same portals and analytical dashboards are used in setting up and management, just like other features of your business VoIP system. By doing so, you get to enjoy the simple feature of a combined communications platform.

What are the shortcomings of this feature?  

Like there are some benefits of using the built-in call recording functionality, there are some shortcomings. Besides that, there is a common theme among UCaaS solutions, where providers spread themselves just a little bit. If the goal of the vendor is covering many processes and functions, then these personal solutions might get weaker than stand-alone tools, which are entirely dedicated to solving the problem you are facing.

Although built-in call recording solutions might be the path to an easier encounter for end-users, the range of complete functionality might get limited. This concept is being used in creating the whole platform of dedicated call recording providers, and they will grow their solutions into similar functionality.   

In the meantime, VoIP providers are adding call recording functionality in their platforms, as it is seen like an extension, and not a feature that is worth investing extra R&D. As a result, the combination and functionality get somewhat easier and eliminates composite features or add-ons to the service.

Here are the shortcomings of built-in call recording functionality:

VoIP service providers might impose strict regulations on call recordings. This comes in the form of limited call recording storage or time. For example, 1000 recorded calls or 90 days.

Chances of your organization not incurring additional cost on call recordings are higher, as it is an add-on feature. Although this saves you the extra cost, the entire range of the solution gets limited. For instance, such a service might exclude analytics and transcription.

The whole call recording gets more limited in range; hence you miss more detailed features. For example, while Dubber has a personal AI analysis platform, which matches with their solution, it might not be provided by their partnership vendors.

Here is the best fit for included call recording functionality:

Teams that are devoted to a particular provider ecosystem. For instance, Nextiva provides their strong Next OS system, which comprises call recording and associated analytical functionality. Thus, remaining committed and concentrated on such an ecosystem makes a lot of sense to organizations that are using these services, rather than using extra platforms.

Organizations that want a limited/detailed budget, and are not interested in a stand-alone tool.

SMB organizations that are searching for stress-free call recording.

Call Recording like a Service 

As stated before, there are higher chances of your business VoIP provider having a built-in call recording function solution from a devoted vendor. However, the stand-alone service has higher abilities than just a simple feature that gets included on your business phone service.

However, these solutions get billed like their special, stand-alone platforms. They are grouped as call recording as a service. Generally, devoted providers offer this software to large-scale business organizations, because smaller enterprises do not require the functionality.

Besides that, these stand-alone platforms get accessed in the same way as other cloud solutions, and they can be used once on many devices. Nonetheless, compatibility with other solutions must be guaranteed. 

Why should you use included stand-alone call recording software?

The idea and technology of call recording have been advanced from a simpler feature to a completely-fledged site as a service, by stand-alone call recording software. Further, the entire technology has been made more accessible by hosted call recording. Likewise, vendors have started to provide their platform in a way that is also easier to access.

Devoted call recording software offers higher functionality, and accessibility, which are rarely provided by included recording functionality. Besides that, stand-alone platforms can add their dashboards, hence offering higher control in regards to analysis and management of saved recordings. 

In most cases, call recording software make the storage, saving, and management of recorded calls easier for organizations. These providers add storage to their products and do not charge extra fees. Alternatively, organizations can use their storage means to avoid any possible restrictions. 

Here are the main benefits of using a stand-alone call recording software solution:

They can be open source that allows users to increase the ability and unification in their already in use solutions and platforms. A good example is OrecX.

These solutions are highly adaptable, giving users the ability to record many liens at the same time, as well as operating the recorder in a virtual environment.

Unlike normal hosted PBX call recording, hosted stand-alone solutions can introduce some unique and robust functionality. Thus vendors are expanding their platforms to have analytics, AI, and others to leverage the perception that is offered by recorded calls entirely.

The concentration of most providers is on call recording, and hence there is room for expanding functionality, services, and solutions, such as call recording analytics that are powered by AI, and workforce management. Generally, this is unavailable in hosted VoIP providers, because call recording is viewed as an extension on those platforms, and not an expanded service of the platform.

Stand-alone platforms can enhance the management and analysis of recordings by including personal dashboards. These tools will offer more than organizing recordings, and providing playback. Therefore, users can easily make notes, segment recordings, or get a transcript made in real-time.

What are the short-comings of stand-alone call recording software? 

Although stand-alone call recording software appears to be the best option, the price range is unaffordable for smaller organizations. Some call recording software vendors to provide their platforms specifically to business organizations, rather than routing SMB provisions via providers, such as Mitel, and Nextiva.  

Thus, although cloud delivery has managed to introduce these costly solutions into the mainstream, it is upon your business to decide if that particular solution is worth investing the capital. After all, similar small enterprises are already using either a contact center platform that features call recording. So, paying for two solutions at once does is not wise.

Also, based on the special requirements of your organization, recording calls might be of higher priority. Nonetheless, ensure your business can accept that a stand-alone choice is not the most powerful option for every case.

Here are the short-comings of stand-alone call recording software:

Although the solution is delivered via the cloud, it still needs effective implementation, the specific combination with solutions that are already in use. Further, this might be tiresome, and requires more costs; hence the solutions are not suitable to SMBs that are searching for simplicity.

Generally, these solutions are for big contact centers and business users. Besides this, their functionality and complexity created by a new platform might be demanding if an organization does not have a devoted IT department.

The best fit for stand-alone call recording software are:

Organizations that intend to earn higher profits from calls and data, because the need to use an enhanced solution. It is only large organizations that can perfectly leverage the data, as they collect a lot of data.

• Big Contact Centers and Business organizations, which interact with their customers and clients via phone calls only. This happens specifically in organizations that want to stick to stringent regulatory guidelines.

• Sales operations that get credit card info via the phone, whose payments need to follow the PCI compliance rules.

How can you find the best solution for your use? 

Similar to other enterprise tools, your organization must decide on the perfect fit for its needs. Besides that, every enterprise must consider its special needs, budget, and possible shortcomings of using a new platform before they start using it.

Stand-alone call recording solutions give organizations the ability to get benefits by leveraging the bulk data and information that they gather via phone calls. Although most business VoIP and call center software features call recording, it does not mean it’s a guarantee to get what you and your team were expecting. Nonetheless, every solution plays a special role in the appropriate leveraging of data by an organization.

You can try a unique communication platform for your effective business communications.