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What are virtual phone numbers?

Virtual phone numbers are numbers that are not linked to a physical phone or SIM card. Virtual numbers instead use the internet to carry calls. Then you can choose whether you want to use a mobile phone, a softphone or an IP phone.

But why do you want virtual phone numbers?

What’s good about virtual phone numbers?

Imagine you have a company that is growing and you start getting customers in another city or country. Maybe you even have colleagues scattered around the world.

If you get a fixed PBX, traditional landline office telephony with the hardware in a cabinet or down in the basement with cords leading to landline desk phones, then you will be pretty locked into your telephony solution. As your business grows, you need to buy more hardware to be able to add more users to your PBX. For your customers, which are spread over a large geographical area, it will become clear that you are not a local actor. And international calls can be quite expensive.

So what should you choose instead?

Virtual telephone system with virtual numbers

This is where cloud-based telephony systems come in. A cloud-based telephony system, ie a virtual switchboard, is exactly what it sounds like. A PBX stored in the cloud. As a customer, you do not own any hardware to carry the office phone system itself, all that is handled by the system supplier. A virtual telephony system is scalable almost to infinity, which means it can grow as your business does. No new hardware will be required other than the computers, mobiles or IP phones that you choose to call via. And with virtual, cloud-based, systems you can also get virtual numbers.

Look local

Since the system is stored in the cloud, it does not become site specific. Therefore, you can get virtual phone numbers from all over the world. This way you can have a French number, even if you are situated in Sweden. Customers tend to trust domestic numbers more, compared to foreign ones. The same goes for domestic numbers, but with a different area code. There, customers tend to be less likely to answer if the call comes from across the country. By creating numbers that seem to come from the same place as your customers, you will build trust.

Able to call for local rates

Say you are in Sweden but have a lot of contact with suppliers and customers in other countries. Then it can quickly become an expensive story to make a lot of  international calls. But with virtual numbers you can call with national tariffs. So, for example, with your Norwegian number you can call for Norwegian tariffs to your Norwegian customers.

Get rid of bulky hardware

As previously mentioned, a cloud-based virtual phone system is stored in the cloud. Instead of physical switches that stand, and gathers dust, with lots of cables leading into the room, everything is at your supplier. Upgrades and maintenance are done automatically. What you and your colleagues need is a device to call from. Choose if you want to work with a softphone, a mobile phone or an IP phone.

So if you have a company that is growing, it might be good to look at a virtual solution.