What is a virtual phone number? Virtual phone system

A virtual phone number is a telephone number that isn't tied to one phone, one SIM card or one desk. It runs over the internet and is used for making and receiving business calls on the device you choose: your laptop, your smartphone or a desk phone in the office. So if you're wondering "what is a virtual number?", that's the short answer. Your number follows you, not the other way round.

Sounds simple. But think about your own business for a second. A customer calls your main number at 12:30. Half the team is at lunch, two colleagues work from home and your sales rep is somewhere on the M25. Where does that call go? With a traditional line, it probably rings on an empty desk. And your customer hangs up.

 

What is a virtual telephone number, exactly?

Think of a normal landline. The telephone number belongs to a physical line in one building. A virtual telephone number works differently. It lives in the cloud, inside your phone system, and you decide where it rings. That could be:

  • one colleague
  • a hunt group, so several people get the call at the same time
  • a call queue, so callers wait their turn instead of hearing a busy tone
  • your smartphone, when you're out of the office

You can choose a virtual phone number with a local area code, a national number or a separate number for a department like sales or support. Your customers just see a normal phone number. They don't notice any difference. You do.

 

How a virtual phone system works 

A virtual phone number on its own is just a number.  The real value comes from the virtual phone system behind it. That's the part that decides who gets the call, when and how.

With Xelion, your virtual phone system runs fully in the cloud. There's no server in a cupboard and no hardware to maintain. You manage your lines, users and settings in one place. A few examples of what that looks like on a normal working day:

  • You set a line schedule, so calls outside opening hours go to voicemail or to the colleague on duty.
  • You check the presence list and see straight away who is on a call, in a meeting or available.
  • A customer calls. You immediately see who it is and, with a CRM integration, what you discussed last time.
  • It's busy? Calls wait in a call queue instead of ringing out.
  • Someone's off sick? You redirect their calls to a colleague in a few clicks.

 

Mobile phone number: virtual or SIM based? 

Your personal mobile phone number is linked to a SIM card. A virtual phone number isn't. With the Xelion iOS App or the Xelion Android App, you make and take business calls on your smartphone with your business number. Customers see your company phone number, not your personal one. And when you finish for the day, you set your status to unavailable. Your evening stays yours.

This works well for hybrid teams. Office on Monday, home on Tuesday, visiting clients on Wednesday. Same number, same overview, every day. Prefer working on your laptop? The Xelion Windows App gives you the same features on your desktop. You'll find more on calling from any device on our telephony page.

 

More than a virtual phone 

Most people start looking at a virtual phone for one simple reason: calling. Fair enough. But once your telephony is in the cloud, other channels fit in easily. With Xelion you can also handle chat, webchat, WhatsApp and SMS from the same environment (communication channels). Does your team spend the whole day in Microsoft Teams? Then Xelion for Microsoft Teams puts the Xelion dialer and address book right there.

You also get insight into your calls. Xelion Web Reports and the Xelion Statistics Dashboard show you how many calls came in, how many you missed and when your busiest moments are (reports). So you plan your team based on real numbers, not gut feeling.

And all features sit in one licence. No separate modules to add later.

 

Is a virtual phone number right for you? 

A virtual phone number makes sense if:

  • your team doesn't sit in the same office every day
  • you sometimes miss calls at lunch or during busy moments
  • you want to see who's available before you transfer a call
  • you want business calls on your smartphone without giving out your personal number

Recognise a few of these? Then it's worth a closer look.

Frequently asked questions about virtual phone numbers

Mostly for business calls. You give customers one number, and your phone system decides where it rings. That could be a colleague in the office, a team working from home or your smartphone on the road.

In most cases, yes. You move your existing telephone number to your new virtual phone system. Your Xelion partner checks this for you and plans the switch, so customers keep calling the number they already know.

Not necessarily. You can call from your laptop, your smartphone or your browser. Prefer a desk phone? Xelion works with a range of certified hardware.

A stable internet connection and a device to call from. That's it. No phone lines to install and no server in the office.

Not quite, but they go together. VoIP (voice over IP) is the technology that sends calls over the internet. A virtual phone number is the number that uses it.

Yes. With the Xelion iOS App or Xelion Android App, you call with your business number on your own smartphone. Your personal mobile number stays private.

Yes. Xelion for Microsoft Teams gives you the Xelion dialler and address book inside Teams, so you make business calls without switching screens.

Security depends on the provider, so it's a fair question to ask. You can read how Xelion handles security and privacy, and find our certifications in the Trust Centre.

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See it for yourself

Curious what a virtual phone system looks like in practice? Request a demo and we'll show you how calls come in, how you set up call routing and what your team sees on screen. Prefer to talk first? Contact us and we'll put you in touch with a Xelion partner who can help you get started.

Contact us Request a demo