Jive Communications

I initially called Jive and spoke with Angela who said she would send me an email and that I would have to return it to her.  Their application process is a bit cumbersome as you actually have to fill out paperwork and fax/email it back!  Although normally I would be a little reserved about an online service provider making me do things manually (sort of an oxymoron), I took it in stride attributing it to their commitment to provide a quality network.  Well at least I hope that’s why they’re doing it!  Within a couple days I received confirmation of my new number and I was given my login information.  I was provided the opportunity to have a one-on-one setup and orientation.  I declined it because I knew what I was looking for in a provider and I knew that on my own I would be able to figure things out.  They also have a variety of video tutorials on youtube.  I accidently messed things up in my control panel and was forced to call them for tech support and they resolved the issue for me in less than 1 minute.  Both tech support and the initial sales staff are very friendly.

In search of a VoIP hosted solution for our business I tried out 2 other providers as well.  Neither of the other providers were able to give the level of support, knowledge or price that Jive was able to.  

Some people have mentioned that their prices are high.  I would have to disagree and I really don't know what they are talking about.  Most of the other providers provide bundled packages which cost more upfront.  Jive's upfront costs are lower with available addons.  This allows for greater flexibility and options therefore you don't have to pay for what you don't need.  For example, a lot of other providers bundle a phone line with each extension for free and Jive doesn't.  Lines are seperate from the base package. Initially line prices are $5 per line however they drop to $2.50 per line once you get over 10 phones (I think it's 10).  Once you're at 10 phones your base price drops $6 per device and your line price drops as well.  The 2 combined would be $26.45 per device.  I looked at MANY other providers and none came in that low!

As I mentioned in my "pros" Jive has one of the best control panels that allows for an awesome amount of customization.  Call quality is great.  We have one location that is DSL only (no other services / Rural location) and we experience no problems with multiple phones in use.

The few issues that I have had with Jive, as descriped in the "cons", are my own observations of the system.  I have talked with Jive Development Staff about these issues and they are always willing to listen.  Their development team took my considerations seriously and even followed up with me letting me know that they would be implementing some of those suggestions in the near future.  In talking with development, Jive has many things planned for it's growth and future within the industry and I'm happy to be along for the ride and can't wait to see the things that they have in store!

Overall, we are completely satisfied with Jive and have recommended them to some of our clients as well.  

We switched to Jive after reading the glowing reviews and needing get a provider that offered a more jitter free experience. Jive had a higher cost with the type of setup we needed, but we thought they imbued quality and were willing to ante up for it. It hasn't been a good experience thus far however, what we've experienced is a system riddled with bugs of varied degrees. The biggest of which right now is one where the pbx stops playing the ringing sound to the caller (although while still proceeding with the call on all other accounts) making them think the line has disconnected. They of course hang up and call back never being able to leave a voicemail and driving us crazy with trying to catch the call. Over the past month Jive's support, while being friendly and nice, hasn't been able to figure it out. Add that to the problem we started encountering this week of some calls only ringing once before actually disconnecting them, and it becomes a hindrance on your business.

My evaluation is that it would appear Jive has the right theory going with treating the customer well, but just hasn't had the engineering time or muscle yet to create a reliable system the customer needs. I might check them out again in 5 yrs to see if that's changed.

I recently switched the office over to VoIP service from AT&T.  From beginning to end the process was straight forward and the customer service was impeccable.  I have since submitted a few trouble tickets regarding additional setup feature information that I wasn't able to find answers to in their Knowledge Base and the responses were quick and helpful.  I haven't had experience with any other VoIP providers, but if the service continues at the same level, I don't plan to.

Working with the Jive team and setting up my inital account / phone proved effortless. The online PBX software allowed me tremendous flexbility to configure Jive features to meet my needs today and in the future.