At Z1, we usually encourage clients to keep it in the Zoho ecosystem when possible — cleaner integrations, more control, fewer compatibility headaches. But every rule has exceptions. When it comes to telephony, RingCentral is one of the few third-party tools we actually recommend over Zoho Voice — and here’s why.
What Is RingCentral?
RingCentral is a cloud-based communication platform that combines voice, video, messaging, and collaboration tools into one system. It’s widely used in sales and support teams for handling calls, SMS, voicemail, and more.
In plain terms: if your team is making and taking a lot of calls, RingCentral gives you enterprise-level features with reliability Zoho Voice still can’t match.
Why Use RingCentral Instead of Zoho Voice?
1. Call Quality and Uptime
RingCentral has a long track record in VoIP and unified communications. It’s built for high-volume teams and offers stronger call quality, uptime, and scalability than Zoho Voice, which is still relatively new and best for light internal use or basic calling.
2. Advanced Call Features
RingCentral offers things like:
IVR and smart call routing
Call whispering and barge-in
Deep analytics and reporting
SMS and voicemail transcription
Zoho Voice handles the basics, but RingCentral has all the power tools sales and support teams need.
3. Global Coverage
RingCentral is built for international calling. If you’ve got reps or clients across countries, you’ll appreciate the number flexibility and regulatory compliance it brings to the table.
4. Native Zoho CRM Integration
Despite not being a Zoho product, RingCentral has a native integration with Zoho CRM that works well right out of the box.
How to Connect RingCentral to Zoho CRM
Setting up RingCentral inside Zoho CRM takes about 10 minutes if you’ve got admin access to both systems. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Prep Your RingCentral Account
Make sure your RingCentral account is active and you have admin-level access. You’ll also need user accounts set up for each Zoho CRM user who needs to make or receive calls.
Step 2: Go to Zoho CRM’s Phone Integration Settings
In Zoho CRM, go to the Setup menu (the gear icon in the top-right corner).
Under Channels, click Telephony.
Click the PhoneBridge Marketplace button to open up a list of supported providers.
Step 3: Find and Install RingCentral
Search for RingCentral in the PhoneBridge Marketplace.
Click Install and follow the prompts.
You’ll be redirected to RingCentral’s login page. Enter your credentials and authorize the connection.
Step 4: Map Users
Once installed, you’ll be prompted to map Zoho CRM users to RingCentral users. This ensures incoming and outgoing calls are properly matched to the right CRM user and logged in the correct place.
Step 5: Configure Call Settings
After mapping, you can tweak how RingCentral behaves inside Zoho CRM:
Enable click-to-call from CRM records
Automatically log calls as activities
Record calls (if needed)
Trigger workflows based on call outcomes
Bonus Tip: Create Call-Based Workflows
Once RingCentral is connected, you can use call activity to trigger CRM automation. For example:
Send follow-up emails after missed calls
Alert a manager when a key lead gets a call longer than 10 minutes
Kick off a deal stage update when a first call is completed
Final Thoughts
Zoho Voice is solid if you’re just starting out with the Zoho suite. But if calling is central to your process, RingCentral gives you serious communication tools that scale with your business — and it plays surprisingly well with Zoho CRM.
At Z1, we help businesses implement tools like Ring Central. If you’re considering a cloud phone system or want to integrate Ring Central into your current setup, schedule a call with us today.
Good luck, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any more guidance on using Zoho!
