Alexis Kestler
Effective real-time communication is more crucial than ever in our increasingly distributed world. As both businesses and gaming communities adapt to remote environments, high-quality voice chat has become a fundamental component of collaboration and teamwork.
That‘s where industrial-strength voice server hosting enters the picture. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore how hosted voice servers empower organizations and gamers to communicate clearly without latency or downtime.
Why Voice Matters More Than Ever
Let‘s briefly reflect on why voice collaboration is so vital in 2021 and beyond:
-
Remote and hybrid work is growing – A Gartner survey found 82% of company leaders will permit remote work some of the time. Voice servers enable teams to collaborate from anywhere.
-
Gaming ping times are critical – Lag kills the gaming experience. Multiplayer gamers need responsive communication with teammates to coordinate and win.
-
Calls are more engaging than text – Hearing someone‘s voice fosters trust and empathy more effectively than written messages. Voice servers add personality.
-
Quick coordination saves money – Studies show enterprise users value voice communication at $3900 per user for the productivity benefits.
The data shows voice will only grow in strategic importance. Now let‘s explore how hosted voice servers deliver the capabilities and reliability needed.
Benefits of Voice Server Hosting
Voice server hosting offers a slate of advantages over attempting to self-host voice software:
Convenience – Specialized hosting providers configure and manage the servers, so you don‘t have to.
Reliability – You benefit from the provider‘s redundant servers and max uptime.
Scalability – Adding more capacity is a breeze as your user base expands.
Global Access – Users connect with low latency from anywhere.
Security – Hosting providers implement enterprise-grade security protections.
Features – Take advantage of value-added features like administration controls, APIs, and analytics.
Affordability – Hosting offers economies of scale and is cost-effective versus self-hosting.
According to TechJury‘s analysis, the average savings from using a hosted voice server instead of self-hosting is around $115 per month in infrastructure and administration costs.
Now let‘s explore the leading business and gaming providers in more detail.
Top Voice Server Hosting Platforms for Business
1. Nextiva
Nextiva offers enterprise-grade voice servers integrated with VoIP phone service.
Highlights
- Integrated VoIP calling and phone system
- Unlimited calling plans available
- Built-in team chat and video conferencing
- 99.999% uptime with geo-redundancy
- Advanced security and compliance
- 24/7 technical support
Nextiva is ideal for complex business voice needs. They provide reliable, unified communications backed by proven expertise.
2. RingCentral
RingCentral provides a robust cloud phone system with voice and video meetings.
Highlights
- Cloud PBX system with VoIP calling
- Intuitive web and mobile apps
- Integrates with popular business apps
- Automatic call recording available
- Dashboards for usage analytics
- Plans for any size business
RingCentral makes it simple to message, meet, and talk from any device. Their voice architecture can scale to support large distributed teams.
3. Vonage
Vonage delivers UCaaS solutions including VoIP, contact center, APIs, and more.
Highlights
- Flexible cloud communications platform
- Drag & drop call flows
- Integrates with CRM and helpdesk apps
- Real-time analytics dashboards
- 99.999% financially-backed uptime
- 24/7 support and emergency assistance
Vonage provides the features and integrations growing businesses need in a modern voice solution.
Based on these leading platforms, hosted voice servers enable organizations to unify communications and allow employees to productively collaborate from anywhere.
Top Voice Server Hosting for Gaming
Low latency voice chat is critical for competitive multiplayer gaming and building gaming communities. Dedicated voice server hosting helps gamers communicate lag-free.
1. Discord
As the de facto community platform for gaming, Discord offers free voice servers bundled with text chat.
Highlights
- Free voice and text chat servers
- Web, desktop, and mobile apps
- Organized channels with permission controls
- Low latency optimized for gaming
- CDN for distributing high-volume traffic
- Server boosting option for more features
Discord is the easiest way for gamers to create an online community with voice chat included.
2. HostHavoc
HostHavoc provides high performance TeamSpeak voice servers specifically for gaming.
Highlights
- Global data centers with low pings
- DDoS protection to avoid downtime
- Easy account management and billing
- Plans based on number of slots needed
- 24/7 live chat and email support
HostHavoc offers rock-solid TeamSpeak voice hosting tailored to the needs of gamers at affordable rates.
3. GameServers
GameServers.com provides voice servers for the most popular gaming platforms.
Highlights
- Mumble, Ventrilo, TeamSpeak available
- Simple website and app account management
- DDoS filtering and server redundancy
- Pay per slot with discounts for unused slots
- Custom voice server provisioning
GameServers aims to provide the highest quality voice server hosting service for games. They make server management easy.
For gaming groups and clans, specialized voice hosting equates to better teamwork and more wins.
6 Must-Have Voice Server Hosting Features
Based on our research of top providers for business and gaming, we recommend looking for these key features in a voice hosting provider:
1. Low Latency – Minimal lag is vital, especially for gaming servers. Providers should have globally distributed data centers.
2. Reliability – Look for server redundancy, emergency failover measures, and at least 99.99% uptime.
3. DDoS Protection – Robust DDoS mitigation is a must to block service-disrupting cyberattacks.
4. Easy Scalability – Upgrade voice capacity on demand as your user base grows.
5. Security – Encrypted data transmission, 2FA, and other security best practices should be implemented.
6. Dashboard – Usage metrics, data insights, and management through an intuitive online dashboard.
Prioritizing these elements will ensure you choose a voice hosting provider that powers seamless communication and collaboration at scale.
Bottom Line
In closing, voice server hosting enables businesses and gaming communities to facilitate real-time engagement that would be impossible otherwise. The specialized providers profiled here offer enterprise-level voice platforms with extensive global infrastructure.
By leveraging their expertise and technology, you can confidently power crystal clear voice chat between employees, customers, and gamers across the world. Voice servers promote better teamwork, relationships, and enjoyment of distributed work and play.
So in summary, key takeaways are:
- Voice server hosting offers greater reliability, security and features versus self-hosting.
- Leading providers like Nextiva cater to large business needs.
- Discord provides free voice chat optimized for gamers.
- Focus on providers with low latency, uptime guarantees and robust DDoS protection.
Hopefully this guide has provided you a comprehensive overview of the value of leveraging dedicated voice server hosting and criteria to evaluate the top providers. Please don‘t hesitate to reach out if you need any further advice!
