Ring group
A ring group is a set of users in a phone system who receive the same incoming calls, with the phones ringing either at the same time or one after another until someone answers.
How a ring group works
A call is sent to the group instead of to one person. The phone system rings group members according to a ring strategy. If nobody answers within the set time, the call follows a fallback rule, such as voicemail or another group.
Common ring strategies
- Ring all (simultaneous) — every member rings at the same time.
- In order (sequential) — members ring one after another in a fixed order.
- Mixed — for example, one person rings first and the rest of the team joins after a few seconds.
A ring group differs from a call queue: a ring group rings people for a set time and then moves on, while a queue holds callers until an agent is free.
Ring groups in phone.systems™
In phone.systems™ a ring group is the Ring Group object in a call flow. Each destination in the group has its own place on a ring timeline, so you decide when it starts ringing and for how long. This lets you ring destinations sequentially, simultaneously or in a mix. Callers hear music on hold or a ringback tone — the normal ringing sound — while they wait, and an unanswered call continues to the next object, for example Voicemail. Ring groups can include users' apps, SIP phones and forwarding to mobiles.
Departments are often set up as ring groups — see routing calls between departments and never missing a customer call.