Glossary
What is a softphone?
A softphone is a software application that turns a computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet into a fully functional phone endpoint. It makes and receives calls over VoIP, replacing or supplementing physical desk phones. Softphones include features that desk phones can’t — integrated CRM screen pops, AI transcription, video meetings, team chat, and contact search — while working from anywhere with an internet connection. They are the default phone endpoint in most modern cloud phone deployments.
How a softphone works
- Install the softphone app on a device (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, or web browser)
- Log in with your business credentials
- App registers with the VoIP provider’s signaling server
- Incoming calls ring through the app
- Outgoing calls use the device’s microphone and speakers (or connected headset)
- Calls travel as VoIP traffic over the internet
The user experience: like any messaging app, but for voice, video, and messaging combined.
Softphone vs. desk phone
| Dimension | Desk Phone (IP Phone) | Softphone |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Physical device, $100–$500+ | Software on existing device |
| Setup | Per-desk configuration | Install app, log in |
| Cost per user | Hardware + VoIP subscription | VoIP subscription only |
| Mobility | Tied to desk | Works anywhere |
| AI features | Limited (depends on device) | Full — transcription, summaries, drafting |
| Call quality | Dedicated audio hardware | Depends on headset and network |
| Emergency power | Can have local power | Depends on device battery |
| Cabling | Ethernet PoE | None (WiFi or cellular) |
Most modern businesses use softphones by default, with desk phones reserved for specific needs (receptionists, legacy integrations, call centers with specific hardware requirements).
When to use softphones
- Remote or hybrid teams — the phone follows the person, not the desk
- Knowledge workers — who already work on a computer all day
- Startups and small businesses — no capital expense for desk phones
- Mobile-heavy roles — field sales, consultants, healthcare providers
- Contact centers with integrated agent desktops
- Microsoft Teams shops using Teams integration
When desk phones still make sense
- Reception areas — physical appearance of a phone matters
- Conference rooms — dedicated room phones for speakerphone use
- Warehouses and retail — non-computer workers
- Healthcare patient rooms — regulated hospital environments
- Some executive offices — preference-driven
DialPhone supports both. Most customers run 90%+ softphone + a few desk phones for specific use cases.
Softphone features
Beyond basic calling, modern softphones include:
- AI transcription — live call transcription with speaker identification
- AI summaries — automatic post-call summary with action items
- CRM integration — click-to-dial, screen pop on inbound, activity logging
- Contact search — unified directory with presence
- Voicemail with transcription — read voicemails as text
- Call recording — compliance-safe recording with transcript
- Video meetings — integrated video conferencing
- Team messaging — chat alongside voice
- Business SMS — text from business number
- Do Not Disturb — schedule-based DND without turning off the app
- Multiple lines / accounts — handle personal + business, or multi-brand deployments
- Number masking — hide personal cell number from customers
- Bluetooth headset integration — work with any Bluetooth headset
- Call transfer, hold, park, conference — full PBX feature set
Softphone call quality
Softphone call quality depends on:
- Network connection — bandwidth and latency to the VoIP provider
- Headset quality — the single biggest quality factor. Laptop built-in mics are noisy; good headsets sound better than most desk phones.
- Codec selection — the provider’s codec choice and adaptive bitrate
- CPU load — under heavy load, real-time audio can stutter
- Network prioritization — QoS rules can prioritize VoIP traffic on LAN/WAN
For most knowledge workers on reasonable internet, a $100 Bluetooth or USB headset plus a well-architected provider (DialPhone) delivers better call quality than most desk phones.
Softphone and E911
Softphones complicate E911 compliance because the user can be anywhere. Requirements:
- Softphone app must collect and update the user’s physical location
- Location must be “dispatchable” (street + floor/suite when applicable)
- Location must be passed to 911 dispatch
DialPhone’s softphone prompts users to confirm location at login and when the device moves. For remote workers, this means keeping their registered address current.
Softphone security
Best practices:
- Encryption in transit — TLS for signaling, SRTP for media (AES-256)
- Authentication — SSO via SAML or OIDC; hardware MFA where available
- Device management — MDM enrollment for corporate devices; conditional access for BYOD
- Data-at-rest encryption — call recordings, voicemails encrypted at rest
- Account takeover protection — DialPhone alerts on unusual sign-ins
DialPhone’s softphone ships with all these as defaults.
BYOD vs. corporate device
Most softphones support both personal devices (BYOD) and corporate-managed devices:
- Corporate-managed: pushed via MDM, policies enforced, remote wipe available
- BYOD: user installs voluntarily, policies enforced via conditional access, sandbox containers keep business data separate
DialPhone works on both. For BYOD, number masking keeps the user’s personal cell private when they call customers.
Softphone platforms
DialPhone supports:
- iOS — iPhone and iPad native apps
- Android — native app
- macOS — native desktop app
- Windows — native desktop app
- Web — browser-based client (Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox)
- Microsoft Teams — embedded inside the Teams client (see integration)
All platforms share the same feature set and account data syncs across devices.
Example
A 12-person regional CPA firm bought and installed desk phones five years ago at $200/phone = $2,400. When COVID hit and everyone went remote, the phones sat in an empty office. They moved to DialPhone softphones on everyone’s laptops:
- $0 in new hardware
- Number masking kept personal cells private
- Mobile app meant home office, coffee shop, or client site all worked
- When they returned to hybrid work, some users added Bluetooth headsets
- The old desk phones: donated
Softphone plus a $100 headset beat the desk phones on every dimension except physical presence at the empty desk.
See DialPhone’s softphone
Business phone system with softphone → · Mobile and desktop apps → · Small business phone system →