Microsoft Teams is the second-largest Unified Communications as a service (UcaaS) platform in the world. It is the fastest-growing business app in Microsoft history.
The rise of Microsoft Teams has been impressive.
- 250 million monthly active users (MAU) and 80 million MAU for Teams Phones
Yet some are to fully adopt Microsoft Teams across their organization. This is because, for some, Microsoft Teams presents challenges. For some Microsoft Teams does not support the complex telephony they need, for others, the Calling Plans in Microsoft Teams mean they are unable to deploy calling to all staff, due to cost restrictions. This is where Voice and UCaaS providers can seize the opportunity.
Microsoft Teams, turning a threat into an opportunity
Taking a ‘with Teams’ strategy, it is possible for Voice and UCaaS resellers to add value, to provide solutions to businesses, helping them to solve the challenges of Teams adoption.
When UCaaS and Voice providers ‘Teams enable’ their service, customers can take advantage of the end-user Teams experience whilst retaining the core capabilities of their PBX or UCaaS platform that’s embedded in their business.
“We have experienced many partners winning large enterprise new business and bringing forward the timelines of opportunities by taking a low-risk non-disruptive hybrid approach.” Mark Herbert, President & Founder, Qunifi – Call2Teams
Voice enabling Microsoft Teams for call center environments
Companies that are looking for call-center-like capabilities with features like call parking or administration for large numbers of operators, won’t have all their needs met by the out-of-the-box solution from Teams.
Typically, these enterprises have a legacy of vast estates of existing PBX, call center, and CTI integration, much of which is built into their business processes. This reliance upon some high-functioning aspects of these systems means businesses are holding back on rolling out Teams across their whole organization.
To rip and replace is just not an option.
There are business requirements that must continue to be delivered, such as compliance, reporting, call centers, etc. This is the domain of the high-functioning PBX systems that are the bread and butter of the channel.
Incorporating Direct Routing with Teams broadens the scope and possibilities.
Voice and UCaaS providers can Teams enable organizations alongside solutions that offer greater functionality, potentially lower call rates, whilst also offering increased levels of support. When UCaaS and voice providers ‘Teams enable’ their service, customers can take advantage of reduced desktop admin, whilst retaining the core capabilities that are embedded in their business today.
Call2Teams provides a world-leading Direct Routing as a Service (DRaaS) solution.
Additional Call2Teams makes it easier to integrate contact center requirements, with several features that enhance the voice service for Teams users. For example, the Teams True Transfer feature ensures that busy/free status is shown correctly in the PBX if a call is transferred between users in Microsoft Teams. Providing correct off-hook busy representation of both users after a transfer. This standard feature is a must-have for multi-agent and call center environments.
This hybrid approach provides customers with a best-of-both-worlds message: deliver Teams capability where needed and a traditional phone experience elsewhere.
Voice enabling Microsoft Teams for smaller cash conscious organizations
For those businesses who adopted Teams during lockdown, many found that they were hard-pressed to easily transition their calling. The ability to access the work phone system through the unified Teams client is invaluable.
Before the pandemic, telecoms businesses had a relatively low growth profile but were extremely resilient. Now, with UCaaS taking the lead, voice providers need to consider how they participate. And Teams is a powerful UCaaS solution to have in your portfolio.
Incorporating Direct Routing is a cost-effective way for organizations to bring calling, via their existing PSTN, to Microsoft Teams.
Call2Teams is the leader in Microsoft Teams direct-routing-as-a-service and native calling. Call2Teams removes the Microsoft Teams voice dilemma. There is no disruption, organizations can keep their existing phone service, with no need to port or change numbers.
And it is possible to voice-enable all users within the native Teams environment. Allocating Call2Teams, with the Microsoft License to users who have feature-rich telephony requirements, or Phone App for light voice users. Phone App is a feature add-on to Call2Teams that provides a cost-effective voice experience and simpler license management, for those who do not use the phone much. Meaning organizations can tailor their Teams phone system per user across the organization.
Making the most of the Microsoft Teams Direct Routing opportunity
As with any solution, it is important to deliver on customer expectations. It is all too easy for Voice providers to underplay the Teams telephony, or for IT to skim over the importance of voice.
Microsoft Teams adoption has been rapid. The opportunity for Voice and UCaaS providers is with those organizations that either have complex telephony requirements or have budget restrictions around licensing.
“UCaaS and Voice providers that fix the ‘with-Teams’ challenge today can buy time to build and maintain clear differentiation as the market evolves.” Mark Herbert, President, and Founder of Qunifi and the Call2Teams solution
As a pure-cloud solution, Call2Teams enables providers to bundle services, adapting configurations to meet client needs. Adding value, giving customers the Teams experience they want without compromising on features or resilience.
This hybrid approach means customers can gain from the collaborative working provided by Microsoft Teams whilst still maintaining the telephony that suits them.