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In the past few years Microsoft Teams has experienced a remarkable surge in users. As of March 2023, they’re reported have 280 million users.
These stats are a clear indicator that the increase in working from anywhere has and will continue to live on beyond the days of the pandemic. Teams is now a tool that millions of us use every day to communicate and collaborate with colleagues, customers and stakeholders.
With this rising popularity, CTO’s and IT Managers of all businesses may be considering whether Teams is sufficient to replace their existing phone system.
Whether businesses should use Microsoft Teams as a phone system depends on their specific needs and requirements. If it’s a question you find yourself being asked by your customers, here are some factors to consider when giving advice.
Microsoft Teams as a phone system – getting the best of both worlds
Many of the capabilities of Microsoft Teams are part of the reason so many of us have adopted it as part of our daily working lives. Video calls, storage and chat are all functionalities that many traditional PBX systems lack.
However, Teams is first and foremost a collaboration tool and does fall short on some of the sophistication that a long-standing PBX can provide. Consider call routing, queuing and call reporting – functions that for many businesses are critical for how they operate.
But there is a clever work around – a hybrid environment with a hosted PBX. This gives the flexibility to use all the inbound functionalities of the hosted platform while using Teams as your softphone to make and receive calls.
What is Teams Direct Routing?
Teams Direct Routing allows organisations to leverage their existing telephony infrastructure and still benefit from the collaboration and productivity features of Teams. This means that businesses can use their existing phone systems or choose their own SIP trunks to make and receive calls directly within Teams, without the need for a separate phone system or a Microsoft calling plan.
How to set up Teams Direct Routing?
The first step is to find and work with a trusted supplier that has experience in this type of hybrid environment. Finding the right supplier who is equipped to execute the seamless integration between Teams and a hosted platform.
We work with IT Resellers and Managed Service Providers to provide access to eve Voice, the class leading hosted telephony service built on carrier grade infrastructure. We offer SIP trunks for PBX’s and alternative platforms including Microsoft Teams as well as a feature rich cloud based phone system that integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams.
Not an eve Networks partner yet? You found us at a great time.
Right now we’re offering 3 months of free licensing to give you an incentive for selling straight from the off. Take a look and see if you think you’d be a good fit to sell eve Voice.
