Your employees already chat, meet and share files in Teams, but still call customers via a separate telephone exchange. That works, until someone works from home, has to transfer a call or the accessibility of a department changes. Comparing Microsoft Teams telephony therefore does not start with a license price, but with the question of how your organization wants to be accessible – today and with growth.
Teams can become the central place for internal and external calling. Employees then use one familiar environment on a laptop, mobile, headset or desk phone. However, Teams itself is not automatically a complete telephone exchange. Calls to landlines and mobiles require additional choices. It is precisely these choices that determine the costs, flexibility, management burden and quality of your telephony.
What do you compare with Microsoft Teams telephony?
Three parts play a role in business Teams telephony: the Microsoft licenses, the call connection to the public telephone network and the design of functions such as selection menus, queues and call forwarding. If you only compare the monthly price, you overlook an important part of the picture.
For most SMBs, accessibility, ease of management, and predictable costs are more important than a long list of features. For example, a service team needs queues and reports, while a consulting firm mainly wants employees to be reachable on location, at home and on the road under the same business number. The right solution therefore depends on your work process.
The Basics: Teams Phone
Teams Phone adds PBX functionality to Microsoft Teams. It allows you to make calls, call forwards, create groups, manage voicemail, set up call queues, use auto-answering, and more. The exact possibilities depend on your Microsoft 365 licenses and the chosen telephony partner.
Teams Phone doesn’t automatically deliver numbers or minutes. To do this, choose a way to connect Teams to the PSTN. In practice, there are three common routes: Microsoft Calling Plans, Operator Connect and Direct Routing.
Three side-by-side calling options
Microsoft Calling Plans: simple, but not always the best match
With Microsoft Calling Plans, you purchase calling plans directly within the Microsoft ecosystem. The installation is relatively clear and little technical link with an external provider is required. This makes this option attractive for small organizations with simple calling needs and few exceptions.
The downside is that you have less freedom in provider choice, rate structure and customization. Do you have multiple branches, international numbers, existing contract agreements or specific requirements regarding number management? Then a Calling Plan may not be a good fit. Also check in advance what options are available for the countries in which you operate and how the costs develop in the event of high call traffic.
Operator Connect: trusted telephony, directly linked to Teams
With Operator Connect, a selected telecom provider provides the numbers and calling services, while the link with Teams runs through Microsoft. The management of numbers and users is usually clear in the Teams management portal. You benefit from the telephony expertise of a provider without having to build an extensive in-house link.
This is often a logical middle ground for SMEs that want a professional telephony solution with limited technical complexity. Please note the differences between providers. Not every provider offers the same support, pricing options, international coverage, reporting, or additional functionality. Therefore, compare not only the bundle, but also the agreements about malfunctions, number porting and changes.
Direct Routing: Maximum freedom, more design work
Direct Routing links Teams to a telecom provider via a certified session boundary controller. This route offers the most room for customization. Think of retaining existing numbers and contracts, complex call flows, links with an existing telephone exchange or support for special locations and international branches.
This flexibility also requires careful design and professional management. The link must be secure, available and well monitored. For organizations with complex telephony or specific integrations, Direct Routing may be the best choice. For a small business with one location and standard call traffic, it may be more than necessary.
Compare on business impact, not just cost
A good moment of comparison starts with your calling behavior. How many employees need their own number? Which teams share a general number? How many incoming calls come in at busy times? And what happens if the receptionist is absent? Answers to these questions make it clear which design is really needed.
Also include the total costs. In addition to licenses and call bundles, there may be costs for implementation, number porting, headsets, desk phones, management and support. A low monthly price can be more expensive if your internal team spends a lot of time on changes and disruptions. Conversely, a comprehensive solution is not wise if your organization never uses the extra features.
Preferably compare these four topics:
- Accessibility: selection menus, group numbers, queues, call forwarding, opening hours and emergency scenarios.
- Flexibility: Support for working from home, mobile workforce, multiple locations, and future growth.
- Management: who adds users, adjusts call routes and helps in the event of malfunctions?
- Continuity: agreements on availability, emergency locations, security and support outside office hours.
Functionality that makes a difference in practice
A general inbox for phone calls sounds simple, but without a clear call route, customers can wait a long time or tell their story over and over again. With an automatic answer, a caller chooses, for example, sales, planning or service. Queues then distribute calls to the available agents. This improves accessibility without having to immediately deploy extra capacity.
Presence also plays a role. Teams shows whether a colleague is on a call, in a meeting, or away. This helps employees to connect smarter. However, don’t expect attendance to replace all appointments. A clear design of groups, accessibility times and backstop remains necessary.
For field staff, the Teams mobile app is often sufficient. A reception or busy customer service usually works better with a professional headset or a Teams-certified device. Choose hardware based on the workstation and ringer volume, not because every desk necessarily needs a landline.
Safety and reliability belong in the equation
Telephony is business-critical. An incorrectly configured call forwarding can cost turnover, while misuse of calling rights causes unexpected costs. Therefore, arrange roles and rights carefully. Not every employee needs to be able to adjust numbers, calling routes or international calling options.
Teams telephony benefits from the security capabilities around Microsoft 365, such as multifactor authentication and central identity management. But safety is more than technology. Define who is allowed to request changes, periodically check permissions and train employees to recognize suspicious calls. Especially with invoice fraud and social engineering , a phone call is sometimes the start of a larger incident.
Availability also requires attention. Discuss what happens in the event of an internet outage at the office, a provider outage, or an employee outage. Can calls be automatically forwarded to mobile colleagues? Is there an alternative route for a main number? And is emergency location data well set up for employees who work in different places? These are not details that you only want to discover during a malfunction.
Comparing Microsoft Teams telephony: this is how you make the choice
First, map out your current situation. Collect the numbers, contracts, ring groups, devices, and recurring bottlenecks. Then ask departments what they need to help customers properly. The reception looks at telephony differently than an account manager or planner.
After that, design a desired calling route before comparing providers. Determine which numbers are personal, which numbers are shared and where calls end up outside of opening hours. Only then can you assess whether Calling Plans, Operator Connect or Direct Routing suits your organization.
Plan number porting carefully. The porting of existing numbers must be done in such a way that customers can continue to reach you. Take lead times into account, check the details of the current contract holder and communicate internally when employees switch to the new way of working. A short pilot with a department or group of employees helps to test settings, equipment and instructions in advance.
For organizations without their own IT team, management is often a decisive factor. A managed IT partner can not only set up the technology, but also think along about call flows, security, changes and support. Nexer looks at telephony as part of your entire modern workplace, so that Teams, devices, identity and network are connected.
In the end, the best choice does not feel like an extra system that requires attention. It is an accessible organization in which employees know what to do, customers quickly get to the right person and your telephony can grow with the next step of your company without major renovations.
