Microsoft Teams has quickly become one of the most popular collaboration platforms for businesses. The platform’s monthly active users surpassed 300 million this year,1 with over one million organizations using MS Teams as part of their communications strategy.2 But to unlock Teams’ full potential, businesses need an effective way to integrate voice services and transform the app into an all-in-one communications solution.
Luckily, there are several ways for companies to voice-enable MS Teams – without disrupting operations. In this blog, we’ll discuss your options for integrating voice services and how easy it can be to voice-enable your Microsoft Teams solution with our provider partner, CallTower.
How Can Businesses Voice-Enable MS Teams?
There are a few different ways to add voice capabilities to Microsoft Teams, including:
- Native Calling Plans – Microsoft’s native calling plans are integrated solutions that provide users with a seamless experience. These plans offer a simple way to voice-enable MS Teams, though they’re typically more expensive than other options and come with some geographical and feature limitations.
- Operator Connect – Operator Connect offers a more modern, managed approach to integrating voice services compared to direct routing. It allows businesses to choose their telecom operator from a list of Microsoft-approved providers, simplifying the integration process.
- Direct Routing – Direct routing allows businesses to connect Microsoft Teams to their existing telephony network. This option is helpful for businesses looking to leverage their current voice services while taking advantage of Teams’ collaboration features.
CallTower’s Microsoft Teams Voice Solutions
As a Microsoft Gold Partner, our provider partner, CallTower, is one of few organizations globally certified to provide voice services with Microsoft Teams. They are also the only provider certified to offer DOD/Gov GCC High environments. Their focus is on custom solutions that boost the functionality of Teams for more effective, efficient, and reliable business communication.
Two of CallTower’s most popular voice-enabled MS Teams solutions are:
Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams
CallTower leverages Operator Connect to provide PSTN access to Microsoft Teams users in a matter of hours. This solution offers a modern approach to voice-enabling Teams, giving you the power to keep your preferred voice provider and contracts or choose a new participating operator so you can find a provider that best meets your communication needs.
With Operator Connect for MS Teams, your operator provides technical support and manages the voice network and infrastructure – enabling you to dedicate internal resources to other important tasks rather than dealing with day-to-day voice management. Other benefits of CallTower’s Operator Connect solution include:
- A simple, user-friendly deployment handled completely within the Microsoft Teams Admin Center.
- Fast provisioning – you get connected in minutes and can assign phone numbers to your users immediately.
- No equipment or hardware required on-site, allowing you to save on capital expenses.
- The ability to consolidate your voice services by replacing multiple local telco contracts.
- Carrier-class 24/7/365 technical support and shared service level agreements with Microsoft.
Microsoft Teams Direct Routing
CallTower’s native Microsoft Teams Direct Routing solution enables businesses to bring their current voice services into the Microsoft Cloud while taking advantage of CallTower’s rates as a preferred provider. It delivers key MS Teams UCaaS features and functionality – such as contact center and CRM integrations, analytics, conferencing, and more – backed by 24/7/365 support from CallTower’s experts.
Benefits of using CallTower’s Microsoft Teams Direct Routing solution include:
- Multiple direct private connections to Microsoft for guaranteed connectivity and performance.
- Geo-redundant hosted SBCs and the ability to reroute phone calls to other devices during outages.
- Analog device support for faxes, paging, access controls, building security, and credit card machines.
- Seamless integrations and porting between your existing PBX to Teams by CallTower.
- Global carrier connections with over 15 voice carriers and 30+ internet peering partners.
Maximize Your MS Teams Investment With CallTower’s Solutions
Integrating voice capabilities into Microsoft Teams is more than an upgrade; it’s a strategic step toward better connectivity, collaboration, and productivity. However, selecting the right provider to voice-enable your platform is essential for minimizing downtime and ensuring a smooth transition.
A trusted technology advisor like OnDemand makes getting the most value out of your MS Teams investment easy. We’ve spent more than 15 years vetting our technology partners and ensuring best-of-breed solutions, including CallTower’s Direct Routing and Operator Connect services, so there’s no need for you to waste time evaluating providers. We’ll help you choose a best-fit solution to streamline your MS Teams voice integration and create a seamless experience for your employees and customers.
Ready to get started? Reach out to OnDemand today.
Sources: