The Microsoft Teams Phone System is a modern, virtual phone system. You’ve probably heard it called a cloud-hosted phone system, but it’s what us techies would call a virtual Private Branch Exchange (PBX), which allows users to make calls over the internet. Teams Phone is part of the larger Teams unified communications as a service (UCaaS) platform, so while it doesn’t automatically come with Teams, it integrates seamlessly with the rest of the Teams platform.
Depending on what system you currently use for your organization, there are many good reasons to consider switching to the Teams Phone System. Below we’ll consider some of those reasons and offer some helpful tips to keep in mind.
Should Your Organization Upgrade to a Virtual Phone Solution?
While traditional PBX systems require a hardware setup in a physical office space and a connection to a landline, virtual PBX systems don’t require any onsite hardware or installation. Virtual PBX systems are also easier to maintain and scale, as they don’t require additional support from telephony technicians if you add a team member or move office spaces.
In addition to the ease of use, virtual PBX systems offer drastically improved capabilities compared to traditional systems. Suffice it to say, if you are currently using a traditional office phone solution, we recommend you upgrade.
The days of the traditional PBX systems are long gone, and users now have a variety of modern phone system solutions to choose from. A virtual PBX system offers drastically improved capabilities compared to traditional systems. And since your service isn’t limited by any hardware you have set up in your office space, coverage can be easily scaled or adjusted to meet your growing needs. Suffice it to say, if you are currently using a non-virtual solution for your needs, we recommend you upgrade.
What Are the Benefits of the Teams Phone System?
Here at DelCor, we think that Microsoft’s Teams Phone System is one of the best options for many different organizations because not only does it offer the full range of modern office phone capabilities, but it also plugs into the Microsoft Teams platform, making Teams the organization’s all-in-one solution for internal and external communication and collaboration.
The Teams Phone System offers a plethora of features to enhance your organization’s productivity. Users can make or receive calls on any device, transfer calls between devices, forward calls, access voicemail, and park and retrieve calls. Users also have access to spam detection, call queues, voice-enabled channels, a connected contact center, and policy-based recording options to determine when calls and meetings should be recorded.
Additionally, there are different ways to customize how the Teams Phone Systems serves your organization. While the system is fully virtual, you can augment how it’s implemented into your business by including headsets or handsets for your staff There are also a variety of licensing tiers to choose from, so you can add services to the base Teams Phone package based on your organization’s specific needs (e.g., international and toll-free calling).
While there are tiers of service and additional add-ons available, many of the features that make the Teams Phone System our preferred choice for clients are built into the base package. It is a fully virtual, user-friendly system that integrates fully and seamlessly into the Microsoft digital workplace environment.
Next Steps and How to Get Started
Based on our experience helping clients transition to Microsoft’s Teams Phone, here are some things worth thinking about if you’re considering whether the Teams Phone System is right for you and your organization.
As stated above, one of the main strengths of the Teams Phone System is that because it plugs right into the Teams platform, it provides an all-in-one solution to your organization’s external and internal communications. Still, you need to make sure you have a plan in place to efficiently transfer over to the Teams System so you don’t interrupt your business or improperly integrate the Teams Phone System.
While you no longer need telephony technicians to set up the hardware of the PBX systems of the past, there are things you will need to upgrade from your old phone system to Teams. For this reason it’s important to consider what steps may be required for implementation as well as what resources, if any, you will need to procure from outside your organization. For example, do you have the proper resources to port over all of your organization’s phone numbers over to the Teams System? Are you able to transfer over your settings for call routing? Can you identify what licensing you need to best meet your needs? Will you still require faxing capabilities which would require additional equipment? Do you have a plan in place to train your staff to use Teams Phone?
Our process when helping clients transition to the Teams Phone System includes a discovery of their current phone system as well as the calling options and capabilities they are hoping to access through the Teams Phone System. DelCor has extensive experience helping clients identify and implement the best solutions for improving their workspace and we are happy to help you with all of your technology needs.
