Unifying your business communications with Microsoft Teams is more than just flipping a switch - it requires the right strategy and setup. With multiple calling options and integration possibilities, navigating the Teams ecosystem can be complex, but this guide will help you make sense of it all.
When Microsoft Teams launched in 2017, it was predominantly a chat platform with meetings capabilities.
Thought of as Microsoft’s Slack competitor at the time, Teams is now a platform for all your collaboration needs. And you can now include calling, Call Center, and even Contact Center via a certified third party. Your entire communications stack can be Microsoft Teams. Which is what a lot of businesses are striving for.
But it’s not quite as simple as just turning on Teams and having a unified communications suite. To genuinely unify everything, there is a little bit of work to do.
You’ve got the choice between Teams Calling Plans, Direct Routing, and Operator Connect. You’ve got the potential to use basic call flow logic with auto attendants and call queues to create your own basic Call Center. Or you can choose from one of the Teams-certified Contact Center partners. It can be a bit of a minefield.
Calling in Teams works in different ways depending on your deployment model.
In the most basic scenario, you can use Microsoft Teams without a Teams Phone license to make and receive voice and video calls over an internet connection.
This is the simplest option to enable basic phone calling in Teams as you buy your phone numbers and minutes from Microsoft directly. It is ideal for organizations without complex requirements that are looking for a voice service they can activate quickly and easily. Your contract for calling is with Microsoft in this case as they are the PSTN carrier.
By adding a Microsoft Calling Plan, you are adding a bundle of minutes per user. So, unless you have high usage, you are unlikely to need to pay per minute for calls.
You can buy licences, numbers, and minutes on a per user per month basis and packaged in bundles. These also apply on a per country basis.
The Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan license is £11.30 or $15 per user per month. This includes 3,000 domestic minutes. US and Canada licensing also includes 3,000 domestic minutes.
Countries outside of these three options only include 1,200 domestic minutes.
You can also buy pay-as-go packages unless you’re in the US. These are not available in the US due to tax reasons.
For international coverage, a superior option is to take advantage of Direct Routing or Operator Connect. More on these later.
In March 2022, Microsoft 365 Business Voice was made end of life. It was Microsoft's voice option for small and medium businesses. Instead, Teams Phone Standard is the entry-level license for those looking to start using basic cloud PBX functionality in Teams.
If, however, your requirements aren’t as basic as catered for in Microsoft Calling Plans, you might want to consider Direct Routing or Operator Connect.
The alternatives to Microsoft Calling Plans are:
1. Direct Routing
2. Operator Connect
Option 1 – Direct Routing
Think of Direct Routing as “Bring Your Own SBC”. A Session Border Controller (SBC) is the gateway that connects your Teams users to your telephony carrier.
Or think of providers like Pure IP providing a Direct Routing as a Service option, where you don’t need any hardware. If you don’t have the in-house resource, Pure IP can provide a managed service option.
Direct Routing allows organizations to add PSTN calling to Microsoft Teams with their preferred telephony operator.
When doing so, users can make and receive external phone calls using Teams. The front-end interface remains Teams. The back-end calls are powered by your operator. 
You can achieve this through deploying a Microsoft-approved Session Border Controller (SBC). This then connects your SIP trunk and your carrier’s network to Microsoft’s Phone System and your Teams tenant.
Selecting the right Direct Routing partner depends on your specific requirements and priorities.
Here are a few factors you should consider including in your selection criteria:
Microsoft certifies SBC providers and Direct Routing operators on a regular basis. Pure IP is proud to offer SeRVE, a full-service Direct Routing as-a-Service solution.
Option 2 – Operator Connect
Operator Connect is the third option in Microsoft’s calling portfolio for you to migrate your existing telephony to Teams.
You can make external calls from within your Teams tenant using a telecoms operator. All the connectivity and infrastructure is managed by that provider as a cloud service to you.
Announced in March 2021, Microsoft’s aim for Operator Connect is to provide a meet-in-the-middle option for customers who want to work with their preferred operator, but don’t have the complex requirements where Direct Routing is the best solution.
Once you’ve sorted your user calling, your Contact Center is often the next port of call. Or, likely, you’re juggling both projects at the same time.
Here, you’ve got the decision of Call Center vs Contact Center. Ultimately, do you need advanced voice functionality to create an informal Call Center or do you need a formal Contact Center model?
Option 1 - Native Microsoft Teams Call Center
With the Teams Phone Standard license, you enable call queuing and auto attendants. You can use these basic features to create your own inbound, informal call center setup.
Auto attendants can present callers with a numeric menu or voice menu. For example, press option 1 for sales or option 2 for support. Likewise, callers can say the reason for their calls.
In the Teams Admin Center, you have access to configure things like business hours, personalized greetings, and call flows.
With call queues, you place callers in relevant queues based on your distribution plans. Inside these queues, Teams picks up agents’ presence to ensure calls don’t get routed to busy agents.
These voice options are the only options available Teams native call center setup. There are no omnichannel capabilities like web chat, email, or social media.
This is a neat, first-step solution, with basic call reports available via PowerBI.
If you need further channels or more advanced call center features, a third-party Microsoft-certified contact center provider is a better option.
Option 2 - Microsoft Teams certified third-party Contact Center vendors
When you need features like real-time reporting, wallboards, skills-based routing, or any other advanced Call Center features, you’re looking at third-party solutions to do the job.
Likewise, if your requirement is CRM integration, outbound calling campaigns, or PCI compliance, the native Teams Call Center setup doesn’t support this.
Microsoft recognizes this too. Hence, the Contact Center certification.
In fact, Microsoft says, “For some organizations, Microsoft Teams’ cloud voice capabilities, including auto attendant and call queues, meet their needs. For organizations that want solutions with business tools and workflows to drive the customer journey, Contact Center integration for Microsoft Teams allows Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solution providers to integrate their solutions into Teams.”
You can choose any Contact Center to run over the top of Teams as your PBX.
But using a Teams-certified Contact Center means several things:
Check out how Anywhere365 uses the Teams interface for calls, customer details, and even Twitter interactions in the screenshot below.
When you’ve made your choice of Call Center vs Contact Center, it’s a matter of which vendor to select.
As of February 2023, there are 16 Microsoft Teams-certified Contact Center vendors:
1. 8x8
2. Anywhere365
3. Competella
4. ComputerTalk
5. ContactCenter4All
6. Content Guru
7. Enghouse Interactive
8. Five9
9. Genesys
10. Luware
11. Mida Solutions
12. NICE inContact
13. Puzzel
14. ROGER365.io
15. Talkdesk
16. Tendfor
And a further 18 undergoing certification. Keep up to date with certified vendors here.
For some, the out of the box options Microsoft provides (Calling Plans and native Call Center) are enough. This self-service option presents a great option for small businesses or teams with a small number of Call Center staff.
If you need a more complex setup, like Operator Connect, Direct Routing, or even connecting your existing PBX to a Cloud Contact Center, Pure IP provides a variety of solutions tailored to your bespoke requirements.
Option 3 - Queues App
If you're looking for a middle ground between the native Teams Call Center setup and third-party Contact Center solutions, the Queues App for Microsoft Teams Phone might be the perfect fit. Offered as part of Teams Premium, Queues offers advanced features to manage calls efficiently, making it ideal for businesses aiming to enhance their customer service operations without the need for extensive third-party integrations.
The Queues App provides several benefits:
We provide expert guidance, tailored solutions, and global connectivity to ensure a smooth and seamless migration to Microsoft Teams Calling.
From planning to deployment and beyond, we guide you through every stage of your Teams Calling migration. Our 24/7 support ensures a smooth transition with minimal disruption.
We specialize in integrating legacy systems and handling large-scale transitions with ease. Our tailored approach simplifies even the most challenging telephony migrations.
No matter where you operate, we provide reliable, unified voice solutions. Our global coverage and customized options keep your teams connected across multiple regions.
