Microsoft Teams has been extensively improved over the previous few years to act as a complete communication and collaboration system that comes with telephony support. So, it’s no wonder that this platform was able to reach 270 million users by 2022.
In addition to the expected cloud-based voice calling, it also works with your legacy PSTN system. As a result, Microsoft Teams is well-suited for one-on-one talks, group discussions that may evolve into video meetings, external connections with clients/partners, and even big-scale call centre environments.
You have the option of using Microsoft’s own Phone System, which is a completely cloud-based calling solution. Or, if you are already in a local provider’s ecosystem (or Calling Plans aren’t accessible in your office’s region), you can connect PSTN with Microsoft Teams via direct routing. This turns the Teams user interface into a dial pad that can be used to make phone calls, similar to a conventional smartphone or handheld audio accessory.
If you are still wondering if you should use Microsoft teams to upgrade your current communication system, read on to learn more about its features and benefits.
Top Benefits of Migrating to Microsoft Teams
There are a number of benefits to migrating all of your communications to Microsoft Teams. We explore some of them below.
You don’t have to give up the convenience of traditional telephony
Microsoft has taken care to keep all of the typical PBX telephony features such as speed dial, music on hold, automated routing in call centres, emergency calls, call forwarding, and so on. You could even connect an affordable USB phone (basically a handheld gadget that connects to a PC through USB) to simulate old-school telephony if you want to.
Telephony costs can be greatly reduced
This is one of the most significant benefits of adopting Microsoft Teams. The approach uses the cloud for internal long-distance telephony, reducing costly carrier expenses.
It minimises your reliance on hardware
Microsoft Teams works on a wide range of devices with varying form factors and operating systems. There is no need to purchase extra PBX gear, and there is no need to completely replace any equipment when migrating to a different region or office.
You benefit from the public cloud’s scalability
This benefit is available to people that use cloud-based telephony with Teams. You can expect uptime as long as you have an active internet connection because there is no reliance on a local carrier. SBA is also available from Microsoft as an offline backup solution.
Teams-certified hardware is available to you
Microsoft has an expanding portfolio of natively certified hardware, such as headsets, desk phones, speakerphones, wall-mounted devices, and so on. These include Teams-specific features for high-productivity communications.
Your systems are regularly updated
Microsoft, as one of the world’s major communication service providers, will continue to release frequent upgrades for Teams’ calling features as well as certified devices. This decreases the administrative effort of managing hardware and releasing upgrades.
You get a single contact point for support
A typical PBX system is made up of several providers, making downtimes difficult to address. There are numerous hardware providers handling peripherals, a telecom carrier providing network access, and an external or internal stakeholder supplying device management software. Microsoft Teams consolidates all of this into a single solution with a single contact point.
You can keep your current numbers or start over
Existing businesses can transfer their existing phone numbers to Microsoft Teams. Microsoft can provide a new set of phone numbers to companies that are deploying a PBX solution for the first time.
Teams lets you hold more efficient video meetings.
Another significant advantage of Teams is the improved video meetings. As video conferencing became a necessity during the epidemic, Microsoft introduced a number of Teams features to make meetings more effective and simple.
One example is automatic background noise suppression, which allows customers to employ an AI noise suppression solution to remove undesirable noise from meetings. Another example is the end-of-meeting notification, which is an automated alert that alerts attendees when only five minutes remain until the meeting concludes.
Teams allow you to collaborate more effectively
While many businesses used Microsoft Teams before the epidemic as a platform for messaging and meetings, the true benefits of Microsoft Teams go much further. The key to maximising Teams’ collaboration skills is to focus on workflows instead of just running transactional meetings. There are several features that help make that happen, and we will cover two of them below.
The tagging feature allows users to reach the correct people faster in Teams chats and channel conversations using tags. The ability to tag people in Teams allows you to organise and categorise your team based on factors such as role, skill, project, and location.
Then we have the shared calendars feature, which allows you to create and share schedules with members of a particular Teams channel. When a new meeting is scheduled, a notification is sent to the channel’s activity feed, allowing members to add the event to their own calendars.
Teams makes connections more meaningful
Among the many advantages of Microsoft Teams are a number of new capabilities designed to make Team interactions more natural, enjoyable, and engaging. These include breakout rooms, live reactions, and together mode.
Meeting hosts can use breakout rooms to divide attendees into smaller groups for conversations, discussions, and brainstorming. They can join any of the sessions after allocating members to different breakout rooms and then call the members back to the main room after the breakout sessions are finished.
Effective communication is already difficult in the office, and online meetings tend to make it even more difficult because team members find it harder to detect nonverbal signals on screens. Participants have the option of better expressing themselves using the live reactions feature by selecting one of four reactions: like, love, laugh, or applause.
Instead of having separate boxes, the together mode brings meeting participants together in a visually appealing virtual setting, such as an office meeting room or an outdoor theater. This design has some unique benefits, such as boosting the sense of connection with others and reducing the fatigue that comes with too many meetings.
Final Words
In conclusion, migrating your phone system to Microsoft Teams can bring a variety of benefits to your communication and collaboration strategies. With Microsoft’s cloud-based phone system and direct routing options, you can still enjoy traditional telephony features while reducing costs and minimising hardware reliance.
The scalability and frequent updates of Teams, along with its certification of hardware and single contact point for support, make it an appealing solution for businesses of all sizes. Additionally, the enhanced video meeting and collaboration features, such as tagging, shared calendars, breakout rooms, live reactions, and together mode, make Teams a comprehensive communication and collaboration platform that can help you streamline workflows and make meaningful connections with your team.
Microsoft Teams is a versatile and practical solution for modern business communication needs. We encourage you to try it out to take your company’s communication to the next level.
Want to implement Microsoft teams as your business phone line? check out our Microsoft teams for business page and speak to one of our IT experts today and start your journey to unified communication.
