Microsoft Teams has become the favorite collaboration platform for organizations who appreciate having the apps they use every day all in one workspace. Did you know that it’s now possible to pull all your phone communications into Teams too?
Moving to Teams Phones can solve many problems that you’re having with your phone system right now. It’s time for an upgrade if you have poor call quality and dropped calls; high maintenance costs and concerns about security; or the system is just too inflexible and takes too much time to manage.
Razorline, a local business communications provider, installs Teams Phones for all kinds of use cases, from small businesses to multi-state enterprises.
“Teams Phones has a really simple learning curve for companies that are already using Teams. We often hear from clients that the installation goes much smoother than they thought it would and people are up and running fast.”
Gene Dry, Managing Member and Founder of Razorline.
Even if you don’t think you’re struggling with your current phone system, you could definitely be missing out on opportunities to optimize the efficiency of your workforce if you’re not using Teams Phones.
What is Microsoft Teams Phones?
Microsoft Teams Phones is a cloud-based communication platform for phone service within the Teams application. It’s your phone… in Teams.
Overcome Communication Struggles and Fit the Way Your People Work
The way your people work has changed, and they can’t be chained down by the limits of a traditional desk phone. Even if you already have a VoIP system, Teams Phones can pull together calls, meetings and files in one place. It’s time to upgrade to something that is not only a better fit for the way people work, but is scalable and cost-effective.
Teams Phones is a comprehensive voice communication solution that solves problems like:
- Phone system downtime caused by frequent failures of legacy on premises systems.
- Clumsy communications that compromise your responsiveness to customers.
- Reliance on tribal knowledge or outside help to administer users, features and permissions.
- Poor call quality or dropped calls.
- High maintenance costs for repairs and support contracts.
- Limited mobility that doesn’t serve remote workers.
- Disjointed communications making workers jump back and forth to different apps.
- Concerns about security.
Moving to Microsoft Teams Phones is a great option if you want to solve voice communication problems like these, but there are more reasons to make the switch.
Benefits of Transitioning to Teams Phones
1. Communication and Collaboration Apps in One Place
Make phone calls, initiate video calls, send messages, turn a chat into a spontaneous meeting, and share files all within the Teams workspace. Plus, you can integrate your favorite Microsoft apps.
2. Meets the Needs of Remote Workers
Your people can access the phone system from different devices wherever they are located. Security features within Teams Phones make it more secure for employees to use their own devices.
3. Cost Efficient
Many companies spend less on voice communications when they move to Teams Phones, even if they’re moving from a different VoIP system. Elimination of on premise hardware means no more maintenance or capital expense.
4. Easy to Use and Make Changes
It’s easy to add or remove users and apply the features and permissions that each person needs. Because it’s easy to scale up or down, you don’t pay for what you don’t need.
5. Security by Microsoft
Microsoft’s security is built into Teams Phones with end-to-end encryption, identity management and MFA, threat protection, compliance management and data loss prevention policy configuration.
What’s Involved with Transitioning to Teams Phones?
As with any new technology, having a detailed plan will build expectations and provide a good experience when you’re switching to Teams Phones. Some steps that are included in the transition include:
- Infrastructure assessment for compatibility with Teams Phones
- Licensing and pricing – Microsoft license requirements and choosing a phone plan.
- Employee training – Training and support for people to learn how to use the new system.
- Migration and phone number porting – Moving your phone numbers to Teams Phones.
- Customization and configuration – Setting up features, permissions and security settings.
Questions and Answers About Teams Phones
While it’s pretty easy to get executives excited about new technology that’s going to improve how their people work and serve their customers, and save them money, they still want to know if they can do the things that they expect a phone system to do.
- Can we use our existing phone numbers? Yes.
- Can we make international calls? Yes, when your phone plan includes that service.
- Is emergency calling (911) included? Yes. Teams Phones supports enhanced 911 services.
- What hardware works best with Teams Phones? Microsoft-certified hardware is recommended and there are many options to choose from like desk phones, USB devices, conference room systems, smart displays, and mobile devices.
- Can we integrate Teams Phones with our CRM? Yes, there are numerous integrations and APIs available. Plus the Microsoft applications you use every day are all easily accessible within Teams.
Ready to Make the Switch to Teams Phones?
If you’re still on the fence about switching to Teams Phones there’s one more thing that you should consider. What will your business look like in five years? Look back at all the changes that have happened with technology, your business, and the world in the last five years. Has anything happened that you couldn’t have predicted?
The world is changing and Microsoft is a technology provider that has their eyes on the future. Whether it’s enhanced AI integration, connected devices or virtual reality, you can bet that Microsoft will be looking at how the Teams experience can be improved.
Here at Bellwether, we’re so convinced that Teams Phones is the best option for phone communications that we’ve switched to it ourselves.
Get in touch to schedule a consultation and we’ll share the benefits we’ve experienced firsthand.
