In the post-pandemic environment, it’s more crucial than ever to develop remote working capabilities to ensure business continuity, and minimize downtime and disruption. With a Microsoft Teams calling system, your business can achieve increased productivity and overall performance.
Microsoft Teams by Microsoft Office 365 is a unified communications platform, suitable for all types of businesses. It combines all of the core functions provided by Office 365 including messaging, meetings, email, file sharing, and app integration, so your employees can collaborate from anywhere. Teams can also integrate with Voice over IP (VoIP) systems to streamline business calls between coworkers.
Benefits of a Microsoft Teams Calling System
Integrating a phone system with Microsoft Teams presents several benefits for companies both small and large, some of which include:
- Quick and easy implementation
- No additional hardware or software required
- Streamlined communications and collaboration all in one place
- More cost-effective than a traditional phone system
- Works for remote team members – from a different office, at home, or on the road
- Offers flexibility across a variety of feature sets (Teams, UCaaS, Microsoft Business Voice)
How to Set Up Calling in Teams
As part of your Microsoft Office 365 plan, telephony is available to set up calling in Microsoft Teams. When you go into Teams, you can access the telephony service by:
- Using direct routing to select the telephony engine you want and connect it to the Microsoft Office Suite
- Enabling phone systems and calling plans with Microsoft
What to Consider When Implementing a Phone System with Teams
At Mindcore IT Services, our team specializes in Microsoft tools and has integrated Teams to support our own day-to-day operations. We can help make the implementation process as simple as possible for you, but there are a few things to consider when deciding if this service will work for your business:
- VoIP with your existing phone system
You may be wondering how to utilize VoIP with your Private Branch Exchange (PBX) system, and what happens when team members do not have access to their desktop phones. With the help of Mindcore’s Teams connector, you can link your current PBX system to Microsoft Teams so your employees can make and receive internal and external calls, regardless of where they are.
2. Which phones you should use
In most cases, you can keep your existing phone system when integrating calling with Microsoft Teams. There are no extra costs associated with the transition, since you do not need additional equipment to get up and running. If you have SIP phones, there are two ways to accomplish integration:
- Adding Teams-certified hardware (phones, collaboration bars, headsets, etc.)
- Using your existing hardware (BYOD) with the help of our team at Mindcore
3. Remote working
Remote working solutions are becoming increasingly important – the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has made this issue more prominent in the world of business. Companies across all industries are expected to be nimble and adaptable when situations like this arise. When dealing with challenges related to working remotely, you should take the following into account:
- The quality of the network connection matters – perform a soft deployment, and test calls to verify how everything sounds
- The ability to remotely connect back to your phone system with ease
4. Local conference calls and faxing
With a UCaaS solution like Microsoft Teams, fax-to-email and email-to-fax services are included as part of your plan. Conference calls to hold important team or company-wide meetings are also available as an add-on with your licensing. You will be assigned a regional number that allows you to connect to a call with all of your team members at once.
5. Finding the best way to implement VoIP
While there are multiple ways to integrate your phone system with Microsoft Teams, having an experienced provider to guide you through the process can be extremely beneficial. The experts at Mindcore will assess your current business needs and handle all aspects of deployment, so you can focus on serving your own clients.
Comprehensive IT Solutions in New Jersey
Mindcore is committed to delivering the highest quality IT solutions for your business, regardless of size or complexity. When you choose to work with us, you have a lifetime trusted partner who is focused on making sustainable improvements to your technology, strategy, and processes. Contact us to learn more about Microsoft Teams and Office 365, or to schedule a consultation today!
