Did you know there are 4 ways to connect voice to Microsoft Teams (plus one)?

Teams can create a strong foundation for your Unified Communications (UC) environment but there are several key features that it does not provide natively. The most basic of those features is the ability to make and receive standard voice calls on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

Regardless of how you plan to directly add that function, the first step is to acquire the Voice Enablement Licenses from Microsoft. You will need one license for each user who will connect to the PSTN.

Once you have those licenses clutched in your hot little fist, the next step is to decide exactly how you will connect your environment to the rest of the world. This is the point where we get down to four options.

Option number 1 is to do all this yourself. You can acquire circuits, hardware, and the necessary expertise, cobble it all together, and set off on your own telecom adventure. Of course, adventures are fraught with danger and uncertainty, so if your IT staff does not have considerable experience with this set up, I would suggest sticking to the better traveled paths mapped out below.

Option 2 is going to Microsoft directly for their connectivity solution. On the surface, this option looks great and it is from one perspective: all of your eggs are snuggled neatly in the Microsoft basket. But the single basket approach comes with its own set of challenges.

First, Microsoft direct support can be difficult to reach. Secondly, it is pretty expensive, especially considering that (thirdly) Microsoft really only offers PSTN connectivity and not some of the features that are standard with other providers; important features such as fax solutions, connection to legacy devices through Analog Telephone Adaptors (ATAs), and the ability to text directly from Teams.

This brings us to Options 3 and 4, which we believe are the best options for most organizations.

Option 3, Direct Routing, takes advantage of dozens of providers who integrate cleanly with MS Teams and bring many additional functions with them. As you might expect, some are quite good at what they do and bring innovative features to the table. Others are not as strong. This is where CloudNow provides up to the minute information about who is performing well and whom you want to avoid. We bring information about the various providers directly to you based on your requirements to help you narrow the field and make your final decision.

The final option consists of a sub-set of Direct Routing partners collectively called Operator Connect by Microsoft. Only this sub-set of partners is easily selectable from a drop-down list within your Azure management portal, so provisioning is very easy. Some of them will even automate portions of the provisioning process for you. Despite this additional convenience, they still offer very competitive pricing making them a strong choice. Here again, since the offers have different levels of automation and different feature sets, you want to be sure you select the best provider based on your requirements.

Now, so far, we have only discussed those options that connect Teams directly to the PSTN. There is one other possibility and it has the benefit of not needing those Voice Enablement Licenses. In this scenario, a 3rd party Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) provider such as RingCentral or 8x8 can embed their dialer into Teams. When your end-users hit the icon to dial out, that application will pop up and complete the call. This option makes sense for many organizations who plan to leverage the UCaaS platform in other ways in their processes.

As you survey this landscape, you can see that there are many paths you can follow. It can get pretty confusing even within just one of these options. Rest easy, weary traveler. CloudNow is here to help you decide which direction to go and then stay with you along whichever path you choose. We have deep knowledge to help you determine your technical and business requirements so you can maximize your investment and minimize your risk. Drop us a line and we will be happy to be your guide!

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