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TagMicrosoft Teams phone system

New Voice Devices for a rich Microsoft Teams experience

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Many eyebrows were raised when the announcement of Skype for Business End of Life was made last year from Microsoft, that too, in favor of a new M365 system: Microsoft Teams. Not only Teams is native to Microsoft 365, but is also an “integrated” system that provides the business a modern communication solution; a full-fledged Microsoft Teams phone system.

Not only Microsoft offers a business-oriented telephony system but it also fosters better communication with its certified Microsoft Teams desk phones like Yealink VP59 and other Voice and Display devices. Recently, Microsoft announced some advancement in its Teams functionalities including an introduction of SIP Phones!

The need for Teams Voice Devices

With the rapid adoption of Microsoft Teams, especially after the pandemic, organizations are finding ways to collaborate with video and audio-conferencing capabilities. Teams Voice and Display Devices are used to cater to the growing business collaboration need as companies make the shift to a hybrid mode of work. Apart from typical desk phones like Yealink VP59, Microsoft is introducing the capability of fully integrated Teams SIP based Phones for a rich Microsoft Teams phone system experience. These phones are expected to have basic Phone capabilities while working with Microsoft Teams. Basic features include ring, dial, and answer functionality. They can, however, not feature the more advanced Teams functionalities

A look into existing Skype for Business 3rd Party IP (3PIP) phones

The Skype for Business 3PIP phones work with specific firmware and can get on with Microsoft Teams via a specific “cloud gateway”.

Microsoft also made another interesting announcement in the same blog regarding Skype for Business 3PIP phones. The timeline for Skype for Business 3PIP IP Phones, which haven’t migrated to Teams yet, has been extended beyond the previously set date i.e. July 31st, 2023.

These phones have firmware options for standard SIP as well.

RELATED: MICROSOFT TEAMS INTEGRATION WITH BUSINESS PHONE: WHAT TO EXPECT?

MachCloud- A Reliable Telephony Solution Provider

MachCloud stands out from the other Telephony providers with its unique set of services in the most pocket-friendly rates. The high-rated back-end infrastructure is what makes MachCloud telephony services robust. Offering services like Cloud PBX, SIP Trunking, VoIP, and Microsoft Teams, MachCloud has got many solutions for reliable service delivery.

With MachCloud, you get smooth business-critical solutions in a matter of hours. These solutions can take your business communication to the next level. Born-in-the-cloud MachCloud platform lets you enjoy your company work from anywhere. We offer instant delivery, easy management, simple and centralized services for your day to day business communication.

Whether it is Teams or Migration or any other Microsoft 365 offering like Exchange, SharePoint, Azure, OneDrive, our teams are ready for the rescue. Out experts value your existing systems and take full responsibility to successfully perform the deployment and migrations. With MachCloud, you are free to grow your channels.

Get started with MachCloud for a smooth Microsoft Teams experience for your business.

Microsoft Teams integration with Business Phone: What to expect?

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A business Phone system is essential to every business these days. Microsoft Teams is a unified and full-fledged communication system that helps organizations to collaborate within the business environment. Latest business communication methods like chat, audio conferencing, and video meetings, file sharing is provided to users to stay in the know with the latest updates within a company project. 

Every Business still needs a business phone

Even though business communication has evolved from the traditional phone, a phone remains as the most common form of communication in offices today. There are scenarios where you have to communicate one-to-one with a customer or supplier outside your company. These scenarios are catered for in the Teams app as integration with VoIP systems is supported. Doesn’t it make business communication a whole lot simpler and smoother?

Setting up calling services in Teams

Setting up calling services in the Microsoft phone system is no rocket science. All you need to know is that you have the right licensing. Teams VoIP services can be obtained with an additional Microsoft 365 license. To use a phone system you have two options: 

  • Calling Plans: Get to know if Microsoft Calling plans are supported in your area. 
  • Direct Routing: Go for Direct Routing in Teams with your trusted local Telephony partner and select whether you want to keep using your existing comprehensive PBX or not.

What Should I know to set up a phone system with Microsoft Teams?

There are a few technical aspects of Teams that every business must be informed with. Let’s traverse through the important considerations of setting up your organizational phone system with Teams:

Use the existing PBX

That is the beauty of Microsoft Teams phone system. It doesn’t require you to start from scratch; rather, you can continue using your existing PBX. This way, your PBX can continue to stay, but you can still leverage the benefits of Teams Calling plans and chat-related features. Teams, thus, acts as your soft client for PBX.

Get the Right Phones

The existing business phone devices deployed at your end are in no way a hurdle between setting up Teams and be able to make calls via Teams, however, it is essential to know a few devices that would be replaced at your end (with no additional cost). Teams certified hardware includes very comprehensive Yealink phones: 

  • Yealink SIP-T40P
  • Yealink SIP-T41S
  • Yealink SIP-T42G
  • Yealink SIP-T42S
  • Yealink SIP-T46G
  • Yealink SIP-T46S

Related: WHAT PHONES WORK WITH MICROSOFT TEAMS?

Know your requirements

It might sound a bit challenging, but it is always good to have a vision for the communication as to how would you want it a few years from now. In other words: Know your requirements. The abrupt pandemic in 2020 has introduced a new requirement: Remote working.

Having remote working employees requires a high-speed connection, low latency, and frequent connections to the phone system, while limited internal communication requires an average internet connection and fewer connections to the phone system.

If remote working is one requirement, specify it in advance.

Related: MUST HAVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR ‘WORK FROM HOME’ SCENARIO

MachCloud is the Right Provider to get your PBX running with Teams

MachCloud offers seamless ways to integrate Teams Calling options with your existing phone system at reasonable rates. The Teams of experts are proficient to tackle all internal and external Teams related connection glitches that need addressing. The all-in-one communication platform also offers Teams Direct Routing, Calling in Teams, and purchasing Microsoft 365 licensing options.

Stay connected and get started with MachCloud to keep your business stay ahead of the curve in digital business communication systems.

Microsoft Teams Calling Plans: Which one is for you?

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Microsoft Teams calling plans come in a wide variety and businesses are opting for a Microsoft Teams phone system because there is something for everyone. The calling feature within Teams has gained popularity with Microsoft users pretty quickly. Companies can unlock more potential out of their digital communications investments via Calling in Teams feature powered by Microsoft Teams phone system.

The benefits of Microsoft Teams Phone System

Following are a few more benefits of using a Microsoft Teams Phone System:

  • Get an upgraded digital communication system

Microsoft Teams phone system is updated according to the latest trends in modern digital business communication. With this, you can get rid of the old and complicated setup equipment which is also expensive to maintain.

  • Scalability with new users

Teams make it easy to onboard new users with minimum efforts. It doesn’t require any additional hardware additions to add new users. The new users can directly start using the Microsoft Teams phone system.

  • Stay in Control of calling policies

Teams phone system provides administrators control over users’ ability to use calling in Teams for private calls. Other features include set up call forwarding and creating and implementing calling policies. Most of the features are adjustable with options like “Always Enabled” or “User Controlled”.

Choose the Right plan amidst all Microsoft Teams Calling Plans

Following are Microsoft Teams Calling Plans for business

Direct Routing: with Direct Routing you have the choice whether or not to continue to use your existing (cloud) PBX.

  1. Using your existing (cloud) PBX, you will continue to use your current infrastructure. No calling plan is needed for calling in Microsoft Teams. Telephony lines remain with your current Provider.
  2. Without using a (cloud) PBX, you have complete freedom to choose voice lines from local PSTN Service and Network Providers. Including all associated calling plan options of these Providers in your area.

Microsoft Calling Plan: This makes Microsoft your PSTN Service Provider with a limited range of PSTN Calling Plans.

Related: How MachCloud Solution for Microsoft Teams Facilitates Businesses with Teams Direct Routing

MachCloud offers MachCloud Solution for Microsoft Teams® as an effective Teams in Calling solution

MachCloud is an all-in-one modern cloud communications network provider that offers Digital Business Communication Solutions to organizations. MachCloud Solution for Microsoft Teams® is one such solution that provides features like Direct Routing in Teams and Calling Plans for Teams. With MachCloud, you get pocket-friendly pricing and plans that are always cost-effective for the company.

MachCloud offers several features such as conference calls in Microsoft Teams, video conferencing, chat, messages and much more. With the MachCloud self-service portal you can manage your communication systems seamlessly.

Get on board with MachCloud and discover how you can use the full potential of your digital communication solution in your business.

How to set up Telephony in Microsoft Teams?

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To set up business telephony in Microsoft Teams, the first thing you need to determine is whether the Microsoft service is available in your country. Select your country from Country and Region availability for Audio Conferencing and Calling Plans and find out if your country is on the list.

Microsoft 365 license agreement is needed in setting up Telephony in Microsoft Teams

 You need to get hold of the correct agreements and licenses. A Microsoft 365 license agreement is needed which is up-to-date and compatible with telephony and cloud PBX (E1, E3, or E5). After that, you need to assign a phone system and Calling Plans licenses to users in the organization. Get new numbers or port existing numbers from current service providers to Office 365. Then you need to Setup the calling plan, Audio conferencing, Cloud call queue, and Call auto-attendant based on your organizational needs.

A lot of manual work, which can be automated and supported by a Teams specialized Providers like MachCloud with its self-service portal.

DID YOU FIND THIS INTERESTING? WHY NOT READ: “Planning for Skype to Teams Migration? Here’s the guide“? 

Have more questions? Speak to one of our Teams Direct Routing experts today to learn more about setting up Telephony in Microsoft Teams.

How to configure Teams Direct Routing?

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The configuration process for Direct Routing is pretty tedious. Your PSTN Service – or Network Provider needs to connect with the Phone System within your Microsoft Tenant. You then enable users with the option of Calling in Teams. This requires assigning users with a phone system license. Configure their phone number and enable voicemail and voice. After that Voice routing must be configured which includes a Voice routing policy, Voice routes number patterns, and an online PSTN gateway and Voice routing with one PSTN usage. Lastly, you have to Apply the Number Translation Rules Policy to translate inbound and outbound numbers. A lot of manual work, which can be fully automated by a Teams specialized PSTN Network Provider like MachCloud.

DID YOU FIND THIS INTERESTING? WHY NOT READ: “Securing your SBC Microsoft Teams Direct Routing effectively“? 

What is Teams Direct Routing?

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In modern digital communication, Direct Routing is a process that routes Microsoft Teams to a traditional phone network i.e. PSTN. With Microsoft Teams Direct Routing, you get to connect Microsoft Teams with telephony Network Providers of your choice. This results in cheaper call rates for both local and international calls, better support, and more flexibility.

Direct Routing setup

A Direct Routing setup lets you configure your existing PSTN connectivity with Microsoft Teams client. The process requires connectivity to local PSTN Service – or Network Provider, O365 organization and related domains to carry out the desired cloud-based communication, organization-wide and globally.

DID YOU FIND THIS INTERESTING? WHY NOT READ: “Microsoft Teams Direct Routing: Where to start“? 

How MachCloud facilitates businesses with Teams Direct Routing

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According to statistics, Microsoft Teams, especially Teams Direct Routing, is being deployed in the business domain at a record-breaking pace. The heavy adoption of Teams also owes to the fact that Microsoft has announced End of Life for Skype for Business, which ultimately diverts the consumers to the Microsoft Phone system: Microsoft Teams.

MachCloud Solution for Microsoft Teams Solution fosters Teams Collaboration

Various Microsoft telephony services are efficient; provide faster Dialing, maintain call logs, and everything that a modern business needs out of a top-notch Telephony service. MachCloud offers solutions for Microsoft Teams powered communication service to its existing set of services: Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams Calling. This is offered in association with Office 365 Integration with which businesses are empowered since it eliminates the need for extra infrastructure and thus brings more bangs for the bucks for companies in these struggling economies.

Top 5 Benefits of Teams Direct Routing with MachCloud

Give a new meaning to collaboration

MachCloud Solution for Microsoft Teams brings cloud communication solutions like Cloud PBX, Microsoft Teams together for your business, and get on board with Teams Direct Routing for a smooth and best price Calling in Teams experience with MachCloud Solution for Microsoft Teams solution that gives a new meaning to business collaboration.

  1. Low-Cost Solution

MachCloud Solution for Microsoft Teams solution doesn’t require an additional Hosted Setup and can work with a business’s existing PBX. Every direct routing calling plan enables the consumers to fully automate network onboarding & tenant provisioning, thus utilizing Teams Voice Calling Plan that stays light on the company budget.

  1. Secured communication

The end-to-end call encryption feature of Teams assures every Microsoft phone system call via Teams to be secure and protected from eavesdropping and other threats.

  1. Excellent service delivery

MachCloud offers a fully automated provisioning portal and Microsoft phone system for Teams which offers inbound and outbound calls with excellent quality and crystal-clear voice. 

  1. The Hybrid approaches

With MachCloud Solution for Microsoft Teams, you can either opt for Microsoft Teams with an existing (cloud)PBX or Microsoft Teams with our Direct Routing service. You can choose to depend upon your business nature.

ALSO READ: Unleash the power of Microsoft Teams with an existing PBX Telephone System

MachCloud – the all-in-one unified communications solution for business

MachCloud, with its solution for Teams, offers a fully automated provisioning portal for Teams Direct Routing which offers chat, calls, video conferencing, and File sharing. In addition to this, other collaboration tools with excellent quality and crystal-clear voice eliminating the need for an additional Hosted Setup and can work with a business’s existing PBX are also offered. Equipped with features like geo-redundancy, 24-hour support, call analytics, and unlimited inbound calling, the Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams Calling solution opens doors for resellers and sales partners to offer Teams Voice service and Direct Routing service in a secure, simple and smooth manner.

Go for MachCloud and utilize the benefits of Microsoft Teams for your progressive business.

Microsoft for healthcare features empowers healthcare providers via Teams

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Microsoft for healthcare has gained popularity ever since the coronavirus pandemic has taken the rise. Microsoft Teams has benefitted business, academic industry, and other domains while organizations had to impose a work from home policy. On top of that, Microsoft Teams health has benefitted the healthcare industry with its novel solutions for collaborating amongst the healthcare providers.

New capabilities in Microsoft 365 empower healthcare professionals

As the number of confirmed cases increase in the coronavirus dashboard, experts from Microsoft sensed a few needs for better healthcare collaboration amongst the providers and thus has rolled in new capabilities to empower healthcare organizations amidst COVID-19 pandemic with Microsoft Teams health care solutions. Features like very urgent messaging, visit scheduling, contacting the on-shift clinician and other new features are part of Microsoft for healthcare and directly address core challenges that the healthcare providers are facing these days with messaging and health systems.

Empowering the frontline workers and the healthcare sector

To stay informed about the availability of beds and supplies that are running out like masks or ventilators, the experts at Microsoft has created a Healthcare Emergency Response Resource Tracking system. The Microsoft Teams health Emergency Resource Tracking Solution can now be used to manage emergency responses and frontline workers can collect the information via their devices especially with coronavirus dashboard. Then the healthcare leads can take quick decisions in real-time on where to divert the upcoming patients due to scare resources.

The messaging features allow care teams to securely coordinate patient care

Microsoft Teams health solutions include new messaging features including the following capabilities:

  • Secure communication: Teams is end-to-end encrypted and deploys the latest methods of security
  • Priority notifications: This alerts the recipient unless a response is received. The messages are sent every two minutes up to 20 minutes.
  • Message delegation: This allows receipt to delegate messages to another contact, while the original recipient is busy in surgery or unavailable.

Also read: Tips to keep communication services up during covid-19

Enhancements added to healthcare data interoperability

With the growing needs of data handling and digitizing patient data, one of the top priories is the interoperability of data. Microsoft this introduced emerging standards like FHIR in Microsoft for healthcare, to cater for this challenge. Microsoft Team’s health solutions include providing a hub to access digital health records of patients.

MachCloud – The all-in-one platform for collaboration according to modem day collab needs

MachCloud is a robust communication services provisioning platform that empowers businesses with all the tools needed for a modern-day collaboration experience. MachCloud offers MachCloud Solution for Microsoft Teams®, the Microsoft Teams oriented Calling solution with additional solutions like MachCloud, Calling in Teams, and Direct Routing via Microsoft Teams. With a variety of pricing and plans, MachCloud has got one for every type of business.

Head to MachCloud to experience modern-day collaboration with the latest tools and security.

4 handy ways to start a Microsoft Teams call

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No matter how smart communication systems become, Calling still remains the basic feature needed in a business communication system. In the Microsoft Teams phone system, there are various features and most usable for organizations in which Microsoft teams call is the most in-demand feature of all. With Teams, Microsoft 365 has got more power, so while you are editing the main project file, you can have a live conversation from within Microsoft 365 with the team lead of the project regarding the edits and save time for future revisions of the same document.

How cool is that?

Since Teams focuses on collaboration between people of the same project, Microsoft teams call is a feature in Microsoft Teams phone system which is made available at all times.

So… how do you do it? There isn’t one way, rather there are Four! :

Start a Microsoft teams call through the Calls Tab: Call Tab offers call features like in a normal phone. You can dial numbers using the dial pad directly, or navigate to contacts List to search for the Contact to call. You can search through email id, phone number or add a person to the list of your contacts. Pretty much the same way as you can do on your smartphone.

Place a call via Chat Tab: Indeed some things are never easy to explain on a text-based chat and here is where calling through Microsoft Teams phone system dives in. To make things less complicated, there’s a direct call icon in the top right corner. Go forward with audio/video call to keep the flow of conversation intact.

Place a call from command bar: This is for the IT pros, type in backslash (it hints Teams that you are about to give a command) then type call and press Enter. Next, Teams will prompt you to type in the name/email of the person to contact to. Select the contact and the call is started.

Place a call from Anywhere: “Contact Cards” is how Microsoft teams phone system has made calling more easy. It’s a normal scenario that you recall to call a person by looking at his name or profile pic (maybe when a document is uploaded by that person). Just click on his pic and a contact card is displayed. You can call them directly through contact card.

ALSO READ SIP Trunking Solutions: Less Cost, More Services

MachCloud and the “Calling via Teams” feature

Calling via Teams is a unique feature offered by Providers to make your chats less complicated and communication smoother. MachCloud is a Digital Business communication provider which provides robust service delivery solutions including SIP Trunking, Cloud PBX, MachCloud and Office 365 offerings, Microsoft Skype for Business server and Microsoft Teams phone system.  MachCloud offers unified invoice to make the financial aspects of business communications smoother, make you able to manage Office 365 products very fast, easy migration through self-service Control Panel. It also offers reselling of cloud services and telecom services and get best industry expert advice if you get stuck somewhere.

MachCloud is the Provider that can offer you Microsoft Teams calls solution in the most optimal manner for your business.

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