Two years after the first announcement that Skype for Business Online would be phased out, Microsoft just said that Microsoft Teams has the highest adoption rate of all their products. AudioCodes Certified for Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams conversation is taking place here.

Microsoft said at Enterprise Connect that 500,000 businesses are now using Teams. In honour of this accomplishment and the platform’s two-year anniversary, Microsoft released new features that are meant to help users be more productive.

The newly launched features by Microsoft to enhance productivity on Teams include:

  • Information barriers
  • Calendar app
  • Live captions
  • Customized backgrounds
  • Content cameras and intelligent capture
  • Microsoft whiteboard
  • Enhancements to the Chrome browser meeting experience
  • Live events in Microsoft Office 365

In what ways does the success of Microsoft Teams impact AudioCodes?

During our meeting with a concerned member, they told us that calling is one of the best things about Teams. The public switched telephone network (PSTN) lets users make, receive, and transfer calls to and from landlines and mobile phones in two different ways.

  1. The calling capabilities of Microsoft Phone System and Calling Plans, 
  2. Direct Routing technology to make and receive calls on PSTN.

One might wonder, “How does this benefit AudioCodes?”

Microsoft’s calling plans can come with a high price tag, making traditional landline or cloud phone systems a more cost-effective option compared to Teams’ calling plans. Additionally, Jason points out that switching from an existing provider can often result in a termination fee, which can be a barrier for enterprises considering the adoption of Teams.

This is about which area AudioCodes helps.

Microsoft has certified AudioCodes’ Mediant family of Session Border Controllers (SBC) to offer a Direct Routing for Teams solution.

Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams

We recently posted in our blog how the AudioCodes direct routing solution works.

An SBC can be either real or virtual, and it can be on-premises or in a data centre. Gateway routers connect the internet to an internal network. An SBC does the same thing. When a call comes in, the SBC acts as a middleman between the caller and your Microsoft Phone System. It is then sent to the Microsoft Teams client, which sends it to the right person. In the same way, an outgoing call goes to the SBC and then to the recipient through the existing PSTN or SIP trunk.

Services of Direct Routing for Teams

Direct Routing presents an enticing opportunity for businesses to integrate Teams functionality into their communication infrastructure. It is a highly desirable solution.

But sometimes, the business case needs more than just the cost to make sense. They talk about some of the other important advantages of direct Routing.

  • Phased Migration – Migrating from your legacy PBX is one of the hardest parts of using a Microsoft intelligent communications solution like Teams. AudioCodes has created a powerful software application called User Management PackTM 365 to make this process as simple and quick as possible. With Direct Routing, you can move users one at a time or in groups to make the transition easier.
  • Monitoring and Reporting – You can get a fair amount of information about your Microsoft Teams deployment from its online control panels, but this is only for the Microsoft UC client and the Microsoft environment. A centralised management solution like AudioCodes’ One Voice Operations Center (OVOC) will help you carefully monitor call quality and give a much higher level of customer service since the SBC sits between your Microsoft environment, endpoint devices, and the PSTN or SIP trunk provider (QoE).
  • Media Bypass – This reduces the volume of traffic going to and from the Microsoft data centres and lets the call media go directly to the SBC. This makes calls much better and reduces network traffic considerably.

Microsoft Ignite

The biggest problem I heard was that they needed to move slowly away from their old infrastructure. They are all at different points in their intelligent communications journey. Usually, they have a lot of different things, like different PBXs for different locations, and some already use Microsoft tools like Skype for Business for voice, collaboration, or both. Even though they see the benefits of switching to Microsoft Teams, they want to do it slowly so they can keep using the investments they’ve already made in their current infrastructure. That living together and moving slowly and carefully is very important for all of them.

Even more AudioCodes and Microsoft

We summed up three important parts of the AudioCodes and Microsoft story that also added to it.

  1. The recent news that AudioCodes will work with our friends at Jabra is a big help. It means that we can help customers choose the best AudioCodes IP Phones and Jabra headsets for their job roles and user personas.
  2. AudioCodes says WiFi and Bluetooth options are often available for the C450HD. Even though it is assumed that everyone will use a headset and/or video for Microsoft Teams, new information from the Microsoft Ignite tour shows this is not the case. Up to 60% of many companies’ phone systems still need to be IP phones. Organisations accept and recognise user identities, and IP phones offer stability and durability when the total cost of lifecycle management is considered.
  3. AudioCodes User Management Pack 365, also known as UMP 365, is available on Microsoft Azure, along with a free version of the IPP Device Manager. This is another important part of our Microsoft Story. One Voice Operations Centre, or OVOC, is a powerful end-to-end monitoring and reporting platform that maintains and backs up your SBC estate. It will soon be available in Azure. This shows that AudioCodes is committed to Microsoft and any other company that wants to adopt a cloud-first approach.

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As for how the success of Microsoft Teams affects AudioCodes Certified for Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams, businesses need to realise that integrating voice technology solutions with Teams can make it much easier for end users to communicate and work together. By partnering with AudioCodes, businesses can ensure that their voice technology solutions work well with Teams. This gives them a unified communications experience that can help them be more productive and save money. Also, as Microsoft continues to put money into and improve Teams, businesses will likely have even more chances. That use voice technology solutions along with Teams.

Reach Out to us right now and SCHEDULE a CONSULTATION regarding deployment. To your competitive business edge, utilise the Mediant series of certified Session Border Controllers for Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams.