Should our company us the Microsoft Teams Phone System?

Your business requires a new phone system. Additionally, this Microsoft Teams Phone System appears to be quite promising.

“Hmm... Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams are used in our organization. Therefore, wouldn't it be simple to leverage the Teams app for our phone system as well? Isn't that the direction in which this whole "Unified Communications" thing is going?" You contemplate.

“This way, our employees can use a single app for chat, collaboration, video conferencing, and phone calls on both their desktop and mobile devices... and it all integrates seamlessly with Outlook.” You proceed.

“However, will it work so easily?” You inquire.

I'm frequently asked this question. And it makes a lot of sense on multiple levels. However, my response is "no, do not do it"...

I have three reasons for this: 1) poor customer service; 2) lack of third-party alternatives; and 3) missing functionality.

Customer Support

~How much assistance did your company require from vendors during the installation of your current phone system and phone lines? A great deal, correct?

~How frequently does your business currently need to contact customer service from either your phone hardware or dial-tone provider in a given year? At the very least a few times, I'm guessing?

~How critical is it when your phone system or phone lines experience problems? Isn't that quite critical?

~How has your experience been with Microsoft's Office 365 customer service? I'm assuming it's fairly hands-off and automated. While I have nothing against Microsoft, it is no secret that their customer service strategy is primarily self-service.

In my opinion, this is a bad combination. A mission-critical, high-maintenance service that requires extensive guidance is assigned to a vendor who would rather you figure it out on your own.

Alternatives Provided by Third Parties

Not to be alarmed; it is not all doom and gloom. There is an alternative to Microsoft providing Teams Phone System directly to your business. Numerous hosted VoIP providers offer their services via an in-house Teams Phone System platform.

That means you can purchase the service from a reputable hosted VoIP provider who is an expert in phone systems (and is accustomed to the high-touch, hands-on support your business will require), while still receiving the Teams interface.

Therefore, if Teams Phone System is the solution your business requires, partnering with a third-party hosted VoIP provider that hosts your Teams service on their servers (located in their data centers) enables you to have the best of both worlds: the solution you desire and the customer support your business requires.

Absence of Functionality

As nice as Microsoft Teams Phone System sounds, I feel compelled to burst your bubble slightly. In my mind, the features, functionality, and ease of use are still lacking in comparison to the leading hosted VoIP service providers.

For example, basic features such as barge-in, call queues, call recording, call reporting, and contact center features are either missing or require third-party software.

If all your business requires is the ability to pick up the phone and dial a number... and nothing else... Teams may be sufficient. However, the majority of organizations of reasonable size require more. If this is the case, Microsoft Teams Phone System is unlikely to be the optimal solution for your business's phone system.

The good news is that a number of the leading hosted VoIP providers seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Office 365, Teams, and Skype for Business. For many organizations, this integration is sufficient reason to use Microsoft Teams for collaboration while outsourcing PSTN calling to a separate hosted VoIP vendor (who specializes in phone systems).

Do you have any questions? Do you require recommendations or quotations for hosted VoIP solutions for your business? We are one of the largest and most established business VoIP Consultants in Columbus Ohio, and I enjoy discussing this subject.

Request a Quote or contact me to discuss your company's requirements. 614-224-2003