You have to hand it to Microsoft Teams.
The way it has helped change the way the world works has been a transformational victory.
But, there’s a but.
No matter how effective this most innovative and powerful of platforms has been in redefining how we all communicate, people still love to talk.
And there’s the caveat.
Microsoft Teams is simply not as good at ‘voice’ as it is all the other stuff it does so brilliantly.
But plug that particular gap, and you really can leverage its game-changing potential.
And that means opportunities exist – for end user businesses as well as communications resellers and Managed Service Providers.
Expert deployment partners are growing in number all of the time.
Choose the right one, and those opportunities really start to deliver.
“Microsoft is not a telecom provider and it doesn’t want to be a telecom provider – so it’s no surprise that there are limitations to its voice services,” says Michael Hawkins, Director of Solutions Engineering and Product Marketing at US-based global mid-market managed services provider BCM One, whose own Microsoft Voice Enabled Teams solution plugs the gaps and then some.
“Microsoft Teams is missing key elements which, in the case of many enterprises, prevents them from maximising all of its transformational potential.
“A lot of the time, those missing elements can be critically important to the way an enterprise functions.”
Leading among those elements are advanced call routing, call center functionality, and call recording and analytics.
Also, issues connected with simple usability can sometimes limit its potential.
“Enterprises need to really understand how their users interact with their phone system in order to maximise Microsoft Teams,” says Hawkins.
“For example, intercoms and paging is not available right now. So, if you have a large manufacturing floor, and there’s an emergency, or you’re a school and there’s an active shooter drill, or if you’re a healthcare organisation and you have a code blue, there is no way of communicating it over your intercom or pager networks.
“Additionally, faxing is not available in native Microsoft Teams either and, because it runs very specific firmware, the phones are just different, which some users struggle with.
“That all means that enterprises continue to keep parts and pieces of multiple, legacy phone systems which prevents them from modernising”
In BCM One’s case, there are three flavors to choose from when it comes to Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Voice Enabled Teams with SIP
This is a hosted direct routing solution which inserts BCM One as the enterprise’s telecom carrier via its high quality, robust infrastructure connected to the public telephone network.
Users can make and receive calls and benefit from BCM One’s expert telecom-specific management tools linked to defined SLAs.
Key benefits: Call quality and troubleshooting.
Microsoft Voice Enabled Teams with UCaaS
The integration with Microsoft Teams and BCM One’s smart and powerful UCaaS application – enables users to utilize all of their familiar communications tools but with Microsoft Teams as the endpoint.
Business as usual but with improved call quality, reduced costs and complete service.
Key benefits: Users stick to the tools and processes they know. No additional software to install on individual desktops.
Voice Enabled Teams with SIP & On-Premises Hosted PBX
Power BOTH advanced PBX call center functionality AND cloud-based hosted Microsoft Teams telephony through a shared SIP.
Call minutes applied most cost-effectively between light Microsoft Teams users and heavy call center users.
Key benefits: Omit legacy PBX investments, flexibility, functionality, savings.
So, how does an organization choose what will work best for them?
In BCM One’s case, their expertise and experience is key.
“It’s about in-depth discovery to really understand user organizations’ business processes and requirements,” says Hawkins.
“We make sure that we don’t miss any feature gaps that might lead us to one solution or the other, or that might include or exclude any one of the products that we have.
“We have trusted advisors and engineers who understand what organizations are trying to achieve and can help organizations move to whatever solution is best”
Recently, BCM One helped a large 3,000-user, 10 site international manufacturing enterprise move its entire telephony to Microsoft Teams.
It was already using most of the functionality included in the conferencing package, including video and audio calls but wanted to add high-quality VoIP calling.
Like most organizations that size, it had several different types of users: production line workers, knowledge workers not necessarily in the building, and management or leaders.
It had old school faxing and paging needs, 911 dialling needs and traditional telephony needs for less sophisticated users.
In addition, there were multi-site conference meetings in all types of different rooms equipped with multiple video systems.
“Microsoft Teams by itself wasn’t getting it done,” says Hawkins.
“We deployed our Microsoft Voice Enabled Teams with our UCaaS solution and added a solid internet connection and SD-WAN for a work-from-anywhere solution. We were able to provide less sophisticated users with physical phones with side cars, and we were able to come up with cool headsets and different ways for their users to interact with Microsoft Teams via their mobile phones or their desktop.
“We also integrated their fax functionality and deployed an entirely new IP-based paging system and designed conference room video solutions for all of their locations which enabled Microsoft Teams as a one-stop shop for all communications.
“Lastly, we eased their world even further by bringing everything, including the Microsoft licensing, under the BCM One umbrella – giving them that single bill and that single point of contact.
“That means, when it comes to our service solutions and troubleshooting, there’s almost nothing that we can’t see”
So, it seems Microsoft Teams really can be that transformational victory.
All you have to do is pick the right deployment partner…
Get a Free Teams Assessment from BCM One today: https://www.bcmone.com/bcm-ms-teams-scenario/
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