The cloud is quickly becoming the ultimate resource for businesses. Promising infinite scalability and flexibility, this versatile environment gives companies an agile way to pursue their digital transformation goals and invest in constant innovation.
While the cloud can deliver benefits to various aspects of the modern enterprise technology stack, it’s particularly appealing in the communication sector. Investing in cloud voice technologies ensures organisations can empower teams to stay connected and engage customers in the world of hybrid and remote work. It’s also becoming a critical aspect of business continuity.
Also, as the PSTN/ISDN switch-off draws closer, companies can no longer rely on traditional telephony solutions for communication. For organizations already invested in the growing Microsoft ecosystem, embedding cloud voice solutions into the Teams collaboration tool can seem like a compelling option.
The question is, what’s the best way for companies to implement cloud voice technologies into the Teams landscape? How do you decide between direct routing, operator connect and Microsoft Business Phone plans?
Unlocking Cloud Voice in Microsoft Teams
With more than 300 million monthly active users, Teams stands as one of the most popular tools for collaboration and communication in the modern world. It’s ranked as a leader by leading reports such as the Gartner UCaaS Magic Quadrant, thanks to its exceptional functionality and ease of use.
Of course, a big part of what makes Teams so compelling to companies investing in cloud voice opportunities, is the flexibility the platform offers. Not only does Teams offer its own business phone solutions, but it also allows companies to bring their own carrier to the ecosystem, through Operator Connect, and Direct Routing.
While Microsoft’s Business Phone plans can be suitable for smaller companies, the majority of businesses investing in Teams cloud voice choose direct routing or operator connect for a range of reasons.
Both of these options allow companies to retain their own carrier, and access valuable savings as a result. They also both allow for more geographic reach, more advanced voice features within Teams, and a greater degree of control over things like routing, quality management and analytics.
When is Direct Routing the Answer? Points to Consider
For companies looking to go beyond the basic features offered by Microsoft’s Business Phone plans, Direct Routing and Operator Connect both offer excellent solutions. Both allow organizations to connect their own carrier to their Teams ecosystem, but while Operator Connect focuses on making voice management simple, Direct Routing offers a higher level of flexibility.
To determine whether direct routing is the right solution for accessing cloud voice within Microsoft Teams, companies need to answer a few core questions.
1. How much flexibility do you need?
As mentioned above, both Direct Routing and Operator Connect offer more flexibility than the standard Business Phone packages from Microsoft. However, Direct Routing is a lot more customizable, as it allows companies to leverage PowerShell scripting to make custom updates to their phone system, routing strategies, and more.
With the right Direct Routing provider, companies can leverage a flexible ecosystem, where they’ll be able to make granular changes to call queues, and auto attendant capabilities. This can be crucial for businesses with specific call management needs.
2. Who is your chosen carrier?
Microsoft’s Operator Connect and Direct Routing services both allow companies to retain connections with their chosen voice carrier, helping to keep costs low. These tools are ideal for companies looking to save money, as there’s no need to invest in a new system, and teams can take advantage of discounts and offers already provided by their phone company.
However, Operator Connect does offer fewer options when it comes to available carriers. Although the number of Operator Connect approved companies is gradually increasing, there’s still a chance companies won’t be able to access the provider of their choice. Direct Routing offers more scope to accessing coverage from a range of carriers, around the world.
3. What are your feature requirements?
Most Operator Connect and Direct Routing services offered by Microsoft partners will offer access to the basic features companies need for cloud voice, including auto attendant software, call routing, and number provisioning. However, since Direct Routing offers more flexibility, it can also be an ideal option for companies with specialist feature requirements.
The right Direct Routing vendor can work with a business to create a custom environment for their specific communication needs. It’s even possible to implement additional integrations, such as analytics software, call recording tools, and compliance features. Plus, companies benefit from dedicated SBC access, which can be managed and controlled directly.
4. How much technical knowledge do you have?
The reason Direct Routing is a more flexible option for cloud voice on Microsoft Teams, is it leverages various technical tools, such as PowerShell scripting. This means companies managing their direct routing service themselves may need expert knowledge on how to utilize PowerShell effectively for voice management. This isn’t a concern with Operator Connect.
However, thanks to Microsoft Partners, it is possible to leverage Microsoft’s Direct Routing service without as much technical complexity. Organisations can either opt for a fully managed Team Direct Routing service or there is automated tooling available which can help companies to manage voice features, licenses, and auto-attendant capabilities in a simple interface, without the need for coding or technical knowledge.
Voice for Teams Direct Routing | Resonate
5. Do you want to combine UCaaS and CCaaS?
Finally, it’s worth considering the overall business plan for cloud migration when deciding whether Direct Routing is the right cloud voice solution for Teams. As the digital world evolves, many companies are beginning to use Teams not just for UCaaS, but for contact centre requirements too.
Direct Routing solutions are the best option available for companies who want to leverage contact centre functionality within Teams. Certified Teams contact centre solutions offer companies access to a wide range of features, advanced data residency options, and more tools for combining the contact centre with the Teams environment. While some contact centre functionality is available using the Extend model for Operator Connect, direct routing offers more fully featured, customised options.
For companies planning on unifying their communication ecosystem, direct routing may be the best option for CCaaS/UCaaS connectivity.
6. Do you still need to integrate with legacy hardware?
While fully moving to the cloud may be the ideal end-goal for a lot of companies investing in Microsoft Teams voice solutions, there are likely to still be legacy tools the communication stack you don’t want to rip and replace. For companies with existing investments, direct routing can provide more freedom to retain specific SBCs and other tools.
For companies looking to retain some solutions, but leverage the certified SBCs and technologies offered by vendors for others, a combination of Operator Connect and Teams Direct Routing might be the right option. Organizations unsure about what they need should consider looking for help from a Microsoft Modern Work Partner, with an Advanced Specialisation in calling.
These professionals can provide step by step guidance on the best strategy for any organisation seeking a cloud voice solution within Teams.
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