Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk: The Glue That Connects Your Phone to Teams

The Need for Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk

Microsoft Teams has become a valuable virtual collaboration tool for organizations of all sizes. Just recently, Microsoft announced Teams reached 115 million daily active users. It enables people to connect remotely, share ideas and documents, and coordinate activities through Microsoft 365. And even though Microsoft Teams has some voice capabilities, they are limited, offering only basic capabilities and international calling. Most businesses who rely on it for business communications realize that they need more.

Fortunately, Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk allows you to connect your existing phone system with Microsoft Teams for a fully-integrated, enterprise-level phone system. When you voice-enable Teams, you get the collaboration functionality of Teams with the enterprise voice capabilities of your phone system. It doesn’t matter if you have an on-premises or cloud phone system, or a hybrid of both. A Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk acts as the extension cord that connects it together for a more streamlined, affordable, and robust communications and collaboration network.

How to Get a Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk

We’ve simplified the explanation of Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk because the technical aspects of how this technology works is somewhat complicated. Microsoft calls the connection between Teams and a phone system Direct Routing, and it’s really all you need to know. For many companies with existing UCaaS or on-premises PBX that need to add in enterprise-level voice features, it’s typically best to partner with a company like BCM One to manage the SIP Trunk configuration for you.

Related: Can Microsoft Teams Replace Your Phone System?

Keep in mind that your telecommunications network is a different beast than your IT network. If you do not have in-house telecom expertise, or your IT team is already stretched thin, you can rest assured that working with an experienced provider will ensure your Teams connection with voice is configured properly and seamlessly integrated into your network. BCM One, for instance, will also assess your entire network to make sure it is being fully optimized and is streamlined as much as possible to save you money, reduce your risk, and maximize uptime.

The Benefits of a SIP Trunk

SIP Trunks are ideal for businesses with multiple locations and/or a dispersed workforce. With so many people working remotely these days, a SIP Trunk enables people to communicate from anywhere while being tied to the enterprise phone system. Your clients will see your business phone number on their caller ID, and you can call from anywhere, such as in Madrid from your laptop. You don’t have to be tied to a physical business phone.

The Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk goes a step further, connecting Teams to your business phone system so all of the enterprise voice features are added onto Microsoft Teams. Instead of settling for Microsoft’s limited, pricey and rigid Calling Plans, you can keep your existing phone system, carrier and phone numbers while taking advantage of advanced features you and your callers have come to expect.

The Ideal Candidate for Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk

Not everyone needs a Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk, but for those who are, voice-enabling Microsoft Teams through Direct Routing is a game-changer. With so much uncertainty about the future of the workforce, having a unified voice collaboration platform gives you the foundation your business needs to adapt to any work environment.

If we’ve learned anything from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that we all have had to become more flexible. A voice-enabled Teams capability delivers the ultimate flexibility in how you and your employees operate, both internally with each other and externally with customers and partners.

Here is a cheat sheet to help you determine if Direct Routing is right for you:

You Want to Consolidate Your Communications Platform

If you have an existing on-premises phone system and also use Microsoft Teams, you can use Direct Routing to connect the two systems into a unified platform. You and your employees will be able to make any type of call, including international calls, and use Teams for meetings and collaboration – all from one platform.

Incoming calls are treated exactly the same as they already are through your on-premises platform, only now you can answer those calls via online through Microsoft Teams or a phone. The voice-enabled Teams platform will include all of the advanced voice features, such as queues, advanced call routing, extensions, and auto attendant.

In this scenario, you will be able to phase your migration as needed. It will also provide disaster recovery failover between your systems. The result is a robust, secure and reliable enterprise communications and collaboration platform that will likely cost you less than what you are paying right now.

You’ve Outgrown Microsoft Teams as Your Business Phone System

If you are using Microsoft Teams as your business communications system, you may realize you’ve outgrown its functionality. It isn’t uncommon for small businesses to use Teams as their phone system in order to save money. Why pay for a business phone system if you have Teams?

But like we said before, Teams is limited and so are its Calling Plans. Your employees and external callers likely expect more, and it is not professional to have employees calling clients and partners using their personal phone numbers.

In less time than you may think, you can utilize Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk to take Teams to a new level of functionality. Yes, there are additional costs in setting up the system, but the payoff of having a fully-integrated, enterprise-level communications and collaboration platform that will scale with you as you grow or contract is worth every penny.

You Need to Reduce Your Communications Expenses

Telecom expenses can be significant and IDC says telecommunication spending dramatically increased during the pandemic. What many companies don’t realize is those costs can be greatly reduced while gaining all kinds of features. Microsoft Teams Calling Plans are expensive, you pay per user per month, and there are minute caps per plan and per country. Calling Plans are also only available in certain countries.

When you use Direct Routing instead, you have less expensive call rates and user licenses, and all countries are covered. You can put all of your employees onto a globally consistent platform and reduce your costs while still increasing your capabilities. You also have greater flexibility to customize your calling plans to pay only for what you actually use.

With Microsoft Teams SIP Trunk used in Direct Routing, you and your business has everything it needs to connect in every way possible – all of the features of Teams, plus all of the features of an enterprise phone system in one.

You Want A Unified System That Is Implemented and Managed by Someone Else

Some organizations may decide to connect Microsoft Teams to their existing phone systems themselves, but most realize it is much easier and faster to partner with a managed service provider to provide an end-to-end solution. When you work with such a provider, you get peace of mind that your network is optimized, and any internal IT staff you have can focus on other initiatives.

Related:Partnering with a Microsoft Teams Certified SBC Vendor for a Smoother Transition

BCM One, for instance, offers a fully-managed service that includes assessing your current platform, network planning, configurations, integrations with other technology solutions (such as CRM systems), migrations, porting existing phone numbers or providing new ones, training and ongoing support. And as a certified Microsoft Gold Partner, they will also manage all of your Microsoft licenses for you.

As Microsoft Teams becomes a mainstay in many organizations, integrating voice capabilities is a smart next move. Investing in a consolidated voice and collaboration network will reduce complexity and costs while increasing security, reliability and flexibility. No matter how your people work now and in the future, your network will support it, allowing them to work anywhere in the world. The future may not be certain, but your communications and collaboration network will be.