Microsoft Teams and Telephony
Microsoft Teams provides organizations with a centralized environment for chat, meetings, collaboration, and telephony. However, a telephony connection to the public telephone network is required to make calls to landline and mobile phone numbers.
365 Phone Connect Flex provides this connection, enabling users to call and be called directly from Microsoft Teams.
What is 365 Phone Connect Flex?
365 Phone Connect Flex is a cloud-based telephony service that directly links phone numbers to Microsoft Teams. This allows employees to:
Make and receive calls from Microsoft Teams;
Work from a PC, laptop, smartphone, or Teams phone;
Manage their availability within Teams;
Transfer calls;
Utilize call queues and groups;
Work anywhere with the same telephony environment.
The complete solution is delivered from the cloud, making traditional phone systems, SIP trunks, or other complex telephony infrastructures generally unnecessary.
How is 365 Phone Connect Flex procured?
365 Phone Connect Flex is offered as a subscription service with a 36-month contract period. Unlike traditional telephony projects, there is no need to invest in a phone system, SIP infrastructure, or other telephony hardware. Organizations pay a fixed monthly fee per user for the telephony service. The service is scaled based on the number of users utilizing Teams Telephony, allowing the solution to grow with the organization and keeping costs manageable and predictable. This subscription model makes modern cloud telephony accessible without substantial initial investments.
How does the integration with Microsoft Teams work?
Within 365 Phone Connect Flex, a phone number is linked to a user, department, or service within Microsoft Teams. From that point, Teams functions as the primary phone client. Incoming and outgoing calls occur directly via the Teams application that employees already use daily. For users, little changes. The difference is that telephony is fully integrated into the digital workplace.
Which phone numbers can be used?
Organizations can choose from various types of numbers, including:
Existing phone numbers through number retention;
New geographic numbers;
Direct dial numbers;
General organization numbers;
International numbers, depending on availability and local regulations.
This allows the existing telephonic identity of the organization to generally be maintained.
Call charges: pay per use or via a bundle?
A common misconception is that a Teams Telephony solution is always tied to a specific pricing model. In reality, organizations within 365 Phone Connect Flex can choose how call traffic is billed.
Call traffic based on actual usage
With this option, only the calls actually made are charged. This model is especially interesting for organizations:
With varying call volumes;
With seasonal influences;
That wish to align their costs as closely as possible with actual usage.
Call traffic via a pre-paid bundle
Organizations can also choose a pre-paid call model.
Here, agreements about call traffic are made in advance, making monthly costs more predictable. This model is often chosen by organizations that:
Make intensive calls;
Have a stable call pattern;
Desire maximum budget certainty.
It is important that the user experience in Microsoft Teams remains identical in both situations. Only the billing method for call traffic differs.
Which Microsoft licenses are needed?
To use Teams Telephony, a Teams Phone license is required in addition to Microsoft Teams. Depending on the Microsoft 365 licenses within the organization, this functionality may already be included or be added as an additional license. The exact licensing needs vary per organization and per Microsoft 365 subscription. In some Microsoft licenses, Teams Phone is already included:
Microsoft 365 E5
Microsoft 365 E7
Microsoft 365 A5
Organizations using other Microsoft 365 subscriptions, such as Microsoft 365 E1, E3, or Business Premium, can generally add Teams Phone as an additional license. Besides the Microsoft license, an internet connection is also required. 365 Phone Connect Flex provides this connectivity, allowing users to call and be called directly from Microsoft Teams.
The advantages of cloud telephony
More and more organizations are choosing cloud telephony as an alternative to traditional telephony platforms. The main advantages are:
One communication platform - Chat, meetings, collaboration, and telephony come together in Microsoft Teams.
Less infrastructure - A traditional phone system is generally no longer needed.
Simplified management - Users, phone numbers, and settings can be centrally managed.
Scalability - New employees, locations, and phone numbers can be easily added.
Hybrid working - Employees have the same telephony features everywhere, regardless of location or device.
For which organizations is Connect Flex suitable?
365 Phone Connect Flex is used by a variety of organizations, including:
Municipalities;
Government agencies;
Educational institutions;
Healthcare organizations;
Small and medium enterprises;
Organizations with multiple locations.
The solution is particularly interesting for organizations that use Microsoft Teams as a central workplace and want to fully integrate telephony into their existing Microsoft 365 environment.
Conclusion
365 Phone Connect Flex allows direct calls to and from Microsoft Teams via the public telephone network. Organizations benefit from a fully cloud-based telephony environment obtained through a 36-month subscription, without investments in traditional telephony infrastructure. The solution is tailored to the number of users and also offers the choice between billing for actual use or a pre-paid call model. This allows both technical setup and monthly costs to be aligned with the organization's needs.
