The pandemic has forced the world into multiple forms of hybrid working, accelerating a process that was already well underway as we move to a “distributed work experience”. One of the key tools that many businesses turned to was Microsoft Teams – so many in fact that by August 2021 there were 250 million active daily users on the platform according to Microsoft - making it their most successful new product launch by uptake ever.
As a collaborative tool it’s great, but like all collaboration software, it has its limits. To really make the most of it (and to maximise existing business investment) you need to be able to integrate it with existing software, hardware and systems. Especially the systems that you use to talk to new and existing customers and suppliers – your phone system.
Legacy on-premise PBX systems just sit in the basement, route calls to desks and don’t give you the flexibility that modern cloud-based phone systems can bring. But cloud-based phone systems, when your workforce is dispersed, need an endpoint and so your setup may rely on forwarding to softphones or mobiles – and that’s where you need something integrated to bridge the gap.
This is the important bit – our integration turns Microsoft Teams into your desk phone.
So, if you’re using Teams on your laptop or mobile we can fully connect this into your landline number, DDI (Direct Dial Number) or Extension. Meaning no matter where you are or how someone chooses to call you, or you call them, the calls flow through the company phone system.
This means, for example when someone calls me on my office number I can answer them from the device I choose (and since March 2020 that has almost always been Teams on the laptop). When I call out to someone, from my laptop or mobile, my direct office line (or extension if an internal call) is presented.
So all my calls are routed in the most cost-efficient manner for businesses, because they all flow via the company phone system and use IP to bridge the call to the endpoint, rather than call forwarding. The calls can also be tracked or recorded depending on what your business does and call flows can work as normal amongst departments or teams.
From a business process point of view It’s like having your team in the office during the working week – even though they can be located anywhere. Calls flow as normal and if it’s a call centre you can track and monitor call volumes.
If you want to see how easy it is to use IPT for Teams, have a look at this recent blog article, download some of our Solution Sheets or if you’re ready to make the move to a better way of working – book a consultation via the button below.
