Be more efficient with external calls in MS Teams

The integration of Microsoft Teams with a telephone exchange: what does that involve exactly?

Vincent Desmarets, Product Manager B2B at Orange Belgium: “This type of integration allows you to make and receive external calls in Microsoft Teams, the main collaborative hub of Microsoft 365. This means you can call any landline or mobile number directly from the platform and receive external calls in your Teams environment. You no longer need to leave Teams to make or receive a call. You also get to keep all the familiar functions of your current telephone exchange on site, virtually or in the cloud. Examples of this are call transfers and call forwarding – including to call groups – and the use of voicemails and automated attendant services.” In addition, Teams remains your go-to solution for video calls. More than ever, the new ‘Together’ mode – based on AI segmentation technology – gives participants the impression they’re all in the same room. This makes it easier to pick up on non-verbal communication.

What are the main advantages of integrating your phone system into Teams?

Vincent Desmarets: “Most companies already had a telephone exchange, either virtual or in the cloud. When the coronavirus pandemic came and forced us all to work from home, Microsoft Teams also became very well established. We can obviously save a great deal of time by connecting the two communication platforms. This means we no longer need to reach for another device or application to make calls and we can continue to work in our familiar Microsoft environment. This familiarity also guarantees a high rate of adoption for new telephony facilities. And, of course, the integration of various communication tools into one solution results in more efficient collaboration with colleagues, too.” In Teams it's also easy to see which colleagues are available so callers can immediately be transferred to the right person. And you can set your telephone availability automatically based on signing in and out in Teams or from your calendar.”

What are the most important advantages of our range?

Vincent Desmarets: “First of all, we offer solutions in various configurations or implementations: from a cloud approach that unburdens you completely in terms of telephony to a hybrid set-up that includes direct integration with your existing telephony infrastructure. We always examine the existing infrastructure first, so we can take the specific needs of your company into account and guide it towards the right solution. We then complement our actual implementation and configuration of the chosen solution with advice, support and change management services.

“A second advantage is that we can enrich the telephony services in Microsoft Teams with all kinds of extra functionalities from our cloud solution. And finally - and this is very interesting for SMEs - our scalable solution can continue to grow with your company. The pricing is straightforward: it is based on the number of users.”