Microsoft Teams and Telephony
More and more organizations are using Microsoft Teams as a central workspace for communication and collaboration. To make calls from Teams to landline and mobile numbers, a connection to the public internet is also needed, which is naturally already in place. 365 Phone Fixed provides this connection and enables linking Microsoft Teams to a professional telephony environment based on Direct Routing.
What is 365 Phone Fixed?
365 Phone Fixed is a Teams Telephony solution where the telephonic capacity is delivered via a managed Direct Routing environment. Users make and receive calls from Microsoft Teams, while the telephony infrastructure is fully delivered and managed as a service. This allows organizations to benefit from:
Full integration with Microsoft Teams;
A professional telephony environment;
Managed telephony infrastructure;
Flexible numbering;
Control over telephonic capacity;
Support by 365 Angels.
For the end-user, calling feels the same as with any other Teams Telephony solution. The difference mainly lies in how the capacity is configured and billed.
How does Direct Routing work?
Direct Routing forms the connection between Microsoft Teams and the public telephone network. Through this link, users can:
Call landline and mobile numbers;
Receive calls;
Transfer calls;
Use queues;
Implement Auto Attendants;
Work with existing phone numbers.
The entire infrastructure is delivered as a service, so organizations do not need to invest in complex telephony platforms or specialist knowledge.
Based on channels instead of users
A significant difference between 365 Phone Fixed and other Teams Telephony solutions is how the capacity is determined. With 365 Phone Fixed, the focus is on the number of simultaneous calls the organization needs to handle, rather than the number of users.
This capacity is expressed in call channels.
One channel represents one simultaneous call.
For example, if an organization needs twenty simultaneous calls, the environment is scaled to twenty channels. This creates a model that better suits organizations where many employees have access to telephony, but only a limited portion of them need to call simultaneously.
When is a channel model interesting?
A channel-based solution is often interesting when:
Many employees have access to telephony;
The number of simultaneous calls is relatively limited;
Telephonic traffic is predictable;
Organizations want to efficiently scale their capacity;
Larger user groups utilize Teams Telephony.
This allows larger organizations to achieve a cost-efficient telephony structure.
Which phone numbers can be used?
365 Phone Fixed supports various numbering formats, including:
Existing phone numbers via number retention;
New geographic numbers;
Central organization numbers;
Direct dial-in numbers;
International numbers, depending on availability and regulations.
This ensures that a switch to Teams Telephony generally does not affect existing reachability.
Call costs: pay per use or with a bundle?
As with other telephony solutions, there is freedom of choice in how call traffic is billed.
Call traffic based on actual usage
With this option, only the actual calls made are billed. This model suits organizations with fluctuating usage.
Call traffic via a prepaid bundle
Organizations can also opt for prepaid call traffic. This leads to more predictable monthly costs and greater budget certainty.
The choice of rate model is separate from the setup of the Direct Routing environment and does not affect the user experience within Microsoft Teams.
How is 365 Phone Fixed acquired?
365 Phone Fixed is delivered as a subscription service with a 36-month contract period. The solution requires no investment in a personal telephony platform, Session Border Controller (SBC), or other telephony infrastructure. Instead, the environment is delivered and managed as a service. Monthly costs are primarily determined by:
The number of required call channels;
The desired telephonic functionalities;
The chosen form of call traffic;
Any additional services.
This creates a scalable solution without large initial investments.
Which Microsoft licenses are needed?
To use Teams Telephony, a Microsoft Teams Phone license is required.
Teams Phone is already included in:
Microsoft 365 E5;
Microsoft 365 E7;
Microsoft 365 A5.
Organizations using other Microsoft 365 subscriptions, such as E1, E3, or Business Premium, can add Teams Phone as an additional license. Besides the Microsoft license, an internet connection is also necessary. 365 Phone Fixed operates over this internet connection and provides connectivity through a managed Direct Routing solution.
The benefits of 365 Phone Fixed
More organizations are choosing cloud telephony as an alternative to traditional telephony platforms. The main benefits are:
Efficient capacity planning - Scaling based on simultaneous calls often better aligns with actual telephony use.
Professional Direct Routing environment - The telephony infrastructure is fully managed as a service.
No investment in telephony infrastructure - There is no need to manage SBCs or other telephony components yourself.
Full integration with Microsoft Teams - Users work from one familiar environment.
Flexible scalability - Capacity can be tailored to the organization's needs.
For which organizations is 365 Phone Fixed suitable?
365 Phone Fixed is often chosen by organizations that:
Have many telephonic users;
Support larger contact centers or KCCs;
Deploy Teams Telephony on a larger scale;
Want to maintain control over telephonic capacity;
Are looking for a solution based on simultaneous calls instead of users.
Conclusion
365 Phone Fixed offers organizations a professional Teams Telephony solution based on Direct Routing. Instead of working with a model tailored to the number of users, capacity is determined by the number of simultaneous calls the organization needs.
Therefore, 365 Phone Fixed is particularly suitable for organizations with larger user groups or predictable call flows. The solution is delivered as a managed service with a 36-month contract period, without investments in personal telephony infrastructure, and with a choice between call traffic based on actual usage or a prepaid model.
