The communication stack has been evolving for some time now. All business leaders know they need to enable consistent, unified communication within the workforce to ensure continued productivity. However, as trends like hybrid and remote work have taken over the landscape, bridging the gaps between distributed staff members has grown more complex.
As a result, companies have been rapidly shifting towards complete communication and collaboration tools, built to connect staff in an evolving digital workspace. At the forefront of this movement, is Microsoft Teams, the all-in-one collaborative ecosystem for hybrid work.
Recently, I sat down with Rufus Grig, the Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at Kerv, to discuss his insights into the growing impact of Teams, and the challenges companies face bringing telephony into the Teams landscape. Watch our conversation here.
Why Teams? The Enduring Impact of Microsoft Teams
Teams is far from the only solution for unified communication and collaboration in today’s market, but it has rapidly become one of the top competitors in the space. Currently, the platform boasts over 280 million users – a growing number of which are relying on Teams as a complete UCaaS service.
While Microsoft might not have the most comprehensive calling solutions built-in to the Teams system, it does offer companies the opportunity to implement their own solutions, through Direct Routing and Operator Connect. But, why are so many companies leveraging this route, rather than simply considering another provider? According to Grig, there are many reasons.
Perhaps most significantly, Microsoft 365 already has a strong place in the technology ecosystem for many companies. Even before Teams, countless organizations were using Microsoft’s productivity, Business Intelligence, and cloud-based tools to manage day-to-day tasks. The ability to build a UCaaS system onto that existing landscape represents an excellent opportunity for brands.
With Teams, companies have a chance to expand the functionality available for their teams, without having to deal with numerous vendors and distributed tools. What’s more, Teams provides companies with the opportunity to leverage a range of communication features, from video, to voice, messaging, and file sharing, all in one user-friendly space.
As Grig told me: “I think it’s pretty natural that companies would want to take the tool they’re already using for various other communication mediums and implement a telephony platform as well.”
The Challenges of Voice-Enabling Microsoft Teams
Leveraging Microsoft Teams for telephony might be the popular choice in today’s world, but it’s not without its challenges. For companies unable to access the functionality they need from Microsoft Teams calling plans, accessing voice services means exploring a range of workaround options.
For many companies, the issue starts with the disconnect between the IT and Telecoms landscape. While these two environments regularly overlap, managing IT tools is often a little different from dealing with standard communication systems. Bringing Teams and telephony together means figuring out how to leverage all of the right telephony features, within a platform not primarily built for voice conversations.
As Grig noted, “The telephony platform within Teams is amazing, particularly when you consider how quickly Microsoft got it up and running. However, it does miss many of the mature features more established telephony platforms can offer. Users still need to figure out workarounds for dealing with hunt groups, and diverting calls. It’s a little clunky in places.”
Programming and scripting professionals might have no problem working with PowerShell to bring their communications systems up to scratch, but not every company has access to this technical knowledge. For SMBs, the best option is typically to find a vendor who can handle the technical components on their behalf, with direct routing. Direct routing offers companies the opportunity to bring a more advanced telephony provider into Teams, with minimal effort.
However, it does require business leaders to find the right partner, capable of simplifying the path to Teams-based voice.
What to Look for in a Teams Voice Partner
Finding the right Teams voice partner can be a complex endeavour for some companies. There are a lot of points to consider. First, business leaders need to ensure they’re working with a vendor who can offer enterprise-grade telephony that integrates seamlessly with Teams. It’s important to have a service that works naturally, within Teams, regardless of whether users are accessing the platform from a Mac, PC, or mobile device.
User experience is essential to not only improving employee engagement and performance, but ensuring global adoption of the right tools. At the same time, the right Teams voice provider can’t just offer access to basic voice. Many companies need access to more advanced features, such as the ability to record calls in a compliant manner, manage administration from a single portal, and unlock new features with ease. Some of the other core factors businesses need to think about include:
- Availability: Unexpected downtime with a phone system can easily lead to serious problems for businesses. The best solution will ensure even if MS Teams goes down, companies can continue to make and receive calls crucial to their brand.
- Extendibility: As more business interactions continue to take place in Teams, companies need to think about what’s next for their technology stack. A vendor capable of offering contact center solutions, help desk and service integrations could be crucial.
- Analytics and insights: In any environment, businesses need to be able to monitor what’s going on with their communications. Insights into call performance, productivity, and other essential metrics can help businesses take the next step in their transformation journey.
How Kerv Helps its Customers
Kerv, one of the leaders in Microsoft Teams direct routing services for voice, helps businesses to unlock the power of telephony within their Teams instance, with reduced effort. The company not only provides exceptional enterprise-level telephony, but also the opportunity to get started quickly and easily, with automatic PowerShell scripting that removes the need for an SBC.
Kerv offers, through its Voxivo4Teams solution, companies access to convenient implementation guidance and support to get them up and running quickly, and offers a supervisor portal where users can make changes in a couple of clicks. Plus, they ensure business leaders can leverage all the functionality they need in one space, from PBX features, to hunt groups, IVRs, and compliant recordings.
Learn more about how Kerv is bridging the gap between Teams and telephony here.
