Microsoft and Telstra are joining forces to offer the next-level in native voice calling with their brand-new system Telstra Calling for Office 365. This unique cloud-based voice solution uses the Office 365 network and Telstra technology to allow customers to securely tap into all the benefits of cloud collaboration features combined with voice infrastructure. The Telstra calling plans are supported natively in both Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business.
Latest Microsoft Teams News
Already, the companies have seen significant interest in the product, with over 200 customers jumping into a Beta program during the last 6 months. What’s more, there are 30 partners and customers participating in early-adopter programs to discover how they can benefit from moving voice services into the cloud environment.
Supporting a New Way to Work
As the nature of the average workforce continues to change, the Telstra Calling for Office 365 service allows employees to enjoy a more flexible way of working. According to the Executive Director of Global Products for Telstra, Michelle Bendschneider, today’s workers want to connect with each other through a range of mediums, but they don’t want to have to deal with complexity of disconnected systems.
Now that Telstra is searching for new ways to help customers connect, they believe that Telstra Calling for Office 365 will bring a fuller scope of Office 365 cloud productivity and collaboration into the mix, alongside the security and performance customers expect from Telstra. Telstra and Microsoft hope that by working together, they’ll be able to minimise the need to switch between disparate channels in the communication environment.
The Telstra Calling for Office 365 Model
The Telstra package works on a model where customers purchase their Office 365 subscription from Microsoft, then purchase their user minutes and numbers from Telstra. There’s no need for any on-premises hardware and this plan is unique as it is a brand-new model for Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business portfolio.
There are currently three plans available for customers to choose from, including Standard calling for $8 per user, per month, in which the user pays for their system per minute, and “Essentials” calling, for $14 per user, per month, where users can enjoy unlimited national and local calling. The premium plan for $18 per month per user features unlimited national, and local calls, and calls to mobiles within Australia.
Extra Support from Telstra
Aside from all the convenience, you might expect from a Microsoft Office 365 experience, every package also comes with various forms of support from Telstra. Users can enjoy consulting services with user training and adoption, voice health checking, and annual call performance analytics.
While the support schemes aren’t fully defined yet, they’re very compelling, as they aren’t the kind of help you would typically get from Microsoft when purchasing PSTN calling plans. According to press releases, companies will simply choose one plan across all users, and they can dive straight into their new calling system in no time.
