Microsoft Teams Introduces Location-Based Routing

Compliance makes connectivity rock solid

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Microsoft Teams Location Based Routing
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Published: April 3, 2019

Rob Scott

Rob Scott

Publisher

Microsoft is clearly on an updating spree, looking to extend and enhance its premier communication offering, Microsoft Teams. Consider the case for December; from the third-part app support of Trello, Q, and Disco to new IT admin management tools, Microsoft Teams was gradually transforming itself into a smarter, faster, and all-encompassing connectivity & collaboration engine. Among these feature upgrades, one that stood out (as of critical importance to larger organisations or companies spread across many locations) was Location-Based Routing.

What is Location-Based Routing? In its simplest sense, Location-Based Routing helps you stay in-line with local/regional regulations by letting you restrict the routing of calls between VoIP endpoints and PSTN endpoints, as per location.

Let’s now dig into the details of this useful new addition:

A quick overview

In many countries and regions, bypassing the Public Switched Telephone Network or PSTN in order to decrease long-distance calling costs, for businesses, is considered illegal. This is where Microsoft comes in, with its handy new feature ready to address such scenarios.

Location-Based Routing uses the same network site, region, and subnet definitions that Skype for Business servers use. When the toll bypass is restricted, an admin links each IP subnet and each PSTN gateway for that location, to a network site. The user’s location is determined by the IP subnet which the user’s Teams endpoints are connected to, at the time of a PSTN call. A user may have multiple Teams clients at various sites – in the event of which, Location-Based Routing each client’s routing separately, based on where the endpoint is situated.

Applying Location-Based Routing

You can apply Location-Based Routing to your network sites in action and to the PSTN gateways in use. Remember, Location-Based Routing is applicable for users who are actioning direct routing and not for users who are set up for a Calling Plan. If your employees live in a region under the toll bypass restriction, it’s critical to ensure that Location-Based Routing is implemented.

A Final Word

As Microsoft Teams builds its portfolio of capabilities and consistently looks at new geographies for penetration, compliance with regional laws and protocols will continue to become more and more important. This is why the deceptively diminutive Location-Based Routing feature is such an integral element to the new Teams’ toolbox, enabling adherence to local requirements. It is also among the many elements that are required of any globally accepted platform for communication.

At a time where concerns around security, compliance, and protocol maintenance are steadily growing, the Location-Based Routing feature will only boost Teams’ wider usage and popularity.

Let us know what you think about Location-Based Routing in the comments below.

 

Microsoft TeamsSecurity and Compliance
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