Microsoft recently announced it would release a series of cost-effective IP phones, seemingly providing a line of direct competition for the companies that typically develop hardware for Microsoft. This includes the likes of Poly, AudioCodes, and Yealink. But the major difference between what Microsoft’s introduced to the market is that the devices come equipped with physical buttons, rather than a touchscreen display, making them less sophisticated for users.
This separates these devices from what would be direct competitors with companies like AudioCodes – but it does provide a cheaper alternative, that might entice some companies to go with Microsoft-developed devices, over third-party, more advanced offerings, depending on the use case, that is. I asked Mohamed Alaa Saayed, ICT Industry Director, Frost & Sullivan, why he thought the collaboration giant went through all the trouble of developing a single user interface (UI) across all certified Teams endpoints only to intro support for third-party basic endpoints? He told me:
“While the user experience of Microsoft-certified phones will continue to exceed the experience of standard open SIP phones – the move doesn’t surprise me”
He continued, adding in a statement, Microsoft-certified phone shipments are relatively modest when compared to other Microsoft-certified devices such as speakers and headsets in the first place. Would this anger the Poly and Yealink? Saayed shared, he thinks both vendors might actually enjoy the extended support now offered by Microsoft.
Microsoft’s new affordable Teams IP and USB phones will extend a faster route to adopting Microsoft Teams for smaller businesses that wish to gain the power that Microsoft Teams can unleash within an organization – but they can achieve that on a reduced budget. The devices look like a basic desk phone and come equipped with a handset and dialpad, along with a screen where users can scroll through relevant information. There’s even a dedicated Teams button, although the USB solution doesn’t have a dedicated network connection.
The perk, in the end, is affordability, and ease of access for those looking to migrate to the Microsoft Teams environment via a simple-to-operate dialpad and a Microsoft Teams modern user interface, with a modest screen. He does not suppose that this will provide ‘any actual competition’ for Poly and Yealink, because both vendors are leading names in the open SIP phone space, adding:
“At the end of the day, customers who still want a superior UI will go with Microsoft-certified phones, while there are now alternatives for those who only need phones for core calling”
Zeus Kerravala, Founder and Principal Analyst, ZK Research, told me in a recent interview, the phones, will be good for Microsoft Teams users. “Microsoft needs some lower-cost phones; because customers buy a wide range of them.” He also believes SMBs will enjoy the offering, adding: “Even larger companies want lower-cost phones for lobbies, temporary workspaces, etc. For SMBs, the current set prices them out of the needs of many customers.”
It shows that Microsoft is starting to understand the market a bit better, he continued. “It seemed like Microsoft thought all companies wanted to work like Microsoft, but that isn’t the case.” Until recently, Kerravala added, Microsoft has mainly focused on knowledge workers. If the company wants to become a mainstream telephony vendor – it needs to think more broadly, and this is a solid start.” In an email statement, a Microsoft spokesperson told me about the availability:
“Support for SIP phones will be available in the first half of 2021; Microsoft Teams phones will be available in early 2021; USB phones will be available in late 2020”
Microsoft Teams has seen an abrupt rise in user adoption and a crossover into the consumer world with the release of a customer-facing version of Teams back in April. That version of Microsoft Teams is available via two SKUs including a “Personal” package for $6.99 each month and a “Family” plan for $9.99 per month. Microsoft Teams’ family service includes support for up to six individuals.
Last reporting 75 million daily active users as of May, I reached out to Microsoft to see if the company had any up-to-date usage figures and a spokesperson told me the company did not have any new figures to share at this time. This got me to thinking, was this because of the anti-trust complaint filed against the collaboration giant by Slack which stated Microsoft was padding its user figures? Slack CEO, Stewart Butterfield, maintains that Microsoft’s figures were ‘a little bit misleading what they’re measuring.’ What he means, is that ‘Teams’ works in conjunction with other popular Microsoft products.
For years now, the two have gone head-to-head, with Slack doing most of the provocation. Tensions reached new heights on July 22, when Slack announced that it had filed a complaint against the Microsoft Corporation before the European Commission. In the official complaint, Slack alleges that Microsoft has ‘illegally’ padded its numbers to diminish any real competition. How is the collaboration giant alleged to have done so? Slack says that Microsoft’s ‘unfairly’ paired Microsoft Teams with its Microsoft 365 cloud-based productivity suite. Under European law, this could put Microsoft in breach of fair competition practices – if found to be liable.
Microsoft launched a ton of other new products and offerings at its annual Ignite conference, and we brought to you reporting the week of the event. This year, Microsoft Ignite took place online due to the risky nature of gathering in large numbers as a result of the novel Coronavirus. Most recently, Microsoft said it would enable Survivable Branch Appliance for Teams – soon available via resellers and partners on a global scale. Using SBA, PSTN connections can keep business telephony up-and-running if Office 365 or your internet connection goes down.
There’s a lot going on in the enterprise collaboration space and all of the major players have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, since the start of the novel Coronavirus. For the most part, these companies aren’t suffering, and have seen upticks in traffic as well as contributed to several years of digital transformation in less than a single calendar year, which is pretty impressive if you ask me, considering no one even knew what unified communications was at the beginning of 2020, other than the folks who work in the industry.
