1. What method of bringing voice into Teams are businesses demanding most?
Richard McPhee, Solutions Director at Gamma: “While we do see initial enquiries for a specific enablement method, it’s usually because the customer has been reading about it or has been advised it may be the best option to explore.
“Currently, we are seeing a good balance of enquiries for enablement methods. This is because the market is beginning to acknowledge Operator Connect as a preferred option, but Direct Routing is still very popular and commonly requested.
“However, it’s worth mentioning how initial enquiries can often change after a thorough conversation with the provider.
“We’ve often seen how, after discussing business requirements with our experts, most customers are open to selecting the enablement method that we recommend to achieve their goals.
“With Gamma’s in-house skills, knowledge and capabilities, we are able to focus on choosing the right enablement method to deliver the right outcome for any specific business scenario and need.”
Andy Elliot, VP Marketing at AudioCodes: “Businesses can choose from Direct Routing, Operator Connect and Microsoft Calling Plans.
“For most enterprise customers, Direct Routing via a Microsoft certified SBC is still the primary method of connecting Teams to voice, as it enables them to integrate Teams with their existing operator services and PBX equipment.
“This is especially the case for large, multi-site and multi-national enterprises with more complex voice networks, disparate PBXs and a need to connect legacy analogue devices.
“We are seeing a shift in demand from end customers towards Direct Routing as a service in a subscription-based per user per month model. It’s cloud-based, easier to consume and scalable.
“In parallel, we see increased interest in Operator Connect from service providers to help them simplify onboarding and multi-tenant management.
“In both cases, they are reassured by the fact that the services are underpinned by AudioCodes market-leading SBCs.”
Mark Bunnell, Chief Operating Officer at NUWAVE: “Cloud voice migration options for DR and OC are being sought out the most today.
“The Market is no longer looking for on-prem voice solutions except for specific exceptions required for LBR in regulated regions such as India.
“Operator Connect is gaining traction over Direct routing where offered, but at a slower pace than anticipated due to lack of current providers being onboarded to the program and making it hard for existing contract carrying enterprises to migrate to the newer Microsoft OC program.
“NUWAVE anticipates this will change rapidly in the coming months as more Carriers are enabled with NUWAVE’s Operator Connect Accelerator (OCA) offering as part of Microsoft’s new launch this month.
“OCA will certainly change the market landscape as it solves for Carriers being able to onboard quickly to OC, as well as quickly enabling GTM and scale for these carriers.”
2. How has Operator Connect changed the Teams voice landscape? Will it become the most popular method?
Richard McPhee, Solutions Director at Gamma:
“Operator Connect has changed the landscape by setting a minimum level of service that a customer should expect from their Teams Telephony provider.
“Following the pandemic, with low barriers to entry, the Direct Routing provider space became extremely crowded.
“This meant that any business trying to enable telephony on Teams ended up swamped with mixed messaging and choice of varying service capabilities. This led to inconsistent advice, support packages and, in the worst cases, poor service.
“Operator Connect provides a Microsoft validated programme that ensures the providers have at least a minimum capability to provide customers with the level of service they will expect.
“For this reason, it’s becoming a starting point for customers and will soon become the standard way of consuming Microsoft Telephony over time.
“However, as mentioned above, when a business has specific use cases or scenarios that require it, Direct Routing still has a role to play in the Teams voice landscape.”
Andy Elliot, VP Marketing at AudioCodes: “Operator Connect makes it very easy for service providers to provide voice connectivity for Microsoft Teams and equally easy for businesses to connect Teams to their preferred operator directly from the Teams admin centre.
