Fuze is a globally recognised web conferencing and meeting solution provider founded in 2001. The company offers end-to-end UCaaS solutions built on the cloud. It has offices in the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, and several other regions to support its global customer base. Despite being an industry veteran, Fuze is at the forefront of meeting technology innovation. In 2020, it was named a Visionary in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for UCaaS. In the following year, it raised $13.9 million in fresh funding.
Fuze integrates with several communication and business platforms to drive a seamless UCaaS landscape, including Google, Salesforce, Five9, Zoho, and others. However, its Microsoft partnership deserves special mention – as Fuze connects with Teams, Dynamics, and Office 365 to enable a full-feature UCaaS solution utilising Microsoft components. In March 2021, Fuze announced a further enhancement that will allow Teams users to join Fuze meetings with just one click.
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The new Fuze app for Microsoft Teams was launched in 2020 to enable a seamless calling experience via Fuze without leaving the Teams interface. This was an upgrade to the two platforms’ interoperability – let us explore in more detail.
Inside Fuze for Microsoft Teams
Fuze is a highly popular cloud-based calling and meeting solution. You will need to download Fuze and subscribe to its services to be able to use the Teams integration. Currently, the Teams app can connect with Fuze calling and meeting products, not its other offerings.
If you are an existing Fuze customer, head to Microsoft AppSource and search for the Fuze app. Once you install it, you will be prompted to log in to your Fuze account and your Microsoft 365 account to get started. Remember that a Fuze enterprise subscription is a prerequisite for running the app. Here is a quick review of the app’s key features:
- The Fuze dial pad and directory – Once you download the Fuze app for Microsoft Teams, you can access the Fuze directory directly from the Teams interface. In fact, the app allows you to synchronise your Office 365 contacts with the Fuze directory so that you have a centralised repository of contact information. This information can be retrieved from the search bar under the Call tab in the Fuze app for Teams. Or, you can directly type in a number using the Fuze dial pad.
- The Fuze chatbot – You can chat with the Fuze bot from the Chat tab. The bot can understand simple commands for joining meetings or initiating a call. For instance, you can type in “join” followed by a Fuze meeting link to start a conversation directly. You can also type “call” followed by a user’s name or number, and the app will generate an actionable card where you can click to call.
- One-click call joining – This feature results from an interoperability enhancement announced by Fuze in March 2021. It enables Teams meetings to be directly launched from Fuze chat, in scenarios where Teams is mentioned as the meeting provider (read more about the functionality here). There’s also a new messaging extension that allows you to launch Fuze calls and meetings from an ongoing chat conversation on Teams.
- Access to Fuze direct routing – The Fuze app integration lets you choose Fuze as your direct routing partner instead of Microsoft Teams’ native direct routing capabilities. Companies with existing Fuze investments or those looking for a separate direct routing license – independent of their collaboration platform – can subscribe to Fuze.
- Integration with the Microsoft 365 Productivity Suite – Fuze is tightly integrated with the entire suite of Microsoft 365 products. Its directory syncs with Office 365, you can configure a Fuze popup in your Dynamics CRM, schedule a Fuze meeting from your Outlook or Teams calendar, preview OneDrive documents from Fuze Chat, and much more.
Why the Fuze App Makes a Difference
Fuze offers a highly intuitive calling and meeting experience, accessible via a chatbot, a channel tab, or a messaging extension. The company provides reliable calling services in more than 110 countries with an uptime of 99.999%.
What We Think
If you are a Teams user looking for a new but well-integrated video calling and meeting solution, Fuze is among the best alternatives. Plans start at £ 28 per user per month, including meeting and calling capabilities.
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