The astonishing rise in usage rates for Microsoft Teams continues. It was back in January that Microsoft announced it had reached 270 million monthly active users (MAU), and there is every reason to believe that the momentum of adoption has continued since then.
It made a lot of sense then for Pridis to release a native Teams version of its Connecsy Cloud attendant console this summer. It’s a move that’s been very well-received, as Caspar Hendriks, Director Global Sales and partnerships at the company, told UC Today.
“A lot of organisations had been asking for it [the native client] for Teams because they have been struggling with adapt to the hybrid working environment. Microsoft Teams as has seen really high rates of adoption in the in the business world – I’d estimate that around 90% of companies are using Teams – not exclusively perhaps, but alongside other UC tools. These users will still be getting incoming calls though, and if you want to manage that properly, you need something that brings all UC platforms together.”
Multi-platform
This is where the Connecsy Cloud attendant console comes in. It sits on top of the UC platforms and gives the attendant full visibility of all activity, so they can see when someone is engaged in a meeting, or just on a call. It works with RingCentral, Intermedia (which was recently named Best Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) Solution Provider in the annual UC Awards) Avaya Cloud Office and a number of other popular telephony and collaboration platforms.
With native Teams support as well now, it’s ideal for larger organisations (50-plus users) using of multiple UC platforms and also continue to manage incoming calls through a central number – as many still do. Indeed, having such a capability is essential in a contact or a service centre – and users or agents may also have access to Teams in these environments as well.
“A lot of people adopted Teams while they were working from home. As they return to the office, businesses want to continue working with these new tools, but need to bridge the gap between these solutions and the systems that are still in place and still being used. Combining the two is a mammoth challenge. It can be quite disturbing when you’re in a Teams meeting, for example, and your desk phone keeps ringing. But if the receptionist knows that you’re busy, they can inform the person that’s trying to reach you, and you don’t get that disruption.”
A better experience
The result is a better user experience and more effective use of working time. With Connecsy Cloud, the attendant has the visibility they need to make sure every user – whether they are working in the office or at home, or remotely – can make optimum use of UC platforms and their own time.
Pridis has had a really positive response to the launch of the native Teams version of Connecsy Cloud – from customers and also from service providers, and from partners with a traditional telephony background, and those that focus on IT. Hendriks said that partners are now starting to understand the benefits of a solution that can bridge that gap between the old and the new, and it’s here that he sees really big potential for them – whatever their background or focus – with Connecsy Cloud.
Partner potential
“In the past, integrators have been sort of stuck in a kind of battle between traditional telephony and the cloud – but IT partners who got involved in providing telephony often found that it was more complex than they initially thought.
“Now that more [customer] organisations are now starting to move to the cloud, and we have the native Teams client of Connecsy Cloud, the telephony can be just another component of the IT applications stack.”
There are opportunities for ‘traditional’ telecom resellers and integrators as well, he stressed. “Pridis can support partners with professional services on Teams and work with them and their customers to make sure that Connecsy fully integrates with existing systems. For us it is all about building a connection and making sure that the old works seamlessly with the new.”
