In the early days of mobile the most popular form of communication was the text message (SMS) but through the evolution of the smartphone and chat applications, texting has been diluted by other forms of communication.
However, businesses have latched on to texting because it provides a common way of communicating with customers that is ubiquitous and very easy to use. Thanks to this, SMS has become a popular method for providing support, verifying identity and communicating information to customers.
With the dramatic increase in use of Microsoft Teams in businesses, it is increasingly valuable to be able to allow business users to access all chats, calls, documents and other workplace tools in their Teams apps, clients and browsers. Otherwise, managing messaging strategy can become an arduous task, using siloed platforms away from the day-to-day collaboration platforms. With TeamMate SMS you can now integrate your business texting/SMS directly into Microsoft Teams.
Feature list
- Send and receive SMS messages from Teams.
- Teams Activity Feed: Incoming SMS messages have equal footing with all other Teams Notifications
- Create a Teams Application for SMS that aligns with your business’ brand
- Automated multi-level provisioning
- No additional Microsoft licensing required
- Administration: business can manage and retain their users text/SMS communications
SMS Connector
The TeamMate SMS Connector allows businesses to manage SMS messages into and out of Microsoft Teams to individuals or groups of Teams users. Texting is available where-ever Teams is used – mobile, laptop, tablet, or browser. The SMS Connector uses both native Microsoft integration tools and a rich end-user texting portal to optimize the experience in Teams.
Professionals can send and receive SMS’, search their message history, and review group message threads. This is all done from a customized Teams Application that inserts a Teams bot and a Teams message connector within easy reach in the Teams interface.
TeamMate Technology Managing Director, Micah Singer said that the integration of SMS into Teams is a logical step, given the popularity of Teams and end-user demand for messaging consolidation.
“There are, more or less, two ways business use SMS: it’s either conversational, such as in customer support or where two or more people are involved or it’s an automated part of a workflow like multi-factor authentication.”
“The conversational business texting for support, information, or just convenience fits well with communication to a Teams user. This is another example of making it easier for a business user to manage all of the tools and communications they need to be efficient and productive”
For the Partners
While allowing business users to text from within Teams, the TeamMate SMS Connector is a solution intended to be sold by service providers who are bundling communication services for their business customers. Service providers have a business texting strategy which is growing to include Microsoft Teams as a logical point of integration.
“Within our TeamMate portal, service providers can manage PBX connections into Teams, SIP Trunk connections into Teams and now, SMS connections into Teams” said Singer.
“We are expanding our integrations to provide a one-stop-shop for communication service providers when they consider their Microsoft Teams strategy. The technology we build is really useful as our partners stay current with the types of integration to Microsoft Teams that business users are now demanding.”
