As a communications technology consultant, I see many client projects each year. The biggest trend I have seen is the move to Microsoft Teams as a telephony/UCaaS solution. I am working on or completed 4 Microsoft Teams deployments with clients this year. There are many lessons learned which I will share here. I hope this helps you as you as you embark on this journey.
This question has been considered in every telephony project I have worked on in the last three years. A better question might be why not Microsoft Teams? Eighty percent of all Office 365 users also use Teams. There are approximately 320 million Microsoft Teams users across 81 markets using 44 different languages. Microsoft Office Suite is widely recognized as business software globally, so why not use it for voice communications too? Many organizations use Teams for voice because they are already using it for collaboration. Seems like a good fit, right? In my humble opinion, use a cautious approach to your Teams voice decision.
There was a huge adoption of Microsoft Teams during the pandemic. It was already an application in the Microsoft Office Suite, so many organizations began using it because it was easily accessible. Back then, we wanted to see each other. The video conferencing feature of the platform was widely utilized. Over time, I found that people would start a video call and keep their cameras turned off. So, unless you were screen sharing, it was essentially a telephone call. The cost was/is competitive with other Ucaas solutions in the market at $8 per license per month. However, once you add the $15 per user per month fee for the Microsoft calling plan, it ends up being slightly more expensive.
As of April 1, 2024, Microsoft touts 99/999% (or five 9s) availability. This was interesting news because Microsoft had previously been notorious for its services’ extended outages. Those from the “PBX” world lived and died by 99.999% availability. The definition is a system that will experience downtime of no more than 5 minutes and 15 seconds per year – or available 99.999% of the time. PBXs were so robust, that five 9s availability was the gold standard. Before April 2024, Microsoft got a lot of bad press for their outages. My colleague, Melissa Swartz, wrote a great article about the new Microsoft SLA and how to get credits during outages, I highly recommend you read it so you understand what the terms of the SLA are.
Many of my clients want to see data analytics of their calls. They would like to view metrics so they can better understand the types of calls they receive and other actionable related data. Microsoft was not known for its Teams phone analytics. They provided minimal information. However, this has improved of late, but they recommend putting the data they provide into Power BI, so there are additional steps to seeing your information. I have come across many companies that have developed tools and dashboards for data analytics. There are some very good ones out there and they are worth considering.
Many cloud-based telephony solutions include call recording as an embedded feature. Microsoft offers this feature as well – but be sure to consider where the calls will be stored and how much storage needed. (Teams stores call recordings in OneDrive.) If your organization has compliance regulatory requirements like GDPR, HIPAA, FINRA, or PCI-DSS, a third-party recording solution is recommended.
If you are moving from a telephony solution (on-premise or cloud) make sure your user information is accurate. Recently, I had a client moving to Teams from an on-premise solution. When they were collecting user station information, they found a lot of telephones built into their legacy system that were no longer needed or in use. It took some time for them to review the information in the legacy system to make sure they were not moving unnecessary devices.
The quality of your data will relate to the time needed to build your database going forward. This also includes updating your active directory and any LEC service such as PRIs, SIP trunks, pots lines, etc. I find that a lot of time is spent cleaning these items up. This is very important to do and may reduce the number of licenses you need and save you money in the process.
Dovetailing on the item above regarding good information, the types of devices attached to your solution are super important to understand. Microsoft has specifically approved devices that work with Teams. These devices included Session Border Controllers, analog gateways, paging systems, etc.
In a recent implementation, we were unable to get paging systems, external ringers, and buzzers to work. They were legacy solutions that the client had not intended to replace at the time. We are still working towards getting these devices to work but may need to get adapters, adjust settings, and even replace equipment. These were unplanned expenses for the client.
Teams is a successful, widely used collaboration solution. However, it is important to understand your organization’s needs, what is necessary to fulfill those requirements, and if you have the right information to meet these challenges. Updating your data and understanding your applications and devices will make your implementation go smoothly. Having a dialogue with end users and their needs will go a long way in meeting your goals. An experienced communications technology consultant can help you navigate what is needed for a successful implementation. They can bring their experiences to your organization so you will have a great deployment experience.
Denise Munro is writing on behalf of the SCTC, a premier professional organization for independent consultants. Our consultant members are leaders in the industry, able to provide best of breed professional services in a wide array of technologies. Every consultant member commits annually to a strict Code of Ethics, ensuring they work for the client benefit only and do not receive financial compensation from vendors and service providers.
