How Microsoft Teams Can Replace Legacy Phone Systems

22 May 2024

As with anything in the modern workplace, the way we communicate is rapidly evolving. With new technologies constantly on the rise and existing technologies, such as the internet, becoming more and more advanced, there’s no question that the old ways are now obsolete.

Microsoft Teams is one of these innovations. It takes advantage of the benefits of online communications to help organisations find new ways to bolster connection, collaboration, and community. Teams Phone is their answer to the now archaic telephone system, the modern solution to an age-old problem.

This blog will review the ins and outs of Microsoft Teams Phone and how Teams Phone can completely replace legacy telephony. We’ll also show you what you can do to make the switch and how we can help you get started today.

What is Microsoft Teams Phone?

Microsoft Teams Phone is Microsoft’s solution to the problem of a modern telephone solution. Gone are the days of relying on unreliable telephone lines and finicky internet calling solutions. Teams Phone is an all-in-one service that lets you seamlessly integrate your work calling with Microsoft Teams.

With Teams Phone, you get the flexibility of both a legacy telephone system and an internet calling system. This means that your communication capabilities are far more robust than otherwise. Furthermore, Microsoft Teams Phone consistently delivers high quality and can provide critical telephoning features such as voicemail and auto attendants.

Teams Phone is also incredibly secure. It uses the Microsoft Teams infrastructure to ensure that your privacy remains intact and leverages the power of modern internet encryption to keep your data safe and secure. These are part of an existing ecosystem that already works wonders for collaboration and communication within organisations worldwide.

Microsoft Teams Phone has a few different plans and offerings to consider —

Teams Phone Standard: This is the standard Teams Phone package, including cloud-based telephoning, voice and video calls, and seamless call transfer between devices.
Teams Phone with Domestic Calling: If you need to be able to call phone numbers domestically using traditional telephone services, Teams Phone with Domestic Calling allows you to do that.
Teams Essentials and Teams Phone Bundles: This bundle combines Microsoft Teams Phone with Microsoft Teams, giving unlimited meetings, messaging, file sharing, and many more ways to bolster communication within your organisation.

Teams Phone vs. Legacy Phone Systems

Simply put, Teams Phone is a much better way of calling within your organisation than a legacy phone system. But in what ways does Microsoft Teams Phone shine?

Here are some of the critical benefits Microsoft Teams Phone has over traditional phone systems —

Unified Communications and Collaboration: Unified communications are vital to the modern workplace, and no other system is better for this than Microsoft Teams. Teams Phone integrates seamlessly into the Teams ecosystem, meaning you can have a readily available unified communications solution that makes workflow and collaboration far easier.
Access Anywhere, anytime: Legacy phone systems are tied to your organisation’s setup, making it challenging to communicate freely. Teams Phone utilises the cloud, leveraging powerful technology available anywhere and anytime to let you communicate wherever and whenever you need to.
Cost Savings: Rather than using traditional phone systems, Teams Phone leverages the 365 model, which means that it’s focused on value for money. Legacy phone systems may be more expensive and require dedicated phone lines to work effectively.
Scalability and Flexibility: The cloud’s flexibility makes it incredibly easy to scale your Teams Phone implementation as your organisation grows. Doing this with a legacy phone system would be an expensive endeavour, as you would constantly need to upgrade your line and hardware to meet your growth needs.
Security and Modernisation: The cloud is perfect for the ever-evolving nature of a modern business. Where legacy phone systems might be expensive to upgrade and packed with vulnerabilities, cloud platforms like Teams Phone are constantly being developed to meet the needs of the modern business world.

How To Make the Switch

Switching from your existing legacy phone systems to Teams Phone is a simple process, but some key considerations must be made to ensure your success.

Evaluation: The first step is to evaluate your current setup and understand what features and functionalities you need to prepare to decide how you want to implement Teams Phone into your business.
Planning and Preparation: Using your evaluation, you can plan and prepare to ensure that your organisation is ready to implement Teams Phone. This means working out what licenses you need and anything else you might need for your implementation.
Implementation and Transfer: Implementing Teams Phone into your organisation is a multi-step process. In addition to ensuring that the installed software is implemented correctly, you must port over your numbers from your legacy systems to Teams and ensure that your SIP devices are configured correctly to allow traffic for Microsoft Teams Phone to work.

While the process isn’t difficult, for those who are unsure, reaching out to a provider for help is the best way to ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible.

How We Can Help

Microsoft Teams Phone is the future of telephone communication. It allows you to use the flexibility of the cloud and other Teams features, as well as the robust nature of a traditional phone system, for a fraction of the cost.

If you’re looking to start with Microsoft Teams Phone but don’t know where to start, contact us today. Our experts are here to help. They will ensure that your Microsoft Teams Phone implementation is set up successfully, ensuring that your organisation prospers in the future.

Get in touch with us now and see how we can help.