What is Microsoft Teams Calling?

Teams Calling (officially Microsoft Teams Phone) is the add-on that turns Microsoft Teams from a chat and video tool into a full telephone system. Your team can make and receive calls to and from the outside world, on regular 01, 02 and mobile numbers, entirely inside the Teams app they already use.

Each user gets their own direct dial number, calls can transfer, hold and route the way a phone system routes them, and the same conversation can move between a laptop, a mobile and a desk phone.

There are two ingredients. The first is licensing: a Teams Phone licence for each user who makes calls, on top of your Microsoft 365 subscription. The second is connectivity: something has to connect Teams to the public phone network so it can place real calls.

That connection comes in a few flavours, generally described as Operator Connect, direct routing or Microsoft calling plans. Which one suits you depends on your existing contracts, where your numbers sit today and how much you want to manage yourself. This is the part a telecoms partner should advise on, because the wrong choice is expensive to unwind.

Teams Calling does not require desk phones, but many people want them. Teams-certified desk handsets and cordless phones are available, and in reception, warehouse and meeting-room situations a physical handset is usually the better answer than a softphone.

The network also needs a look before rollout. Calls now share your internet connection with everything else, so the usual VoIP checks apply: enough capacity, traffic prioritisation on the router and sensible WiFi coverage. Getting this right first is what stops the complaints.

Teams Calling makes the most sense for businesses already living in Microsoft 365, especially those with remote or hybrid staff, because one app carries chat, meetings, files and now the phone. It removes the separate phone system, and with it a separate support relationship.

It is not automatically the cheapest option for every business, and it is not the only way to modernise. If most of your team is on the shop floor rather than in Office, a hosted phone system with cordless handsets may fit better. A short review of how your people actually work settles the question.