Microsoft Teams Calling: turning Teams into your phone system

The three ways to add calling

• Microsoft Calling Plans: minutes bought directly from Microsoft. Simplest, but usually the most expensive at scale and less flexible on numbers.
• Operator Connect: a partner carrier connects into Teams through the admin centre. Quick to deploy, carrier-provided numbers and support.
• Direct Routing: a session border controller links your chosen carrier to Teams. Most flexible and usually the best value, and it supports analogue devices and complex routing.

Licensing you'll need

Users need a Microsoft 365 licence that includes Teams plus a Teams Phone licence. Calling minutes then come either from Microsoft or from your carrier depending on the route above. Common resource accounts for auto attendants and call queues also need licensing — budget for these, they're easy to miss.

What Teams does and doesn't do well

• Strong: presence, chat-to-call, mobile and desktop parity, meeting integration, simple queues and attendants
• Weaker out of the box: advanced contact centre reporting, wallboards, complex IVR, compliance recording — all available, but usually through add-ons
• Analogue devices such as door entry and lift lines need an adapter and a Direct Routing setup

Getting call quality right

Teams calling is only as good as the network beneath it. Prioritise Teams media traffic, avoid routing it through a VPN, use certified headsets and check the Teams admin call quality dashboard after go-live rather than waiting for complaints.