Considering that more than half of the workforce engages in some remote work, it is evident that our dependency on different forms of communication technology is greater than ever. If your company uses Microsoft Teams or is contemplating a migration to Teams, Direct Routing is now an important item you need to know about. With Direct Routing, you can augment the Teams advantages you currently enjoy. In addition to improving the Teams platform, this will make everyone from users and customers to higher management delighted. Even your remote teams will appreciate it after deploying. A Direct Routing Provider can facilitate your business to implement this perk. So, let's explore our Microsoft Teams Direct Routing solution and how it can help your business. 

Empower Remote Teams 

Direct Routing is a way for Teams users to connect to the PSTN, the Public Switched Telephone Network. It basically lets Teams act as your business phone system or PBX, so you never have to worry about being away from your desk phone. At the organisational level, the benefits of Direct Routing are clear: more flexibility, more productivity, and more cost savings. But the effects on each employee vary. Want to choose the best option the first time? Here are five characteristics to look for in a Direct Routing provider. These are all prerequisites that TOS has met:

1. Experience - Choose a provider like TOS with extensive experience and a proven track record in deploying Direct Routing solutions.
2. Compatibility - Ensure the provider's solution is compatible with your existing telephony infrastructure and Microsoft Teams. 
3. Reliability - Look for a provider that offers a highly-available and redundant solution to ensure consistent call quality.
4. Support - Choose a provider that offers comprehensive support and expert technical assistance for any issues that may arise.
5. Flexibility - Select a provider that offers flexible pricing and scalability options, allowing you to easily add or remove users as needed.

The benefits

There are many advantages to adding calling to your Teams platform, like Microsoft Teams Direct Routing. Also, there are benefits to doing this through a proficient Direct Routing Provider. Let's look at each scenario of Microsoft Teams Direct Routing Benefits.

Benefits of including calling in Teams

When businesses add calling capabilities to Microsoft Teams, they can experience several substantial benefits that can enhance many areas.

1. Increased productivity: 

This seems like a no-brainer, but it becomes a true unified communications tool when you add the ability to make and receive calls from outside Teams. Your employees can use it to work together and talk to customers, business partners, and each other. For example, an employee working with a partner can respond to a message, share a file, and follow up with a phone call—all in the same place. This means that you'll waste less time when you switch between tools.

2. Improved mobility:

With Direct Routing, Teams becomes a cloud-based phone service that can be used from any device with the Teams app. So that workers can make calls to the outside world from different devices, no matter if they are at the business, working from home, or out in the field. Another benefit for your customers is that they don't have to be physically connected to an on-site PBX or given business-issued cell phones to make and receive calls outside the company.

3. Better customer experience

Your customers will also benefit from the better user experience you give to your employees. Staff can answer customer questions better if they can take calls from outside, anywhere, on any device, without switching between apps. Customers or partners who already talk to your business through Teams in other ways (chat, file sharing, etc.) will find the calling feature even more useful.

Benefits of Direct Routing

So you're sure that adding calling to your Microsoft Teams environment will improve it. The next step is to choose between Direct Routing and Microsoft Calling Plans. Direct Routing is the best choice because it has several advantages:

4. Tailored services

Teams becomes a light-touch PBX with Microsoft Calling Plans, but don't expect any custom calling features. If, for example, you want your contact centre agents to be able to manage calls from within Teams, you should look into Direct Routing providers. A Direct Routing Provider like TOS can deploy SIP Trunk features like number portability, international numbers, and Myriad within Teams.

5. Cost savings

The prices for Direct Routing are about the same as those for Microsoft's Calling Plans. Also, Microsoft Calling Plans give each user a certain number of minutes per month. If all of a user's minutes are used up, you'll have to "top up. With a Direct Routing provider (like TOS), calling plans are set per user on the client's comfort, but users share their minutes. So it's a good balance when your new leader makes calls all day, and your Data Entry Assistant hasn't made a call in a month.

6. High reliability/availability

Direct Routing creates a connection between the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and teams using Session Border Controllers (SBCs) and a SIP Trunk platform. Choose a service provider with a solid history of delivering SIP Trunking services (i.e. one that has maintained 100% uptime). You will have the guarantee of high availability and dependability. It is an essential factor to consider, particularly if you run a company that is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and any interruptions in your calling plan may significantly negatively affect your operations.

7. Expert support

An Experienced Direct Routing provider offers step-by-step performance management, taking care of every aspect of the Direct Routing solution. You can expect them to handle everything from setting up the solution, hosting it, and giving you access to PSTN to providing on-going support, monitoring, and billing. You can leave the logistics to your provider if you want to switch from your onsite PBX, Skype for Business, or a fully functional Microsoft Teams to go with your business phone system. It means that you can rely on experts, no matter how hard the transition is.

How to unlock the benefits

Microsoft Teams Direct Routing promises a number of benefits. But it's important to remember that you can only get those benefits if you use the right provider. Even though there are a lot of people who offer this service, not all of them are the same. Several companies only provide Session Border Controllers (SBCs) to connect to the PSTN. You need a solution that includes both SBCs and a SIP Trunking platform. Others supply the solution by combining services and software with partners. It implies that if anything goes wrong or if you wish to make adjustments, assistance will be slower and more arduous due to operational complexity. At TECHOM Systems, we offer you all of the above benefits and beyond. Choose us to get the end-to-end solution and fully maintains it. We are committed to enhancing the technical experience of our clients and ensuring that information technology is suitably linked with the needs of the company. Started buying the best solutions now from the leading Direct Routing Provider Australia, TOS. Set-up calling to your Teams platform without giving up on cost or features.  Call  +61 3 9005 6868 or email hello@techomsystems.com.au to get in touch with TOS Microsoft solutions consulting experts.