Microsoft Teams calling plans: How Masergy can save you money

There’s a reason over 100 million people use Microsoft Teams for enterprise collaboration. The solution pulls together all Office 365 apps into one place for quick and easy access with the ability to chat, video conference, and more—anywhere, using any device. But what really takes the solution to the next level is that it can also operate as a cloud-based business phone system. As your corporate telephony service, Teams enables organizations that use an on-premises PBX to move seamlessly to a full digital workplace where users have one application experience for all their collaboration needs.

Consider these advantages:

• Employees can make and receive PSTN phone calls from Teams, Outlook, or any mobile device — wherever they happen to be and with all the traditional calling features they need (i.e., do not disturb, reverse number lookup, voicemail).
• For IT admins, there’s no more communications sprawl, no more on-site system maintenance.
• IT departments can get a smooth migration from the system they currently use and leverage SIP trunking to move to cloud at their own pace (more on that below).
• There’s even the ability to connect the calling platform to your favorite contact center systems so both your front office and back office groups are standardized on the same calling platform.

These benefits are huge considering the explosion of “work from anywhere.” We have never experienced change at this scale and pace before, and the Microsoft Teams calling options are answering today’s business needs. But using Teams as your phone is only part of the puzzle. Companies need to step up pristine communications with network performance and security working hand-in-hand, regardless of where users are located. Teams capabilities are now more advanced than ever, and yet the pressure is on IT to make it all work consistently across the globe and within the budget requirements.

This is where Masergy can help.

We bring to the table Masergy Calling for Microsoft Teams, a cost-effective direct routing solution that:

• Gives you a full-featured business phone service in 25 countries
• Charges you only for the concurrent call paths you use
• Offers industry-leading availability with on-demand service controls

In fact, Masergy Calling for Microsoft Teams reduced UC costs by 40% for one manufacturer.

A global PSTN service that saves money

Using Microsoft Teams as your company’s new telephony system requires a PSTN service, which gives you two options. First you can purchase the Microsoft Teams Calling Plan direct from Microsoft or you can opt for the alternative — a Direct Routing option. This is where Masergy comes in. Our cloud-based direct routing service delivers on what matters most – communications speed, call quality, system performance, and network security – while actually saving on calling plans.

Here’s what makes Masergy Calling for Microsoft Teams a no-brainer:

• Reduced costs: Masergy’s service is a direct routing connection with a “pay-for-what-you-use” plan. This way, you can right-size your service, deploying and paying for only the concurrent call paths you need.
• Cloud-based, globally available PSTN: Masergy’s PSTN is delivered 100% from the cloud for the highest IT agility, providing voice services, SIP trunking, and local in-country calling in 25 countries.
• Improved call quality: Masergy is a four-time visionary in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Network Services Global, and our private software-defined network was built for high-performing VoIP and video services on a global scale.
• Deep performance analytics: Detailed analytics are available in Masergy’s UCaaS Analyst dashboard, which provides visibility into configurations that indicate service level quality and performance. Network optimization analytics are in one easy management portal, with real-time visibility and on-demand controls for both voice quality and SD-WAN.
• Less administrative work: Get a fully managed service including 24/7 performance monitoring and real-time analytics in one portal.

Over 80% of businesses plan to maintain a partial or hybrid remote work structure after the pandemic. “Work from anywhere” is a movement, not a moment. If you’re looking to expand the use of Microsoft Teams as your business phone system, it’s crucial that you optimize your move to ensure the best call quality, communications speed, system performance, and network visibility and security. Your future of work will depend on it.

Learn more about Masergy Calling for Microsoft Teams.

You can also check out our latest white paper from Nemertes Research, which digs deeper into the technical specifics and best practices for migrating to Microsoft Teams.