Reseller’s Guide to Teams Direct Routing Voice Solutions

Introduction

Discover the power of a business phone through Teams Direct Routing. Tap into this big market opportunity in the SME space with an all-in-one voice solution.

For partners looking to expand their voice offerings, the objective of this whitepaper is to provide answers and insights to help you determine if Teams Direct Routing is the right solution for your clients.

Teams as a Telephony Solution

As the main hub for collaboration within Office 365, a key component of Microsoft Teams is the ability to make or receive phone calls via its Phone System. There are two options to enable users to make, receive, and transfer calls to and from landlines and mobile phones: Microsoft Calling Plans and Teams Direct Routing.

Microsoft Calling Plans vs Teams Direct Routing

Previously the only solution for external calls within Teams, Microsoft Calling Plans are quite expensive and the coverage is limited (only 10 countries worldwide). With Direct Routing from Hosted Network, your clients can make and receive calls within Microsoft Teams without the need for calling plans or any on-premise equipment. What’s more, it provides global coverage and you only pay for what you need.

By using Hosted Network SIP Trunks to route calls over the internet, you experience full phone system capabilities which provide cost-effective, high-quality voice services — making Teams an even more powerful platform for collaboration and communication.

What Is Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams?

Direct Routing is a feature launched by Microsoft in June 2018, which enables customers to bring their own telecom services into the Microsoft Cloud for Microsoft Phone System in Teams. This allows businesses to make calls to the public telephone network through local, mobile and international numbers.

Direct Routing has generated buzz in the market because it provides a solution for organisations to leverage preferred telecom rates and take advantage of the many benefits of Microsoft Phone System with Teams.

What Are the Requirements for Teams Direct Routing?

• An Office 365 enterprise subscription (E1, E3 or E5).
• If you have E1 or E3, you will need the phone system add-on for each user (E5 already includes the phone system add-on).
• Audio Conferencing add-on for E1 or E3 users (audio conferencing can be found as part of the E5 license).
• Direct Routing compatible SIP Trunks (powered by Hosted Network).

Deploying Microsoft Teams Direct Routing

For businesses that have, or want to start embracing, cloud-based services, the partner-hosted scenario is the best approach. Teams Direct Routing works by combining the Microsoft Teams and Office 365 systems directly to the public telephone network (via a Hosted Network SIP Trunk) to enable local, national, mobile, and international calls.

Microsoft Teams Phone System

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Hosted Network SIP Trunk / Direct Routing

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Public Telephone Network

Is Teams Direct Routing for Your Customer?

Teams Direct Routing is designed for businesses using Microsoft Teams who are looking to further enhance their Teams collaboration with the ability to make calls to the public telephone network — replacing a traditional phone system in the process. If your client matches any of the following criteria, they might benefit from using this service:

An existing Microsoft Teams user

Any business already using Microsoft Teams as their primary mode of communication can easily transition to this platform. Partners can position Teams Direct Routing as an alternative to a separate PBX.

An existing Office 365 user

Not a Teams user yet but already have some form of Office 365? Many organisations don’t realise their Office 365 licensing may already include Microsoft Teams — so why not utilise something you already paid for?

Looking for cost efficiency and flexibility

As a one-stop communications platform, there’s no need for complex phone systems that can be more costly — especially for SMEs. Many businesses pay far more than they need to just to make and receive normal business calls.

In need of external support

Running your own business phone system may require an in-house expert that some clients simply don’t have. Hosted Network gives you detailed account management information to enable your clients to use the platform independently.

Why We Recommend Teams Direct Routing as a Business Phone System

Teams Direct Routing is a very elegant workaround to Microsoft phone system and calling plans, and is fully scalable from just a few users to tens of thousands. To further understand why it’s an ideal phone system for your customers, here are some of its known benefits and capabilities.

True Unified Communications

A true unified communications system with audio and video conferencing solutions done in one place — rather than multiple services or providers.

Hassle-Free Setup

Since it’s all done over the internet, Direct Routing doesn’t require a complicated on-premise phone system — saving you time and money.

Unlimited Calls

Unlimited Local, National and Mobile calls are included in our Teams Direct Routing plans. *Fair Usage Policy applies.

Carrier-Grade Reliability

Voice is one of the most important aspects of your clients’ business, which is why we operate a rock-solid carrier-grade environment.

Bring Your Own Numbers

Never have to change numbers again. We offer a full number porting service so you can keep your existing numbers.

Business Ready Features

Calling in Teams provides the calling features every organisation needs. Pair it with Direct Routing so your clients can easily make and receive calls.

*All phone system features and functionalities are managed and carried out by Microsoft Teams and are therefore subject to its current availability and updates.

Questions to Guide Your Customers

Now that we’ve covered the most important points to consider when offering Teams Direct Routing, here are some questions to help you guide your customers to make the right decision:

• How many phone systems are they currently managing, and how old are they?
• Are they utilising Office 365?
• Do they have multiple offices?
• Do they have remote workers?
• When are their telecom/SIP contracts up for renewal?
• Do they have an office move planned in the next 12 months?
• Do they have complex voice requirements? (e.g. analog devices, contact centre, fax)

With thorough consideration of the factors affecting your clients’ business, it’s possible to provide a comprehensive recommendation to cater to their needs. Our dedicated cloud and telco experts are happy to discuss this with you, and how to successfully deploy Teams Direct Routing to your customers.

About Hosted Network

Everything we do is based around building solutions for our partners to enable them to grow and succeed.

Starting off as a traditional MSP in 2003 and launching a number of direct to market cloud offerings, we quickly gained traction in the SMB market and were approached by a number of other MSPs asking if we could provide our services at a wholesale level.

We quickly realised a gap in the market for wholesale cloud services designed for MSPs to grow their service offering and reach new markets. In 2013, Hosted Network transitioned to an entirely channel-only model, working hand-in-hand with MSPs to grow their business and win new deals.

Since then, our success is credited to and driven by the success of our partners. This has led to us adopting a simple mantra of BUILD – GROW – SUCCEED. Building successful partnerships and solutions, growing together, succeeding together.