Telviva launches Call2Teams, helping businesses add native voice enablement to their Microsoft Teams environment for up to 40% less cost than before.
With Microsoft 365 being one of the most widely used suites of productivity applications, it comes as no surprise that many local organisations who use this technology have turned to Microsoft Teams to enhance collaboration through workplace chat, video meetings and more. However, fewer than 5% of local Microsoft Teams users have voice enabled, meaning that businesses have to maintain a PBX system separately for traditional voice calls.
“While the emergence of digital has given people additional choice of channels when it comes to communicating, the reality is that employees still need to make phone calls. Having both a unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and a traditional phone system, along with a distributed workforce will eventually prove expensive and difficult for businesses,” says Rob Lith, Chief Commercial Officer at Telviva.
As a result, adding voice enablement to Microsoft Teams becomes a natural evolution. Traditionally, Microsoft Teams users could overcome this limitation by turning to the Microsoft Phone System, which would enable them to replace their existing PBX system with a set of features that are delivered from Microsoft. Then they would need to work with a provider offering Direct Routing to connect the Microsoft Phone System to the public switched telephone network.
Uptake has been slow, however: research from BMIT shows that out of the 1.3 million Microsoft Teams users locally, only about 51 000 have voice enabled. To help organisations cost-effectively bring together unified communications and traditional voice calling, Telviva has launched Call2Teams, an add-on that helps businesses cost-effectively connect their Microsoft Teams environment to Telviva’s phone system and allows employees to make and receive calls on any device using the Microsoft Teams app.
Telviva Call2Teams offers significant benefits for South African organisations, including an approximately 40% lower cost than a Microsoft Teams Phone System License, while providing them with a native calling experience that is enriched with Telviva’s Class 5 PBX features. Companies can further reduce licence fees by having a hybrid team of Teams and non-Teams users.
“Implementation is quick and simple with little customer training required as all voice calls remain within Microsoft Teams – which many users are already familiar with – and the service is also suited for office environments with the ability to include SIP handsets, headsets and boardroom phones,” says Lith.
Native Microsoft Teams voice enablement
Call2Teams is a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that sits between any Teams Phone, PBX or SIP Trunk and Microsoft Teams, and does not require any additional hardware or software. It is a true multi-tenant cloud service and is consumed on a per-user subscription.
Apart from providing businesses with the cost benefits, ease of use, scalability and compatibility that they are looking for, Call2Teams runs fully within Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, providing businesses with peace of mind around compliance as well as regulatory and privacy considerations.
By being native to Microsoft Teams, Telviva Call2Teams ensures native connectivity and Quality of Service attributes, native interaction with other Teams users, native ability to move devices with a Teams call, native Presence, and native call history and voicemail. Everything happens within Teams, and not in a third party application.
The service is currently available in two options: Call2Teams and Call2Teams Go.
Call2Teams (For organisations with MS365 licenses that include a Phone System license)
- A software-as-a-service solution that provides voice calling to and from any Microsoft Teams user from the Telviva PBX.
- Allows Microsoft Teams users to connect to the Telviva phone system via any device, whether it is an existing IP phone, browser, or softphone.
- Alternative to Direct Routing with full PBX functionality and low call rates.
Call2Teams Go (For organisations with M365 licenses that do not include a Phone System license)
- Add-on product for the service that enables end users to have a native voice experience in Microsoft Teams without needing to purchase additional phone system licenses.
- Full PBX functionality without requiring a phone system license, and with low call rates.
Enhance efficiency, and cut communications and license costs with voice enablement for your Microsoft Teams users. Contact us today.
