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The world of business telephony is changing rapidly. The highly advanced and innovative ways of modern communication have made copper wires and physical connections absolute.
A cloud PBX is s business phone system hosted entirely on the server’s off-site data centers and powered by the internet. It provides all the features of a traditional desk phone at a much lower cost and additional functionalities.
Cloud PBX is the rising star of business telephony. It offers the same reliability and functionality as that of a legacy telephone system. Besides, the cloud-based technology provides many advanced features not available or accessible in traditional telephone systems.
Many organizations chose Microsoft Teams as their preferred collaboration and communication tool during the Pandemic. The Microsoft Phone System is offering such organizations a consistent calling experience by allowing employees to make calls while working remotely from anywhere to everywhere.
Microsoft Teams offers a cloud-based Private Branch Exchange (PBX) to the organization empowering employees to communicate internally using the existing phone network. By connecting PBX to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), employees are enabled to make external PSTN calling.
As Microsoft Teams offers a PBX system hosted in the cloud, there is no need to install and manage expensive hardware on-premise. Besides, direct integration of Microsoft Teams with Microsoft 365 or Office 365, allows employees to make calls directly from teams, desktop phones, mobile devices, or a PC.
Organizations interested to use Microsoft Teams cloud PBX system for business telephony must possess an active Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription. Adding Calling Plans or Direct Routing method to this subscription enables the use of Microsoft Phone Systems. Additionally, if required advanced licenses for audio PSTN conferencing, toll-free numbers, and advanced calling features can also be added to the same subscription.
Although Microsoft made some significant feature improvements in Teams, it has smartly partnered with many solution providers to expand Teams calling capability and service offerings.
A simple Microsoft Teams license plays a pivotal part in connecting your teammates through the Teams interface. In addition to that, the telephony functionality in Office 365 will allow you to access the immense benefits of cloud-based PBX or virtual phone systems to connect VoIP calls with existing PSTN.
During COVID-19 Pandemic many employees are working from home and are unable to access their desk phones. By linking your PBX systems with Microsoft Teams, your employees can make VoIP phone calls and connect with the PSTN infrastructure remotely using the device of their choice.
By enabling unified communication with Microsoft Teams, you do have the option to use your existing phones saving additional investments. However, if you have SIP phones, then you need to accommodate these phones with proper Microsoft Teams Phone integration. You can either add Teams-Certified hardware (phones, headsets, etc.). Else you can seek assistance from EPC Group to use existing hardware.
Cloud PBX along with Microsoft Teams can always be at the center of business Cloud PBX along with Microsoft Teams can always be at the center of business communication. Acting as a unified communications solution, virtual phone systems in Microsoft Teams have the potential to replace your existing business telephony.
Here are some of the advanced calling features you get through the cloud PBX phone system,
Cloud auto-attendant: Automate menu systems to transfer internal calls to the right desk. Dial by name using a keypad or speech recognition helps callers to reach employee extension.
Call queues: Put a call on hold automatically until you find someone free to respond. Access different call routing methods such as attendant routing, round-robin, serial routing, or longest idle.
Call overflow and timeout: Automatically disconnect or route calls to the other queue once a specific queue reaches its limits of maximum calls. Else, redirect the waiting callers to voicemail.
Cloud voicemail: Allow users to securely access their voice messages. Deliver voicemails to inboxes as audio attachments. Configure greetings, set call answering rules, leverage out-of-office settings, and more.
Call parking and retrieval: Pace a call on hold seamlessly and retrieve it by generating a unique code. It allows device switching or allowing other users to continue the call.
Caller ID: Get to know the identity of the caller as the system displays employee names, photos, job titles, and more. External callers are identified using a directory and information provided by the phone service provider.
Video calling: Make face-to-face video calls or conference calls from any device having a camera, speakers, and a microphone.
Calling Analytics: access call and per-user calling analytics from within the Microsoft Teams. Access call quality dashboard to monitor and maintain call quality.
If you are still stuck with the legacy phone system and want to explore the possibilities of cloud communications, EPC Group is there to help. They will provide a full set of managed services for Microsoft Teams including Cloud PBX.
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