The rise and the advancement of the internet have changed how small businesses communicate with employees and customers. Live chat systems and email are the new messaging platforms that everyone in the business sector has switched to.
These instant messaging applications have been gaining massive popularity in the past few years. It is no surprise as they are convenient, time-saving, and cost-effective. Despite that, phone systems remain unbeatable as they ensure direct and immediate contact among remote workers and potential customers, of course. They are considered the lifeblood of business communication for a reason.
Whether you want to streamline or take your business telephone systems to the next level, Office 365 and Microsoft Teams Phone can make a big difference.
Overview About Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a collaboration platform designed with file sharing, chat, video, and voice features. Like other productivity suites, Teams had a hard time making a name in the market.
But in 2020, during the start and peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, everything changed. Its customer base skyrocketed to a whopping 20 and 44 million users from the last quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020. According to recent surveys, it reached up to 75 million by April, surpassing the customer base of Zoom.
According to Aternity, Microsoft Teams has experienced around 894% of growth from March to June. Reports say more than 500,000 organizations of all sizes use Teams as their top favorite messaging platform.
What is Microsoft Phone System?
For almost five years of being in the business, the Microsoft phone system has proven to provide flexibility for employees to communicate with one another while traveling or even working remotely.
Despite that, a lot of people are still confused about what a Microsoft phone system is. Simply, it is a Private Branch Exchange that is cloud-hosted. That means it allows employees to communicate internally via the organizations’ own network. That’s not all! People using Teams phone system can make external calls, especially when connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN Calling).
But do businesses need to install or manage costly and high-end hardware? No, that’s not necessary as the Teams PBX system is already deployed in the cloud. With the integration of Office 365 and Microsoft 365, employees can not only make but also receive calls through MS Teams from whatever device they use. It could be from their mobile phone, personal computer, or desktop phone.
What Are the Features of the Microsoft Teams Phone System?
Well, there are a lot. Some of them are highlighted below:
Automatic Attendants
Before, it’s complicated to create menu systems. Everything changed today. With Microsoft Teams, you can have one with ease. Thanks to automatic attendants. Why should you develop automated menu systems, though? You can use that to transfer any incoming calls to every department or employee in your organization.
Analytics
Another popular feature of Teams is call quality dashboard and per-user call analytics. How do they work? They are developed to monitor and even improve communication performance throughout a small business.
Call Queues
Maybe, you have heard about call queues. What are they? Call queues put calls on hold automatically. But it does not stop there. Call queues search for employees who can respond to a call right away. Users can pick from the longest idle, attendant routing, serial routing, and round robin.
Video Conferencing
As the name implies, you can start or receive video conferences and calls with mobile phones, computers, and other devices with cameras, microphones, and speakers. It is extremely convenient, isn’t it?
Cloud Voicemail
Years ago, we needed to produce different copies of a document before sending them to other people.
But now, with Microsoft Teams, that is not extremely necessary. Its cloud voicemail, in particular, helps people deliver any type of information to other’s email inboxes in the form of an audio attachment. There is also a text transcription they can read.
Why Should You Invest in Microsoft Teams as a PBX System for Small Business?
Admit it or not, you are skeptical whether to switch to the Microsoft Teams PBX system for small businesses. It’s all right, and it is part of the process. Plus, you are not alone because other organizations are in the same situation.
Here are the reasons businesses across industries have been moving to Teams IP-PBX phone system since 2016:
The Communication is Unified
Internal communication can play a critical role in the success of an organization. With Unified Communication, there will be fewer misunderstandings between employees, more collaboration, better business results, stronger employee satisfaction, and higher worker engagement.
While it seems as easy as it sounds, it is the opposite in reality. In fact, establishing and scaling up communication in a business is tricky, time-consuming, and resource-intensive. If your business is thriving, it is now time to level up your phone system. When you have been searching for a Unified communication phone system provider without a good result, there is no need to look further than Microsoft Teams.
What makes it apart from the rest? Well, the communication is unified. That means you can make external phone calls from the same interface and dashboard. Aside from the phone calls, employees can conduct meetings, chat with others, and share files from a single place. Yes, there is no need to log into other platforms for other tasks.
It is seamless, comfortable, and stress-free, isn’t it?
Cut Costs While Increasing Business Profits
Traditional telephone systems can cause small businesses a big fortune. The hardware, like an IP-PBX phone system, is resource-intensive and expensive. Since the equipment is proprietary to telecoms, it is impossible to repurpose your PBX.
Non-conventional business phone systems require internal copper wiring to carry enough phone signals. Every desk in the office needs a dedicated wire. Imagine you relocate your business to another place. This could lead to other serious and unexpected costs in the future.
The installation of a traditional IP-PBX phone system is also not free unless you know how to set it up yourself. And you could save some cash from the installation. But although you have prior experience, nothing can beat the services of a qualified and capable professional.
Once the business phone systems are installed, remember that the hardware quality does not last for years. After some time, it may develop problems requiring maintenance, repair, and replacement. This indicates another cost. If you total the expenses of the traditional IP-PBX kit, wiring, installation, and maintenance, that would be a lot.
Is there a way to cut costs? Of course! A modern and high-end PBX system like Microsoft Teams can come into play. There is no need to purchase hardware as everything is available on the cloud. Any copper wiring is no longer vital as you can enable the phone system without them.
Also Read
How much does the Microsoft Teams cost?
Compared to other business phone services, the Teams PBX system has pricing plans that every small business can highly afford. But it depends on the system you want to incorporate into your organization.
While a cloud business phone system is included in the MS Office 365 in the E5 level, the E1 and E3 are different. For those who want to add the PBX in the E1 and E3, you have to pay another $8. Sometimes, it is higher or lower than that. For domestic calling, it’s $12. For international calling, it’s $24. But this pricing is only available for the basic default package.
What will happen when you exceed the maximum usage? You have to buy additional credits. Remember, there is no standard rate that applies to all. It varies from state to state.
Level Up Employee Efficiency and Productivity
There are multiple factors that can impact people’s productivity in the workplace. These may include workplace stress, lack of sense of belonging, toxic workplace behavior, damaged organizational structure, and poor management.
Let us not forget that poor communication may also affect employee efficiency. A survey participated by 403 executives in the US revealed that inefficient communication in any work setting leads to 52% high-stress level, 18% lost sales, 44% delayed project completion, 25% missed performance objectives, and 31% low organization morale.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, businesses lose $100,000 or &999,000 because of low employee productivity.
When running a small business, you possibly have done everything you could to take communication to new heights in your operation. What if nothing works? That’s frustrating. What are you going to do now? Microsoft Teams as a PBX system got you covered. It is a multipurpose solution developed for conducting video meetings, sharing documents, and messaging people instantly.
Imagine how many hours your department could save with Teams. That’s probably a lot. As a result, they could focus on what matters the most. They can get their projects done ahead of time without compromising quality. They can also stay focused, leading to better employee job satisfaction and happiness.
It is also good news that other organizations are already using a collaboration platform. But they ended up less productive because they still need other applications to use. On the other hand, Microsoft Teams has everything a business requires.
It is Easier to Manage
Businesses are used to the traditional IP-PBX phone system. So, some may not consider turning to something non-conventional and modern. Why is that? It’s because some organizations are afraid that cloud telephony would take time to learn, understand, and administer.
But that is not the case with Microsoft Teams. As a PBX system for small businesses, MS Teams is relatively straightforward to use and manage. It is not as complex as everyone thinks. It might be hard for first-timers. You will get used to it as time goes on. What makes MS Teams user-friendly and easy to navigate? The interface is centralized. That means the IT department in your organization would not encounter some trouble adding, managing, or even removing users within a minute or two.
For that reason, your IT staff will not spend too much effort on maintaining telephony equipment. They can specifically focus on the most urgent tasks instead.
Incorporate Microsoft Teams PBX System Into Your Small Business Now!
As a business owner, you want your operation to be as smooth as possible. But things will not go as you planned. Maybe, a department or some employees in your organization miss out on something important.
This could be the result of miscommunication, which is a serious concern for businesses of all sizes. This is where Microsoft Teams PBX system can make communication within a business to the next level. Unlike the traditional IP-PBX, MS Teams does not require costly hardware, so you could save a big sum of money in the long run.
What are you waiting for? Transform your business into something that you dream of with the PBX system from Teams! Find a reputable phone service provider today!
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