It is a fast-paced world. Many companies have work groups located in numerous geographic regions that are highly project oriented and interface frequently. The personnel in these groups can be diverse in their ability to interface with sophisticated applications, and for most, the easier to use, the better. Voice is often required feature.

Upon doing thorough research across the industry, many of these companies have chosen Microsoft TEAMS for their platform. There are potentially stronger platforms but TEAMS is more widely known and has a significant install base. Should you want to explore an even better fitting platform, Savvy can construct an alternative with added functionality in the integration.

For companies engaged in teams, the have a platform which includes a teams/channels communication board infrastructure, chat features, document storage, online video calling, online meetings and full telephony. For additional licensing, it also can provide audio conferencing.

Here are 7 key points to consider in choosing it as your platform:

1. 1. Leverage an existing platform to avoid application exhaustion
      By leveraging a popular platform, a large portion of your users will start with some existing familiarity. This also can reduce license cost duplication. Does that mean in should be Microsoft TEAMS? Let’s look at the numbers. For many of our enterprise clients, one of their primary solution suites is Microsoft’s Office Productivity suite, including Microsoft TEAMS. In March of 2020 there were 44 million unique daily users of TEAMS. In April of 2020 there were 75 million unique daily users of TEAMS. Latest stats are claiming 145M active unique daily users. That makes Microsoft TEAMS the most widely adopted application IN THE WORLD
   2. Do you have strict Service Level Agreement standards?
      Microsoft TEAMS does not offer an uptime SLA except on desk phones. There are no advanced call routing capabilities, call recording or contact center features. If you require these features, you can leverage a third-party provider and their methods to integrate these functions into your Microsoft TEAMS voice experience.
   3. Do you need E-Fax capabilities?
      This is another feature that Microsoft TEAMS does not provide, but third-party providers can implement for you.
   4. Consider Direct Routing within a third-party enhancement option
      Direct Routing leverages the third party global SIP provider’s voice network (such as NTT or Lumen) but delivers the call into the TEAMS application. With Direct Routing, the provider is hosting the Session Border Controller or SBC in their network to connect to the Microsoft TEAMS cloud. A Session Border Controller (SBC) is the function which secures the voice over IP (VoIP) process while providing interworking between otherwise incompatible messaging structures and media flow from applications servers or end user devices. The Direct Routing provider’s solution includes the calling plan, domestic or global. Direct Routing can be purchased stand-alone, or with a Unified Communications ‘seat’ if additional capabilities or a better SLA for availability are needed.
   5. Do you require an embedded dialer?
      An embedded dialer makes your user experience much more efficient. Often, they do not have to switch windows to make outbound calls or to look up phone numbers. Microsoft has made this application addition available to third party developers, and so, you can have this enhancement integrated into your solution.
   6. Will you be utilizing chat bots to make your call center more efficient?
      If you deploy chatbots to interact with customers and provide commonly asked for information, they can be integrated into your Microsoft TEAMS voice solution. In the BOT integration, you type an action into TEAMS which then launches a separate soft phone or video application.
   7. Evaluate your down-time and disaster recovery requirements
      If you select Microsoft Voice or the Direct Routing no UC seat option, when TEAMS is down, your enterprise voice is also down. If history is our guide, Microsoft may experience 4-5 multi-hour outages this year. Conversely, if you choose to enable Voice in TEAMS via Direct Routing with UC seats, Embedded Dialer, or BOT integration, you are not dependent on TEAMS uptime for voice. Your users can have the UC application on their desktops or mobile phones in addition to having it available in TEAMS. When TEAMS is down, voice calls can continue to be made and received. If voice is important to your organization, these integrations may offer a better Disaster Recovery strategy.Microsoft TEAMS is the most used application in the world, and that may be a motivating factor for your company. You likely will need to take advantage of the many Unified Communications partners in the technology ecosystem, however. The integration of the required applications can be problematic without outside help. That is why SAVVY exists.
      We will help you navigate this digital and voice transformation journey. We mix your big picture needs and requirements with our astute attention to details and manage your voice vendor assessment, engagement, and implementation to ensure the best fit and your highest value.

Savvy Technologies provides game-changing Technology solutions that transform the way a business performs and operates into the future. Through big picture thinking and a relentless attention to detail, Savvy manages each step of the vendor selection process to ensure the best fit and highest value solution is selected and implemented. When you win, we win!