Contraste now manages all its telephone calls via the Microsoft Teams solution. This expertise is also available to our customers.

Over the past year, Microsoft Teams has become the number one tool for communicating with colleagues. But what about communication with the outside world ?

In order to have a fully integrated workspace, Contraste took the plunge and integrated the management of external calls into Teams : all fixed lines were transferred to Microsoft's cloud telephony service. Contraste is thus moving towards fully unified and integrated communication. A project that was completed in just a few weeks with significant benefits.

This project is an opportunity to share our experience, and the key points of a solution that our consultants also propose to implement for customers.

Teams-based telephony : fully integrated communications

In our offices in Brussels, Namur and Liège, all calls now arrive directly in the Teams application. Thanks to the phone system, it is now possible to receive and send calls from and to fixed lines or mobile phones directly from a PC.

The organisation of the call reception does not lose in quality. Just like a traditional telephone line or VoIP, Teams allows to manage a cascading call flow.

The call can be transferred from the receptionist to one or more other workstations if the receptionist is busy. Connection to a voice mailbox is also provided. A call menu can also be configured to direct callers. For call centres, integration with other solutions is possible to provide additional functionality such as call queue management.

It is important to know that Teams does not require to give up on physical devices. Indeed, for receptionists, or on industrial sites, habits can be maintained with modern touch-screen landline phones.

The advantages of telephony on Teams

The migration to Teams telephony clearly responds to the current needs in terms of mobility and flexibility. The increasing quality of the Internet network nowadays really leaves room for its use for telephony services.

  • Mobility and pragmatism

Some departments, such as Human Resources, Administration or Sales, are still regular users of fixed lines, alongside smartphones of course. This project responds to current needs in terms of mobility. Our employees all work from home, between 30 and 100% of the time. With Teams, the telephony follows the employee.

  • A single tool for internal and external collaboration

Thanks to this new system, it is no longer necessary to worry about diverting calls, for example to a mobile phone. For employees, it is very simple : one single platform for all communications, completely independent of the device used: PC, tablet or smartphone. This means that your company has a single tool for internal and external communication and collaboration.

  • Significant cost reduction

Teams telephony also guarantees a significant reduction in costs. Indeed, by replacing the price of a monthly rental of a VoIP system by a Teams license, we note a reduction in overall costs related to telephony of about 30 to 40%. In addition, the Teams business model benefits from the advantages inherent in the cloud : no long-term commitment and the flexibility to respond to needs and changes almost instantaneously.

A project completed in just a few weeks

For a company already equipped with Teams, the implementation of the telephony solution can be very quick.

After having listed the numbers to be kept and the needs of the users in terms of subscription formulas (national, international...), this information is simply provided to Microsoft and a date is defined for the switchover to the new system. It is also a question of defining call cascades in Teams. This competence can be transferred to the customer's IT team to manage the changes independently.

The switchover to Teams phone system takes place without any service interruption. All numbers are already assigned before the day and the call cascade is already set up.

Conclusion

Microsoft Teams phone system is a resolutely modern approach. It responds to needs in terms of agility, mobility and integration. Nevertheless, many companies are still wondering about its ability to cover all their telephony services.

How do I ensure user adoption ? Should all my company's sites be switched over to the new system at the same time ? What are the points of attention in this type of project? Can this system be used by any type of company, regardless of size or industry?

Talk to us. We will answer your questions !