Teams Calling Services: Some Assembly Required

• Teams can be enhanced to support phone audio conferencing for meetings and phone calling capabilities that can replace traditional phone systems.
• Adding either or both capabilities to Teams requires additional services beyond what is included in existing Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites.
• Organizations should understand the options available and how they interact to effectively plan a deployment of Teams calling features.
• Choices will depend primarily on the capabilities needed and whether a customer wants Microsoft or a third party to provide phone network connectivity.

Microsoft Teams supports calling capabilities that can allow organizations to reduce their on-premises phone system infrastructure and improve support for remote or highly mobile employees. However, adding calling services to Teams to support phone audio in meetings, phone calling capabilities, or both, requires the use of multiple services and, particularly for phone calling, involves deciding between multiple service options. There is no Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suite offered that includes all services and costs needed for calling services, and certain services may not be available to customers in all regions. Organizations should carefully evaluate the combination of services that compose a telephony solution, such as specific services needed, potential integration with on-premises phone systems, and which public switched telephone network (PSTN) provider best serves their geographic region and budget requirements.