is the leader in Unified Communications with over 400,000 businesses using it daily for Inbound and Outbound Voice, Secure chat, Screen sharing, Conferencing, File sharing and more.
But the most overlooked feature in Teams is called DIRECT ROUTING.
It allows use of any Voice Carrier for inbound and outbound voice, saving a lot of money for the Enterprise and opening a stable revenue stream for Wholesale and Retail Carriers.
Teams officially unbundled voice services
Users can now choose Voice Service Providers for Teams voice traffic, enabling 50% savings on calling.
This feature is expected to stay permanent as Microsoft is fighting hard with #Slack and Facebook for Unified Communication and Collaboration markets.
Direct Routing also helps Microsoft to scale geographically faster by leveraging local Providers for phone network integration in 195 countries. As of today Microsoft Domestic Calling Plans are only available in 10 countries.
To enable Direct Routing Users need to be behind a certified SBC. Learn how to configure here.
Skype is the largest Voice Carrier servicing most international minutes than any other Provider. There was a significant pressure on traditional Voice Carriers since Skype, Whatsapp, Viber, Telegram and others took large chunk of voice traffic away from the phone network.
With Direct Routing local Phone Carriers and Voice Aggregators are getting second chance to compete for voice minutes and help Enterprises to save money on phone bills. Direct Routing is a revolutionary move that is a win-win for all parties: Microsoft, Voice Carriers and End-users.
It may be expected that other Collaboration Platforms will follow this example and unbundle voice from the rest of the offering. We will monitor the situation and inform our subscribers in our Newsletter.
March 2, 2023
Phone System 