Microsoft 365 Business Voice – The future of telephony?

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam placerat eleifend ante, non mattis mauris malesuada sit amet. Duis a mattis elit. Suspendisse cursus nisi eget justo sodales pretium. Morbi nisi metus, sceleriVideo and voice calling over the internet are nothing new. However, with the sudden up-surge of remote working, a universal requirement for cloud telephony systems has undoubtedly been accelerated. Subsequently, the third part of our multi-facet series tackling issues with remote working will explore why and how your business should renounce its legacy phone system and adopt the future of telephony.

Back to Basics – What is Cloud Telephony?

Cloud telephony is essentially a form of internet-based communication – rather than storing the network and routing elements of your business phone on-site, cloud telephony takes everything off-site, meaning your data and phone systems are securely hosted on a server accessed via the internet. Utilising a third-party host for your communication needs allows businesses to leave their conventional phone systems behind in favour for a virtual alternative – one that is less expensive and time consuming to maintain.

Are you ready for the modern way of working?

Video conferencing and VoIP (internet telephony) have long been utilised by companies who have the budget and resources to deploy and manage cloud-based telephone systems, but for most SME’s, it has often been thought of as too big an investment – until last year’s launch of Microsoft 365 Business Voice.

Microsoft 365 Business Voice has been transforming business workflows since April 2020 – and the timing could not have been better. Firstly, there is an inevitable shift on the horizon for end of legacy phone systems for homes and businesses alike, following BT’s announcement of withdrawal from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) by December 2025. In addition, 2020’s inflation of remote workers due to COVID-19 has meant that for many businesses, their on-site phone systems are no longer sufficient for facilitating off-site workers in multiple locations.

Awareness of this imminent yet necessary shift to cloud telephony is vital for any business with a goal for continuity and growth.

Updating your systems in advance will allow you to avoid disruption, downtime and lost productivity – and, in our opinion, Microsoft 365 Business Voice is the most exciting and innovative solution on the market. Keep reading to find out why…

Why Microsoft 365 Business Voice?

Microsoft 365 Business Voice is ideal for SME’s of up to 300 users. With its launch, cloud-based telephony finally became easily accessible and affordable for every business of any size. Operating as one centralised communication hub, Business Voice integrates Microsoft Teams and Office 365 to streamline your business communications and technologies. The combination of key productivity tools alongside your contacts, calendar and email means that everything is at your fingertips as you work and collaborate with optimum efficiency – plus the integration with familiar Office 365 apps makes user adoption quick and easy.

Microsoft’s innovative cloud solution is both reliable and high quality, providing unmatched video and audio capabilities, and enhanced employee efficiency through innovative AI-powered technologies. The automatic transcribing of voicemails, meeting captions and chat translations both saves time and fosters productivity through the intelligent workflow automation.

The stand-out capability for us however, is the ultimate flexibility that Business Voice provides for your business. Calls, chats and meetings become a unified experience that can be conducted from any device, in any location – ideal for efficiently facilitating a remote workforce. Even more impressively, you can answer your office phone or any primary company number, from any device that supports Teams.

Whilst adopting the modern way of working is becoming increasingly popular, operating a physical desk phone still remains the preference for some employees. If it is the case that your company are reluctant to take calls on their PC’s, or use the mobile Teams app, then we would recommend investing in a physical desk phone that can still deliver a seamless Teams experience. Notable manufacturers for these include Poly and Yealink.

Overall:

In essence, the consolidation of all your communication and collaboration tools unquestionably saves your business time, resources and expenditure, whilst enabling unparalleled productivity, efficiency and flexibility.

Microsoft 365 Business Voice can be integrated into any Microsoft 365 subscription with Teams, and includes enterprise grade phone systems, built-in audio conferencing, and flexible calling plans. Implementation is quick and simple as you have the option to migrate your existing phone numbers, and at such an affordable price, it’s hardly surprising that it’s the market leading telephony solution for SME’s. More details can be found here.

Why 10-100?

As a Microsoft Gold Partner based in Milton Keynes, our team of cloud specialists can guide you through the implementation process with minimal disruption to your business. Effective adoption is key for business continuity which is why it is always worth outsourcing the experts to provide actionable guidance and continued support throughout.

If you would like to discover more on how we can assist with transforming your business operations through cutting-edge cloud technology, get in touch with one of our team today.