VOIP, Teams, and what to do going forward

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jediatzinger

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  • #1
    I'll try and be as brief as possible (my apologies).

    In 2010 I started working for a company as their sole IT in-house person. I'm a Windows Systems Administrator, but can bring up routers, switches, etc. I know a fair bit of the networking stack, but only out of necessity. When I arrived the phone system was something I wasn't used to (but liked). There were two networks (voice & data). I guess the consultant prior to my employment didn't know how to create VLANs or segment traffic and instead created two stand-alone networks. If I needed a desk phone for a new employee I ordered one from a sales rep and they'd drop ship them preconfigured ready to go. All I had to do is provide internet access and they'd just work.

    Fast forward several years that company has been bought 3x and is now a nightmare to deal with. I have little support from them and only recently learned who to contact if I need to replace a phone or setup a new one.

    We are moving later in the year and I really want to take the time to get the phone system in a better place.

    During the lockdown and WFH I deployed Microsoft Teams and we have really been using it and everyone likes it.

    Is it feasible to eliminate "desk phones" and instead move to some form of a "soft phone" via Teams?

    Our head of accounting wants to eliminate the desk phones and provide mobile numbers, etc. I've said repeatedly that's a bad idea (mainly because I don't want sales reps calling my mobile. Currently they call my desk phone and it emails me their voicemail). If someone calls my mobile I know to answer it. I don't want all of the noise so I use my desk phone as a "filter".

    I'd open to any suggestions, recommendations, etc.
     
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    Nulls

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  • #3
    As long as you are using the Team's client on your computer then you can use any PC headset or headphone/mic to answer calls from your PC.

    My recommendation would be to look at replacing desk phones to using the PC teams client with a headset.

    That would eliminate desk phones and would keep a separate office/mobile number.

    You can use the Teams mobile app on your mobile phone as a soft client to answer team calls from your mobile device if you want to do that too.
     
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    sryan2k1

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  • #5
    ~600 person org here, in the process of migrating to Teams Phone system to replace an aging CUCM setup. We've been piloting it for a bit over a year and are 3/4 of the way through deploying it to our whole org.

    A few things we've learned along the way (in no particular order)
    • People complain about losing desk phones, but once they're gone nobody misses them. Buy high quality USB wireless headsets for everyone (Jabra, Yealink, etc)
    • Conference rooms can be tricky. We have had very good luck with Poly C60's but they are not cheap.
    • Teams physical phones are universally dumpster fires and should be avoided at all costs. We have at least 1 of pretty much every model that exists. They all suck. The best we've found so far is an audiocodes C455HD for common area use
    • Microsoft isn't the carrier for their own calling plans (They outsource it to Bandwidth in the US), this means any PSTN issues are nearly impossible to solve as you can't talk to the phone people directly.
    • OperatorConnect is the new hotness. We're very happy with CallTower so far.
    • Be wary of anything else you have that is analog or SIP as they won't be supported
    • We moved all faxing to an eFax provider (Concord, in our case) and that's been equally awesome.
    • Native call queues / auto attendants are extremely basic. If you need any advanced features at all you'll need to pay for a 3rd party like Tendfor (which we do)
    • CallTower specifically allows you to SMS enable landline numbers (for a fee), if that would benefit your business.
    • DirectRouting is old hat and should not be used for new deployments (unless you're absolutely massive and are bringing your own trunks)

    No real issues so far though, we've had nearly no complaints about it and our users love the ability to call from their work number while mobile.
     
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    Andrewcw

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  • #6
    I think Teams may work for you if you're shifting everything at once. But before the switch. I'd just get a number and try out the system before you do a full commit.

    As for Physical phones.
    sryan2k1 said:
    • Teams physical phones are universally dumpster fires and should be avoided at all costs. We have at least 1 of pretty much every model that exists. They all suck. The best we've found so far is an audiocodes C455HD for common area use
    Click to expand...

    Business Desk Phones with Displays | Teams devices

    Take and make calls from devices certified for use with Teams, including intuitive screens and controls to enhance the Teams calling experience. Select a phone or display with a camera option to take your next Teams video call.
    www.microsoft.com

    Even the USB ones? Because they're just a glorified speaker and microphone with number pad.

    I can see all the direct to network ones looks like it all requires them to be maintained with "Hopeful" updates which may or may not be why you say it's a dumpster fire. Like its an android phone that has the teams client installed. But unlike a sip phone. So much more can go wrong with a Microsoft update.
     
    Frennzy

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  • #9
    For WFH/remote, Jabra hockey pucks.
    For in office, Jabra headphone/mic combos.

    They cost less than a desk phone, and are far more comfortable and reliable. (even if you don't follow that brand).

    I've had a Jabra 410 hockeypuck for, 10 years now? And it still is the single best non-touch device for con calls I've ever had.

    It works with Teams, Lync/SfB, Zoom, whatever. Just fine.

    Desk phones are simply a landfill issue now.
     
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  • #12
    jediatzinger said:
    Is it feasible to eliminate "desk phones" and instead move to some form of a "soft phone" via Teams?
    etc.
    Click to expand...
    Yes, 100% its feasible. Teams works just fine as a "soft phone" as long as you have the right licensing and either calling plans or direct routing provider. We got rid of all our physical phones before we went back in office after the pandemic. People were already used to using headsets remotely from 2020 so it made the transition much easier, and nobody complained about taking their physical phone from their cold, dead hands. :) The only physical phones we have are in common areas or conference rooms.

    I would check into the features to ensure it will work for your organization, as it is not as full featured as some of the older systems if your organization requires a lot of customization, or you run a large call center. Also check into the costs, as the Phone System and Calling Plan licenses can be expensive. I'm not sure what your current licensing is with Microsoft. It may be cheaper to use Teams as your phone system vs. paying for everyone to have a smartphone and cellular plan.
     
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    jediatzinger

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  • #13
    I really appreciate all of the replies. Thank you.

    I work at the corporate HQ where there are ~ 20 employees total. Since we're going to be moving and everyone will be issued new business cards etc updating someones phone number shouldn't be too big of a deal (they not really used a whole lot anyways).

    I'd like to completely eliminate the VOIP phone provider and move to teams fully. I could provide a USB headset and call it a day for "phone hardware". From all of the replies it shoulds like this is doable.

    Couple questions I have:
    We have a number that when dial "forwards" to a different line for our auto-attendant.

    The companies main # isn't a real number, it forwards to a different number thats owned by the VOIP provider.
    Press 1 for sales
    Press 2 for engineering
    etc.

    I'd need to recreate our auto-attendant in the Teams system.

    The main # is on an AT&T account. I can log in and update where this number forwards to (I was told this was done years ago so that they'd never have to change the main #). Not a bad idea, but it costs a lot for this forwarding (especially from AT&T).

    I'd need to be able to assign phone numbers to employees. I've never done this and we've only used to auto assigned conference bridge numbers. I know how and where to access the conference bridge numbers and fund the PTSD option.

    Tom (502-123-4567)
    Eric (502-234-5678)

    So if Tom is our Sales lead I'd have the auto-attendant forward to his # when someone presses 1 for sales.

    How does voicemail work? Can it be set so that if someone leaves a message it forwards to email? Or what's the Teams notification for when you have a message?

    Appreciate all of the info!

    edit: I'd want to purchase Poly C60's for our three conference rooms. How do I integrate these into teams? Provide a # for the conference room then assign to the phone?

    Our current setup in our conference rooms are Poly 6000 IPs. They work, but given their age are a bit flaky.

    I've been looking at the Jabra 410 for our travlers, but for everyone at corporate whats the good USB headset from Jabra?
     
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    Nulls

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  • #14
    If you want a phone number then you will need VOIP provider, whether that is MS or another provider, or looking into something like operator connect that was mentioned in a earlier post which sounds interesting and I would look into that. I would look to just porting the current numbers if you change providers too.

    Setting up user, and a lot of the other configuration you mention on the teams side would be done in the Teams admin center.

    You can setup a auto-attendant in teams as well: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/create-a-phone-system-auto-attendant

    For voicemail I am assuming that you are using Exchange Online if you are going with Teams, if you are using Exchange Online then you would use cloud voicemail, so Voicemail will show up in Teams client and can be played back, you will also get a email that you can play it from and it can attempt to transcribe the voicemail to text.

    For conference room phones they will need a number and a rooms license which I think the basic license may be free. You could set them up as a room mailbox in Exchange Online so people can use that to book the room.
    learn.microsoft.com

    Microsoft Teams Rooms licenses - Microsoft Teams

    Learn about and compare the available licenses for different types of calling and meeting features in Microsoft Teams Rooms.
    learn.microsoft.com
     
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    jediatzinger

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  • #15
    I've spent the past two days reading (on top of daily work)... I'd like to buy one Poly C60 and get one conference room setup. This would be a great way to pilot and see what's involved.

    I have a dead Poly IP 6000 in our main conference room and replacing it with new hardware and service would be ideal.

    I love the idea of setting up a room mailbox (I had started looking into this for scheduling the room's usage).

    I'll see if I can't purchase a C60. Setup the licensing and get it up and running asap.

    Is buying direct from Poly the best choice for pricing/availability for the C60? I'm going to get one to start.
     
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    dodexahedron

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  • #16
    sryan2k1 said:
    • Be wary of anything else you have that is analog or SIP as they won't be supported
    Click to expand...
    What about using a Cisco Expressway or a CUBE for interop? I'm considering deploying Expressway (used to be VCS) for interop with Zoom, Teams, Webex, and our internal CUCM setup. Zoom apparently even works with the Cisco 8800 series phones that have video. I imagine Teams should be able to be beaten into submission with it, as well, but I'm not holding my breath yet.
     
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    jediatzinger

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  • #17
    I've started the pilot.

    I've added Teams Phone with Calling Plan (country zone 1 - US) license and assigned it to an employee that has Office E3.

    I setup emergency locations within the Teams admin center and requested a few numbers. I've assigned a number to this employee and it appears to be working great.

    In Teams there is a "call" section that displays their "work number" and I also provided a Jabra Evolve 2 40 USB-C headset that's Teams-compatible. It's really good.

    I plan on repeating this process for most of the corporate side of employees. I'm working in reverse (newest to oldest) for those that weren't provided desk phones...

    I'm not certain if I want to or mess with porting our existing numbers into the Microsoft Phone System. If it's not terrible then I might proceed. I will need to look at setting up an auto attendant at some point (mainly when I reach a large enough threshold that most employees are on the new MS system).

    New employees are easiest to test/pilot since they don't have anything existing.

    I'm not sure what I need to do with conference rooms. Do I buy a Poly C60 or something then assign a "room license" to it?

    TO DO-
    conference rooms
    auto attendant
     
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  • #18
    Our org has approx 20k+ staff that work at sites (6k site in the US), home office, and/or physical offices in various combinations. Our Telco Dept piloted Teams for phone usage (we're all-in on MSO365), but ended up going with a dedicated VoiP provider because of a combination of licensing costs, stability, availability, physical phone issues (like outlined above), etc. About 95% of our staff use exclusively the VoIP's softphone app on the PC or mobile device. There are some hard-core phone users and power users (such as admins) who have a desk phone. We've found that a dedicated VoIP provider made it much easier to deal with call trees, call issues, etc. and they send out pre-configured phones, too, and it it's all lumped in one itemized bill making it very easy to manage the procurement and billing.
    For Conferencing, we use Teams, and for conference rooms, Crestron devices (I think Crestron Flex). The Crestron devices are an all-in-one Teams hub, speaker/mic, handle inputs from laptops for screensharing, etc and are remote manageable. Not cheap but not too expensive (I think we paid approx $1.5k each?) but they are a single device you can plunk in the middle of a small-med room and it handles everything very well. You just need a TV with a soundbar on a wall, and even a decent 1080 Webcam can handle a room well.
     
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  • #19
    jediatzinger said:
    I'm not certain if I want to or mess with porting our existing numbers into the Microsoft Phone System. If it's not terrible then I might proceed.
    Click to expand...
    Isn't that usually a business decision? I'm not sure how your users use their phones, but most places you can't just change their number without plenty of warning, forwarding numbers, etc. Porting is always a mess, but it makes it much easier for the users and their contacts. (Not to mention if you have business cards, etc. with the numbers)
     
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    jediatzinger

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  • #21
    sryan2k1 said:
    Not porting numbers sounds insane. People like their numbers. Why get rid of them?
    Click to expand...
    We're moving and all of our business cards are going to be updated regardless.

    I agree I should take the numbers if it's not that much of a PITA. We honestly use phones very little - hence why accounting is pushing to have mobile phones only and no desk phones. I much prefer the Teams phone option. I don't want vendors calling my mobile.

    Has anyone ported into the MS Phone system? Not sure if porting VOIP/POTS lines is as simple as mobile?
     
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  • #27
    I think Microsoft also has some "hidden" calling plans that they like to pretend do not exist, and you may need an Enterprise Agreement. They has 120 minute and 240 minute call plans in the past that also pool minutes between all users within that plan, and I think they now also have a Pay as you go plan, but I assume that may be more expensive per minute. (Note that users on a 120 min plan will only pool minutes with other users on a 120 min plan, and not users on other plans)

    learn.microsoft.com

    Microsoft Calling Plans for Teams - Microsoft Teams

    Learn about Microsoft Calling Plans for Teams and how to get licenses for your organization.
    learn.microsoft.com

    Communications Credits are also needed if you go over your pooled minutes, or go over your international calling limit.
     
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    jediatzinger

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  • #28
    I have to say that overall I've so far been impressed with Teams Phone. I've ported my first number from our VOIP provider (it's scheduled for this Wednesday). I'm porting my desk phone so that I can see the process and experience the transition.

    New employees have been setup on Teams Phone since I don't have any number to port/transition. It's only been a few, but feedback has been solid. It's also really nice to not need to go through my current VOIP provider (their support was awful). Once I've up on the new system I'll map out a transition plan for the various departments throughout the company.
     
    Scott Tarr

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  • #30
    sryan2k1 said:
    ~600 person org here, in the process of migrating to Teams Phone system to replace an aging CUCM setup. We've been piloting it for a bit over a year and are 3/4 of the way through deploying it to our whole org.

    A few things we've learned along the way (in no particular order)
    • People complain about losing desk phones, but once they're gone nobody misses them. Buy high quality USB wireless headsets for everyone (Jabra, Yealink, etc)
    • Conference rooms can be tricky. We have had very good luck with Poly C60's but they are not cheap.
    • Teams physical phones are universally dumpster fires and should be avoided at all costs. We have at least 1 of pretty much every model that exists. They all suck. The best we've found so far is an audiocodes C455HD for common area use
    • Microsoft isn't the carrier for their own calling plans (They outsource it to Bandwidth in the US), this means any PSTN issues are nearly impossible to solve as you can't talk to the phone people directly.
    • OperatorConnect is the new hotness. We're very happy with CallTower so far.
    • Be wary of anything else you have that is analog or SIP as they won't be supported
    • We moved all faxing to an eFax provider (Concord, in our case) and that's been equally awesome.
    • Native call queues / auto attendants are extremely basic. If you need any advanced features at all you'll need to pay for a 3rd party like Tendfor (which we do)
    • CallTower specifically allows you to SMS enable landline numbers (for a fee), if that would benefit your business.
    • DirectRouting is old hat and should not be used for new deployments (unless you're absolutely massive and are bringing your own trunks)

    No real issues so far though, we've had nearly no complaints about it and our users love the ability to call from their work number while mobile.
    Click to expand...
    I have to agree that all Teams physical phones are garbage heaps of kludges pieces of trash.

    They all are nothing more than tablets with a handset at best and for critical phone systems should be avoided at all costs.

    My company had been a CallTower Cisco customer for 13 years and management got the hairy idea that we all needed to migrate to a Teams Audio environment because coolness factor (only in their eyes).

    So i migrated the whole company out and it was a disaster for our call center who is support for many Fortune 500 facilities, including many Fortune 50 data centers. This team will not use soft-phones and maybe that's on them but the Teams routing for this kind of environment is pretty miserable.

    After several months of back and forth, we migrated that call center only back to CallTower. I was at an event and was talking to the president of the company who handles our Teams Audio and explained my issue... His response says it best, "We even have two separate phone systems because of this".

    I don't have much else to add other than Teams physical phones are horrible piles of garbage. If you require phones for emergency scenarios, call centers, etc, stay away. There's nothing worse than your call center opening up at 5am Monday morning and not being able to log into their phone to work because there is some Duo MFA issue or something else because they forgot to change their password and it expired over the weekend.
     
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  • #31
    Scott Tarr said:
    This team will not use soft-phones and maybe that's on them but the Teams routing for this kind of environment is pretty miserable.
    Click to expand...
    Yeah I mean that's a management fail. sigh. Like I said we pay Tendfor for reception/callcenter and besides being expensive it's a very good solution to make up for microsoft's shortcomings.

    You still at WJO?
     
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  • #32
    Scott Tarr said:
    So i migrated the whole company out and it was a disaster for our call center who is support for many Fortune 500 facilities, including many Fortune 50 data centers. This team will not use soft-phones and maybe that's on them but the Teams routing for this kind of environment is pretty miserable.
    Click to expand...
    Like sryan2k1 said, that is more of a failure of the project to do requirements gathering up front. Teams does not do well with large call centers at this time, and that should be pretty easily identified up front. If your business is dependent on its call center, you should probably stick with one of the big players in that space, but all of your other users could be moved to Teams voice. If you just need a small call center for your helpdesk, etc., there are 3rd parties that can integrate with Teams that will work, but they aren't as full featured as established vendors in that space.
     
    Brandon Kahler

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  • #36
    That detail is why I never recommend or deploy cloud only VoIP for public schools. Always an on-prem IP PBX of some kind. Being able to call room to room, group paging, etc.. during an internet or WAN outage is important. That requirement certainly doesn't apply to everyone though. School's operate a bit different than small/medium businesses.

    I should add, I only work with and support K-12 public schools.
     
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    sryan2k1

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  • #37
    There are plenty of phone systems that support some kind of site-survivability with a WAN outage, but Teams isn't one of them.

    Hmm..so if Internet goes down, no internal or external audio communications if you don't have landlines. I think that's important.
    Click to expand...

    It's important to know the limitation exists, but for most businesses it's the least of their concerns. For us if an office has a complete WAN outage nobody is doing any work as everything is either in one of our colo's or in the cloud. People can use their cell phones for Teams calling if they want.


    Our branches are all N+1. Two silverpeak appliances, two WAN links (One Fiber DIA and one commodity connection, typically DOCSIS). If the internet is offline everyone goes home and works from home, or fucks off to the bar.
     
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    bkaral

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  • #38
    sryan2k1 said:
    It's important to know the limitation exists, but for most businesses it's the least of their concerns. For us if an office has a complete WAN outage nobody is doing any work as everything is either in one of our colo's or in the cloud. People can use their cell phones for Teams calling if they want.
    Click to expand...

    Sure, fine. But does each employee have every other employee's cellphone number? I'm no business expert, but I'd guess not.
     
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  • #40
    bkaral said:
    Sure, fine. But does each employee have every other employee's cellphone number? I'm no business expert, but I'd guess not.
    Click to expand...
    Many (but not all) of our employees have their mobile number in AD, so Outlook, Sharepoint, Teams, etc all show you the person's number.

    But as @koala pointed out, you're using the teams app on your mobile device, which works the same as the desktop client.
     
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