In our previous post, we discussed why the hybrid office Microsoft Teams Direct Routing solution is the best-recommended strategy for businesses looking to consolidated voice & collaboration services.
Today, we are going to compare Microsoft Teams direct routing solutions and dive into “native-integration”.
Understanding “Native-Integration”
A Microsoft Teams Direct Routing solution that is natively integrated delivers the same Teams-end user experience everywhere, on every device, without the use of 3rd party bots or browser. It means that the solution delivers a completely unified collaboration & voice experience.
The ability to work seamlessly on any device is a critical capability for a hybrid office workforce that is bouncing between locations and personal / work-provided devices.
Unfortunately, the term native-integration is being used loosely by a few vendors these days. With the Microsoft Teams Direct Routing solution these vendors offer, you can collaborate inside of Microsoft Teams but to access voice features, you’ve to ‘@ mention’ the vendor’s app, download a chrome plug-in or use 3rd-party software which totally disrupts the end-user Teams experience.
Other vendors that deliver natively integrated direct routing offer limited PBX features – mainly PSTN calling. And, if you want advanced voice features, call-in support, business continuity, SLA, business continuity, & high availability they recommend using their proprietary UC app (instead of Microsoft Teams Direct Routing).
In that case, businesses are forced to choose between Microsoft Teams Direct Routing with limited PBX features or the vendor’s proprietary UC app. Again, not an ideal end-user experience.
There’s no need to compromise, however. Look for a provider that can:
- Deliver PSTN calling along with advanced PBX features, support & history of delivering 99.999 reliability
- Deliver a native MS Teams experience (on mobile & desktop) without additional software
- Deliver hosted PBX & contact center capabilities for non-Teams users
- Leverage existing SIP handsets for Teams purposes
- Be a true partner – providing 24/7/365 US-based support, MSFT Gold Partner escalation abilities, and can provide a single bill for Teams voice and Office 365.
Once you come across a vendor that’s able to truly offer a native-integration, then it’s important to find out:
- If they have successfully deployed any customers on it and if yes, then how many
- If they have experience cleaning up the customer’s existing Teams and voice instance before installing, implementing, and deploying the new Teams voice solution
- How their Teams voice solution works with their other cloud solutions i.e. if they offer bundled solutions that seamlessly integrate with each other
Evolve IP was one of the first vendors to have launched, implemented, and deployed this solution in the market, and quite simply we’re experts. We deliver a truly natively integrated the direct routing solution that delivers everything mentioned above. With Evolve IP, you get:
- World-class collaboration features offered by Microsoft Teams
- Advanced PBX features offered by Cisco VoIP
- Access to advanced Evolve IP features such as contact center, business SMS, AI speech analytics
All on a single, fully-unified platform to enhance the hybrid office.
Microsoft Teams Direct Routing Vendor Options
Sometimes understanding the technicalities mentioned above, conducting research on the different options available, and finding the solution that best fits your business can be overwhelming.
Based on our experience, we have developed a comparison sheet to help you compare several vendors side-by-side. Evolve IP is currently providing free consultation to help you review this vendor comparison matrix. Contact us if you would like to learn more about Evolve IP’s Teams & Voice solutions.
