Learn more about Microsoft Teams Phone and how you can supercharge its functionality with 8x8’s integration
Microsoft Teams Phone is a service from Microsoft that enables cloud voice and video calling on your computer, tablet, mobile device, or desk phone.
For organizations that need a tailored approach for enterprise-grade telephony, 8x8 provides a dedicated Microsoft Teams integration that enhances the Teams Phone System experience greatly.
Whether you use Teams to do business online, access remote seminars, or simply stay in touch with friends, you’ve probably taken part in a Microsoft Teams meeting.
But, while most people know Microsoft Teams as part of the Office 365 suite, less people know that Teams can also be used to make phone calls—a functionality known as Teams Phone.
Microsoft Teams Phone refers to the Teams telephone service. It can be used as a VoIP phone system to handle an audio or video phone call whether they’re using a landline, mobile phone, or the Teams app.
Microsoft Phone System refers to Microsoft’s hosted telephone service that gives you call control and Private Branch Exchange (PBX) capabilities, with options for connecting to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Because Phone System is a part of Teams, you can easily use the service with an IP desk phone. You can also turn any computer, or mobile device into a phone with which to use your Business Voice phone number.
Some organizations need more advanced features that Microsoft Phone System alone cannot offer, such as integrated SMS capability and real-time, single-system analytics. 8x8 can enhance the native Teams Phone functionality, turning it into a powerful, enterprise-level unified communications solution.
With the integration, users can make (and receive calls) internationally directly from the native Teams dialer. 8x8 provides phone numbers in over 120 countries, a direct PSTN replacement in 48, and unlimited calling plans in 47.
Those 8x8 calling plans can also be a more cost-effective telephone solution than using Teams Phone by itself. Although Teams calls are free, expensive add-ons for international calling and SIP trunking can quickly increase overall costs.
Microsoft 365 Business Voice turns Microsoft Teams into a powerful and easy-to-use telephone system. It replaces traditional telephony providers and on-premises PBX systems.
With 365 Business Voice you can host video meetings, set up both toll and toll-free numbers, call menus to help callers get to the right department, and access lots of other useful features and add-ons. 365 Business Voice does all of this by bundling together Microsoft Phone System features into one easy-to-manage service.
In short, Phone System refers to the virtual infrastructure or hosted system, while 365 Business Voice refers to the specific service package that offers Microsoft Phone System and other telephony features.
You’ll get more communications features for your business if you integrate Teams Phone with 8x8. The integration provides all the following benefits and possibilities, beyond standalone Teams usage:
The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) refers to the aggregate of the world's circuit-switched telephone infrastructure. It includes national, regional, and local telephone networks.
For 365 Business Voice customers, Teams Phone allows you to use Microsoft Phone System to connect to the PSTN.
To do this, you’ll need to configure your Phone System license, known as your calling plan, to include PSTN services. Microsoft offers a range of domestic calling plans and international calling plans.
Don’t forget, too, that 8x8 can provide a direct PSTN replacement in 48 countries.
Although calls between Teams users are free, if you want your users to be able to call landline or mobile numbers via the PSTN, you’ll need to get set up with a Calling Plan in Microsoft 365 or Office 365. Microsoft explains the process of doing this in six steps.
You can easily discover the availability of the different Microsoft Calling Plans in your country or region, online.
If Calling Plans are not available for your country or region, consider using Microsoft’s Direct Routing service to connect your on-premises telephony infrastructure to Phone System.
If Phone System isn't included in your Microsoft 365 or Office 365 plan, you will need to purchase a Phone System license as an add-on.
After you have a Phone System license, purchase the Calling Plan you need by signing in to the Microsoft Teams admin center and then going to Billing > Purchase Services. Assigning licenses to individual users is also done from the admin center.
Microsoft Teams Phone allows you to assign phone numbers to your users. How many numbers you get depends on the call plan you opt for.
There are three ways to arrange phone numbers on Microsoft Phone System:
Most jurisdictions mandate that an emergency address must be associated with a phone number. For example, in the United States, you need to associate an emergency address when you assign the phone number to the user.
Managing emergency addresses is done in the Teams admin center.
Once you have added your organization’s emergency address or addresses, next you will need to assign a phone number and emergency address to each of your users.
Because Teams has become such an indispensable tool in the modern workplace, it can easily be integrated with a number of popular business platforms.
For example, the 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams app lets you access all of the advanced features provided by the 8x8 service from within the familiar Teams interface
You may be wondering whether you need to buy new phones in order to use Microsoft Teams Phone. The short answer is no—any IP phone can be used with the Teams Phone System. In fact, any internet-connected device with a speaker and microphone can be used to make and receive calls via Teams.
Nonetheless, many manufacturers offer accessories like headsets with native Microsoft Teams functionality built-in. For example, AudioCodes C450HD IP phones, or the Yealink T58A Smart Media Phone are both Teams certified devices. These products are high-end Teams edition business phones designed to enhance your digital workspace. They offer useful calling features like a color touch screen and designated Teams button.
When it comes to choosing a desk phone that is specifically designed for the optimal Teams experience, there are several things you should consider:
If you’re using Microsoft Teams to make conference calls, or as a virtual meeting room, then chances are you have certain requirements for your technical set-up.
Choosing a phone such as one of the Teams devices discussed in the previous section is a great solution for Microsoft Teams audio and video conferencing. These product lines have built-in web cameras and are equipped to transmit and record high-quality audio and video streams.
Because it is a unified chat, calling, and video solution, many contact centers employ Microsoft Teams as a central hub to support their customer interaction workflows and internal communications.
While many businesses find that Teams alone meets all their communication needs, contact and call centers often require specialist services and features that only a Microsoft-certified provider like 8x8 can give them.
Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business are both multifunctional unified communications solutions developed by the Microsoft Corporation. As such, you might be wondering why they both exist? After all, both platforms offer similar services and are popular business solutions for setting up virtual conference rooms, video meetings, and company group chats.
Although a full comparison of Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business is beyond the scope of this guide, we’ve detailed the main differences in how the two platforms operate within Microsoft Phone System in the table below.
| Skype for Business | Teams |
|---|---|
| Requires Skype for Business Server or “Cloud Connector Edition” to connect to the Session Border Controller (SBC) | Direct Routing gives you the ability to connect Teams to your existing lines or PBX using only an SBC |
| Different solutions for cloud-hosted services (Skype for Business Online) and those hosted on-premises (Skype for Business Server) | Cloud-native solution offering only hosted servers |
| No new features planned | Microsoft continually improving and adding new features |
| Requires the Skype app to join a meeting | Join meetings from any device online |
Since July 2021, Microsoft support for Skype for Business Online has ended, and the company is encouraging all Skype for Business Online users to migrate to Teams. Organizations that wish to host their communications infrastructure in-house can still use Skype for Business Server.
While Skype was once fully integrated into the Windows Operating System, since the rollout of Windows 11, it has been replaced by Teams as the built-in application of choice for Windows. However, Microsoft has committed to supporting Skype for Business Server until at least October 2025.
If you’ve been following closely, you may have realized that integrating Teams Phone with 8x8 is the ideal way to get the most from the solution.
With 8x8, integrating Microsoft Teams into your communications software stack couldn’t be easier. Teams users can make and receive global calls right from the native Teams dialer thanks to the 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams app.
By combining 8x8 and Teams you can:
Want to learn more about 8x8’s Teams integration? Contact our sales team today to learn all about our products and services.