Microsoft Teams VOIP (Video)
In this video, Dave Hodgdon explains the benefits of MS Team’s VOIP. He talks about how it helps the team at PCG, and then, he outlines how to decide if this solution is right for your business.
Hi. David Hodgdon, Chief Technology Advisor here at PCG. Communication with your staff, clients, prospects, and vendors is key. Besides having an office presence, we have a much larger remote workforce. You need to have everyone on the same platform and page. Having a quality VoIP, voice over IP solution, is critical to your business so that you can have a reliable and consistent means with a phone system that is always working for your company employees.
VoIP has been around for a while and there are many options to choose from, with the various features and benefits and pricing for the SMB market area. Although we had a VoIP solution in place after Covid hit, we started to use Microsoft Teams application increasingly with our interoffice needs. We liked how it worked and allowed us to collaborate and be on the same platform with all the Microsoft pool of products that we’re already using.
Should Your Business Use MS Teams VOIP?
We looked at the Microsoft VoIP solution, tested it out, and decided to move to their phone solution; we have never looked back. Like any phone VoIP platform, you need to do your research and determine if the features and benefits of the Teams is the right solution for your business. Microsoft Teams is a great fit for many companies, but it’s not for all businesses, depending on your industry and the way you manage and handle all of your incoming and outgoing calls.
A VoIP phone assessment of your current and future needs for VoIP solution and proper planning results in a successful implementation. PCG’s five step process with one of our team’s phone experts will help guide you and give you the necessary information to make a proper decision.
1. Assess Your Current Phone Needs
First, review your current phone bill and services to see what you need or don’t need. How many phone numbers will you need? How many cameras do you need to port over? How many phone numbers will you need to port from your existing carrier? Do all users need a DID, your own personal number that your clients and vendors can call you directly and take the workload off your receptionist?
2. Make a Wish List
Second, create a list of must-haves and see if the team’s phone solution can do the following. Will it support your current phone sets? Can you use headsets or cell phones as an extension? Can employees work from home all with the same features and benefits? Does it support the Find Me/Follow Me feature so when you’re not at your desk, it will call your cell?
3. Map Your Incoming Call Workflow
Third, understand what your current incoming call workflow is, such as do you want to answer your calls live or have an auto attended with various prompts to get you to a department or individual? Or would you like to have a various ring groups for your incoming phone numbers? For example, we have a dedicated premium client number that we answer live. We have four employees on this group. We also have a vendor line in the ring group that only specific users answer because we need to speak with our vendors to support our clients. Then we have a standard phone number that we use with an auto attendant with various prompts for the callers to reach the department or person that they want.
4. Think About Training
Fourth, determine the training your staff will need for this new implementation. Finally, what type of support will you want? We can tie this into your existing agreement with PCG. We find that most companies are using Microsoft 365 and teams already, and that moving to the VoIP phone solution was an easy transition. Our entire company picked it right up and loves it. When it comes to value, I like knowing that this solution is only $20 per user. This is an easy item to plan for in your own operating budget. To learn more, please reach out to one of our phone experts and see if the Teams VoIP solution is a great solution for your company; it was for PCG.
