As businesses abandoned their workplaces and shifted to remote working over lockdown, it was inevitable that only the most portable essential gear went with their employees. For some, that meant that their phone lines were unplugged and staff were no longer reachable through their reliable old desk phones.

These desk phones, which commonly run on specific hardware and use some type of private branch exchange (PBX) system for internal and external calls, were suddenly out of place in the world that abruptly needed portability and flexibility for their fixed and mobile lines.

It was an immediate problem that needed an immediate solution, which is why the popularity of cloud-based communications platforms such as Microsoft Teams began to skyrocket.

Teams is now a single, unified system that can integrate business communication needs, such as calling and messaging. Teams enables telecommunications providers to offer integration with Office 365 through the Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams service, which means businesses can move their phone numbers and calling directly into the Teams platform.

Telecommunications providers, like New Zealand's Hero Internet, have worked with many customers to make the transition from traditional phone systems to Teams integration simple and straightforward.

Hero Internet is different from other Teams integration providers you might see in the market. The company caters to businesses of all shapes and sizes, from small businesses right up to enterprise giants. Whether there are two phone lines or 200, Hero's services are tailored and cost-effective for every business.

"In recent months, businesses of all sizes, and across every industry have had to shift to remote and hybrid working and rethink how their staff communicate and collaborate," comments Hero Internet's CTO Ray Jackson.

"Microsoft Teams has proven to be an essential tool for many organisations in their COVID-19 response and Hero's Direct Routing and Hybrid Voice Integration solutions have made the transition of traditional phone services over to Teams hassle-free."

In addition to full Teams integration, Hero Internet can run Teams calling alongside existing VoIP/SIP phones at no extra cost. With this hybrid method, there is less transition risk as existing phones can continue to operate as normal.

It also means that if there are ever issues with an Office 365 account, businesses won't lose their existing phone functionality and they may not need to invest in new 'Teams compatible' hardware or throw away their existing VoIP handsets.

Hero Internet can also build hybrid solutions so that some users can be on Teams while others can be on standard VoIP lines - reducing cost and adding further functionality to the Teams calling service such as cloud-based recording.

Hero Internet's Microsoft Teams Integration Product offers:

• SIP - Teams twinning
  This enables businesses to run calls across Teams and SIP phones simultaneously, with no extra charges.  It provides the flexibility for staff to use Teams or existing handsets and ensures that in the event of a Teams outage, businesses will not miss calls.
   
• Automatic failover
  If Teams or Office 365 is unavailable, businesses can automatically failover calls to any other phone number that operates through VoIP, an app, or even a mobile number or any fixed line. It provides business confidence that calls will never be missed.
   
• Hybrid solutions
  Whether you want a mixture of Teams and VoIP phones or the flexibility to swap, Hero customers can mix line types to help reduce Teams licensing costs. The mixture of Teams and Hero Cloud users can be part of a single calling group and can transfer calls between Teams and Hero's Cloud PBX platform using extension numbers.
   
• Hero Cloud integration
  With Teams, businesses can add more advanced call features available in Hero Cloud. These include cloud-based call recording, audio and web conferencing, simultaneous ring groups, auto attendants, hunt groups, call screening, call parking, PIN codes, geographical routing and fax to email services.
   
• Teams-capable handsets
  If your business needs fully 'Teams capable' handsets then Hero can also supply Yealink handset models such as the T55A, T56A, and T58A. These handsets integrate with the Teams environment and provide twinning functionality where they can simultaneously operate as both a Teams client and a regular VoIP handset. Hero configures these phones with its own auto-provisioning service.

Hero Internet works with a network of resellers across the country to help businesses with their transition to Microsoft Teams.

Whether your business is moving one user or several hundred users, a tiered pricing structure and cancel anytime policy requires no minimum spend or contract. Hero also offers a free 1 month trial of their Teams Integration service with no obligations.

Leave your old PBX systems behind and embrace modern cloud calling with Teams integration from Hero Internet. Learn more here.