MS Calling Plans vs. Direct Routing

Since the beginning of 2020, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, secure and remotely accessible communications platforms have become essential to the survival of businesses large and small in almost every industry. Organizations that used to rely on a centralized workspace or office were forced to pivot day-to-day operations to allow their staff and clients the option to work from home or on the road without limiting the security or user-friendliness.

Microsoft Teams, a Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) software application available through the Microsoft 365 Suite of programs, has become the ‘go-to’ team collaboration tool. Widely considered to be a highly-reliable, user-friendly internet-based application, MS Teams offers organizations the ability to unify communication mediums into a single screen, including video conferencing, chat, file sharing, even existing PSTN and VoIP telephone systems. By integrating an organization’s phone lines into Microsoft Teams, staff can more effectively focus on providing organizational and operational growth and customer support, rather than spending time managing call transfers and call flow maps.

Looking to integrate your organization’s VoIP or existing PSTN phone systems with MS Teams? You can choose to purchase costly calling plans directly from Microsoft or have your organization set up with Direct Routing from a Canadian Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) Trunk provider like Telecom Metric Inc.

Feature	MS Calling Plans	Direct Routing
Availability	Only available in 16 countries	Available in most countries
Calling Plans	Limited number of calling plans to choose from Limited flexibility based on plan May end up paying for things you do not use	Customized calling plans tailored to your organization’s needs Flexible calling options and more competitive international calling rates Reduce cost by paying only for used features
Retaining Business DIDs (Numbers)	Possible to port numbers Difficult to set up outbound rules to use current numbers Users will be dialing out with new DIDs or numbers	Companies can port their publicly advertised numbers Easily route inbound and outbound calls through ported numbers Flexible and custom plans allow numerous configuration choices based on organizational requirements
911 Emergency Calls	Access to your local PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point or 911 call centre) only available in the USA	Access to your local Canadian (or international) PSAP As per CRTC regulations, a caller must verify their location with a government regulated third party call centre before being sent to the local PSAP (TMI meets all CRTC regulations)
Licensing and Cost	Requires the proper licensing of each user in MS Teams / Office 365 Individual calling plans needed for each user Additional minute blocks cost extra More costly	Requires minimum MS Phone System licensing for each user A SIP calling plan shared among all users in your organization More cost effective for organizations over 2-3 people Better rates for local, long distance, international and toll free minutes
System Integrations	Calling plans simply integrated with MS Teams, allowing the app to make calls Additional integrations would be native to MS Teams Requires all users in an organization to be included	Integrates your current/existing voice platforms with MS Teams at the SIP level, allowing the app to make calls Additional integrations do not require a native connection to MS Teams Allows integration of more powerful VoIP features such as IVR, call centre, advanced call flows, ring groups and call queues Flexibility to or even have one department using teams and other departments a new or existing separate VoIP system that has
Reporting	Limited reporting tools based on user statistics in Teams	Custom reports available based on SIP usage, Billing (long distance), Peak usage times, Call details and more Reports can be generated as needed or regularly scheduled
Support	Primarily self-serve and FAQ-based support services Generally require in-house or contracted IT support to assist with detailed integrations	Available to assist in more complex setups and integrations including migration, setup, porting and integrations
Licensing and Cost	Requires the proper licensing of each user in MS Teams / Office 365 Individual calling plans needed for each user Additional minute blocks cost extra More costly	Requires minimum MS Phone System licensing for each user A SIP calling plan shared among all users in your organization More cost effective for organizations over 2-3 people Better rates for local, long distance, international and toll free minutes

Microsoft, with Skype for Business End of Life set to take place July 31, 2021, have positioned themselves perfectly to begin offering integrated phone system calling and plans through MS. While this may be an appealing offer to those struggling to work with their current phone systems remotely, using Microsoft as a standalone system can be costly, less supported, and overall less flexible and suited to your organization’s needs.

In order to reduce phone system usage and integration costs, many organizations are opting to find a Direct Routing (DR) SIP provider as an alternative to Microsoft’s calling plans. Specifically, businesses requiring 911 calling capabilities in Canada, or those who must comply with Federal and Provincial data privacy regulations.

If you’re looking to integrate your organization’s existing VoIP or PSTN phone systems with MS Teams, you can choose to use calling plans directly from Microsoft or have your organization set up with Direct Routing from a Trunk provider like Telecom Metric.

Telecom Metric allows businesses to retain their current phone numbers, calling plans, PBX setup, and IP phones while reducing the cost of the system and providing flexibility and support.

• Custom solutions and migration plans, including scalable and secure communications with a full range of voice, data, and managed service options
• Reservation and porting of DIDs based on your organization’s needs
• Multiple fully backed up & redundant fail-over data centres across the country, ensuring your data is compliant to Canadian standards, secure and accessible
• CRTC-compliant Canadian 911 emergency calling
• 24/7 Technical Support and system health monitoring ensure that potential threats are resolved quickly, while dedicated Account Management ensures that you have a direct contact with someone who knows your system
• End-to-end encryption and fraud protection software provides an additional layer of security with solutions needed to optimize your voice network’s cybersecurity.
• Lower cost rates for local, long distance, international and toll free minutes (Canada / US free with variable international rates and give 1000 toll free minutes with overages starting at $0.02)
• Customizable call reporting for tracking calls and usage from the SIP level

Is your organization looking to integrate your phone system into MS Teams using Direct Routing? For more information on Telecom Metric’s Microsoft 365 Business Voice Solutions, click here, or contact our team to learn more about custom MS Teams Integration and Direct Routing.

Other Related Topics:

• 10 Things to Consider When Choosing Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Teams – Direct Routing for Canadian Businesses
• Integrate Microsoft Teams with Your Current Phone System
• Microsoft Teams – Direct Routing