In the wake of the pandemic, Microsoft Teams has emerged as one of the fastest-growing enterprise applications, facilitating seamless collaboration and communication among teams. However, the cost of integrating telephony into Teams plans has posed a significant challenge for many businesses.
"Most Microsoft Teams users do not have access to integrated calling capabilities, which means they can't use Microsoft Teams to place calls outside the organization or to customers," said Irwin Lazar, President, and Principal Analyst at Metrigy.
Recognizing the need for affordable calling capabilities within Microsoft Teams, RingCentral has recently unveiled RingCentral for Teams 2.0. This Next Generation Integrated Calling Experience empowers Teams users to make calls outside their organizations and connect with customers seamlessly.
Also addressing this concern, NextPlane, a leading provider of federation services for collaboration platforms such as Slack and MS Teams , has stepped forward to provide an innovative solution that enables PSTN calling for Microsoft Teams without requiring customers to purchase a calling plan or a Teams Phone license at additional cost.
NextPlane ConverseCloud sits between Microsoft Teams, PBX and SIP trunks and serves as the centralized hub for handling all SIP and media traffic across multiple Teams tenants and PSTN providers. NextPlane utilizes TLS encryption to deliver end-to-end security for all calls and communication, ensuring the privacy and integrity of Teams users’ conversations.
In addition, the NextPlane management portal simplifies the provisioning and user-phone number management workflows. Moreover, with NextPlane’s advanced analytics, organizations can gain valuable insights to optimize their communication strategies and drive enhanced productivity.
“With the majority of Teams customers on Microsoft 365 E1 or E3 licenses, which do not include telephony”, Farzin Shahidi, NextPlane CEO, said, “We are working with our UCaaS partners to offer affordable PSTN calling to their Teams customers that optimize their workflows, and increase employee productivity.”
Leveraging its Instant messaging and presence connectivity across Teams, Zoom, Cisco Webex, and Slack platforms, NextPlane plans to also offer PSTN calling for Zoom, Cisco Webex, and Slack.
NextPlane's game-changing technology allows UCaaS and Service Providers to enable their customers to seamlessly unlock the full potential of their investments in Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Cisco Webex and Slack.
