Businesses worldwide are adopting UCaaS platforms to get the most out of video and audio conferencing, messaging and other collaboration tools. Because of that, the UCaaS market is expected to grow from $32.01 billion in 2023 to $85.77 billion by 2030, according to a Fortune Business Insights report.
One of the platforms at the heart of the UCaaS market is Microsoft Teams, which has been named a leader in UCaaS and meeting solutions by Gartner in the past. As most know, Teams is a comprehensive suite of collaboration and communication tools that seamlessly integrate with other Microsoft Office applications. Teams streamlines workflow, fosters real-time collaboration and enhances productivity.
Its user-friendly interface, cross-platform compatibility and integration with popular business apps have made it a go-to solution for organizations looking to enhance team collaboration and communication, driving its rapid adoption in the corporate world – increasing from 145 million active users in 2021 to 270 million active users in 2022, according to a Statista report.
However, the cost of integrating telephony into Teams plans has posed a significant challenge for many businesses. The reason usually circles around financial challenges.
To enable telephony features, companies often need to invest in additional hardware, such as IP phones or conference room devices, which are costly. Integrating telephony into Teams also requires acquiring separate licenses or add-ons, which further increase the overall expenses. For organizations already using existing telephony systems, the transition to Microsoft Teams may involve complex migration processes, training costs and potential disruptions to communication workflows.
The financial burden just piles up.
Companies such as RingCentral have taken action to relieve some of that burden with its recently introduced RingCentral for Teams 2.0, a next-generation integrated calling experience designed to provide affordable calling capabilities within Microsoft Teams.
Joining RingCentral, among others, in that stand is NextPlane, a provider of federation services for collaboration platforms like Slack and Teams. Their innovative approach enables PSTN calling for Microsoft Teams without the need for customers to purchase an additional calling plan or Teams Phone license.
NextPlane ConverseCloud, for example, serves as a centralized hub situated between Microsoft Teams, PBX and SIP trunks. It enables PSTN calling for Microsoft Teams without the need for additional calling plans or licenses, extending external calling capabilities to Teams users. The platform ensures secure communication with TLS encryption and simplifies administrative tasks through its management portal.
In addition, advanced analytics offer valuable insights for optimizing communication strategies and enhancing productivity.
The long story short? ConverseCloud unifies communication across UCaaS platforms, enabling efficient collaboration while providing secure calling capabilities within Microsoft Teams.
“With the majority of Teams customers on Microsoft 365 E1 or E3 licenses, which do not include telephony,” said Farzin Shahidi, NextPlane CEO. “We are working with our UCaaS partners to offer affordable PSTN calling to their Teams customers that optimize their workflows and increase employee productivity.”
Solutions such as RingCentral's RingCentral for Teams 2.0 and NextPlane's innovative are a step in the right direction to provide affordable calling capabilities within Teams without the need for additional licenses or plans. The ideal result? Unlocking the full potential of investments in Teams as well as Zoom and Slack.
Edited by
Alex Passett
