A missed call should not mean a missed customer. Yet many businesses still run collaboration in Microsoft Teams while voice calls sit on a separate, ageing phone system. That creates more admin, inconsistent customer experiences and a familiar question for IT teams: can Teams handle business telephony properly? This Teams Phone review looks at where the platform performs well, where planning matters and who is likely to benefit.
What is Teams Phone?
Teams Phone is Microsoft’s cloud-based business telephony capability for Microsoft Teams. It gives users a business phone number and the ability to make and receive external calls from the Teams app, whether they are at a desk, working from home or using a mobile device.
The important distinction is that Teams Phone is the calling platform, not always the complete calling package. A business also needs a way to connect to the public telephone network. That can come through Microsoft Calling Plans, Operator Connect or Direct Routing. Each route affects cost, flexibility, support and the level of control available to your business.
For users, the experience is straightforward. Calling, chat, meetings, voicemail and presence sit in the same familiar workspace. For the organisation, it can replace or modernise a legacy PBX without tying every employee to a physical handset or office location.
Teams Phone review: the day-to-day experience
The biggest strength of Teams Phone is context. When a colleague is already using Teams for chat and meetings, calling does not feel like another application to learn. Staff can call a customer, see whether an internal colleague is available, transfer the call, add someone to a conversation or switch to a meeting without jumping between systems.
That matters most for hybrid organisations. A receptionist can answer calls from a laptop, a sales colleague can return calls from a mobile, and a manager can stay reachable while moving between sites. The business number travels with the user, rather than being attached to a particular desk.
Teams Phone also offers the core functions most businesses expect: call queues, auto attendants, voicemail, call forwarding, delegation, call transfer and shared calling arrangements. Depending on the configuration, it can support common requirements such as a main business number, departmental routing, opening-hours messages and overflow rules.
The quality of the calling experience depends on more than the software. Broadband resilience, Wi-Fi coverage, network configuration and the devices people actually use all have a bearing on call quality. A well-designed deployment feels simple to staff. A poorly prepared one can lead to voice quality complaints being blamed on Teams when the real issue sits elsewhere.
Where Teams Phone works particularly well
Teams Phone is a strong fit for businesses already committed to Microsoft 365. If Teams is where people communicate internally, moving external calls into the same environment can reduce application sprawl and make adoption easier.
It is particularly useful for organisations with distributed teams, multiple offices or regular homeworking. New starters can receive a number and calling permissions without waiting for a desk phone to be installed. When people move office or work remotely, their calling setup does not need to change.
There is a useful commercial advantage too. Replacing on-premise PBX equipment can reduce the cost and disruption associated with maintenance, upgrades and site moves. Costs become more predictable when licences, call packages and managed support are agreed around the real needs of the business.
For growing companies, the ability to add users and adjust call flows without rebuilding the whole phone system is valuable. It supports change rather than making every change a project.
Calling plans, Operator Connect or Direct Routing?
This is the decision that deserves proper attention. Teams Phone licensing enables the functionality, but your PSTN connection determines how external calling is delivered.
Microsoft Calling Plans are often the simplest starting point. Microsoft provides the numbers and call bundle, with billing managed within the Microsoft environment. They can suit smaller businesses with straightforward needs, although pricing and call allowances may not always be the best fit for every organisation.
Operator Connect connects Teams to an approved telecoms provider through Microsoft’s administration tools. It offers a balance of simplicity and choice, and can work well for businesses that want a specialist provider to supply numbers, call packages and support without the heavier technical management associated with Direct Routing.
Direct Routing is the most flexible option. It connects Teams to a chosen SIP carrier through certified session border controller infrastructure. This can be the right choice for organisations with more complex call flows, existing numbers, international requirements, contact centre integration or a need to tailor call packages closely. It also requires experienced design, implementation and ongoing management.
There is no universal winner. A 30-person firm with standard UK calling requirements may value a simple managed arrangement. A multi-site business with high call volumes, specialist routing or compliance requirements may gain more from Direct Routing. The best option is the one that matches how your people and customers actually communicate.
The limitations to understand before switching
Teams Phone is capable, but it is not automatically a full contact centre. Call queues and auto attendants are useful for many front-of-house and departmental scenarios, but high-volume customer service teams may need dedicated contact centre features. Think live wallboards, advanced reporting, quality management, workforce planning, detailed customer journeys and channel management beyond voice.
There can also be a learning curve for users who are accustomed to a traditional handset. Teams-certified desk phones can help in reception areas, shared spaces and roles where a physical device is preferred. However, the operating model is still different from an old PBX, so a clear rollout and practical user guidance matter.
Emergency calling needs careful planning as well. Businesses must make sure location information, site policies and user processes are configured appropriately, particularly when staff work between office and home. This is not a box-ticking exercise. It is part of responsible telephony design.
Finally, Teams Phone is not a cure for poor processes. If calls currently ring unanswered, route to the wrong team or disappear into personal mobiles, moving them into Teams will not solve the underlying issue. A review of call handling, ownership and customer journeys should come first.
What does Teams Phone cost?
The final monthly cost depends on several moving parts: Teams Phone licences, the chosen PSTN option, call bundles, number porting, devices, implementation and support. Businesses should look beyond the headline licence price and compare the total operating cost against their current telephony estate.
That comparison should include analogue lines, maintenance contracts, call charges, hardware replacement, office-move costs and the hidden time spent administering separate systems. It should also account for the cost of getting the project wrong. A cheap route that does not support call recording, resilience, reporting or the right service levels can become expensive quickly.
Ask suppliers to set out what is included, what is chargeable and who owns each part of the service. Clear monthly costs are helpful, but clarity around support and change requests is just as important.
A sensible route to implementation
Start with discovery rather than licences. Map your numbers, users, sites, call volumes, existing contracts and critical call paths. Speak to reception, sales, service teams and senior leaders, not only IT. They will often reveal requirements that a spreadsheet misses.
Next, design the customer journey. Decide where the main number should ring, how calls should be handled outside office hours, what happens when a queue is busy and when a caller needs to reach a specific person. Test these scenarios before the business-wide launch.
Number porting and network readiness should be handled early. A staged rollout can reduce risk, especially for businesses with busy customer-facing teams. Training should focus on real tasks: transferring a call, managing voicemail, changing status and knowing what to do when a customer needs urgent help.
A managed communications partner can make this process less daunting by bringing together the Microsoft, telecoms and operational sides of the project. At Bulb Tech, that means people dealing with people, with the aim of creating a calling setup that works for the business rather than forcing the business to work around the platform.
Is Teams Phone right for your business?
Teams Phone is an excellent option when your business wants to bring calls and collaboration together, support flexible working and move away from site-bound telephony. Its value is strongest when it is designed around clear call flows, dependable connectivity and the right PSTN option.
It may be less suitable as a standalone answer for a complex contact centre or a business with unusual legacy integrations, unless it is paired with the right specialist technology. That is not a weakness so much as a reminder that business communications are rarely one-size-fits-all.
The practical question is not simply whether Teams Phone can replace your current system. It is whether it can make customers easier to reach, staff easier to support and monthly communications costs easier to control. If the answer is yes, the next conversation should be about designing it properly.
