Microsoft MARKET REPORT
40% By 2023, 40% of new enterprise
telephony purchases will be either
Microsoft or Google - Gartner
WHAT IS DIRECT ROUTING?
Direct Routing enables you to connect your SBC to almost any telephony
trunk or interconnect with third-party Public Switched Telephone
Network (PSTN) equipment. Direct Routing enables you to:
• Use virtually any PSTN trunk with Microsoft Phone System.
• Configure interoperability between customer-owned telephony
equipment, such as a third-party private branch exchange (PBX),
analog devices, and Microsoft Phone System.
for the SBC and SIP/Carrier
enablement. at provides a
specic role for the Channel
in both enabling Microsoft
services via licences but also
supporting deployment through
professional services; technical
expertise, customer service
and product dierentiation.
However, the challenge for
many channel partners who
specialise in one side of the
delivery chain will be upskilling
to deliver the whole solution
and nding their value through
additional features and
integrated services.”
Anthony Black said,
“Denitely. We’re already
seeing diverse solutions being
built around it. Whilst Teams
and Direct Routing don’t
necessarily oer a complete
package, it is the onus of
Channel providers like Wavenet
Wholesale, to build solutions
like our TeamsLink package,
that provides additional features
to enhance the experience of
Direct Routing.
Whilst the concept is
relatively simple, challenges
arise from ensuring the
service is carrier-quality and
scalable, which means that the
>
value. ese products include
handsets, headsets, video
conferencing hardware and
Cloud Video Interoperability
platforms for existing video
conferencing equipment the
end user may have - as well as
the professional services needed
to get everything working
together.
e partners we deal with
who are excelling in this space,
focus on helping the end
customer manage the signicant
change to the way that they
can now communicate both
internally and externally and
the way that Teams can become
a central point for collaboration
for the whole organisation.
Teams really is a revolutionary
product, but migrations can
very quickly go wrong if the
correct methodology is not
followed and organisational
change management is not
given a high level of priority
at the planning stages. User
adoption and satisfaction is key
for a successful migration and
the partners we deal with who
are ourishing understand this
acutely.”
Direct Routing – Channel
Ready?
In the rst week of November
2019 Microsoft launched
Business Voice for £7.50 pcm,
or with their UK Calling
Plan, £12 pcm. So now their
Phone System and dial tone are
available to all their millions
of business Oce365/Teams
customers, not just the small
slice of E3 and E5 licensees. If
an end user wants to add dialtone
to Teams Phone System,
Microsoft oer two alternatives;
buy their Calling Plan direct
from them, or use Direct
Routing via your own SBCs or
third-party supplied products.
So where are we today, is Direct
Routing really Channel ready?
Andrew Dickinson, MD
of Jola commented “Like any
technology shift that requires
end users to change behaviour,
Teams Phone System is likely
to be a slow burner. At around
£12 per seat per month without
handset it is comparable in
cost to cloud telephony, and
whilst business customers are
accustomed to using Oce365,
for most people turning their
PC into a phone system will
be a stretch. Also, the features
available on Microsoft Phone
System are limited compared to
a PBX or hosted, so it just won’t
suit many businesses. Of course,
it will eventually develop to be
on a par in terms of features,
behaviours will change and
Microsoft will reduce the price
– so longer term Teams Phone
system will take signicant
market share.
Whilst there is no need for
the channel to panic, there is
also no room for complacency
and resellers should evaluate
their options. Right now there
are a handful of suppliers
oering dial-tone for Teams
Direct Routing, at a variety of
prices and formats. Most are
selling bundles of minutes at
dierent prices whilst some oer
unlimited deals.”
Wakeeld commented,
“Microsoft have developed the
Direct Routing architecture
to support telecoms partners
to enable a phone system with
Teams. However, the skill
set to fully enable requires
both Microsoft/IT skills (MS
Teams and PowerShell) for
the customer, and Telecoms
Paul Wakeeld, SIP Trunking Product Manager at Gamma
www.commsbusiness.co.uk February 2020 | Comms Business Magazine | 31
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