Microsoft Teams has had a huge impact on UK businesses, particularly for small to medium enterprises. The push for companies to adopt Teams came on the back of the global pandemic when staff were forced to work remotely. Yet, this expansion has only grown with the continued move to digital collaborative workspaces. The issue with this fast uptake is that many companies are now reliant on a singular system for all of their communication needs, which can cause significant issues.

This is where it can be worthwhile for a business to consider what an integrated VoIP solution could add to their operations going forward. In this blog, we will explore the key issues and outline what businesses need to consider to ensure they have a resilient, value-driven, and scalable communications system in place.

Business continuity

Being reliant on one system for communication can create business continuity problems if Microsoft Teams goes down. This can prove very costly for businesses, especially if the outage lasts some time. One of the critical arguments for considering a Teams-compatible VoIP solution is that your communication channels will remain available even during an outage. Being able to call, meet and collaborate can steady your business operations while a wider IT systems recovery is completed, enabling better business continuity.

Features

Businesses should evaluate the communication features that are necessary for their business, both now and in the future. Microsoft Team’s voice calling offers basic features, which can be customised further with Teams Premium. Yet, even with Teams Premium, the features can never be as rich as an integrated VoIP solution. Professional business features such as call transfers, customer messaging, CRM logging, and intuitive collaboration are still best achieved with a VoIP solution.

While some smaller businesses find Microsoft Teams offers enough features to cover their communication needs, the lack of features on Teams can become problematic for growing businesses. A VoIP solution gives businesses a multifaceted and professional communications solution alongside enhanced customer relationship options through broader and more intuitive integration with CRM systems.

The best VoIP solutions on the market will also seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Teams, making it easier for staff to use while providing a host of additional features.

Cost and scalability

While a VoIP solution will cost a business more than using a Teams business subscription alone, businesses need to consider the cost-to-value benefits and the potential hidden costs involved with Teams business packages. 

With Teams subscriptions, additional users require an additional licence as an added cost per month. This can be worthwhile provided staff are using all of the features with the licence; otherwise, this cost can spiral without any additional value being added.

If a business is looking to scale, Teams may not provide the best or most professional communication and collaboration option. That is why it is well worth regularly reviewing your communication solutions to evaluate whether an integrated VoIP solution can achieve more for your business than Teams alone, especially when it comes to business growth.

Moving forward

Auditing your communication systems is a great place to start when considering what solutions can best serve your business. If you would like to discuss your VoIP or telephony needs, we are here to help. Please contact us to discuss your options. You can contact Andrew Wayman at andrew.wayman@sdt.co.uk or call our office at +44 (0)1344 870062.