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Business phone systems

Desk handsets or Microsoft Teams run the same numbers, the same voicemail and the same directory. Which route fits is a question about how the building works.

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A desk, with the directory and call history on screen
What you get

What the phones do on either route

The list below does not change with the route. It is the same system either way; the difference is where it runs.

One number, wherever the person is

The desk, the laptop and the cell phone ring together, and a call moves between them mid-conversation without hanging up.

The main line answers itself

A menu, opening hours and an out-of-hours path, so the number on the door is never ringing into an empty room.

Voicemail arrives as text

Messages land in email as a transcript, which is faster to triage than a list of recordings and searchable afterwards.

Existing numbers move

Numbers are ported from the current carrier. Nobody has to be told a new number and nothing printed goes out of date.

Calls recorded where that matters

Recording runs per extension or across the board, and it is kept where a later question about a specific call has an answer.

New hires and departures are one change

Extensions come from the staff list already kept, so a new hire or a departure is one change rather than a phone job as well.

The two routes, and the real difference between them

One route puts the system in the building: equipment that is bought once and owned, handsets on the same cabling as the network, and no monthly figure per person.

The other runs it through Microsoft Teams, on licensing already being paid for in most offices. Nothing goes in the rack and it works from wherever somebody signs in.

The trade is capital against monthly, not better against worse. Both are quoted where both fit, and the deciding question is usually how many people are at a desk.

THE SAME ON BOTH ROUTES· One number· Voicemail as text· A menu on the main line· One directoryIN THE BUILDING· Bought once, then owned· Handsets on the network cable· Nothing monthly per personTHROUGH MICROSOFT TEAMS· On licensing already paid for· The laptop and headset on the desk· Works wherever somebody signs inHOW MANY PEOPLE SIT AT A DESK DECIDES IT
THE SAME ON BOTH ROUTES· One number· Voicemail as text· A menu on the main line· One directoryIN THE BUILDING· Bought once, then owned· Handsets on the network cable· Nothing monthly per personTHROUGH MICROSOFT TEAMS· On licensing already paid for· The laptop and headset on the desk· Works wherever somebody signs inHOW MANY PEOPLE SIT AT A DESK DECIDES IT

Everything above the split is identical on both routes: the number, the voicemail, the directory and the menu on the main line. What differs is where the system runs, and whether it is bought once or paid for monthly.

The equipment

A desk, a wall, or nothing to stand it on

These are the handsets for the owned route. The Teams route uses the laptop and headset already on the desk, which is a large part of what makes it cheaper to start.

A desk, with the directory and call history on screen

A desk, with the directory and call history on screen

Corridors, warehouses and break rooms, where there is no desk

Corridors, warehouses and break rooms, where there is no desk

Carried around the building, on the same extension

Carried around the building, on the same extension

How it works

How the work runs

01

The carrier and the contract term

The current bill shows the carrier, which numbers are actually in use, and what is still inside a contract term. Porting is the part of this with a date attached, so it goes first.

02

Counted against the desks

The count covers how many people are at a desk, how many are not, and who answers the main line. Both routes are priced where both fit.

03

The call flow agreed before the switch

Who rings first, what happens at lunchtime, and where a call goes at 6pm are written down and agreed while there is still time to change them.

04

Ported and cut over

The numbers move on a booked date. The old service stays up until the new one is taking calls.

Questions we get asked

Can the existing numbers be kept?

Yes. Numbers are ported from the current carrier onto whichever route is chosen. The port is booked for a date and the old line keeps working until it completes.

Which is better, handsets or Teams?

Neither one wins on its own. Desks full of people who answer the phone all day suit handsets; a team that is mostly out or mostly on a laptop suits Teams. The count of people actually sitting at a desk decides it more often than anything else.

Can both run at once?

Yes, and it is common. Handsets go at the counter and in the warehouse, Teams covers everyone else, and one directory and one main number span both.

Do the phones need new cabling?

Usually not. Desk handsets take power and data from the same network cable, so an existing run to a desk is normally enough.

What happens to the phones if the internet drops?

Both routes need the line. Where calls cannot stop, the answer is a second path to the internet that takes over on its own, which is a separate piece of equipment and a separate conversation.

What happens to the fax line, the elevator phone or the gate intercom?

Those stay. A small adapter puts an existing analog device onto the new system, so the alarm dialer and the elevator phone are not the reason the rest of it cannot move.

The current phone bill answers most of it

The carrier, the numbers in use and what is still under contract are all on it, and those three set the timing.

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How Teams Phone works
CloudCentric · Mount Pleasant, SC · serving Charleston and the Lowcountry(844) 422-7000