As businesses seek to enable external Microsoft Teams calls through PSTN connectivity, Westcon Comstor delves into the driving forces behind this demand and the best way for partners to deliver on it.
Microsoft Teams is winning the monopoly on cloud collaboration tools. Today, over 50% of businesses have standardised on it, and this is expected to increase by another 50% by 2025. But as dependable as Teams is, PSTN connectivity remains a pain point.
A growing number of businesses want to connect their Teams setups to the PSTN so that they can make external calls to regular landlines and mobiles – so much so, Yaniv Kitlaru at AudioCodes found PSTN connectivity to be an inevitable topic when talking to partners.
The demand for PSTN connectivity is driven by its many potential benefits, including:
- Convenience: Microsoft Teams would become the central hub for communications, eliminating the need to switch between platforms for internal and external calls
- Cost savings: By further consolidating their communications infrastructure, businesses can streamline billing and reduce hardware maintenance costs
- Enhanced customer centricity: PSTN connectivity allows Teams-using businesses to reach their customers where they’d like to be reached, whether that’s via the cloud or on regular landlines and mobiles
So, what’s holding businesses back?
PSTN connectivity is characteristically complex. The activities needed to achieve it are complicated in nature, including:
- Complex integration
- Manual deployments with traditional SBCs
- Extensive and costly development and design
- Self-development of a large multi-tenant management system
- Ongoing resource requirements for maintenance
In a 2023 whitepaper, AudioCodes went on to find that 60% of businesses would prefer to connect via direct routing. This is understandable given how flexible and easily managed direct routing can be – but the integration of direct routing SBCs requires extensive setup efforts, deep technical expertise, and additional costs.
However, weighed against the benefits, all signs continue to point to Teams-PSTN connectivity – businesses just need a less complex way to achieve it.
Simplicity: the key to connecting your customers’ Teams
If complexity is the problem, then naturally, simplicity is the solution. Businesses want the benefits of direct routing-enabled external calling, without the resource needs and hassle associated with PSTN connectivity.
Few vendors will know how to support on this better than AudioCodes, whose long-standing partnership with Microsoft gives them extensive knowledge to help businesses get the most out of Teams.
In the pursuit of simplified Teams-PSTN connectivity, AudioCodes Live Cloud is quite compelling. This multi-tenant, white-label SaaS solution relieves some of the most pressing complexities associated with PSTN connectivity and API integration to Microsoft services.
Here are just some of the ways Live Cloud makes Teams connectivity simpler:
- Its cloud-based service handles the SBC functionality, removing the need to manage one’s own SBC hardware and configuration
- Through advanced automation capabilities, Live Cloud accelerates Teams deployments, while also allowing for quicker and easy tenant onboarding
- It comes with a multi-tenant management portal, relieving businesses from the significant task of building one
- It promises quick time-to-service with no need to invest in dedicated infrastructure
These capabilities, coupled with the demand for Teams-PSTN connectivity, create a clear opportunity for partners to resolve their customers’ needs – and we’re here to help you do it.
Deliver your customers’ dream Teams experience, without the technical hassle. Our experts handle the infrastructure so you don’t have to, freeing you up to build predictable recurring revenue models. Find out more.
