Microsoft Teams Direct Routing (Connect your own SBC for PSTN), including Direct Carrier Support
This has previously been referred to as “BYOT” (Bring Your Own Trunk) and “Direct Connect”, but has now been more formally announced as “Direct Routing”.
- You will require a certified SBC from Ribbon (Sonus) or AudioCodes
- ThinkTel (Canadian carrier) will also support this scenario, the first direct carrier support to be announced O/S
- Microsoft Teams and Phone System licences * Phone System requires E1, E3 or E5 in 365
Direct Routing will be supported for Microsoft Teams only, not SfB Online. From Nikolay Muravlyannikov of Microsoft: “If you use a supported SBC (AudioCodes or Ribbon) with the CCE you can pair the same SBC, which is paired to CCE, to the Teams backend and migrate users from SFBO to Teams. It is a matter deploying Teams client and changing the voice routing on SBC and in our Cloud. Once all users migrated you can decommission the CCE
Microsoft call out the following scenarios:
- Easy Transition to Calling in Teams. By integrating with an existing PBX, pilot users can be moved to Calling in Teams while users remain on their legacy PBX. Eventually all users can be easily transitioned to Calling in Teams. The call traffic between these users during the transition stay within the organization.
- Telephony System Inter/Op. While users are being transitioned to Calling in Teams, Call Center agents can continue to use their application. Direct Routing enables both use cases to coexist. The call traffic between call center agents and Teams users stay within the organization.
- Support for Analog Devices. If an organization decides to move to Calling in Teams but has analog devices such as elevator phones or overhead pagers, these devices can be connected to Teams and Phone System via Direct Routing. Call traffic between analog devices and Teams users stay within the organization.
CTI can help your business with Office 365 Licencing and set up Microsoft Teams with SIP Trunks. We use Teams in-house, call us for a demo on 1300 888 284
- Published in Mobile, Office 365, Technology
Life after ISDN with Hosted PBX or SIP
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), one of the staples of communications for Australian businesses, is nearing its end-date. This raises the question of how to maintain those essential fixed voice calling and Phone System/PBX capabilities critical to business. ISDN is a dedicated network that delivers multiple voice lines over a single physical connection, usually copper lines, to many businesses in Australia. The ISDN connection terminates onto a PBX/Phone System at the business site which in turn connects to multiple telephone handsets at that site.
As part of Telstra’s big deal signed with the NBN Co a few years ago, the incumbent carrier has agreed to decommission Australia’s entire copper network by 2022.
Accordingly, the carrier will stop the sale of ISDN2, ISDN2 Enhanced, ISDN10/20/30, DDS Fastway, Megalink and Frame Relay products by June 30 2018, ahead of the products being switched off completely around 2022.
And while 2022 might seem a long way away, if you’re in a business of any size or reach, the task of rebuilding your entire business phone system, including porting numbers and all the other related tasks, isn’t something you want to be doing on the hop.
Here’s a summary of the next key dates you need to be aware of:
31st January 2018 – New ISDN service unavailable for customers who do not already have ISDN in place.
30th June 2018 – Full cease sale on new or additional ISDN services for all customers. No new services will be available.
June 2019 – Disconnection will commence for existing ISDN connections.
By 2022 – All ISDN connections will be disconnected, and full network will be decommissioned.
What’s next?
The choice is to replace ISDN with one of two options:
- Replace ISDN and all dedicated Phone System/PBX hardware with a Hosted PBX which provides voice calls in and out along with call routing, IVR and voicemail on subscription model, including a modern handset and even Mobile App.
OR
- Replace ISDN lines with SIP Trunks over a data network connection and upgrade or replace your dedicated Phone System/PBX along with handsets to be compatible.
What used to be thought of as traditional telephony services are now increasingly moving to a hosted model whereby PBX and UC (unified communications) are hosted and delivered entirely in the Cloud. This means no need to buy and manage PBX hardware on premise at all.
SIP trunking (or SIP trunks for short) is a public IP telephony service that’s based on ‘session initiated protocol lines’.
SIP is delivered over data lines that are used for internet and Wide Area Network (WAN) connections – which you’ve more than likely already got. By merging voice as another application on these data lines, the existing analogue or ISDN lines are no longer needed. SIP “lines” are automatically created and removed as required.
So which one is right for your business?
Hosted PBX/Phone System
Business locations that do not require highly advanced contact centre functionality are best place to move to a fully hosted PBX/Phone System solution
SIP with Modern PBX
Business locations that have very specific, highly advances contact centre functions, agent level reporting, integrations with various business system etc. are better suited for a on-premise solution with hardware, software and SIP trunk to connect to the global voice network.
- Published in Technology
Avaya Equinox – The next step for meetings in the cloud
Avaya Equinox Online represents a new generation of conferencing with virtual meeting rooms entirely in the cloud. The expense and complexity of on-premises conferencing will be no more with Avaya’s new conferencing system which has no hidden up-front costs and saves time, resources and money.
The introduction of Avaya Equinox is great news for those of us who struggle learning how to use the latest tech as no technical expertise is required…all you need to do is click a meeting link and join the collaboration! After subscribing, it becomes easy to connect with colleagues and potential customers with features like screen and application sharing as well as an interactive whiteboard.
Alongside 1080p full HD video and wideband audio, the system can be accessed from any device and from virtually any vendor. According to Equinox users, it feels as if you are in the same room as the people on the other side of the screen.
Given the incredible simplicity and efficacy of Equinox, we only we can only imagine what Avaya’s next creation will be.
- Published in Technology