Microsoft Teams
Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams
One calling plan from BluIP puts outside calls in the app your people already use. Deploy it as Direct Routing as a Service or as Operator Connect, whichever fits your organization. We hold 99.999% uptime.
Highlights
- 99.999% uptime
- One calling plan two ways to deploy
- Number porting managed site by site
One calling plan
Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams
Phone numbers and outside calls from BluIP
Deploy it one of two ways:
Deploy as
Direct Routing as a Service
- SBCs hosted and run by BluIP
- Teams and non-Teams users on one dial plan
- Calls re-route if Teams is unavailable
Best when you have a mix of phone systems
Deploy as
Operator Connect
- Select BluIP in the Teams admin center
- BluIP connects your tenant
- No SBC needed
Best when every user is on Teams
Either way, outside calls are placed and received in Teams.
How it works
One calling plan, two ways to deploy
Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams connects your Teams users to the public telephone network (PSTN), so they can place and receive outside calls in Teams. BluIP provides the phone numbers and carries the calls.
You choose how to deploy it. With Operator Connect, you select BluIP in the Teams admin center and we connect your tenant. With Direct Routing as a Service, BluIP hosts and runs the session border controllers (SBCs) in the cloud, and Teams users can share one dial plan with users on other phone systems.
Calls enter our network first, so our engineers handle failover, routing and call quality themselves. We hold 99.999% uptime.
Benefits
What your team gets when calls move into Teams
Answer the phone without leaving Teams
Voice, chat, meetings and video calls share one directory in one app. Staff stop switching apps to answer the phone, and admins manage users in Microsoft 365.
One calling plan for every Teams user
Whichever way you deploy, your Teams users get the same BluIP calling plan. Every location is billed on one invoice.
Calls still reach you if Teams is unavailable
With Direct Routing as a Service, we re-route calls to other locations when Teams is unavailable. We can also send them straight to BluIP's AI in the cloud.
Keep your existing phone numbers
Your numbers move with you. Each site's numbers are tested on both networks before the switch, so signs and printed materials stay correct.
Two ways to deploy
Choose how your calling plan connects to Teams
Both deliver the same BluIP calling plan. The choice depends on whether all of your users are on Teams.
Compare the two
Should you deploy with Direct Routing as a Service or Operator Connect?
The calling plan is the same. Which model fits depends on whether every user is on Teams.
Swipe sideways to see every column
Direct Routing as a Service wins when Teams users must share a dial plan with users on other phone systems.
Operator Connect wins when every user is on Teams and you want to connect from the Teams admin center.
Either way, you get the same BluIP calling plan, and we plan the move with you site by site.
Signs it is time
Is your phone system holding your team back?
These four situations are the usual reasons to move calling into Teams.
Your staff already work in Microsoft 365
Teams carries chat, meetings and video calls, while the phone system sits on separate hardware. Moving calls into Teams puts all of it in one app.
Your old phone system costs more to keep running
Maintenance costs rise and spare parts get hard to find. Legacy PBX replacement retires the old system before a part fails.
Some of your users are not on Teams
Part of your organization stays on another phone system. Direct Routing as a Service connects those users and your Teams users under one dial plan.
Every site has its own phone bill
A separate invoice for each site makes phone costs hard to forecast. Moving SIP trunking and Teams calling to BluIP puts the spend on a single bill.
Two ways to deploy
Direct Routing as a Service or Operator Connect, on one calling plan.
When you also need a contact center
Contact centers that need skills-based routing, supervisor dashboards and recording at scale outgrow the auto attendants and call queues in Teams. They need a cloud contact center that works with Teams.
From review to go-live
How we move your calling into Teams
Review your users and numbers
We list your Teams users, the phone systems they need to reach, your current carrier contracts and every direct-dial number in service.
Choose how to deploy
We recommend Direct Routing as a Service or Operator Connect, based on whether all of your users are on Teams.
Design the routing
We map auto attendants, call queues, emergency calling addresses and failover paths for each location.
Pilot one site
Desk phones and meeting room systems are set up, and a pilot group places and receives calls, including outside calls and handoff to the mobile app.
Move numbers and switch over
Numbers move in scheduled batches. Each site switches at a time you approve, outside business hours.
Support after go-live
Our network operations center watches connections and call quality around the clock.
2011
founded
99.999%
uptime
2,900+
integrations
Why BluIP
You approve the switch date for every site
Our engineers watch call quality around the clock and handle voice quality directly. We hold 99.999% uptime, and 2,900+ integrations connect calls to the systems behind them.
A named project manager runs your move, Teams-capable phones and existing wiring are reused, and you approve the date for each site. If Teams is not right for every user, BluIP also offers Cloud PBX and BluIP Connect with Webex.
About BluIP
BluIP is a licensed telecom provider that builds its own software: Cloud PBX, contact center and AIVA, our AI receptionist for voice, text and chat. Founded in 2011, BluIP serves hotels, health systems, restaurants and large enterprises across North America, including 2,200+ hotels, with 99.999% uptime.
2,200+
hotels
450K+
rooms
99%
customer retention
Frequently asked questions
Your questions about calling in Teams
Contact us for pricing. We share pricing after a short discovery call.
Microsoft licenses for Teams are bought separately from Microsoft. On the call, we look at the number of users, the countries in scope and any new devices. BluIP bills every location on one invoice.
They are two ways to deploy the same BluIP calling plan. With Operator Connect, you select BluIP in the Teams admin center. With Direct Routing as a Service, BluIP hosts the SBCs and Teams users can share a dial plan with users on other phone systems.
Neither model asks you to buy or run a session border controller. Direct Routing as a Service is almost as fast to start as Operator Connect, and it is the better fit when you have extensions and users that are not on Teams.
Days if you take new numbers. A few weeks if you keep your numbers (porting).
Porting runs in scheduled batches with your current carrier. Design, device setup and a pilot group all happen before any port date. Training is short because your staff already work in Microsoft Teams.
No. Operator Connect needs no SBC. With Direct Routing as a Service, BluIP hosts and runs the SBCs in the cloud as part of the service.
You do not buy, operate or configure an SBC with either model. We keep the hosted SBCs current with Microsoft's certified list.
Yes. Porting moves main lines, direct-dial numbers and fax numbers without a service outage.
Each number is checked against your current carrier's records and grouped by site. BluIP sets the schedule with you, and your numbers stay in service throughout the move.
Dynamic emergency calling sends an address emergency services can use for each location, floor or zone.
A laptop user is not always at the address on the account, so the location is found at the time of the call. On-site notification can alert your security desk the moment a call is placed. Kari's Law and RAY BAUM's Act requirements are covered during design.
With Direct Routing as a Service, we re-route calls to other locations. We can also send them straight to BluIP's AI in the cloud.
Calls enter BluIP's network before they reach Microsoft, so we can send them elsewhere when Teams cannot take them. Your team sets the failover rules with us during design.
Yes. Teams-certified desk phones, conference phones and meeting room systems connect directly.
Front desks, lobbies and clinical corridors still need a handset. Mobile apps carry the same number and calling features into the field, so staff take calls on the business line without giving out a personal number.
Yes. Domestic and international calls run on BluIP's calling plan.
We confirm the countries in scope during the discovery call.
Yes. An AI receptionist can answer routine calls before they reach a Teams queue.
Auto attendants and call queues pass calls along without knowing why someone called. AIVA, BluIP's AI receptionist, answers in 51 languages, completes the request in connected systems and passes anything that needs judgment to a person with the conversation attached.
Talk to BluIP
Pick the right way to bring calling into Teams
Share your Microsoft licenses and the sites that worry you most. We will show whether Direct Routing as a Service or Operator Connect fits and when your numbers can move.
