Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams
Direct Routing as a Service for Microsoft Teams
BluIP hosts and runs the session border controllers in the cloud, so your Teams users get outside calling with no hardware to buy. It is one of two ways to deploy Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams, and the right one when Teams users must share a dial plan with users on other phone systems.
- 99.999% uptime
- SBCs hosted and run by BluIP, with no hardware to buy
- Serving businesses since 2011
How it works
Follow a call from your customer to Teams
Caller
on the public phone network
Carrier network
run by BluIP
SIP trunks
run by BluIP
Certified SBC
hosted by BluIP in the cloud
Microsoft
voice infrastructure
Teams
your users
Call audio flows straight from the SBC to Microsoft, which keeps delay low. Call quality is measured on every leg.
What Teams needs
To place and receive outside calls, Teams needs a connection to the public phone network. Direct Routing as a Service provides it through session border controllers (SBCs), which pass calls between Microsoft and the carrier over SIP trunks, the digital lines that carry calls.
The SBC is part of the service
With Direct Routing as a Service, BluIP hosts the SBCs in the cloud and runs them for you. You do not own, operate or configure an SBC. We keep them on Microsoft's certified list and set up your routing rules.
The carrier
BluIP is a licensed phone carrier. We run the network, the SIP trunks and the SBC service, so our engineers see every call from the caller to the Teams app.
What Direct Routing as a Service gives you
One dial plan for Teams and the rest of your phones
Bring Teams users and other phone systems together
Some users move to Teams, and others stay on another phone system. Direct Routing as a Service connects both groups under one coordinated dial plan.
Calls keep reaching you if Teams is unavailable
If Teams becomes unavailable, we re-route calls to other locations. We can also send them straight to BluIP's AI in the cloud.
Keep the phone numbers your customers already dial
Numbers move to BluIP and keep ringing. Main lines, direct dials and every number on your signs and invoices stay the same. Porting runs in waves, site by site, so no location loses service.
No SBC hardware to buy or run
The SBCs live in BluIP's cloud. You buy no hardware and track no SBC licenses, and we handle firmware when Microsoft updates its certified list.
Almost as fast to start as Operator Connect
The SBCs are already running, so we only configure your routing rules. Service starts in days if you take new numbers, and in a few weeks if you keep your numbers (porting).
Hosted by BluIP
We run the certified SBCs in our cloud.
One calling plan
Two ways to deploy Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams
BluIP has one calling plan for Teams. You choose how to deploy it, based on whether every user is on Teams.
Direct Routing as a Service
BluIP hosts and runs the SBCs in the cloud as part of the service. You buy, run and configure no SBC. We set up your routing rules, and Teams users share one coordinated dial plan with users on other phone systems.
Best for: Organizations with a mix of Teams users and users on other phone systems.
Direct Routing as a Service vs. Operator Connect
Are all your users on Teams, or do you have a mix?
Both deliver the same BluIP calling plan to Microsoft Teams, and neither asks you to set up an SBC. The main reason to choose Direct Routing as a Service is a dial plan shared with users who are not on Teams.
Swipe sideways to see every column
Choose Direct Routing as a Service when Teams users must share one dial plan with users on other phone systems. Choose Operator Connect when every user is on Teams and you want to connect from the Teams admin center.
Who it fits
Is Direct Routing as a Service right for you?
It usually fits one of these four situations.
When Operator Connect fits better
If every user is on Teams and there are no other phone systems to connect, Operator Connect is the simpler choice. You select BluIP in the Teams admin center, and we connect your tenant.
Some of your users are on Teams and some are not
Part of your organization works in Teams, and other users stay on another phone system. Direct Routing as a Service puts both on one coordinated dial plan.
You run a contact center outside Teams
Queues, skills-based routing and supervisor views live outside Teams. Direct Routing as a Service sends queue calls to the contact center and personal calls to Teams, on the same numbers.
Calls must keep flowing if Teams goes down
Callers still need to reach you when Teams cannot take calls. If Teams becomes unavailable, we re-route calls to another location or to BluIP's AI in the cloud.
You have hundreds of numbers to keep
Hundreds or thousands of numbers, spread across markets and printed on contracts and marketing materials. They move to BluIP, so everything customers use to reach you stays correct.
Each wave verified before the next begins
How we get you running on Direct Routing as a Service
- 1
Design the dial plan
You share your number list, your sites and the phone systems your Teams users need to reach. We map one coordinated dial plan.
- 2
Connect to our hosted SBCs
Your Microsoft tenant is connected to the SBCs BluIP already runs in the cloud. There is no hardware to install.
- 3
Configure your routing rules
Call routing, emergency dialing, failover and the links to your other phone systems are set up and documented before testing.
- 4
Test every call flow
Inbound, outbound, transfer, conference and failover calls are tested on every connection point.
- 5
Port numbers in waves
Existing phone numbers move by site. Each wave is verified before the next begins.
- 6
Go live site by site
Sites go live one at a time, outside business hours, with 24/7 monitoring on the SBCs, the trunks and the Microsoft connection.
One dial plan
Teams users and users on other phone systems reach each other.
Network status is published at status.bluip.com
99.999% uptimeWhy BluIP
The same team supports your whole call path
BluIP holds 99.999% uptime. The SIP trunks, the hosted SBCs and your phone numbers come under a single contract, and the same support team covers all of them.
A dedicated project manager runs your project from design to go-live, and your team can check service at any time on our public status page. See Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams.
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
24/7
support
Frequently asked questions
Questions about Direct Routing as a Service
Contact us for pricing. We share pricing after a short discovery call.
The hosted SBCs are part of the service, so there is no hardware to price. Microsoft licenses for Teams are bought separately from Microsoft. On the call, we look at your users, your sites and the phone systems Teams needs to work with.
They are two ways to deploy the same BluIP calling plan, Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams. The main reason to choose Direct Routing as a Service is a mix of Teams users and users on other phone systems.
With Operator Connect, you select BluIP in the Teams admin center and we connect your tenant. With Direct Routing as a Service, BluIP hosts the SBCs and configures your routing rules, so Teams users and users on other phone systems share one coordinated dial plan. Neither model asks you to buy or run an SBC.
No. BluIP hosts the SBCs in the cloud and runs them as part of the service. You do not buy, operate or configure them.
We keep the SBCs current as Microsoft updates its list of certified SBCs. Your team tells us how calls should flow, and we configure the routing rules.
Almost as fast as Operator Connect. Service starts in days if you take new numbers, and in a few weeks if you keep your numbers (porting).
The SBCs are already running in our cloud, so there is no hardware to design or build. Setup is mostly configuring your routing rules. Porting time depends on how fast your current carrier releases your numbers.
Yes. This is the main reason customers choose Direct Routing as a Service.
Some users work in Teams, and others stay on another phone system. We connect both groups under one coordinated dial plan, so calls pass between them by the same rules.
We re-route them to other locations, and we can 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.
They move to BluIP and keep ringing. Published numbers stay the same, so nothing on invoices, signs or your website needs reprinting.
Porting follows your site-by-site plan. During the move, a number can keep ringing on your current phone system, then switch to Teams once that site is tested. BluIP handles the port requests, the work with your current carrier and the testing on each wave.
Calls meant for a queue go to the contact center platform, and personal calls ring in Teams.
Teams handles everyday calling and meetings. Queues, skills-based routing, supervisor dashboards and compliance-grade recording sit in a contact center platform. Direct Routing as a Service puts both on the same numbers: agents work in the cloud contact center while everyone else works in Teams.
Call audio flows straight between the SBC and Microsoft. We monitor jitter (uneven delay) and packet loss (missing audio) on every call.
Call quality depends on the path the call takes. We monitor the SBCs, the trunks and the Microsoft connection as one service. When someone reports a bad call, we can show the path that call took and fix the problem.
24/7 support from our network operations center, which monitors the SBCs, the trunks and the Microsoft Teams connection.
One support line covers the whole call path. The same team that set up your SIP trunking and SBC service finds and fixes the problem.
Talk to BluIP
Bring Teams and your other phones onto one dial plan
Share your number list and the phone systems your Teams users need to reach. We will map one dial plan and the order each site moves.
