Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams
Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams
BluIP is a certified Operator Connect provider. You select BluIP in the Teams admin center, and we connect your tenant. Operator Connect is one of two ways to deploy Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams, our calling plan for Teams. The other is Direct Routing as a Service.
- Microsoft certified Operator Connect provider
- 99.999% uptime
- Cutovers scheduled outside business hours
Three steps to calling in Teams
- 1Your admin
Select BluIP
In the Teams admin center
- 2BluIP
We connect your tenant
We accept the request and link your Microsoft 365 account
- 3Your admin
Assign phone numbers
To users, sites and resource accounts
Outside calls work in Teams
No SBC or gateway hardware to buy
99.999% uptime, monitored 24/7
How it works
Choose BluIP in Teams and we connect you
Operator Connect links your Microsoft 365 tenant (your organization's Microsoft account) to a carrier through a direct connection into Microsoft's network. You select BluIP in the Teams admin center. We accept the request and connect your tenant, and calls to and from the phone network start working. There is no session border controller (SBC) or gateway hardware to install.
Calls stay digital the whole way. Every extra network hop adds delay and lost audio, so fewer hops mean clearer calls. We hold 99.999% uptime, with failover between separate paths and 24/7 monitoring from our network operations center.
BluIP is a licensed phone carrier, so when a route slows down, our engineers trace and fix it themselves.
What you get
Less for your IT team to buy and maintain
Calling in days, with no hardware
There is nothing to install. Once your tenant is connected, service starts in days if you take new numbers, and in a few weeks if you keep your numbers (porting).
New numbers
Days
Keep your numbers
A few weeks
porting
Assign phone numbers right in Teams
Your admin assigns phone numbers to users, sites and resource accounts from one screen, as part of the user setup your team already does.
Call us about any voice issue
Operator Connect includes shared service level agreements between Microsoft and the operator. Call BluIP with any voice issue, and we take it from there. Support runs 24/7 from BluIP's network operations center.
Stop juggling invoices from several carriers
One BluIP bill replaces the invoices from several carriers.
Coverage confirmed for each of your sites
BluIP serves North America, and we confirm coverage site by site before the design is final.
Have users who are not on Teams?
The same calling plan also deploys as Direct Routing as a Service. It lets you mix Teams users with users on other phone systems and keep one coordinated dial plan.
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.
Operator Connect
This pageYou select BluIP in the Teams admin center, and we accept the request and connect your tenant. Numbers and users are managed inside Teams, and there is no SBC to buy or run. Microsoft certifies every operator before it appears on the list.
Best for: Organizations where every user is on Teams.
Compare the two
Where Operator Connect and Direct Routing as a Service differ
Both deliver the same BluIP calling plan to Microsoft Teams, and neither asks you to buy or run an SBC. Which one fits depends on whether every user is on Teams.
Swipe sideways to see every column
BluIP delivers both. Operator Connect fits organizations where every user is on Teams. Direct Routing as a Service fits a mix of Teams users and users on other phone systems that need one coordinated dial plan.
Who it fits
Is Operator Connect a good fit for you?
Operator Connect usually fits one of these four situations.
Make and take phone calls in Teams
Your organization runs Microsoft 365, but phone calls still run on a separate system. Staff juggle the Teams app and a desk phone.
Your phone system is past end of support
Your NEC, Mitel or Avaya system still answers calls, but maintenance costs climb each year and spare parts are harder to find.
Every new hire means an email to your carrier
Every new hire, site move or department change means an email to a carrier. With Operator Connect, your admin assigns the number in the Teams admin center.
Each site has its own carrier and contract
Sites were added over time, each with its own carrier and its own contract dates. Nobody can say how many numbers the business holds or what they cost.
When Direct Routing as a Service fits better
If some of your users stay on another phone system and need to share a dial plan with Teams users, choose Direct Routing as a Service. BluIP hosts the SBCs, so there is still no hardware to buy. BluIP serves North America, so offices elsewhere may need a second operator as well.
From site list to handover
How we switch you to Operator Connect
- 1
Site and device review
You share your site list, carrier contract dates and current phone equipment.
- 2
Coverage and design
We confirm number availability for each site and plan the order of the move.
- 3
Connecting your Microsoft account
You select BluIP in the Teams admin center. We accept the request and connect your tenant.
- 4
Porting and new numbers
Your numbers move on your schedule. New number ranges are added in blocks as you grow.
- 5
911 routing and testing
Each number gets an address 911 dispatchers can use, and 911 routing is tested before go-live.
- 6
Cutover and handover
We switch you over at a time you approve, with 24/7 support from the first call.
Why BluIP
Your main numbers stay the same through the move
We hold 99.999% uptime. The same BluIP team delivers Operator Connect, Direct Routing as a Service, SIP trunking and the contact center, so every site can sit on one contract.
The move keeps your existing wiring and compatible phones, porting is scheduled around your business hours and your main numbers stay the same. 99% of customers stay with BluIP.
99.999%
uptime
2011
founded
99%
customer retention
Beyond calling
Need queues or an AI receptionist too?
Operator Connect connects Teams to the phone network. It does not route a queue of 200 callers, score a conversation or answer a call at 11 p.m.
That work sits beside it. Our cloud contact center handles high-volume routing, supervisor dashboards and recording across voice, chat and SMS. AIVA, our AI receptionist, answers routine calls, finds approved information and hands anything that needs a person to your team with the request attached.
Both connect to your other systems through 2,900+ integrations. For sites not yet on Teams, BluIP SIP trunking keeps the existing phone system connected.
On top
Cloud contact center
High-volume routing, supervisor dashboards, recording across voice, chat and SMS
AIVA
Answers routine calls, finds approved information, hands off with the request attached
The voice layer
Operator Connect
Connects Teams to the phone network
Plus
SIP trunking for the sites not yet on Teams
2,900+
integrations
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.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Operator Connect
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 mix: local or toll-free numbers, which sites need extra coverage and whether contact center users need more than calling.
They are two ways to deploy the same BluIP calling plan, Cloud Calling for Microsoft Teams. Operator Connect is selected in the Teams admin center. Direct Routing as a Service lets Teams users share a dial plan with users on other phone systems.
Neither model asks you to buy or run a session border controller. Operator Connect needs none, and with Direct Routing as a Service BluIP hosts and runs the SBCs in the cloud. Direct Routing as a Service is almost as fast to start, and it fits best when you have extensions and users that are not on Teams.
Service starts in days if you take new numbers, and in a few weeks if you keep your numbers (porting).
The setup work is short. The timeline depends on how fast your current carrier releases your numbers and how many number ranges are involved. We test 911 routing first and switch you over once porting clears.
Yes. Main lines, direct-dial ranges and toll-free numbers all move to BluIP.
Our team coordinates each port and confirms it before the switch. You never have to publish a new number. New numbers can be added in blocks as well, so a new site does not wait on a carrier order.
Teams-certified desk phones keep working. Anything not certified stays on an existing system or is replaced.
We list every device before we quote, so no one finds an incompatible phone during the switch. Teams on computers and mobile phones is unaffected.
We map a 911-ready address to every number during onboarding and test it before go-live.
RAY BAUM's Act requires that a 911 call reaches dispatch with a usable address. Every site, floor and remote user needs accurate location data. We map it, keep it current as people move and test 911 routing before any site goes live.
BluIP does. Under the shared service level agreements, you call us with voice issues and we handle them.
Support runs 24/7 from BluIP engineers who can see the whole call path. Microsoft answers for the Teams service and BluIP answers for calling. The agreement joins the two.
Look at coverage for your sites, who supports the calls and what else comes on the same contract.
Every operator in the admin center has passed Microsoft certification. BluIP covers North America, also offers Direct Routing as a Service and can add SIP trunking, contact center and analytics to the same contract.
BluIP serves North America. For offices elsewhere, we confirm coverage during design.
Companies with offices in many countries often use more than one operator in the same tenant. We confirm coverage for each site before we commit to a plan.
No. It connects Teams to the phone network and does not handle queues, routing logic or agent management.
Teams covers person-to-person calling. High-volume routing, supervisor dashboards, recording and analytics run on a contact center platform. BluIP delivers both. It also delivers Cloud PBX and UCaaS for teams that need more than Teams provides.
Talk to BluIP
Plan your move to Operator Connect site by site
Tell us your sites and the phone system you want to retire. We will show whether Operator Connect or Direct Routing as a Service fits and the order we switch your sites. For a company with multiple locations, see the large enterprise page.
