Your team already lives in Teams. Put the phones there too.
If your team spends the day in Microsoft Teams for chat and meetings, Teams Phone turns the window that’s already open on every screen into a proper business phone line – same app, same number, nothing extra to manage.
For more complex phone system requirements checkout our hosted phone systems page .
Two ways to buy it
There are two ways to put your phone number in Teams, and the difference isn’t the phone system on your screen – it’s who supplies the calls, and where the numbers live behind it.
Both routes start the same way: we supply your Teams Phone licences, as a Microsoft Partner, laid over your existing Microsoft 365 subscription. That part doesn’t change whichever way you go.
Teams Phone Direct
With Microsoft calling plans, Microsoft supplies the calls and holds the numbers – if you ever want to redirect a number somewhere else, that’s a request into Microsoft
Teams Operator Connect (us)
With Operator Connect, we supply the calls and host the numbers ourselves, which means moving a number, or pointing it somewhere new, is a conversation with us rather than a ticket into a Microsoft.
Hosted Phone Systems (us)
Teams Phone System isn’t for everyone, it’s perfect for some, but inflexible for others. Our Hosted Phone System is as flexible as it gets – we’re happy to advise what’s best for your business.
When a standard hosted system is the better buy
Teams Phone isn’t the right fit for every business, and it’s worth saying so plainly.
If your team isn’t really living in Teams day to day – if chat and meetings happen somewhere else, or a chunk of the business barely opens it – putting the phone system inside an app people don’t use often just adds friction. A standard hosted phone system, answered through a dedicated softphone app or a desk handset, is simpler to roll out and doesn’t depend on everyone being comfortable in Teams.
It’s also worth a harder look if you run a busier contact-centre-style setup – several people answering the same queue, detailed call reporting, that kind of thing – where the wider feature set of a standard hosted system may serve you better than what sits inside Teams today. Our phone systems page covers that standard route in full, including numbers, routing and handsets, and it runs on the same underlying platform – so moving to Teams Phone later, if that changes, isn’t a rebuild from scratch.
Common questions
Do we need to buy new Microsoft 365 licences, or just add to what we've got?
Just add to what you’ve got, in almost every case. Teams Phone needs a calling-capable licence add-on layered on top of your existing Microsoft 365 subscription, not a fresh subscription altogether. We check what you’re already licensed for and add exactly what’s missing.
Can some people be on Teams Phone and others on a standard handset?
Yes. Plenty of businesses run both side by side – people who live in Teams take calls there, people who don’t keep a standard handset or softphone on the same underlying platform. Numbers and routing work the same either way.
What's the actual difference between Microsoft calling plans and Operator Connect?
Both give you Teams Phone licences from us, as a Microsoft Partner – that part is identical. The difference is who supplies the calls and where the numbers live: Microsoft for calling plans, us for Operator Connect. That’s what decides how easily a number can be redirected later.
Do we lose the routing and hunt groups described on the phone systems page?
No – Teams Phone runs on the same underlying setup, so routing, hunt groups and out-of-hours handling work exactly as described on our phone systems page. The only difference is that calls surface in Teams instead of a separate app or handset.
Can we move from Microsoft calling plans to Operator Connect later, or do we have to decide now?
You don’t have to get it right immediately. Moving between the two is a change to how calls and numbers are supplied – it isn’t a rebuild, and it doesn’t mean starting again with new licences or new hardware.
Get Teams Phone sorted
If your team already lives in Teams, we’ll look at what you’re running now and talk you through which route – Microsoft calling plans or Operator Connect – actually fits, honestly, without steering you towards whichever pays us more.
Call us on 01202 237 273 and we’ll talk it through, or book a free connectivity assessment and we’ll come back with a straight recommendation.
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