Is Your Business Getting the Most Out of Microsoft 365? A Guide to Teams Phone

Paying two bills for one job? Many businesses in Vancouver and Portland pay one to Microsoft for the 365 subscription that runs email, file storage, and Teams, while the other goes to a separate phone company for a system that Microsoft 365 could already handle. 

Teams Phone is the calling capability built into several Microsoft 365 plans, and plenty of business owners have never switched it on because nobody told them it was there. 

This guide explains what it is, which plans include it, and how to make it your main business phone system without piling on cost or complexity. 

What Teams Phone Is and Which Microsoft 365 Plans Include It 

Teams Phone turns Microsoft Teams into a working business phone system. 

It gives each user a phone number and lets them make and receive external calls over the internet. It also adds the features you’d expect from a traditional setup, including voicemail, call transfer, auto attendants, call queues, and hold music. 

Calls work from the Teams app on a laptop, a desk phone, or a cell phone, so a user keeps the same number wherever they are. 

Here’s the part that trips people up. Teams Phone is bundled into some Microsoft 365 plans and available as a low-cost add-on to others: 

• Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5: Teams Phone is included 

• Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, and the E1 and E3: Teams Phone is available as an add-on license 

• On top of either, you’ll need a calling plan or a carrier connection to actually place calls to outside numbers, which is usually where a partner comes in 

How Teams Phone Compares to a Traditional Business Phone Setup 

If you’ve ever run a traditional phone system, you’ll know the routine. There’s hardware sitting in a closet somewhere and a contract with a phone company to go with it. 

Every time something needs changing, you’re booking an engineer. Setting up a new hire means ordering a handset and waiting around for it to arrive. Moving offices? That usually means rewiring. And anyone working from home tends to end up on some kind of workaround. 

Microsoft Teams Phone does away with most of that, because it all runs in software. Adding someone is really just a case of assigning a license and spending a few minutes in the admin center. There’s no PBX box to babysit, and voicemail lives in the same place as everything else. 

For a business running Microsoft 365 in Vancouver or Portland, the calling sits right inside the tools your team already uses every day, so there’s nothing new for anyone to learn. 

The cost side tends to get simpler too. Where an older setup keeps stacking up extras like line rental and maintenance fees, Teams Phone folds the calling into the Microsoft licensing you’re already paying for. 

The Features Most Businesses Don’t Know They Already Have 

Even businesses that have already switched Teams Phone on tend to use just a small slice of what it can do. Here are a few features worth a closer look: 

• Auto attendants that answer and route calls with a menu, so callers reach the right team without a receptionist 

• Call queues that spread incoming calls across a group, with hold music and wait-time handling 

• Voicemail transcription that drops a written copy of each message into email 

• Call recording and, on the right licenses, Copilot call summaries that capture what was said and the follow-up actions 

• Shared calling and delegation, so an assistant can answer on a manager’s behalf 

• Caller ID control, so a small team can present a single main number 

Adoption is climbing quickly as businesses retire legacy phone systems when old contracts end. Recent industry analysis found that Microsoft Teams Phone passed 26 million PSTN calling users, a 30% rise from the 20 million reported in April 2024. 

How Teams Phone Supports Hybrid and Remote Working 

For a lot of Vancouver and Portland teams, this is where Teams Phone really proves its worth. The phone system lives in software, so a person’s number simply travels with them. 

You might pick up an office call on your laptop while working from home, shift it to your cell on the way out the door, and answer the next one from a desk phone when you’re back at your desk the following morning, all on the same number. 

For a hybrid team, that clears up a few problems: 

• Staff working from home make calls on the business number rather than their personal cell 

• Calls are routed to whoever is available, wherever they happen to be 

• Managers see call activity and reporting in one place 

• New hires and contractors get set up remotely, with no handset shipped to a kitchen table 

It also keeps client-facing calls consistent. A customer in Portland reaches the same number and hears the same hold experience whether the person answering is in the office or two hundred miles away. 

Steps to Activating and Configuring Teams Phone in Your Organization 

Switching Teams Phone on is mostly admin work, and it follows a clear order: 

1. Check your licensing. Confirm whether you have Teams Phone in your plan or if it needs an add-on for the users who’ll be calling externally. 

1. Choose how calls reach the outside world. This is a Microsoft Calling Plan, Operator Connect, or Direct Routing through a carrier. The right option depends on your call volume, user count, and existing contracts. 

1. Port your numbers. Your existing business numbers can usually move across, so customers notice nothing. 

1. Set up your call flow. Configure auto attendants, call queues, voicemail, and who answers what. 

1. Add devices. Use the Teams app, certified desk phones, or headsets, depending on how each person works. 

1. Test, then cut over. Run it alongside the old system for a short while, confirm everything routes correctly, and then retire the old service. 

Most businesses don’t tackle this alone. A Microsoft partner handles the licensing check, the number port, and the configuration, so the switch happens with no gap in service. 

Find Out What You’re Paying For 

For a business in Vancouver or Portland already paying for Microsoft 365, Teams Phone is often a capability sitting unused inside a subscription you already own. The first step is finding out what your current plan includes. 

Not sure what your Microsoft 365 subscription includes? Get in touch with Centerlogic, and we’ll help you find out. 

FAQs 

1. What is Microsoft Teams Phone? 
   Microsoft Teams Phone is the calling system built into Microsoft Teams. It gives each user a phone number and lets them make and receive external calls from the Teams app on any device, with features like voicemail, auto attendants, and call queues. For many businesses, it can replace a standalone phone system. 

1. Which Microsoft 365 plans include Teams Phone? 
   Teams Phone is included with Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5. On other plans, including Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, E1, and E3, you add it as a separate Teams Phone Standard license. Either way, you’ll also need a calling plan or carrier connection to make and receive external calls. 

1. Can Teams Phone replace my traditional business phone system? 
   For most small and mid-sized businesses, yes. Teams Phone covers the core features of a traditional setup and runs in software, so there’s no on-site hardware to maintain. A Microsoft 365 partner in Vancouver can confirm it suits your call volume before you switch. 

1. Does Teams Phone work for remote and hybrid teams? 
   Yes, a user’s number follows them across a laptop, desk phone, and cell, so staff use the business line whether they’re in the office or at home, and calls route to whoever is available. 

1. How do I set up Microsoft 365 in Vancouver with Teams Phone? 
   Start by checking your license, then choose how calls connect to outside numbers, port your existing numbers, and configure your call routing. A local Microsoft partner can handle the whole process with no break in service.