{"id":12712,"date":"2020-10-15T12:21:47","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T11:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=12712"},"modified":"2024-10-29T15:10:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T15:10:04","slug":"gareth-johns-interview-local-authorities-microsoft-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/gareth-johns-interview-local-authorities-microsoft-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"Gareth Johns Interview: How UK Local Authorities Get More Out of Microsoft Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

RingCentral UK conducted a local public sector survey in August 2020 which found that <\/span>77% of respondents say they use Microsoft Teams at work every day<\/b>. Despite its popularity, Microsoft Teams still lacks a critical feature for <\/span>UK public services<\/span><\/a>: enterprise-grade telephony.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this interview Gareth Johns, RingCentral\u2019s UK Public Sector Industry Principal, answers the most frequently asked questions about <\/span>Microsoft Teams Direct Routing<\/span><\/a> as it relates to cloud telephony functionality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Gareth<\/b><\/p>\n

Why has Microsoft Teams been so widely adopted by the UK public sector?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

For most public sector organisations, Microsoft Office is the business application of choice and for those on a transformation journey to the cloud, specifically Office 365.\u00a0 At present, with the current working from home situation due to COVID-19, it\u2019s safe to assume that most knowledge workers in the UK are working from home. Microsoft Teams, positioned as part of an Office 365 subscription, came as a saviour in a time of crisis. It helped many organisations pivot to remote working overnight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What misconceptions do you think exist about Microsoft Teams?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s sometimes thought of as a one-stop-shop for all your collaboration needs; it\u2019s not widely known that Teams is not all-encompassing. There are some limitations with its voice capabilities and <\/span>voice is a key component of any communications strategy<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s brand credibility also sheds an inaccurate light on their abilities in the UCaaS<\/a> space. We tend to forget that whilst they\u2019ve had on-premises solutions, Microsoft is a very new player in the cloud collaboration game (less than three years\u2019 experience!) and does not yet offer the industry\u2019s best in class, tried and tested application. While the product is evolving rapidly, there are gaps in the offering, most notably the voice platform; the administrator user experience, ease of access to detailed analytics, calling plan coverage is limited to 12 countries, and guaranteed uptime SLAs. <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Microsoft Teams Direct Routing?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

RingCentral Cloud PBX for Microsoft Teams<\/span><\/a> (RingCentral\u2019s Direct Routing solution) is a fully managed, enterprise-grade solution that connects your Teams and Office 365 deployment to PSTN networks, allowing users to make and receive external phone calls from anywhere on any device running natively in the Teams application.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Local councils, schools and governments can use <\/span>Direct Routing<\/span><\/a> solutions to connect Microsoft Teams to their PSTN services. This allows organisations who have already adopted Microsoft Teams to connect their call functions (including voicemails and call routing) with their Teams messaging & meeting functions natively, making all communications more seamless.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Direct Routing<\/span><\/a> delivers all the features you would expect from an enterprise-grade phone system but saves you time and money by removing the need to install and maintain an on-premises phone system and the reliance on expensive Microsoft calling plans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch the demo:<\/b> Call listen, whisper and barge into a Microsoft Teams call using RingCentral<\/span><\/p>\n