Connect Everywhere Surprising stats and illuminating graphs.

Communications tools are vital for success in the workplace and across organizations. With so many businesses using Microsoft Teams as the core collaboration platform, we wanted to learn how organizations like yours were using Teams. So we ran an online survey to dig deeper and understand how they are (and are not) using it to serve broader telephony and communication needs. The results are fascinating and make a solid case to re-evaluate how companies integrate collaboration tools into daily workflows.

First off, almost half of you switch between 4 or more communications applications on a daily basis. That’s a lot of switching between apps just to communicate with coworkers and customers.

Meanwhile, well over half of people surveyed would prefer to use the native dialer in Teams for phone calls. Not surprising: If you’re already using Microsoft Teams, why would you want to have to use, learn, and manage yet another communications app?

Businesses have been moving towards softphones for years, as on-premises PBX phone systems have been replaced by cloud phone services. And while physical phones are still supported by 8x8, they are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. But even we were surprised to see close to two-thirds of respondents use their computer as their primary communications device. It makes sense: For business purposes, softphones streamline communications with all the traditional telephony functions users expect alongside the latest unified communication features including presence, instant messaging, video meetings, global address books, call recording management and much more.

Almost half of Teams users only use it for internal calls and have to switch apps to reach the outside world. And while Microsoft offers calling plans for Teams, they may not be available in your country. 8x8 calling plans offer fantastic value with unlimited calling and far better global connectivity.

The survey responses bear this point out as only one in ten people surveyed felt that Microsoft offered reasonable calling plans. This echoes what we have heard from our customers. And six in ten were unaware that Microsoft calling plans were available for Teams.

People familiar with Microsoft Teams voice services agree, to the tune of 66%, that it is not yet ready to deliver enterprise-class phone services. While around 3 in 10 (primarily small businesses) feel comfortable with Microsoft providing business-critical telephony with Teams.

And while we see tremendous interest in using Microsoft Teams as a communications service, surprisingly, the enthusiasm dropped, however, when we asked about contact centers. That's odd because when organizations combine Microsoft Teams with a contact center solution certified for Teams, it gives contact center agents assurance that they can use Teams to serve customers or respond to queries. Fortunately, 8x8's Contact Center for Microsoft Teams empowers agents to control the customer experience. It offers vital functionality that includes complete voice and digital channel support, intelligent routing, and proactive self-service options – everything needed to resolve problems quickly and create exceptional customer experiences.

We ran several surveys to better understand how organizations like yours use Microsoft Teams. The results surprised us. They revealed interesting insights about how organizations could get even more value from Teams by adding 3rd party calling plans with native direct routing and creating better customer engagement with a Teams certified contact center.

Helpful Resources

Research Report: Creating Digital DNA with Microsoft Teams

Blog Post: Considering Direct Routing for Teams Calling? Things to know before you begin.

Webcast: Fast Track to Microsoft Teams Voice Calling Success

Video: 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams Administrator Configuration Overview

Research Report: Reducing Team Communications Silos to Rapidly Increase Usability, Adoption, and Lower Support Costs, Constellation Research

In our concluding chapter, we discuss the ways in which organizations can accelerate workplace modernization, using Microsoft Teams direct routing to connect employees with the world, improving productivity and becoming more customer-centric.