Alice Chambers |
Microsoft Teams is the preferred communications platform for more than one million businesses worldwide, according to Microsoft. In the first quarter of 2024, Microsoft revealed that it reached 320 million monthly active Teams users – that’s 80 per cent of the overall number of Microsoft Office 365 monthly active users. This indicates that Teams is driving a lot of growth and revenue for Microsoft and its partner community.
One of those partners is Spectralink, which has worked with Microsoft on joint solutions for corporate communication for over a decade.
“We’ve enjoyed a strong partnership with Microsoft since 2011, when we launched Spectralink digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT) servers integrated with Microsoft Lync – a world-first and exclusive integration,” explains Paul Rowe, senior product manager at Spectralink. “We continued this with Skype for Business in 2015 and became the first to market with native Teams session initiation protocol (SIP) Gateway integration in 2022. Looking back, the launch of the exclusive Spectralink DECT servers integration with Lync in 2011 set the stage for our strong partnership with Microsoft.”
Spectralink DECT provides reliable, high-quality wireless voice communication for on-site mobile workers, ensuring seamless connectivity across office spaces, healthcare facilities and industrial environments. By integrating with Teams through the SIP Gateway, Spectralink DECT allows businesses to bring Teams voice functionality to their deskless workers, providing a unified communications experience.
“Working with Microsoft on these and future integrations ensures the most advanced workforce experiences,” says Rowe. “Because of this, many enterprises have continued to use their same Spectralink DECT system while transitioning from Lync to Skype to Teams.”
For example, labelling equipment supplier Arca Etichette initially used Spectralink’s Skype for Business integration in 2015 and has since migrated to the native Teams integration.
Microsoft retired Skype for Business Online in 2021, making Teams the recommended communications and collaboration service for businesses, according to Microsoft.
“In contrast to Skype, Teams is purely cloud-based and scales to support organisations as they grow,” says Rowe. “For customers, this accelerates the often-delayed replacement of systems and processes that have since become obsolete. A fitting example of this is satisfying the need to equip their workforces with DECT handsets. Across industries customer organisations are retiring legacy phone systems by implementing Spectralink DECT products.”
Due to its history of working with Microsoft on these products, Spectralink’s status as a trusted Microsoft partner has grown and customers expect its solutions to be easy to install, configure, use and manage while providing high enterprise security.
“Our reputation as a trusted Microsoft partner translates to multiple advantages for our customers,” says Rowe. “We provide efficient and intuitive onboarding, and DECT handset subscriptions. This includes a user-friendly Teams menu on Spectralink S Series handsets, as well as a set of administrator and manager functions including auto provisioning, subscription, and sign-in processes, smart configuration templates, manager dashboards and proactive monitoring and reporting.”
Spectralink also provides exclusive features for Teams, such as ‘do not disturb’ and ‘call forwarding’ settings, which are available on DECT handsets and applied to all users’ clients and devices for focused productivity. Users can also sign-in securely to any DECT handset using display prompts and their Microsoft credentials. Alternatively, the administrator can use Spectralink Admin or Microsoft Teams Admin Center to sign in handsets.
By enhancing productivity and usability for deskless workers today, Spectralink is also looking ahead, with plans to further advance workforce safety initiatives.
“Spectralink maintains a robust ecosystem of mobile application partners to provide messaging and alarm capabilities to best meet the needs of end users,” says Rowe. “In addition, Spectralink S Series S35 and S37 feature Bluetooth Low Energy for precise positioning of mobile worker location when a DECT handset alarm has been activated. New solutions combining strengths of Spectralink and Microsoft will launch in early 2025.”
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