94 INTERVIEW A decade of integration: from Lync to Teams Spectralink’s partnership with Microsoft began when it became the first and only DECT vendor with direct integration into Microsoft Lync. Paul Rowe explains how the company has been building on this legacy ever since 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, highquality 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 cloudbased 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 BY ALICE CHAMBERS “ Integration with Lync in 2011 set the stage for our strong partnership with Microsoft”
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