New Meeting and Calling Experience in Microsoft Teams!
You may have seen the recent announcement of new meeting features in Teams in Reimagining virtual collaboration for the future of work and learning (if not, check it out!). Today, we’re pleased to share that we’re making several of these features available to most users of Teams over the next few days.
We’re gradually rolling the features out. Once you’ve got the build that has the new experience (Teams desktop app only), you’ll have the option to turn it on. Read on to learn how to turn it on, what comes with it, how to use it, and answers to some common questions. Let’s get right to it!
Turn on the new experience
You do this via a checkbox in Teams Settings. Here’s how:
- Select your profile pic at the top of the Teams app, then Settings > General. (General should be what’s showing when you open Settings, so you probably won’t have to select it.)
- Select Turn on new meeting experience.
- Restart Teams by doing the following:
a. Right-click or Cmd-click the Teams icon in the Windows task bar or Mac System Tray.
b. Select Quit.
c. Start Teams again like you normally would.
You might also see a notification that announces the new experience or reminds you to turn it on. Then it’s even easier—in that notification, choose Turn it on now if you’re ready at that point, or Maybe later if you’re in the middle of something.
What happens after you’ve turned it on
After turning on the new experience and restarting Teams, the biggest thing you’ll probably notice is that any calls and meetings will pop out into their own window, separate from the main Teams window. Like this:
If you’re still seeing calls and meetings in the main Teams window after turning the setting on and restarting, go to your profile pic again and select Check for updates. Once that is done, do the same quit and restart procedure per above. That should do the trick.
But wait, there’s more
Here are the other new things you’ll see and can try out:
- Meeting controls are moved to the top of the meeting screen. They’re docked there so you always have access to them (without jiggling your mouse) and they’re out of the way of the content and video that’s being shared.
Large gallery view lets you see up to 49 video streams at once. This view is available when there are 10 or more attendees who are sharing video. To switch to large gallery, go to More options (…) in the meeting controls > Large gallery.
Here’s what it looks like—pretty cool to see all those faces!
Together mode lets you feel like you’re in the same shared space with everyone in the meeting. (It might be even more fun than Large gallery.) It’s in the same menu as Large gallery, just below it. Here’s Together mode:
Both Large gallery and Together mode are being rolled out gradually over the next few weeks. If you don’t see them right away, check again later.
- Meeting notes are now taken directly on the meeting’s Meeting notes tab in the main Teams window. (This is one of the benefits of having the meeting in a separate window.) To access or take notes from within the meeting window, select More options (…) > Show meeting notes and you’ll see the usual side pane come up. In the pane, there is a Take notes button that brings you to the Meeting notes tab.
Focus mode is available when content is being shared. If you’d like to pay close attention to content, without the distraction of seeing video feeds, Focus mode is for you. It’s available in the meeting controls under More options (…) > Focus mode. Give it a whirl!
Common questions
- Has screen sharing changed? How do I share my screen?
No big changes here. In the meeting controls at the top, select Share screen. The screen choices you have will come up from the bottom of the meeting window just like they did before.
To stop sharing your screen, select Close screen share in the meeting controls. It’s the icon next to the Leave button.
- Why are message extensions grayed out? I like to send polls in meeting chat.
We’re working on it! For now, if you want to send a poll or use other message extensions in the meeting chat, go back to the main Teams window, select the meeting chat (either via the Calendar or the list in Chat), and do it there.
- What about InVision Freehand whiteboard?
Yup, we’re working on that, too.
- Will live events also open in their own window?
No, not yet—that functionality is coming soon.
- Focus mode is nice, but what about Full screen view?
We like Full screen view, too! (It’s available currently in meetings that happen in the main Teams window.) We’re working on bringing that to the new experience as well. When we do, you’ll have both Focus mode and Full screen view to choose from.
- Is this available for any license type?
The new experience isn’t available for Teams for Government or Teams free just yet. But soon.
- Which platforms?
The new meeting and calling experience is available for the Teams desktop client on both Windows and Mac. It’s not available for Teams on the web. (If you need to download the desktop client, go here.)
- What if I don’t turn the new experience on?
We’d love for you to try it out. We’re making it available in this way partly because in the near future, we’ll turn the experience on by default. Eventually, the setting to turn it on and off will go away. At that time, the experience of meetings in separate windows, with the meeting controls at the top, will become the norm. So we want you to have ample time to get familiar with it.
That’s our overview and how-to for this new meeting and calling experience. We hope you’ll try it. Remember to check for updates and restart the Teams client after you turn it on. Enjoy!
Microsoft Teams integration – Direct Routing with 3CX Phone Systems
Direct Routing
Its a well known fact that Microsoft Teams has seen a tremendous blast in the course of recent years. It has been totally significant in the manner organizations have faced the hardship. New working procedures have been taken on to cater for the home work space. Along these lines, it was just regular then for chairmen to check out the Phone framework side of Teams to perceive what it had to bringing to the table. Presumably large number of clients have now embraced the Teams telephone framework.
Notwithstanding, the framework isn’t as component rich as numerous PBX frameworks and furthermore has the fundamental disadvantage that assuming you need to settle on a decision over the PSTN, you either need to purchase pricey calling plans straightforwardly from Microsoft or track down an outsider assistance called Direct Routing.
We are not delving into the subtleties of what Direct Routing is nevertheless this actually doesn’t raise the Teams telephone framework into a completely fledged cloud-facilitated PBX.
The Solution
The arrangement, keep 3CX behind the scenes offering each of the extravagant provisions like call lines, computerized receptionists and revealing and so on, yet connect it to your Microsoft 365 occupant and use Teams as the ‘softphone’ customer, or the ‘front finish’ to settle on and get decisions.
The benefits are various including utilizing your less expensive favored SIP trunk provider to offer you that immeasurably significant PSTN breakout and brought together call history.
Prerequisites
- Users with Microsoft business subscription + a phone system license (or business voice) add-on
- An FQDN within your own email domain
- An SSL certificate covering the specific domain you have created from one of these providers
- SIP Port 5062 (TCP) is used if your 3CX is currently using a 3CX provided FQDN. Not required if you are already using your own domain.
- Some patience to wait for Teams to refresh. It can take up to 24 hours to present a dial pad.
- Users must have their ‘office phone number’ section configured in the Microsoft 365 admin centre
Restrictions
- The SSL certificate cannot be a wildcard
- The only calls that are not logged via the 3CX are Teams user to Teams user
Improve your communications with Microsoft Teams Phone System’s business phone systems
When choosing a phone system for your business, you want something that gives you freedom and flexibility, boosting communication and productivity. Microsoft Teams Phone System, we are specialists in cloud communications and business VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solutions to give you an alternative to traditional phone lines.
VoIP enables voice calls to be made over the internet rather than the traditional phone network, providing a business-grade solution that is cost-effective, secure and provides you with better business communications. VoIP allows voice calls to be made over the internet, and means that our business phone systems give you more choice, providing cost-effective and secure solutions for your business communication.
Our business phone systems include: SIP trunking, direct routing for Microsoft Teams, cloud based telephony with The VoIP Shop, and unified communications with Cisco. As a leading provider, we work with and understand the needs of businesses of all sizes. Whatever your needs, we’ll work with you to find the best solution and business phone system for your needs.
Microsoft Teams Phone System are different
Here’s why:
With decades of experience in the industry, the team here at Microsoft Teams Phone are business phone system experts. You will benefit from our knowledge and expertise to guide you to the perfect solution, every time. Choose Microsoft Teams Phone to discover seamless cloud communications with the quality, resilience and reliability of working with a leading and proven provider. As we only work with businesses, we understand the level of service and support that you need and are always there to help when you need us the most. Our team of industry experts have got the expertise and insight to help your business achieve your communications goals. We only ever speak in plain English, using our years of expertise to deliver the perfect solution for you and your business objectives. Achieve them today, and partner with a team you can trust.
Save money
VoIP business phone systems offer significant cost savings over traditional on-premise phone systems. Pricing is simple and affordable, and the low monthly costs per user/per channel are fixed and easy to manage. VoIP business phone systems are also scalable which means that you’ll only pay for what you need – and the phone system is easy to expand as your business grows.
All your business voice needs from one supplier
Microsoft Teams Phone System provides a single point of contact for all your business communications needs on a national and global scale – all under one contract from a single supplier.
Experience interoperability
Fully integrate legacy PBX or Unified Communications clients. If you have a legacy system without VoIP capabilities, Microsoft Teams can install ISDN conversion units, converting your traditional calls to SIP.
We understand business
We only work with businesses at Microsoft Teams Phone System. We understand the level of service and support that you need and are always there to help when you need us the most. When it comes to finding the perfect business phone system, we’ve got the knowledge and expertise to guide you to the ideal solution.
Exceptional customer service
Excellent customer service is at the heart of everything we do. If you want a trusted and proven provider that gives you 24/7 UK-based customer support, choose Microsoft Teams Phone System. No automated lines – just dedicated professionals waiting to hear from you.
We’re experts and specialists
Our team are all experts in the industry with many years of experience. They know their stuff and are perfectly-placed to guide you through the process, and find a solution that’s right for you, every time.
Certified & trusted partners
of leading vendors including Microsoft
We have close partnerships with some of the industry’s leading vendors and manufacturers, including theVoipShop and Yealink. When you choose an Microsoft Teams Phone System VoIP solution, you’ll benefit from our relationship with world-class technology partners. All infrastructure is designed for 99.999% uptime and is deployed in geographically redundant data centres.
We peer and directly interconnect with major networks and suppliers such as BT, Cisco. We proactively monitor across our entire network, and our engineers will be notified in the event of an outage. The chances are that we’ll know about any issues before you do, which lets us take a proactive approach and get things sorted quickly.
We are one of the first providers of direct routing for Microsoft Teams. With our direct routing solution, you can replace on-premise PBX hardware with Microsoft Teams using The Voip Shop trunks. Our international presence and global coverage means that your business can maximise its investment in Office 365 and Microsoft Teams. We provide DID numbers, local dial-in presence, and call routing management to emergency services in hundreds of international destinations.
Our Business Phone Systems
Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams
Want to fully integrate the world’s fastest growing unified communications platform? Microsoft Teams is taking the business world by storm, with more and more organizations migrating their communications over to Teams each day. Direct Routing with Microsoft Teams Phone System lets you take full advantage over Microsoft’s leading platform.
Whether you’re currently using Microsoft Teams or you’re looking to replace your existing system, Direct Routing allows you to connect Teams to Microsoft Teams Phone System’s SIP trunks. This means that you can make and receive external calls without needing a Microsoft Calling Plan or any on-premise equipment. Bring your costs down while improving your business communications with Microsoft Teams Phone System’s Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams.
Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams
Use Microsoft Teams as your business phone system
Make and receive phone calls in Microsoft Teams
Direct Routing is a simple and cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Calling Plans, allowing you to make calls to external landlines and mobile phones from Microsoft Teams using Microsoft Teams Phone System’s SIP trunks. Using Microsoft Teams Phone System’s carrier grade voice platform, Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams is a phone system in the cloud that provides all the features you expect from a traditional phone system; saving you the time and money you would spend to install and maintain and on-premises phone system.
Compatible with Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, E1, E3 or E5 with the Microsoft Phone System or Business Voice licence.
Fully Certified by Microsoft
Our Direct Routing service is fully certified by Microsoft. The Session Border Controllers (SBCs) that we use to connect our SIP Trunks to Microsoft Teams are manufactured by thevoipshop.co.uk, a global software leader in intelligent and secure cloud communications. They were among the first vendors whose SBCs were certified to work with Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams and remain fully certified by Microsoft to this day.
Global SIP network
We connect your business to the world with our SIP Trunks and Microsoft-Certified Session Border Controllers (SBCs), providing global coverage with full PSTN replacement in 40+ countries and number coverage in 100+ countries. Microsoft Teams Phone System guarantees the highest quality calls as we peer and directly interconnect with most major networks and suppliers, including , BT Open Reach exchanges. Direct Routing is a global voice service for organizations to easily leverage the power of Office 365 and Microsoft Teams.
Number porting and provisioning
Enjoy seamless porting of your existing phone numbers to Microsoft Teams Phone. Easily provision new numbers for your business in just a matter of minutes, with complete PSTN replacement available in over 40 countries and number coverage available in more than 100 countries.
Contact Centres
We have partnered with Mida to offer a complete call centre solution for Microsoft Teams. Mida LiteCallCenter (LCC) is a cost-effective yet complete solution providing all advanced functionalities required by call centres. It allows you to completely customise your call queuing and call-taking modules and view real-time statical reports while keeping your business compliant with the latest regulations.
Call Recording
The Voip Shop has developed a compliant call recording solution for Microsoft Teams Phone System. Our call recording solution helps your organisation comply with the PCI-DSS, GDPR and MIFID II regulations. The feature is flexible and gives you full control. You can record all calls or just certain users and departments, easily search through the archives and play recordings back, and store recordings for as long as 7 years.
Full PSTN Replacement
Our global coverage provides full PSTN replacement in 40+ countries and number coverage in 100+ countries.
Simplicity
Manage one unified and consolidated audio, video, and web conferencing solution rather than several products from multiple providers. Because it’s all done over the Internet and hosted within the The Voip Shop cloud, Direct Routing doesn’t require you to install and maintain an on-premise phone system, saving you time, money and hassle.
Global SIP network
We connect your business to the world with our SIP Trunks and Microsoft-Certified Session Border Controllers (SBCs). We guarantee the highest quality calls and global coverage with full PSTN replacement in 40+ countries and number coverage in 100+ countries. Microsoft’s Calling Plans are restricted to certain markets, currently available in only 10 countries worldwide. With Direct Routing, we provide more than 4 times the coverage, allowing your business to communicate with the rest of the world using Microsoft Teams.
Stress-free migration
Whether you are already using Microsoft Teams or completely replacing your existing phone system, we ensure a smooth and seamless migration to Microsoft Teams Phone System with Direct Routing. With decades of industry experience (both domestic and global), Microsoft Teams Phone System’s team of expert engineers and dedicated account managers are here to make your switch to Direct Routing as stress-free as possible.
Easy admin
Direct Routing is a modern cloud-based telephony solution that integrates into Office 365. Transform how work gets done by unifying calling, chat, meetings, calendar, and email for an all-in-one communication solution.
Fully managed
Microsoft Teams Phone System provides a fully managed solution for Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams. The Microsoft-certified Session Border Controller (SBCs) is hosted within the Microsoft Teams Phone System cloud and we handle all telephony services, allowing businesses to use Microsoft Teams to make and receive external calls without requiring any on-premise equipment. We provide a true 99.999% uptime SLA and 24/7 support from our dedicated support team of experienced engineers.
Cost effective
Dramatically cut down on your call costs with Microsoft Teams Phone System’s SIP Trunks. With Direct Routing, you only pay for the maximum number of concurrent calls you need, as opposed to paying for each user individually with Microsoft Calling Plans (which start from £9.10 per user per month). We offer simple and cost-effective per channel pricing; all of our pricing is clearly structured and transparent with no hidden costs.
Choose Your Own Telephone Provider
Route your calls over the internet with Microsoft Teams Phone System’s SIP Trunks. Connect Microsoft Teams Phone System’s SIP Trunks to Microsoft Teams via Microsoft-certified Session Border Controllers (SBCs). We use The Voip Shop’s Communication’s Microsoft-Teams certified SBCs. A Direct Routing solution that includes a Ribbon SBC is fully supported by Microsoft.
Number Porting
Seamlessly port your existing phone numbers to Microsoft Teams Phone System. Easily provision new numbers in just a matter of minutes. UK geographic, non-geographic and international ranges are available in 100+ countries while full PSTN (public switched telephone network) replacement is available in 40+ countries (including full CLI, local ring back and emergency services).
How Do We Deploy Direct Routing?
Microsoft introduced the concept of “Direct Routing” in 2018. Direct Routing allows organizations to route calls from their own SIP trunk provider directly to Teams, through a Microsoft-certified session border controller (SBC), in Office 365. This removes a major obstacle to Teams telephony adoption.
External Teams calls will originate in the cloud and connect through a SIP trunk to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). An SBC or media gateway is used to gather the call information and route it to the PSTN. SBCs are the preferred choice, because they offer security (e.g., encryption and topology hiding) and network address translation (NAT) traversal in addition to being able to translate between the differing codecs that Voice over IP (VoIP) uses.
We use Ribbon Communication’s Microsoft-Teams certified Session Border Controllers (SBCs) to deliver our Direct Routing service. Ribbon is a global software leader in intelligent and secure cloud communications and among the first vendors whose SBCs are certified to work with Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams. A Direct Routing solution that includes a Ribbon SBC is fully supported by Microsoft.
Microsoft Teams Phone provides a ‘carrier-hosted’ solution for Microsoft Teams Direct Routing. The Microsoft-certified SBC is hosted within the Microsoft Teams Phone cloud and we handle all telephony services, allowing businesses to use Microsoft Teams to make and receive external calls without requiring any on-premise equipment.
Microsoft Teams Phone System SIP trunks are connected to Microsoft Teams via the Microsoft-certified SBC – this then routes to the organisation’s Office 365 tenant and DID numbers will be allocated using PowerShell.
Once connected and configured, users that have applied the Microsoft Phone System add-on can make and receive calls to landlines and mobile phones using Microsoft Teams.
For global enterprises we can deploy virtual Session Border Controllers (vSBC’s) within the Azure network; ensuring localised break in and out. The various country locations for each vSBC will be effectively one hop from our network due to direct peering with Microsoft. Providing a fully managed multinational cloud solution by one provider, Microsoft Teams Phone System.
Enable full phone system capabilities for Microsoft Teams and Office 365 with Direct Routing from Microsoft Teams Phone
Make clear, reliable calls with Microsoft Teams. Teams is the hub for teamwork in Office 365 that allows users to easily chat, share files, data and conduct meetings online to improve productivity. With Direct Routing from Infinitel you can make and receive calls within Microsoft Teams without requiring Microsoft Calling Plans or on-premise equipment.
By using Infinitel’s SIP Trunks to route your calls over the internet, Direct Routing provides high quality voice services anywhere in the world, creating an even more powerful workplace productivity, collaboration and communications tool.
If your business is using Microsoft Teams, or if you are looking to replace your existing phone system, Direct Routing could be the ideal communications solution.
What is Phone System?
Phone System enables call control and PBX capabilities in the cloud with Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business Online.
With Phone System, users can use Teams or Skype for Business Online to place and receive calls, transfer calls, and mute or unmute calls. Phone System users can click a name in their address book, and place Teams or Skype for Business Online calls to that person. To place and receive calls, Phone System users can use their mobile devices, a headset with a laptop or PC, or one of many IP phones that work with Teams and Skype for Business Online. Phone System administrators can manage calling options and settings from the same console used for messaging, collaboration, and so on.
Calls between users in your organization are handled internally within Phone System, and never go to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). This applies to calls between users in your organization located in different geographical areas, removing long-distance costs on these internal calls.
For calls outside your organization, Microsoft provides multiple options for connecting Phone System to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Connect to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
Phone System can be connected to the PSTN in one of two ways:
- Purchase a Microsoft Calling Plan (domestic or domestic and international). Microsoft Calling Plan is an all-in-the-cloud solution with Microsoft as your PSTN carrier. For more information, see Phone System and Calling Plans.
- Use your existing telephony infrastructure for on-premises PSTN connectivity. For your Teams users, you can connect your on-premises telephony infrastructure to Phone System by using Direct Routing. For more information, see Phone System Direct Routing. For more information about all Microsoft telephony solutions, see Microsoft telephony solutions.
Phone System with services
Phone System can be used for services and voicemail, such as:
- Auto attendants – Auto attendants can be used to create a menu system for your organization that lets external and internal callers move through the system to locate and place or transfer calls to company users or departments in your organization. See What are Cloud auto attendants?.
- Call queues – Call queue greetings can be used when someone calls in to a phone number for your organization. These greetings include the ability to automatically put the calls on hold and the ability to search for the next available call agent to handle the call while the people who call are listening to music on hold. You can create single or multiple call queues for your organization. See Create a Cloud call queue.
- Voicemail – When you get a Phone System license for a user, that user is able to get voicemail that has been left by callers. Cloud Voicemail is automatically set up and provisioned for users after you assign a Phone System license and a phone number to them. See Set up Cloud Voicemail.
For more information about features, see Here’s what you get with Phone System. If you’re ready to get started, see Set up Phone System in your organization.
Related topics
Can I Use Microsoft Teams As A Phone System?
Yes! Meet Microsoft 365 Business Voice…
A huge number of businesses have embraced the use of Microsoft Teams recently…
…and it has become the centrepiece of communication for many home workers, reducing the need for phone calls and, ultimately, working as an internal phone system.
But many have asked the question, “Can it be used as a full phone system for both internal and external calls?”
The answer is, yes it can!
Microsoft 365 business Voice works within Microsoft Teams…
…so if you have less than 300 people and one of the following Microsoft 365 subscriptions, then it could work for you:
- Office 365 Business Essentials
- Office 365 Business Premium
- Office 365 E1
- Office 365 E3
- Office 365 F1
- Microsoft 365 A1
- Microsoft 365 A3
- Microsoft 365 E3
- Microsoft 365 Business
In order to use Microsoft 365 Business Voice you will need to transfer your existing phone numbers to Microsoft. Once you’ve done that, you can build a calling plan to fit your business, but as standard UK users receive 1,200 minutes of domestic calls per user.
Business Voice can be used with Yealink handsets, Jabra Headsets, your laptop or even your mobile phone.
Limitations
Although 365 Business Voice will manage functionality such as welcome messages, auto attendants, call queues, hunt groups and voicemail, it’s worth noting that complex phone set ups can be a challenge. If you have complex hunt groups, multi-level auto attendants or any very specific functionality then you will either have to make some compromises or stick with a more advanced phone system.
Having said that, the savings that can be made by moving to 365 Business Voice are significant, so it’s worth considering if some of your processes can be changed to meet its functionality.
Get More Info On Microsoft 365 Business Voice.
You can learn more about the solution by speaking to one of our help specialist on 011624 38426, or click the link below to go to our product page to read more.