Call

Voice and video

Microsoft Teams

Business calls inside Microsoft Teams, on the numbers your customers know, next to the chat, meetings and files your staff already use, set up and supported by the team that manages your Microsoft 365.

Ask about Teams calling

Who it is for

Businesses in Teesside and the North East whose staff already work in Microsoft Teams all day but still make and take calls on a separate phone system and a desk phone, and those replacing ISDN or analogue lines before the January 2027 switch-off who would rather not buy another phone system at all.

What you get

Your business phone numbers inside Teams through Direct Routing, so staff make and take ordinary calls on a laptop, a mobile or a Teams-certified desk phone, with auto-attendants and call queues built in Teams, your existing numbers ported, and the whole thing supported by the Odyssey team that already manages your Microsoft 365 tenant and licences.

The problem

Your team already works in Microsoft Teams, but calls still go through a separate phone system and a desk phone, so people switch between tools all day.

Teams is where the day happens: chat, meetings, files, the calendar. Calls are the one thing left outside it, on a handset tied to a desk, or diverted to a personal mobile when someone works from home. Customers know the office number, so that number has to keep ringing somewhere, and some people in the business, reception, the warehouse, the workshop, still need a physical handset.

Teams Phone adds calling to the licences you already pay for, but Microsoft does not connect it to the UK phone network for you. That is what Direct Routing does: it connects Teams to our telephony platform, so your numbers ring in Teams and calls go out showing the business number. The alternative, Microsoft's own calling plans, is simpler to buy but gives you no local engineer to call and no say over how your numbers are handled.

The common mistake is treating it as a software setting. It is a phone system move: every line and number has to be audited and ported, call flows designed, handsets chosen for the people who need them, and the connection checked for capacity. Done that way, the move is quiet, and nobody has to give up a handset they rely on.

What Odyssey provides

  • Phone numbers and calling in Microsoft Teams through Direct Routing, on your existing numbers
  • Auto-attendants and call queues built in Teams, so calls reach the right team in the right order
  • Calls on laptops, mobiles and Teams-certified desk phones and headsets for the people who want one
  • Teams Connect: Teams users and Odyssey phone system extensions calling each other, so you need not move everyone at once
  • Teams meetings, chat and file sharing set up to match, by the team that manages your Microsoft 365
  • Changes and support from our service desk, answered within three rings

What is included

IncludedDetail
AuditEvery line and number you have today and where each one goes, so nothing is missed before the port
LicensingThe Teams Phone licences each user needs, supplied and assigned as a Microsoft partner alongside your Microsoft 365
Direct RoutingTeams connected to our telephony platform, with your numbers assigned to users, queues and attendants
Call flowsAuto-attendants, call queues, opening-hours rules and voicemail configured in Teams to match how you answer the phone
Number portingExisting numbers moved into Teams on an agreed date so customers keep dialling the same numbers
DevicesTeams-certified desk phones and headsets supplied and configured for the people who need them
SupportCalling and Teams questions handled by our service desk, and changes made remotely

Not included, or sold separately

Call charges
Billed separately, on an inclusive minute bundle or pay per minute, whichever suits you
Handsets
Teams-certified desk phones and headsets are priced separately, purchased or on a monthly charge
The internet connection
Teams calls need capacity to spare; business broadband, a leased line and a 4G or 5G backup are separate services
Contact centre
Queues and attendants in Teams cover most teams; a contact centre in Teams with CRM integration and agent reporting is the contact centre and CTI service
Call recording
Recordings for disputes or compliance are added through the call reporting and recording service
Alarm, lift and door-entry lines
Each needs its own digital replacement before the switch-off, arranged separately

How it is delivered

  1. Audit your lines and numbers

    The lines and numbers you have today and where each one goes, who supplies them and which people answer which calls, so every number is accounted for before anything moves.

  2. Design the call flows in Teams

    Auto-attendants, call queues and opening-hours rules designed with the people who answer the phone, and a decision on who keeps a physical handset and who uses the Teams app.

  3. License and connect

    Teams Phone licences assigned, Direct Routing connected to our platform, and Teams Connect set up where some people stay on an Odyssey phone system extension.

  4. Port the numbers and go live

    Handsets and apps are set up and tested while your current lines still work; then the numbers are ported on an agreed date and routed to the Teams queues and attendants. Porting usually takes 10 to 20 working days for single numbers, longer for ranges and multi-line numbers.

  5. Support it alongside your Microsoft 365

    The same service desk that manages your tenant and licences handles calling questions, new starters and call-flow changes, answered within three rings.

Why trust Odyssey with this

  • 1987

    Business telephony specialists since 1987

  • 3

    Calls answered within three rings, and a director is always reachable

  • In-house

    All work completed by Odyssey employees, never subcontracted

  • Odyssey is a Microsoft partner

Questions people ask

Can we use our existing numbers in Teams?

Yes. Your numbers are ported into Teams through Direct Routing so customers keep dialling the same numbers, and they ring in the Teams app on a laptop or mobile or on a Teams-certified desk phone.

What is Direct Routing?

The way Teams connects to the ordinary phone network. Teams Phone gives users the calling feature; Direct Routing connects it to our telephony platform, so your business numbers ring in Teams and calls go out showing the business number.

Do we need desk phones to use Teams calling?

No. Staff can call from Teams on a computer or mobile, and Teams-certified desk phones and headsets are available for anyone who prefers a handset, such as reception or a workshop.

Can some people stay on our existing phone system?

Yes. Teams Connect lets Teams users and Odyssey phone system extensions call each other, so you can move the office to Teams and keep the warehouse on handsets without running two separate systems.

Can calls be answered by a team, not just a person?

Yes. Auto-attendants and call queues in Teams route a call to a team in the right order, with opening-hours rules and voicemail, set up to match how you answer the phone today.

Does Teams calling work with the rest of Microsoft 365?

Yes. Calls, chat, meetings and files sit in one place, and we manage Teams calling alongside the rest of your Microsoft 365 tenant and licences, so one team looks after all of it.

Will our internet connection cope?

Calls need capacity to spare. We check what your address can get and recommend business broadband or a leased line, with a 4G or 5G backup so the phones keep ringing if the line fails.

Does this replace our ISDN lines before the switch-off?

Yes. Numbers moved into Teams no longer depend on ISDN or analogue lines, which are retired on 31 January 2027. We audit every line first, because the alarm, lift and card terminal lines need their own digital replacement.

Challenges this helps with

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Rather talk? Call 01642 661888. Already a customer with a fault? Call the service desk on 01642 661800.

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