8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams Delivers Cost-effective, Native Calling Experience for Teams Users

August 17, 2023 at 09:00 AM EDT

Next Generation Version Expands 8x8's Microsoft Teams Solution Portfolio, Providing Seamless User and Admin Experiences and Improved Performance

8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT), a leading integrated cloud contact center and unified communications platform provider, today announced the next generation of the 8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams, which natively puts calls where users expect them, the Teams calling window, providing intuitive user experiences and enhanced performance. Built on 8x8's direct routing service, the 8x8 Phone App connects the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) with Microsoft Teams to provide organizations with the most cost-effective method to enable native calling in Teams without additional software, desktop plugins, mobile apps, or requiring per user Teams Phone licenses.

“More than 64% of organizations state that the primary driver for Microsoft Teams phone adoption is having access to an integrated user experience and calling capabilities,” said Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy. “8x8 offers a unique capability to embed its calling capabilities directly within the Teams app, offering both simplified user experience as well as easier deployment and management. This approach enables a native telephony experience, allowing users to remain in the flow of work within Microsoft Teams.”

This upgraded version is part of the 8x8 for Microsoft Teams solution portfolio that includes the solution certified for Teams 8x8 Contact Center, and the premium direct routing as a service solution, 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams. With over 350,000 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams licenses sold, 8x8 is enabling Teams users with global telephony capabilities, which allows for organizations to optimize costs by assigning licenses based on user role and business need. The solutions are built on the 8x8 XCaaS™ (eXperience Communications as a Service™) integrated cloud communications and contact center platform, providing organizations with global coverage and full cloud telephony replacement in 59 countries.

The 8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams streamlines the user experience and administrative overhead by holding calls natively in Teams, unlike other UCaaS integrations that pull users outside of Teams for PSTN calls. By conducting all calls and functions within Microsoft Teams, the 8x8 Phone App provides accurate presence status, call transfers, recording, captions, and transcriptions. Further, the integration is provisioned from the cloud by an administrator without device management tools, allowing for streamlined training, support, and deployment.

Key features of 8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams include:

Cost-effective PSTN calling in Microsoft Teams: Provides organizations with a low-cost PSTN calling option, for virtually all 8x8 X Series license holders, at a fraction of the cost of licensing Teams Phone per user.
Native user experience that keeps users in Teams: Offers an intuitive user experience that requires no additional plugins or software installed on the desktop or mobile device. This includes the ability to manage all call activities within Microsoft Teams, answer and conduct PSTN phone calls within the native Teams calling window whether on desktop, mobile, or the web, and flip active calls between authenticated Teams devices, while providing complete call history and data across platforms.
Improved performance: New backend connection method, based on Direct Routing, provides seamless integration and improved user experiences.
Streamlined deployment: 8x8 Phone App can only be deployed by administrators from the cloud, so no device management or additional configuration tools are required. This deployment method directly in Teams minimizes user friction and maximizes IT efficiency making it simple to manage and support.
Flexible licensing: For organizations that need the full experience of direct routing through 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams and 8x8 Contact Center, the 8x8 Phone App can also be licensed and assigned at the user level. This allows organizations to select the right license for each user based on the specific needs of each job function in the business, optimizing operating costs, and improving productivity.

“At 8x8, we are constantly looking for ways to innovate and provide our customers with the products and experiences that best fit their business and working needs,” said Hunter Middleton, Chief Product Officer at 8x8, Inc. “With the 8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams, we are providing our customers with the familiar Teams user interface coupled with our resilient, secure, compliant, and reliable technology on the backend. By providing a truly Teams native calling experience, we are not only offering a cost-effective option that improves productivity and efficiency, but it also enhances the overall user experience.”

8x8 XCaaS™ (eXperience Communications as a Service™), which includes integrated cloud contact center, business phone, team chat, video meetings, and SMS capabilities, is a resilient, secure, and compliant cloud platform that offers the highest levels of reliability with a financially backed, platform-wide 99.999 percent uptime SLA across an integrated cloud UCaaS and CCaaS solution.

Watch the enhanced 8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams in action here.

About 8x8 Inc.

8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) is transforming the future of business communications as a leading software as a service provider of 8x8 XCaaS™ (eXperience Communications as a Service™), an integrated contact center, voice communications, video, chat, and SMS solution built on one global cloud communications platform. 8x8 uniquely eliminates the silos between unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact center as a service (CCaaS) to power the communications requirements of all employees globally as they work together to deliver differentiated customer experiences. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com, or follow 8x8 on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

8x8®, 8x8 XCaaS™, eXperience Communications as a Service™, eXperience Communications Platform™ are trademarks of 8x8, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230817576840/en/

The next generation @8x8 Phone App for #MicrosoftTeams provides native calling in the #Teams calling window to provide intuitive user experiences and enhanced performance. #customerobsessedcommunications #XCaaS #CX