Telekom, Microsoft merge Teams with Telekom's mobile network

Telekom is the only provider in Germany to offer a revolutionary innovation for Microsoft Teams soon: "Mobile für Microsoft Teams".

Two worlds are growing together: the best mobile network in Germany and one of world’s most-used business-customer collaboration solutions. The integration of business customers’ mobile phone numbers is a significant expansion of Teams in addition to the already enabled integration of landline and dial-in conference numbers.

Users can make calls directly in Teams regardless of their locations and devices and make and receive national and international calls with their own mobile phone number. The additional use of chat and video conferencing functions is a matter of course. With Mobile für Microsoft Teams, Microsoft and Telekom are creating a forward-looking solution for communication and collaboration.

Quickly installed and flexibly allocated

With Mobile für Microsoft Teams, all telephony services, including mobile, can be managed directly in the Microsoft Teams Admin Center. The set-up is simple: Telekom customers import the telephone numbers of the suitable business customer contract directly into Teams and assign them to their users. Companies can respond quickly and flexibly to the individual needs of their employees and receive a comprehensive solution from a single source.

This opens up new possibilities for mobile and hybrid working. The boundaries between telephony and meetings, mobile and desktop devices, office and field work are becoming even more seamless. The efficiency of administration goes hand in hand with the efficiency of use.

Two worlds grow together

No call is lost. The seamless fusion of Teams with the Telekom mobile network secures every connection. Even in the absence of a data connection, users can continue calling via mobile and even collaborate in Teams. While having mobile integration, the user has only one call history, voicemail and presence status across Teams and the mobile device.

The world of authentication via email addresses is merging with the world of uniquely assigned mobile phone numbers. Mobile numbers and Teams are quasi physically coupled. "Busy line" on the mobile device also means "Busy line" on all other Teams end points- and vice versa. In addition, well-known and familiar UCC functions (UCC: Unified Communication and Collaboration) of Teams, such as deputy or absence rules, are available on the move. If an out-of-office message is set up in Outlook, a corresponding text is played on the mobile mailbox. Interruptions are a thing of the past.

"People no longer work only in the office, but also in the home office, mobile and via different devices. Even after the pandemic, the work environment will continue to change. For example, IDC predicts a sharp drop in local business meetings to 25% in 2024," says Hagen Rickmann, Managing Director Business Customers Telekom Deutschland GmbH. "With our partner Microsoft, we offer Mobile für Microsoft Teams, a solution that unites all communication needs across platforms. This creates seamless fixed-mobile convergence and significantly increases the resilience of companies."

“Giving employees the choice and the ability to participate, contribute and collaborate seamlessly while working from home, the office or on the move is an important element in making Hybrid Work work for everyone,” said Ralph Haupter, President, Microsoft EMEA. “Our annual global Work Trend Index showed that 73% of respondents want flexible remote options to stay, making an effective hybrid model a crucial factor in retaining and attracting talent for organizations of all sizes and across all sectors.”

Ralph Haupter and Hagen Rickmann will introduce this solution on stage at Digital X on 14 September 2022.