Layla UsmanCan You Use Microsoft Teams as a Full Business Phone System?
Practical BroadConnect guide for Australian businesses, features, limits, migration tips and a low-risk pilot plan
Microsoft Teams has evolved from a collaboration app into a full telephony platform for many organisations. But is it ready to replace a dedicated Cloud PBX or SIP trunking setup for your business? Short answer: sometimes, and only when the right architecture, connectivity and governance are in place. This guide explains when Teams Calling is a great fit, where it falls short, how to architect it for resilience in Australia, and a simple pilot plan you can run with BroadConnect.
Explore how Teams integrates with managed voice at BroadConnect: Microsoft Teams integration, or compare Cloud PBX options: Cloud PBX.
What “using Teams as a phone system” really means
There are two main ways to turn Teams into your phone system:
- Microsoft Calling Plans — Microsoft supplies PSTN minutes directly (limited availability and usually not the lowest cost). See Microsoft’s overview of Teams Calling Plans.
- Direct Routing — your phone system connects to Teams via a session border controller (SBC) and a telco/SIP trunk. This is the common enterprise approach and gives you control over carriers, numbers and routing. See Microsoft’s documentation on Direct Routing.
Direct Routing + Teams gives you full dial-tone in Teams, but it still needs the same underlying voice architecture — SIP trunks, number porting, call recording, emergency calling and QoS on your network.
What Teams does very well
Teams nails telephony for many modern workflows because it’s native to the collaboration experience: presence, click-to-call from chat, calendar-aware routing, single-sign on, and mobile apps that match the desktop experience. It also simplifies user training because people already use Teams for meetings and chat.
Teams phones are available from certified vendors (Yealink, Poly, Logitech etc.) — check Microsoft’s list of Teams-certified devices. BroadConnect can help source and provision certified hardware through our Hardware & Provisioning service.
Where Teams can need help (real constraints)
Teams Calling is powerful, but there are important enterprise concerns to plan for:
- Carrier control & number portability. You still need SIP trunking or calling plans to place/receive PSTN calls and port numbers. BroadConnect manages porting and SIP trunk integration: SIP Trunking.
- Call centre / ACD features. Advanced contact centre features (skill-based routing, wallboards, workforce management) often need a dedicated contact centre platform or third-party integration. See our Contact Centre Solutions.
- Call recording & compliance. Recording policies, storage location and transcript handling must meet industry and privacy rules. For Australian data residency and transcription, consider on-shore recording solutions: AI meeting transcription & call recording.
- Network & QoS. Voice quality depends on network design (VLANs, QoS, business NBN, and failover). Use a business-grade connection and optional mobile redundancy: Business NBN • Business mobile plans.
- Emergency calling. Teams must be configured for accurate Emergency Location Information (ELIN) to meet Australian regulations — your SBC/provider must support this.
- Governance & security. Ensure TLS/SRTP, SBC hardening, and identity controls. BroadConnect’s Cybersecurity team can help design secure voice paths.
For official guidance on Teams Phone System architecture see Microsoft’s overview: Teams Phone System.
Example: pilot KPI table (realistic outcomes)
Below is a representative before/after table based on BroadConnect pilots where Teams Calling was deployed with Direct Routing, certified devices, SIP trunking and network optimisation. Use it to build your business case.
| KPI | Before (legacy PBX) | After (Teams + Direct Routing pilot) |
| Missed calls (%) | 16% | 5% |
| Average time to answer (sec) | 50 | 18 |
| Monthly per-user telecom cost (AUD) | $62 | $39 |
| Time to provision new user (days) | 3 | 0.5 |
| CSAT (post-call) | 74% | 87% |
These sample results come from mixed-industry pilots run with standard BroadConnect settings — your outcomes will vary. We’ll model a 90-day pilot for your environment and produce an accurate TCO.
We have worked with BroadConnect for several years now and their service has been amazing. When we transitioned our office phones and internett to BC, the team was quick to answer queries and gave regular updates during the process. The support team is always quick to respond to queries and provide updates to our phone system and provide solutions to any issues we have.
Feature comparison (quick view)
| Capability | Teams (Direct Routing) | Cloud PBX (traditional hosted) |
| Single app for calling + collaboration | Excellent | Varies / may need softphone |
| Deep Teams UI & presence | Native | No |
| Carrier choice & negotiation | Yes (via SBC) | Yes |
| Advanced contact centre features | Requires add-on | Often built-in |
| Rapid user provisioning | Excellent (via Azure AD) | Good (vendor portals) |
| Local data recording & retention | Possible (with design) | Often easier via vendor |
Migration checklist — practical steps to follow
- Run a network readiness test (bandwidth, jitter, VLANs, QoS). If needed, upgrade to Business NBN or add 4G/5G failover.
- Decide architecture: Calling Plans vs Direct Routing. Most Australian businesses choose Direct Routing for cost and carrier control. See Microsoft Direct Routing docs.
- Plan devices: choose Teams-certified phones or use the Teams app on mobiles/desktops. BroadConnect helps with procurement via Hardware & Provisioning.
- Prepare SBC & SIP trunking: implement a hardened SBC and test with your SIP provider; BroadConnect provides carrier and SIP trunk management.
- Pilot (10–30 users): validate call quality, number porting, Teams features and emergency location. Measure the KPIs in the table above.
- Scale & document governance: implement call recording policies, retention, security posture and SLAs. Use on-shore storage for sensitive data where required: AI meeting transcription & call recording.
If you’d like, BroadConnect will manage the whole migration end-to-end: network tests, porting, provisioning and ongoing support via Managed IT & Networking.
Compliance & privacy — Australia specifics
Two regulatory points to note: the Privacy Act / Australian Privacy Principles govern how you store and process personal data (including call recordings), and ACMA rules touch telemarketing and emergency calling obligations. Keep recordings and transcripts on-shore when your industry requires it. See OAIC on the Privacy Act and ACMA guidance on telecommunications obligations.
Cost considerations & TCO
Teams can reduce per-user costs by removing some telco charges and consolidating apps, but don’t forget one-off migration costs: number porting, SBC deployment, device refresh and network upgrades. Always request a 36-month TCO that includes provisioning labour and recording storage. BroadConnect’s quoting process bundles Cloud PBX, SIP trunks and connectivity where appropriate so you can compare apples-to-apples: Our Services.
Who should use Teams as a full phone system?
Teams Calling is an excellent fit when your organisation:
- Already uses Teams widely and wants a single app for calls and meetings.
- Needs rapid provisioning tied to Azure AD.
- Wants to centralise collaboration and telephony around one user experience.
- Is prepared to invest in network readiness, SBC control and compliance design.
If you run a heavy inbound contact centre, or have specialised telephony needs (complex IVR, workforce optimisation), pair Teams with a contact centre platform or evaluate a dedicated Cloud PBX for those workloads.
Next steps (BroadConnect can help)
Want us to model this with your numbers? BroadConnect will run a network readiness test, scope a 30-day Teams Calling pilot (Direct Routing), and deliver a full TCO and compliance plan.
Ready to Upgrade?
Talk to our Sydney-based team today to find out how BroadConnect can transform your business communications.
📞 Book a Consultation or email us at hello@broadconnect.com.au to get started.
Getting connected with Broadconnect is simple and quick:
Visit us: Level 26, 1 Bligh Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Call: 1300 880 330
Email: hello@broadconnect.com.au