Microsoft Teams Calling Features | What's Possible with Teams 365

What Can Microsoft Teams Calling Actually Do?

Microsoft Teams Calling — properly called Teams Phone when external calling is enabled — is a complete business telephone system embedded within Microsoft 365. It goes well beyond simple call-and-answer functionality, offering a feature set that competes directly with dedicated hosted VoIP platforms. This guide covers the full feature set, what is included in the base Teams Phone licence, and what requires additional investment.

Core Calling Features

Auto-Attendant

Teams Phone auto-attendants answer inbound calls with a custom greeting and route callers based on dial input or speech recognition. Multiple attendants can be configured — for example, a main company number, a direct sales line, and an after-hours attendant — each with separate greetings, routing rules, and holiday schedules. Auto-attendants are free to configure and can be assigned direct phone numbers.

Call Queues

Call queues distribute inbound calls across a group of agents (Teams users). When all agents are busy, callers are placed in a queue with configurable hold music and estimated wait announcements. Queue overflow and timeout rules determine what happens when wait thresholds are exceeded. Call queues are essential for customer-facing teams handling multiple simultaneous inbound calls.

Voicemail with Transcription

Teams Phone voicemail includes automatic transcription — voicemail messages appear as readable text in the Teams conversation thread. Users can read, listen to, or share voicemail without leaving the Teams interface. Voicemail is available across all devices the user has Teams installed on.

Call Transfer

Attended transfer (speak to colleague before transferring) and blind transfer (direct transfer without consultation) are both supported. Transfer to external numbers is also available, enabling calls to be transferred to a mobile or a non-Teams colleague.

Call Park and Retrieve

A call can be parked — placed on hold in a shared holding area — and retrieved by any user within the organisation. Useful for reception environments where calls need to be handed off to the correct person without a direct extension transfer.

Advanced Calling Features

Call Recording

Convenience call recording (user-initiated) is available with Teams Premium. Compliance recording (automatic, tamper-evident, mandatory) requires a Microsoft-certified compliance recording partner. This is one area where Teams Phone differs from many hosted VoIP platforms — recording is not in the base licence.

Call Analytics and Reporting

The Teams Admin Centre provides call quality dashboards, per-user call history, and Real Time Analytics showing active calls. Microsoft 365 Power BI integration enables custom call reporting. For contact centre environments, more detailed analytics require additional Microsoft tooling or a certified CCaaS solution.

Direct Routing

Direct Routing connects Teams Phone to the PSTN via a third-party SBC (Session Border Controller) and SIP trunk. This provides flexibility in carrier selection, call cost management, and the ability to maintain existing phone numbers and carrier contracts alongside Teams Phone.

Operator Connect

Operator Connect is a managed PSTN connectivity option where Microsoft-certified carriers (including BT, Gamma, and others) connect their network directly to Teams Phone via Microsoft's cloud. It simplifies SIP trunk management compared to Direct Routing while retaining carrier choice.

Collaboration-Integrated Calling

A distinguishing feature of Teams Phone is its integration with the broader Teams collaboration platform:

• Presence awareness: Call status (on a call, away, do not disturb) is visible across the organisation in Teams
• Calling from chat: One-click escalation from a Teams chat to a voice or video call
• Meeting to call: Seamless transition between a Teams meeting and a private call
• Contact integration: Teams directory, Outlook contacts, and CRM contacts all accessible during calls
• Teams Rooms integration: Meeting rooms can be equipped to make and receive Teams Phone calls

Devices and Endpoints

Teams Phone works across the Teams desktop client (Windows and Mac), the Teams mobile app (iOS and Android), and Teams-certified IP phones from Yealink, Poly, and others. Teams-certified devices provide native integration with the calling features — answering calls, holding, transferring — without opening the Teams app on a PC.

Licensing Summary

Base Teams Phone licence: approximately £6–£12/user/month (depending on the Microsoft 365 base plan). Microsoft Calling Plans: approximately £5–£9/user/month for domestic calling. Teams Premium (for convenience recording and advanced meetings): approximately £7/user/month additional. Total cost for a Teams Phone user with calling plan: approximately £11–£21/user/month depending on configuration.

AMVIA helps businesses assess Teams Phone licensing requirements, configure the full feature set, and deploy across all user devices — as a fully managed Teams Phone deployment service.