Thanks in part to the global pandemic Microsoft Teams has exploded in popularity. Even if you or your organisation have not actively chosen to deploy Teams, it’s likely that you will have been invited to use it for a video conference call, or some form of collaborative working.

Other comms platforms are of course available, but Microsoft’s integration of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and ancillary services into the single product suite ‘Microsoft 365’ has made Teams the ‘go-to’ app for collaboration and productivity. Now, with the addition of VoIP functionality, Microsoft Teams has become an even greater driving force in productivity, as businesses can work leaner and smarter, with lower costs and better functionality.

That’s all great news for organisations looking to streamline their internal communications infrastructure. But it doesn’t stop there. Aside from making it easy for staff to handle phone calls—from their computers, smartphones, tablets, headsets and handsets via the Teams application no matter where they are located—if you have a Business Voice licence, you can also call anyone, anywhere, from Teams, even if they’re not using it.

Screengrab of Calls tab in Microsoft Teams with 'Contacts' option selected and keypad visible

How to make an external call with Microsoft Teams

To make an external call, just select “Calls” and then dial any number from your dial pad or “Contacts” and bingo, you’re done—external calling really is that straightforward.

What if I can’t see a keypad?

If you can’t see the dial pad when you click on “Calls” with the handset icon in Teams, this means that you don’t have a Business Voice licence as part of your Microsoft 365 subscription. If this is the case, making calls to external numbers isn’t available to you yet.

How can I get external calling on Microsoft Teams?

To remedy this, simply get in touch with us to discuss the Microsoft licence you require to access our Direct Routing service.

V12 customers enjoy the financial benefits of using this future proof technology to improve productivity and positively impact collaboration. Microsoft licence holders are able to use Teams to make external as well as internal calls in a fully secure Microsoft environment.

At V12 we have developed a simple, intuitive and cost-effective voice solution, which enables Teams users to easily make and receive external calls as well as dialling internal Microsoft extensions. With unlimited UK minutes included and the ability to dial over 160 international countries, our service has been deployed in the UK and beyond across a number of sectors including Energy, Technology, Retail and Telecoms.

If you would like to know more about this great value, easy to deploy solution, we’d love to hear from you.