In July 2021, Microsoft retired Skype for Business Online (SfBO). As a result, many organizations find themselves with the uncertainty of protecting the investment they have made in Skype for Business Online phones (3PIP phones). Therefore, Microsoft is announcing a solution to help them upgrade to Teams. Through SIP Gateway, organizations can enable these devices to securely connect and function as Microsoft Teams endpoints. Skype for Business Online will be permanently turned off on July 31, 2023, so we encourage you to make necessary updates as soon as possible.
What is SIP Gateway?
SIP Gateway enables customers to use compatible 3rd-party devices with Teams and leverage the following core Teams calling features:
- Incoming and outgoing calls with hold/resume and transfer
- Call forwarding
- Dial-in to and dial-out from meetings
- In-a-call presence and “Do not disturb” settings on devices
- Dynamic E911 support on select SIP Gateway compatible devices
- Voicemail and message waiting indicator
SIP Gateway is available with your Teams Phone Standard license with PSTN enabled.
Why should you upgrade to SIP Gateway?
With SIP Gateway you can continue using your devices with Teams through a more secure, future ready core telephony platform. SIP Gateway provides the following benefits:
- Added security: Upgrade to SIP Gateway for a more secure experience for your phone devices with Teams.
- Future ready core telephony platform: SIP Gateway will invest in scenarios that are not available for 3PIP phones today.
- Join Teams Meetings on SIP Devices: Users can attend Teams meetings from SIP devices, and meetings attendees can invite a SIP device to the meeting.
- Manage multiple concurrent calls: Make concurrent calls, receive calls by placing calls on hold, or combine calls into one call.
When should you get started?
SIP Gateway is the recommended approach for customers to continue using 3PIP phones to connect and work with Teams. Upgrading your 3PIP devices to SIP Gateway can be lengthy, so we highly encourage beginning the process as soon as possible.
We would be happy to assist you during this transition. To start taking full advantage of your Microsoft investment, please reach out to us.
