21 July 2021, Southampton – The COVID crisis has bred an exponential increase in the use of collaboration tools, particularly Microsoft Teams. This has deeply embedded Microsoft Teams into modern working culture, with recent research of 791 businesses revealing that 50% of businesses are using the software more often and 48% are exploring more features within Teams than pre-COVID. Additionally, over a third of Enterprise users intend to increase their usage of MS Teams going forward.
As businesses have adapted to the rapid changes in daily life ushered in by the pandemic, remote working and hybrid working have become vital solutions. This has subsequently brought on the need for seamless and flexible telephony systems and cloud-based communications.
Callroute works by connecting Teams to the PSTN to enable external calling on any device. This naturally covers remote and office models, across multiple devices, locations, and hardwares – making for a flexible solution that is ideal for hybrid working.
Naturally, there has been a huge increase in demand for Direct Routing solutions. The survey, conducted by Callroute, demonstrated that 90% of surveyed participants stated that they would be interested in making external calls from Teams. However, only 4.5% of businesses currently use a Direct Routing solution.
The Direct Routing landscape is still in its infancy. Early adopters have experienced lengthy and complicated configuration and integration processes, with inflexible pricing. However, Callroute set out to transform this landscape by building a genuine UCaaS platform that automates the end-to-end Direct Routing set up, from SBC configuration through to number provisioning and porting. Unlike other providers using engineered solutions, Callroute enables users to get started in minutes and then provides a self-serve platform to manage the service.
Toby Gold, CEO at Callroute states “PSTN calling capability is the missing piece of the puzzle when enabling Teams to be the best-unified communications platform on the market. Launching Direct Routing should be simple. However, we have heard repeatedly from customers that they’ve struggled to roll out Direct Routing.
We believe Callroute solves that. By building proprietary technology that automates the integration process, we enable customers to be up and running with Direct Routing in minutes. We also believe that truly unified communications should deliver greater flexibility and cost-saving opportunities, which is why we offer a more flexible per-channel pricing model, rather than charging per user.”
Callroute launched in beta in Q4 2020 and has now moved to a full launch for both their Free and Business products. The company’s uniquely developed Direct Routing technology offers four distinct benefits that simplify Direct Routing adoption and provide customer flexibility.
1. Ability to automate Direct Routing configuration: Callroute automates the end-to-end Direct Routing set up, from SBC configuration through to number provisioning and porting, enabling users to place external calls from Teams in minutes.
2. Flexible per-channel pricing: Multiple users can be allocated per channel based on business demand. Combined with auto scaling that increases capacity as required, businesses only pay for the voice channels they need rather than every user.
3. International capabilities: Callroute allows businesses to grow a global presence affordably using their established global network, providing access to international numbers and simple international calling plans.
4. Option to try a free channel for life: Callroute offers a free voice channel for life rather than a time-limited trial, enabling businesses to experience the value of Direct Routing for as long as they need, without commitment.
