Many SMEs are still paying monthly for a physical telephone exchange they use less and less. Microsoft Teams Phone offers an alternative that fits entirely within your existing Microsoft 365 environment. How does it work, which connection option suits you, and what do you need to arrange before switching?
Tens of thousands of SMEs in the Netherlands are still paying monthly for a physical telephone exchange, an ISDN line, or a VoIP subscription managed through a separate admin console. At the same time, those same employees use Microsoft Teams for meetings, chat, and collaboration. The result is two separate worlds: the phone and the rest of the workplace.
Microsoft Teams Phone makes it possible to merge those worlds. Calls over the public telephone network, whether to customers, suppliers, or the local council, then run through the same Teams client employees already use all day. In 2026, this is no longer an experimental option: the technology is mature, the range of Dutch telecommunications providers is broad, and a growing number of SMEs have already made the switch.
Teams Phone is the name for the telephony layer on top of Microsoft Teams. You make and receive calls directly from the Teams app, on your laptop, phone, or a Teams-certified desk phone. Features you know from a traditional exchange, such as call transfer, queues, auto-attendants, and shared lines, are available through the Teams admin console in the Microsoft 365 portal.
The fundamental difference from traditional telephony is that no separate hardware exchange is needed. The intelligence resides in the Microsoft cloud, and management runs through the same environment as all other Microsoft 365 settings. For smaller organisations without a fulltime IT administrator, that is a significant simplification.
Teams Phone does not come with telephone numbers or a connection to the public network. For that you need one of three connection methods. The choice depends on your current situation, the size of your organisation, and your preference for management.
The first option is the Microsoft Calling Plan. Microsoft itself supplies the telephone numbers and the connection to the public network, including emergency calls. You manage everything from the Microsoft 365 portal: requesting numbers, assigning them to users, and managing call minutes. This is the simplest option, suited to organisations that do not want to bring along an existing provider and are looking for a fully managed solution. The Calling Plan is broadly available in the Netherlands, and the flat-rate structure makes costs predictable.
The second option is Operator Connect. Your existing or a new telecommunications provider connects its network directly to Teams via a certified link with Microsoft. You keep your own telephone numbers and your own call contract, but manage the numbers from the Microsoft 365 portal rather than a separate provider portal. Operator Connect combines the convenience of central management with the flexibility of your own provider. KPN, Odido, Vodafone, Gamma Telecom, and dozens of other providers offer this.
The third option is Direct Routing. You connect your own Session Border Controller to Teams via a SIP trunk. This gives the most freedom: you can use any compatible provider and any existing number bundle, and configure specific call scenarios that are not possible through the other options. Direct Routing requires technical expertise and is most suitable for larger organisations or environments with specific requirements, such as contact centres or integrations with other business systems.
Teams Phone requires a Teams Phone licence per user. This licence is included in Microsoft 365 Business Voice, Microsoft 365 E5, and the Microsoft 365 E7 Frontier Suite. For organisations on Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium it is a separate add-on. In addition to the Teams Phone licence, the Calling Plan requires a separate call minutes subscription. With Operator Connect and Direct Routing, call costs are arranged with your provider.
For organisations that have not yet decided which combination is most cost-effective, a straightforward calculation is useful. Add up your current monthly costs: your exchange subscription, your ISDN or VoIP connections, any hardware maintenance, and the admin time your telephony system costs. Compare that with the combined cost of Teams Phone licences plus your new call subscription. In practice, that comparison often turns out positive, particularly when employees use Teams for both landline and mobile calls.
Most businesses want to keep their fixed telephone numbers when switching. That is possible with all three connection options through number portability. The process differs by provider and option, but in most cases takes between two and four weeks. During that period your number remains reachable.
A phased migration works best for SMEs. Start with a pilot group of five to ten users who already work intensively in Teams. Test all the features you use daily: incoming calls, call transfer, voicemail, shared lines, and, if applicable, an auto-attendant for the main number. Only once the pilot group is running smoothly should you roll out to the rest of the organisation.
Desk phones are a sensitive point at most organisations. Teams Phone works via a softphone in the Teams client on a laptop or smartphone, but for receptionists or users accustomed to a physical handset there are Teams-certified desk phones from manufacturers such as Yealink, Polycom, and Audiocodes. Those devices are managed from the same Microsoft 365 console as all other Teams settings.
An often-overlooked point is the configuration of emergency calls. With traditional telephony, your location is automatically known to an emergency dispatch centre. With cloud telephony, you must explicitly configure this location information per user or per location in the Teams admin environment. Microsoft requires this for the Calling Plan and Operator Connect; your provider handles it for Direct Routing.
Configure emergency call locations before putting Teams Phone into production. For organisations with multiple offices, set up a separate location address for each site. It is a one-time action that can easily be updated later.
Teams Phone is the right choice for most SMEs, but not for everyone. If you operate an extensive contact centre with specific queue and reporting functionality, there are specialist solutions that fit better. Teams Phone offers basic queues and auto-attendants, but not full contact centre functionality unless you add a certified contact centre integration.
Companies with a poor or unstable internet connection also need to be cautious. Teams Phone is entirely dependent on your internet connection. If it goes down, calls are not possible unless you have set up a mobile fallback. For organisations where telephony is business-critical, a redundant internet connection is therefore strongly recommended.
Three steps to approach the switch in an orderly way. First, map your current situation: how many numbers do you use, which features are essential, when does your current contract expire. Second, decide which connection option fits best: Calling Plan for a fully Microsoft-managed approach, Operator Connect if you want to keep your current provider, Direct Routing for specific requirements. Third, start a pilot with a small group and evaluate after four weeks before planning the wider roll-out.
The transition from a traditional exchange to Teams Phone is technically less complex than most SMEs expect. The preparation, arranging numbers, configuring emergency calls, and setting up queues, requires more attention than the technical installation itself. Want to be guided through the approach and roll-out of Microsoft Teams Phone? Zarioh assists SMEs from the initial exploration to a fully working cloud telephony environment. Contact us for a no-obligation conversation.
