Teams Phone Migration: Landline to Cloud Telephony

Modernising Telephony with Microsoft Teams Phone

A Sydney-based logistics and freight clearance company relied on a single office landline as its communication lifeline. All customer calls funnelled into this one number, which was shared by a small team of three staff. This legacy setup posed obvious limitations: if one staff member was on the phone, any other incoming call would hit a busy tone or go unanswered – a scenario the company desperately wanted to avoid.

The company's planned office relocation further highlighted the risk of being tethered to a physical phone line. They needed a solution to keep their business reachable even if the team was not all together in one office. They sought the flexibility for staff to handle calls remotely (e.g. from home or on mobile devices) without sacrificing the familiarity of their long-held number or the ability to manage multiple calls at once.

Solution: Migrating to Microsoft Teams Phone

Vee Tech partnered with the client to implement a Microsoft Teams Phone solution that would address these challenges head-on. The strategy centred on moving their existing landline number off the old office PABX and into the cloud. This was achieved by porting the number to a Microsoft Teams telephony platform, using a certified telecom provider via Direct Routing.

Vee Tech coordinated the entire porting process – obtaining the necessary carrier details and signed authorisation forms – and scheduled the cutover for a low-traffic period. The telecom partner pre-configured the Teams Phone system in advance so that on port day, no on-site action was required beyond simple test calls to confirm everything worked.

Call Flow Design

In the new Teams Phone setup, the main line is now answered by a call group in Teams instead of a single desk phone. All three team members were enabled as Teams Phone users and added to the group. Vee Tech worked with the client to design a call routing plan that would eliminate busy signals.

The team elected a simultaneous ring strategy – meaning when a client calls the main number, all three users' Teams apps ring at once, and whoever is free can answer first. (Teams also supports sequential ringing if preferred, where calls can cascade user-to-user, but the client wanted to maximise chances of a timely answer.)

Because the number is cloud-hosted, multiple calls can be handled in parallel – all three staff can be on calls at the same time without "engaging" the line or causing a busy signal for the next caller. Any call that does go unanswered (for instance, if all three people are tied up) will route to a shared voicemail as a fallback.

Number Porting and Configuration

Vee Tech's engineers collaborated with the telecom carrier to port the number with minimal disruption. A cutover appointment was confirmed and, as planned, the switch occurred early one morning. The port completed successfully – transferring the number into Teams – and was confirmed by the carrier. Total voice downtime was negligible (under an hour) and was actively monitored to ensure a smooth transition.

In fact, the Teams Phone system was fully set up before the port, so the client's staff could begin taking calls via Teams immediately once the number went live on the new platform. Vee Tech provided the team with a brief training session on using Teams for calls, including how to pick up incoming calls on their PCs or smartphones, transfer calls, and check voicemail.

Additionally, each user's devices (office PCs, laptops, and mobile phones) were configured with the Teams app and tested to ensure call quality and notification settings were optimal. For a familiar experience, outbound calls made by staff now all present the original caller ID to customers, preserving the company's identity.

Results

The migration to Microsoft Teams Phone has delivered immediate and measurable benefits:

Seamless Remote Work Enablement: Staff are no longer tied to a particular desk or location to handle calls. Whether they are in the office, working from home, or in transit, they can answer and make business calls through Teams on any internet-connected device. This proved invaluable during the office move and beyond – the team remained fully reachable to clients throughout the transition, demonstrating true location-independent operation.

No More Missed Calls or Busy Signals: The new cloud-based call queue ensures that multiple team members can engage with callers simultaneously, so customers rarely, if ever, hear a busy tone. If one team member is on a call, another can still answer the next inbound call on the same number – a capability the old single-line setup simply didn't have. In practice, all three representatives can be on calls at once now without conflict, and an incoming client will only reach voicemail if every staff member is busy or unreachable. This has greatly improved responsiveness and customer satisfaction.

Business Continuity and Reliability: By moving to a cloud telephony solution, the company has strengthened its business continuity plan. Phone service is no longer dependent on a specific office building or the old landline infrastructure. Even if the physical office is inaccessible (due to relocation, emergencies, or other disruptions), calls can continue as normal via Teams. Vee Tech's careful planning during the port ensured zero lost calls during the cutover – the configuration was in place ahead of time, so from the moment the number was ported, the system was live and functioning.

Greater Visibility and Control: Now that calls are routed through Microsoft 365, management has better oversight of their communications. Missed calls and voicemails are visible in the Teams interface (and can be delivered to email), allowing the team to return calls quickly. The call activity can be reviewed so the company can gauge call volumes and peak times, helping with staff scheduling. Additionally, adding a new employee to the call rotation or updating call handling rules is far simpler than with the old landline – it's a matter of a few clicks in the Teams admin console, without any need for new physical lines.

Preserved Number, Improved Flexibility: Importantly, the company's clients never had to learn a new phone number. The line that customers have used for years remains in service – only now it terminates in Teams instead of a wall socket. This means the company retained their corporate contact identity while gaining all the flexibility of a modern VoIP system. The company can easily scale up in the future; for example, if they hire more staff or need a separate hotline, those can be added to Teams without significant infrastructure changes.

Key Components of Teams Phone Migration

1. Number Porting: Transfer existing landline numbers to Teams Phone via Direct Routing
2. Call Groups: Configure simultaneous or sequential ring groups for team coverage
3. Device Configuration: Set up Teams on PCs, laptops, and mobile devices
4. Call Routing: Design call flows to eliminate busy signals and improve coverage
5. Voicemail Integration: Configure shared voicemail and email delivery

Benefits of Microsoft Teams Phone

• Location Independence: Answer calls from anywhere with internet connectivity
• No Busy Signals: Multiple simultaneous calls on the same number
• Business Continuity: Phone service independent of physical office location
• Better Visibility: Call logs, voicemail, and activity tracking in Teams
• Easy Scaling: Add users or features without new physical infrastructure
• Cost Effective: Enterprise-grade telephony on a small-business budget

Best Practices for Teams Phone Migration

• Plan the Port: Schedule cutover during low-traffic periods
• Pre-Configure: Set up Teams Phone system before porting the number
• Design Call Flows: Choose simultaneous or sequential ring based on team needs
• Train Users: Provide training on Teams calling features and voicemail
• Test Thoroughly: Verify call quality and notification settings on all devices
• Monitor Cutover: Actively monitor the port to ensure smooth transition

Ready to modernise your business telephony? Contact Vee Tech to discuss Microsoft Teams Phone migration for your organisation.