Skype for Business Online Calling – Designing a Local Call Backup Route

Moving Private Branch Exchange (PBX) calling services to the cloud is now a common part of a digital transformation to Microsoft Office 365. Moving all calling services to the Microsoft Cloud often results in the partial or full removal of on-premises PBX equipment, a reduction in operational costs and far …

Part 3: Planning a Migration from Avaya to Microsoft Skype for Business or Teams

I recently published a blog about planning a migration from an Avaya PBX to Microsoft Skype for Business on-premises and/or in Office 365. In that blog, I referenced several newly certified and very feature rich migration tools now available to streamline migrations from a variety of legacy TDM and IP-PBX …

Part 2: Planning a Migration from Avaya to Microsoft Skype for Business or Teams

I recently published a blog about planning a migration from an Avaya PBX to Microsoft Skype for Business on-premises and/or in Office 365. In that blog, I referenced several newly certified and very feature rich migration tools now available to streamline migrations from a variety of legacy IP-PBX environments to …

Skype for Business Phone Deployment and Management Tools

As you plan your migration to Skype for Business from a legacy PBX, one of the areas to research and plan are end user voice devices. This involves deciding how many desk phones and headsets to purchase, what features are required, which manufacturer, what models, etc. A question often over …

Part 1: Planning a Migration From Avaya to Skype for Business

At a recent Microsoft Ignite 2017 session about migrating to Skype for Business, a show of hands in the audience was requested for attendees who are planning to move from Avaya to Skype for Business. Of the several hundred attendees, more than 75% of the hands were raised. As I …

Microsoft Ignite 2017: Common Questions About Microsoft Teams

I work in the One Commercial Partner (OCP) organization at Microsoft where I work with many customers and Microsoft Partners to help answer deep technical questions, review technical designs, and ensure successful implementations of Office 365 products. As part of this role, I recently worked at the Expo area for …

Developing an Office 365 Skype for Business Cost Analysis

When assisting customers planning to upgrade or replace existing telecom services, I am often asked about reliability, security, overall value, and costs associated with Microsoft Office 365 Skype for Business. After answering the reliability and security questions about the Microsoft Cloud, I then focus the discussion on trying to understand …

Porting Cloud PSTN Telephone Numbers Between Office 365 Tenants

For organizations using the rich telecom and PBX features in Office 365 Skype for Business, a question often received by Microsoft is how to port (transfer) telephone numbers from one Office 365 tenant to another. The process is far easier and faster than you may imagine. The information required for …