Just in time for the 5th birthday, Microsoft announced a DECT integration for Microsoft Teams. 3 manufacturers will be supported from end of June: Spectralink, Ascom and Poly. Yealink and Gigaset ware to follow by the end of September.
The replacement of an existing DECT infrastructure has so far been one of the most tricky requirements that I have to face as a consultant on Microsoft solutions in architecture workshops.
The presence
In the days of Lync or Skype for Business Enterprise Voice, this topic was a challenge. With Microsoft Teams, it’s an impossibility. I can recommend considering Wi-Fi and mobile data connections as alternatives to DECT, that’s all. The local conditions of my customers do not always allow these alternatives, which often results in a long-term hybrid operation with local DECT infrastructure without integration into Microsoft Teams.
The future
The interface that will connect both worlds in the future has been available since Q4/2021: the SIP Gateway.
So far, the SIP Gateway has only been useful to protect an invest, Skype for Business customers do not give up easily. The conversion of the end devices is time-consuming and sometimes associated with additional costs, the benefits in comparison are reasonably low. I still recommend replacing 3PIP phones with Teams certified devices. From my point of view, the SIP Gateway is still nothing more than a concession to a few large customers who otherwise would not have moved to Microsoft Teams.
With the provision of real DECT integration via the SIP Gateway, this component becomes absolutely important! How bulky setup and administration will be (in the beginning) is open. In any case, Microsoft is finally taking an important requirement of a broad customer basis into account.
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