9 months have passed since my first article on this topic and I have had the opportunity to gain first experience with the extended possibilities for connecting devices without a Teams app.
Microsoft offers the SIP Gateway as connection instance for those endpoints. Via the SIP Gateway for Microsoft Teams, both analog and DECT devices can be integrated into Microsoft Teams. In addition to the name search for these endpoints in Microsoft Teams, this integration also includes the display of a presence status (e.g. as in a call during an active call). In addition, advanced functions like
- Voicemail
- Member in Microsoft Teams Call Queues
- Rufumleitung
- Busy-on-busy
are available. Prerequisite is the M365 license Teams Shared Device. In addition, the manufacturer and model of the ATA or DECT components must have undergone a certification process with Microsoft and be listed as a certified solution.
Other typical use cases for DECT infrastructures such as
- Alarming
- Emergency systems (Men-fell-down)
- Central addressbook
still require additional, local Server components.
Endpoint integration
Nothing has changed since March, the connection of the end devices with the SIP Gateway for Microsoft Teams is complex:
- The hardware is supported with specified firmware versions only. Often, a firmware upgrade of all devices is necessary, depending on the manufacturer, additional costs may be incurred.
- A user account must be created for each device and a Teams Shared Device license must be assigned.
- Each MAC address must registered individually, a mass upload of the information in a csv is possible.
- Each endpoint must be activated individually by a voice call.
- Each endpoint must be remote signed-in individually with the user account created for this purpose.
Operation
For Teams phones, Microsoft provides centralized management of basic settings through configuration profiles. In these configuration profiles, for example, the language of the Teams app in the menu, date and time as well as network configuration can be distributed centrally. In addition, software updates can be installed centrally on Teams phones and monitoring of the device status is possible.
For devices connected via the SIP gateway, Microsoft does not offer central management options. Customers still have to rely on solutions from the manufacturers in this case.
I’m not sure about reliability of health monitoring yet: Both devices shown in the screenshot were disconnected from the network for several weeks (the Polycom VVX) or reset to factory settings re-configured with a local setup (the AudioCode MP-112), but the ATA is still displayed as Healthy.
My special thanks go to Dennis Jakob, who shared his personal experiences with the integration of a certified DECT solution with me.
