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External Calling (Teams Voice): A new telephony solution for our University

20 Jun 2022

Read on to find out more about upcoming changes to our telephony service

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Following the introduction of External Calling (Teams Voice) at the recently opened Engineering Buildings A and B (previously MECD), a project has been launched to extend this cloud-based telephony solution to the remainder of the University. This project is essential in response to nationwide changes to the UK’s telephony infrastructure, and a small team of early adopters are currently trialling Teams Voice around the University.

Upgrading to a new cloud-based solution will provide all the functionality of desktop phones with additional flexibility. Any device can be used – your laptop, desktop, tablet or mobile – to make and receive all your calls using your University phone number, from any location, without being tied to a landline.

As early adopters, Andrew Miller (Business Operations Manager, UoM Sport) and his team have been using this application successfully: ‘Teams Voice was something we have been looking to add to allow colleagues to communicate effectively when working in flexible ways. It has been easy to integrate into the service by accepting calls to office phone numbers through laptops or mobile devices.’

How will this impact me? 

Telephone users based in (or moving to) George Begg and John Garside buildings in North Campus, will experience this change first and we will contact you soon. This is because the telephone exchange in the North Campus will be decommissioned at the end of the year.

Colleagues based in the rest of the University do not need to take any action for now.  We're currently going through a procurement exercise to select a supplier for the main University rollout. Once a supplier has been selected, we will be able to share more information about the rollout.

For now, we’ve put together a list of Frequently Asked Questions that covers queries you may have about support, equipment and telephone numbers. If you are new to Teams there is support and training available on the following Microsoft 365 help and support site. We would recommend familiarising yourself with Teams before the change is initiated for your area.