8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams Delivers Cost-effective, Native Calling Experience for Teams Users

8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT), a leading integrated cloud contact center and unified communications platform provider, today announced the next generation of the 8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams, which natively puts calls where users expect them, the Teams calling window, providing intuitive user experiences and enhanced performance. Built on 8x8's direct routing service, the 8x8 Phone App connects the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) with Microsoft Teams to provide organizations with the most cost-effective method to enable native calling in Teams without additional software, desktop plugins, mobile apps, or requiring per user Teams Phone licenses.

“More than 64% of organizations state that the primary driver for Microsoft Teams phone adoption is having access to an integrated user experience and calling capabilities,” said Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy. “8x8 offers a unique capability to embed its calling capabilities directly within the Teams app, offering both simplified user experience as well as easier deployment and management. This approach enables a native telephony experience, allowing users to remain in the flow of work within Microsoft Teams.”

This upgraded version is part of the 8x8 for Microsoft Teams solution portfolio that includes the solution certified for Teams 8x8 Contact Center, and the premium direct routing as a service solution, 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams. With over 350,000 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams licenses sold, 8x8 is enabling Teams users with global telephony capabilities, which allows for organizations to optimize costs by assigning licenses based on user role and business need. The solutions are built on the 8x8 XCaaS (eXperience Communications as a Service) integrated cloud communications and contact center platform, providing organizations with global coverage and full cloud telephony replacement in 59 countries.

The 8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams streamlines the user experience and administrative overhead by holding calls natively in Teams, unlike other UCaaS integrations that pull users outside of Teams for PSTN calls. By conducting all calls and functions within Microsoft Teams, the 8x8 Phone App provides accurate presence status, call transfers, recording, captions, and transcriptions. Further, the integration is provisioned from the cloud by an administrator without device management tools, allowing for streamlined training, support, and deployment.