Landis' Technologies' Office 365 Contact Center, Calling in Microsoft Teams, & More News

The first #TeamsRecap episode of 2018 is finally here! This episode covered the following topics:

• End of Life Support for OCS
• Skype for Business client updates
• Fulfilled Calling Roadmap items for Microsoft Teams
• Landis Technologies' Office 365 Contact Center

To watch the video in my YouTube channel, and to get the links to the above content in the Video Description, check it out at the following link: https://youtu.be/aqaRWx2mams

Or you can watch the video right here in this post:

Some Changes for the #TeamsRecap Webcast

Through the holidays of 2017, and the first half of January 2018, the #TeamsRecap webcast took a bit of a break. Not only was it a very busy time riddled with family visitations and the traditional passing around of the random sicknesses, but I was also taking time to ponder what was next, for the #TeamsRecap.

I was starting to have a hard time keeping up with the consistent weekly cadence of the show that had been present for the first 2 years, and felt that it may also be time to have more than just my ugly mug talking about Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams news. So, after a bit of pondering, the #TeamsRecap is resurfacing with its first guest Co-Host, MVP Matt Landis of Landis Technologies!

In addition to having guest Co-Hosts, the show is also longer, as we take time to discuss the normal list of topics that I work my way through in the browser tabs. Previously, the show targeted about a 15-minute timeframe. I know this was desirable for some of you, but this new format will likely range anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour (though I want to try to keep it well under an hour when possible). While there is a sacrifice on the brevity, more perspective is being brought, and I feel that there is good value in that.

Finally, when doing a show with a Co-Host, I needed to find another platform to record on. Pexip has graciously provided space on their Infinity platform for the meeting & recording of the episodes, and I want to extend a HUGE thank you to Graham Walsh and the entire team over at Pexip - thank you for making this new format for the #TeamsRecap possible! Check them out: https://www.pexip.com/.

More changes may come throughout the year, but this is a good starting point. As always, though, I would LOVE to get your thoughts and in-filtered feedback.

Getting Started with PSTN Calling in Microsoft Teams

Last week Microsoft finally released basic PSTN Calling features into the Microsoft Teams client for the general public. These features have been touted heavily since Microsoft Ignite in September, and they are only the start of Microsoft's projected 12-month roadmap for moving Phone System into Microsoft Teams.

Before you start pulling the trigger on moving a bunch of your Phone System users over to using Microsoft Teams as their primary calling client (instead of Skype for Business), there are several caveats that you need to be aware of. I made a brief tutorial/demo video that goes into detail on these caveats, and really helps explain what they mean for Phone System users.

You can follow this link for more info and a demo, or watch the video below (following the link takes you to YouTube, where you can watch the video in a larger frame):

https://youtu.be/TM50sbeApCA

I hope you find the video insightful and useful, and if you have any feedback or suggestions about how these videos could be better, please don't hesitate to let me know. I will be releasing more of these as Microsoft gradually releases more of these roadmap features over the next 12 months!

Cloud PBX Rebranding to Microsoft Phone System & Early Ignite Observations

The upcoming Session Catalog for Microsoft Ignite has given quite a bit of insight into some upcoming changes or direction for the Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams communities well ahead of the conference itself. While I comb through the list of available sessions to start putting my own Ignite agenda together, there a few things that stood out to me that I thought were worth calling out.

Cloud PBX & PSTN Calling get Name Refreshes

It seems not too long ago that Cloud PBX and PSTN Calling were introduced. As a matter of fact, with less than 10 countries currently available for PSTN Calling today, it seems crazy that a re-name of these services would possibly be in the works. However, a session titled, "Is Voice in the cloud right for you?" (Session BRK2038) suggests that this is indeed the case.

Based on the details of this session, we see that Microsoft apparently intends to rebrand Cloud PBX to "Microsoft's Phone System", and PSTN Calling will get remodeled with "Calling Plan". I know, I was thinking the same thing: Couldn't the Marketing team have thought of anything a bit less...obvious...and a bit more...catchy? ;-) At any rate, like it or hate it, that is what shows up for this session as of the date of this blog post, so don't get too much more attached to "Cloud PBX" or "PSTN Calling". I know it will definitely take some work for me to adjust...

A New Portal: The Networking Portal

Based on session "Network Planning for Real Time Communications with the Networking Portal (Session BRK2031), it would appear that a new portal is in the works. The Networking Portal appears to be built around RTC traffic for both Skype for Business and Teams. Check out the below excerpt from the session description:

"In this session we introduce our newly created Networking Portal - an essential piece of Planning and Operating any Real Time Communications environment, whether running Teams, Skype for Business or both. It will help organize your networking data centrally, such as subnets per location, users per location, etc. It allows import and export of Call Quality Dashboard Sites data and Call Analytics, making it easier to maintain that information. It is also the central point for your Bandwidth Calculations for both Teams and Skype for Business."

This looks like a very intriguing new tool to learn about, and I am really hoping that it will fit nicely into my Ignite schedule.

Teams & Skype for Business Getting Pretty Cozy

When you go to the Session Catalog on the Microsoft Ignite site, you can enter search terms to narrow down the hundreds of available sessions. As of right now, searching for "Teams" narrows down the list to 51 session. Some of these sessions are very strictly built around getting to know Teams better. Some are listed because they are more general Office 365 sessions that include Teams in the description. The resounding theme I am seeing, though, is that MANY of these sessions focus in on both Teams AND Skype for Business, grouping them together in many ways that really make you wonder what the story of these two products will look like after Ignite.

The below sessions all just a small sample of the sessions that I observed this with, and if you visit their links, you might start to observe the same behavior. I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts after checking them out as well:

• BRK2035 Plan your UC refresh correctly: Skype for Business on-premises vNext
• BRK2031 Network Planning for Real Time Communications with the Networking Portal
• BRK3003 Moving to a hybrid Unified Communications environment
• BRK2010 Call quality management for Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams
• BRK4001 Best-in-class authentication in Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams
• BRK3029 Demystifying internet connectivity to Skype for Business Online and Microsoft Teams

So, those are some of my initial thoughts and observations about what is in store for us at Ignite in regards to Skype for Business and Teams. What are some of your observations?!