Replacing Your Office Phone System with Microsoft Teams: A Las Vegas Business Guide

If your Las Vegas office still has a traditional PBX phone system - whether on-premises hardware or an aging hosted VoIP platform - you're paying for infrastructure that Microsoft, RingCentral, and a handful of other platforms have made largely obsolete.

Microsoft Teams Phone (formerly Teams Calling) allows businesses to make and receive PSTN calls directly within Teams - from any device, anywhere. For organizations already using Microsoft 365, the incremental cost is small. The operational improvement is significant.

What Teams Phone Actually Includes

- Direct Routing or Microsoft Calling Plans for inbound/outbound PSTN calls - Auto-attendant (replacing your phone tree/IVR) - Call queues for teams and departments - Voicemail with transcription delivered to your Teams client - Call recording and compliance features - Integration with your existing M365 contacts, calendar, and presence status - Desk phones, softphones, and mobile app - all managed from one admin center

Direct Routing vs. Microsoft Calling Plans

You have two options for connecting Teams to the public phone network:

Microsoft Calling Plans - Microsoft provides the phone numbers and carrier connectivity. Simple, all-Microsoft. Works well for smaller organizations or those without complex call routing needs. Priced per user per month.

Direct Routing - You connect Teams to a Session Border Controller (SBC) that links to your existing SIP carrier. More complex to set up, but offers more flexibility and often lower per-minute costs for high-volume callers. Ideal for businesses with existing carrier contracts or complex call flows.

For most Las Vegas SMEs (under 100 users), Calling Plans are the right choice. For hospitality or healthcare organizations with high call volume and complex routing, Direct Routing usually wins on cost.

The Migration Process

A Teams Phone migration for a 30-person office typically takes 2-4 weeks:

1. Audit - Document existing DID numbers, call flows, hunt groups, and special features 2. Number porting - Port existing phone numbers to Microsoft or your SIP provider (typically 2-4 weeks with the carrier) 3. Auto-attendant & queue configuration - Rebuild your call routing logic in Teams 4. User training - 1-hour session covering Teams calling basics for all staff 5. Cutover - Usually done over a weekend to minimize disruption

What This Costs vs. Traditional VoIP

A hosted VoIP system for a 30-person office typically runs $1,500-$3,000/month for hardware, licensing, and support. Teams Phone with Calling Plans for the same organization typically runs $400-$800/month in additional licensing (on top of existing M365). Most businesses break even within 6 months and see significant savings beyond that.

The hidden benefit: your IT team (or your MSP) manages one fewer platform. Everything lives in Microsoft 365.