Microsoft Teams: The desk phone is dead, long live the desk phone
/Undoubtedly the coronavirus pandemic and multiple lock-downs have changed our relationship with our desk phones and our traditional IP phone systems. Many organisations are now looking to cement this change by permanently rolling out Microsoft Teams as their business phone system. With this change in mind alongside the general increase in the use of Teams its time to start asking “Is this the beginning of the end for desk-based IP phones?”
Whilst Working from Home
During current times (Jan 2021) when most of us are being forced to work from home, the answer is yes, that is for the vast majority of users. At present, if you are attending a meeting, it’s on Teams, if you need to speak to a colleague, it’s on Teams, if someone calls you, It’s on Teams. As such it really does not make much sense to be constantly picking up a telephone handset, as such a Bluetooth headset is the ideal companion for the best audio experience for all parties on the call. Just make sure you are not being one of those people who refuses to wear a headset because you can hear ok without it, think about what others are hearing as well.
It is likely for most users when working remotely (Assuming they have the need to communicate with others) will wear their headset for most of the day, maybe listening to music or podcasts between calls and meetings. I find that when I’m not wearing my headset over my head, I will let it lay around my neck so I can quickly and easily put it on if someone should call me. As such it is worth ensuring your users have a high-quality lightweight headset and not something that is going to be uncomfortable when worn for long periods.
For those wanting to be extra fancy I highly recommend looking at the Poly Elara 60 mobile phone station with the Poly Voyager Focus UC headset. The Elara 60 acts as a stand and wireless (or wired) charger for your Smartphone, it contains physical buttons to quickly and easily making calls via your phone or teams, including a dedicated Teams button, a dock for charging your headset, a screen to control both your phone and the music you’re listening to and a built-in speaker and microphone to use as a dedicated speakerphone. It is a great hybrid device helping you to make the most out of your investment in technology without needing a full desk phone. Whilst the Voyager Focus UC headset which is one of the options with the Elara 60 is a lightweight headset that includes both active noise cancelling as well as noise reduction on the microphone. Of course, if you would like a simpler setup the Voyager Focus UC can also be purchased on its own.
Exceptions and Back in the Office
Once we are back in the office it is likely that these use cases will change for a number of users. Whilst it is highly unlikely that we will return to pre coronavirus behaviours, we will see a number of hybrid use cases. Some conversations with our colleagues will be in-person, others will be on Teams, some meetings will be in meeting rooms and others will be over Teams and of course, your calls will still be over teams. As such you need to consider how much time different user will need to spend with a headset on vs doing other tasks. Of course, there will still be a large number of users who will spend the majority of their time at their computer with a headset ready to go to take any call or to join a meeting. There will be other users who don’t spend the majority of their time on Teams calls or on the phone and as such a desk phone may suit them better.
If a user undertakes a role that means that on a good day they will only receive only a handful of calls a day and don’t often need to attend Teams meetings, it is likely that they may prefer a dedicated handset rather than messing putting on a headset when Teams rings, this may be relevant for both home working and when back in the office. For these users I would recommend a Yealink MP54 Teams Edition phone, this is a great entry-level phone with both dedicated hardware buttons as well as a small touch screen.
You may also have users in your business that need to be able to join a Teams meeting when they have to but would prefer to do so from a dedicated device offering improved reliability and call quality. This is likely to be the use case for some business execs, the Yealink VP59 would suit this kind of use case, it has a built-in camera as well as HDMI out allowing it to be easily configured in an office as a dedicated device for Teams calls and meetings. A similar configuration could be used for small huddle spaces as well.
Another use case to consider would be common area phones, these are phones are in areas such as unmanned receptions, cupboards, loading areas etc etc. These are areas that require a simple dedicated device like the previously mentioned Yealink MP54.
Conclusion
Whilst a large number of users who previously would have used a desk phone would now prefer a headset to use with Teams there will still be a number of users, who now and when back in the office would prefer a dedicated device. Where possible I would recommend giving users the option of what would work best for them. When configuring hot desking areas I would recommend kitting a few desks out with handsets, whilst assuming the majority of users will bring their own Bluetooth or wired headset.
This conversation brings us naturally onto the discussion around meeting rooms, but we will save that for another day.
