By using a Microsoft Teams eSIM, you can utilize your basic cell network and make calls in areas without WiFi or with poor 3G/4G/5G.
It removes the reliance on internet connectivity and allows you to piggyback off your mobile network.
Sounds like a normal phone call?
Well, what if we told you that you can still use your Teams landline number to make the call?
Now, that’s interesting, right?
We’re talking about using your traditional Teams desktop/landline number without having to open up the Teams app or having to run to somewhere with stable WiFi or 4G.
Particularly useful for frontline workers, like those who work in healthcare visiting patients, or staff stationed in remote areas like oil rigs or warehouses with 3G black spots and where the WiFi doesn’t reach from your main building, using a Teams eSIM removes the disconnection of employees and ensures all staff members are connected so they can receive urgent and critical communications.
You might be thinking that, by 2024, we’d have already come up with a solution for connecting these users in remote locations. Well, they sucked. They relied on location dependence. Workers have to check-in at places with WiFi or better 3G signal to return missed calls.
It turns out that it was extremely hard to enable reliable, modern business communication for frontline workers.
What is a Microsoft Teams eSIM?
A Microsoft Teams eSIM allows you to add a secondary line to your mobile phone. Specifically, your Teams landline number.
Say, for example, your Teams number is (505) 334-6174. You can add this number to your mobile as a second line. Now, with a Teams eSIM, you can choose whether to present your personal or work number when making calls from your personal mobile phone.
There’s no more giving out your private cell number when you need to call customers or suppliers while on the move.
Why now is the time to shine for Microsoft Teams eSIMs
In Omdia’s 2023 Future of Work Survey, IT and HR leaders advised that just under half of their employees will work in either a hybrid or fully mobile fashion going forward and in the long term.
This means the way people communicate and the workflows and processes that guide how they work are changing. Not everyone is tied to a desk.
Therefore, the typical Teams deployment, which is optimized for desk-based knowledge workers, has become insufficient for many.
Throw in the frontline workers, of which there was a “Potential market of 2.1 billion workers that also needs to be efficiently connected,” according to Alaa Saayed, Senior Program Director at Frost & Sullivan, and you’ve invested in a Teams deployment that isn’t working the way it needs to for a large portion of your business.
It has to be said that Microsoft has a clear focus on frontline and mobile workers, come 2024.
With the introduction of the “F” license for Microsoft 365, it strips back the features a typical frontline worker won’t get the chance to use.
Microsoft has also spent significant time researching the unique needs of these types of users. Reports like the Work Trend Index and the Frontline Technology Report show that Microsoft is taking steps to optimize Teams for every type of user.
Benefits of Microsoft Teams eSIM
As well as the major advantage for frontline workers, who can now feel connected to the rest of your business 24/7 (or as much as needed), here are some other major headline benefits of using a Teams eSIM:
- Dual-Line Capability: Make and receive calls using a native dialer with a second eSIM line and a Teams phone number.
- Unified Device Use: Securely use one phone for both business and personal communications, reducing the need for two devices.
- Efficient Management: Improve the management and administration of corporate-provided phone numbers.
- Enhanced Monitoring: Apply monitoring and recording features to mobile communications.
- Reliable Connectivity: Ensure reliable voice connectivity through mobile networks.
- Sustainability & Cost-Effectiveness: Reduce the need for desk phones and company-provided mobile phones.
It’s also really easy to provision and onboard users. In fact, there’s very little for users to do.
How does Microsoft Teams eSIM work?
To set up a Teams eSIM, there are three steps to follow:
- Activate new users online
- Scan a QR code or download an eSIM
- Start using Callroute Go
1 – Activate new users online
Like provisioning any other Teams user, mobile users are going to need basic access to a Teams account. This could be licensed through Microsoft 365 or standalone. You don’t need to do anything different when setting up user credentials here.
Note: You can use Orto to automate all your Teams user provisioning.
2 – Scan a QR code or download an eSIM
If you’re setting up mobile phones on behalf of users, you might find it easier to deploy eSIMs by downloading them device by device.
Alternatively, you can ask users to scan a QR code, get redirected to the eSIM landing page, and the provisioning process starts on their device automatically.
3 – Start using Callroute Go
That’s it! Mobile users will now have their native mobile dialer with their Microsoft Teams number.
Of course, they can still use the Teams app for tasks like chats, channels, and meetings. But, when they need genuine cellular access, the mobile device becomes the call enable but retains your Teams phone number.
That means there’s no mix up between personal and business numbers. And there’s a dramatically reduced risk of mobile workers being uncontactable.
It’s a simple as that. Once you’ve signed up to Callroute Go, assuming your users already have a Teams Phone license, it’s just like activating a new SIM card.
Your mobile device now has two phone numbers (your personal number and your Teams number).
How to get a Microsoft Teams eSIM
Callroute Go is an extension of your existing Microsoft Teams Phone number that allows you to make calls from your mobile device using regular cellular network connectivity.
It connects your mobile phone using an eSIM to Teams so you can use your landline number on your mobile.
When you’re set up, you just need to do the following for frontline workers to start making calls from anywhere with mobile reception (not mobile internet):
- Enable Teams Phone: Assign the Teams Phone licenses to your account, then assign yourself a phone number from your provider.
- Enable SIP gateway: Enable calling via SIP registered devices on your Teams Calling Policy.
- Pair with Callroute Go: Use the Callroute Go app to pair your Teams account with Callroute Go.
- Install & activate your eSIM: Scan the QR code to install and activate your eSIM.
What technology is used in the background?
We’ve partnered with Tango Networks to provide a best-in-class mobile solution for frontline and mobile workers.
Tango doesn’t sell to end users so it’s down to Teams specialists, like Callroute, to look after the most important folks in your business.
Tango Networks provides a solution that enables deskless workers to have their company number on their personal phone, by downloading an eSIM.
You don’t need to install an app and there’s no new interface to learn. It works as part of your native dialer so frontline workers can just place a call as normal, but now use their Teams number to make and receive calls.
This means no need to switch handsets, return to a desk, or wait until you return to a place with sufficient wi-fi and risk missing important calls and update. All your users need to do is choose which SIM to use to make a call. The rest is taken care of by Callroute Go.
More importantly, this technology means frontline workers can go about their daily business without the worry they’re missing out.
There’s no more “You missed your appointment because we couldn’t reach you” and no more waiting to hear if emergency situations are diffused until a user finds a patch of 3G or wi-fi to update stakeholders using the Teams app.
Callroute Go helps businesses with thousands of mobile workers in the following ways:
- Makes BYOD business-ready: embeds a secure business line in a personal phone and reduces the need for company-provided mobile phones.
- Mobile-first: enabling desk phones to be retired and users to access everything from their mobile handset.
- Dual personas: automatically separates business contacts from personal contacts and keeps the communications to each completely separate.
- Mobile recording: permits business calls to be captured and recorded via the existing UC platform, while personal calls remain private.
- No apps needed: uses native device interface
- Fast, simple installation using an eSIM with easy QR provisioning.
👉 Sign up for 14 days free of Callroute Go here