Overview

8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams is a Cloud to Cloud direct routing integration between 8x8 and Microsoft Teams platforms, providing enterprise-grade telephony, allowing Teams users to access the functionality of 8x8 from the native Microsoft Teams interface.

This guide will step you through the basics of setting up your Voice for Teams service and synchronizing the Microsoft Teams user accounts with their corresponding 8x8 user accounts , using the 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams administrative portal.

Audience

This guide is intended for Microsoft and 8x8 service administrators.

Availability

8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams is available in over 50 countries where 8x8 offers full Public Switched Network Services (PSTN) replacement services.

Features & Benefits

8x8 offers Voice for Microsoft Teams users many features and benefits, all combined with a native Teams experience:

  • Global PSTN calling from Teams (desktop, mobile or web).

  • Full telephony replacement in 50+ countries, including toll-free and DID numbers in 100+ countries.

  • Unlimited calling plans in up to 48 countries.

  • Integrated business messaging (SMS1, MMS1, faxes, individual or group voicemails) using Teams.

  • Automatic call recording, with instant access playback.

  • Bidirectional presence sync between Microsoft Teams and 8x8-based users.

  • Solution Certified Contact Center for Teams.

  • Out-of-the box integrations with 25+ business apps including Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and Zendesk.

  • Advanced analytics and reporting for telephony users and contact center agents.

Limitations

U.S. Government GCC High and DoD security requirements are currently not supported in 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams.

Requirements

The setup of the Voice for Teams service must be performed by one or more administrators who have access to high-level admin functions of both Microsoft Teams and the 8x8 Admin Console:

Microsoft Teams Requirements

Before you begin setting up your service, you need the following requirements:

  • Login credentials for your organization’s Microsoft 365 account with Global Admin rights:

    • Global Admin rights are required for the initial service setup phase because new domains need to be added to the tenant for the SBC’s FQDN.
    • Subsequent syncs which require the creation of additional SBC domains must also be performed by a Global Administrator. To facilitate this in advance, it’s recommended to enable the MS Teams integration in 8x8 Admin Console for at least one user from each global region before the initial setup sync process.
    • Subsequent syncs for the addition of new users typically require only one of the following: Teams Administrator, Teams Communication Administrator, or Skype for Business Administrator.

  • Microsoft Teams users created and assigned one of the following license sets:

    • Microsoft 365 E5 License (Microsoft Phone System license included).

      OR:

    • Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium, and Teams Phone Standard (which includes Microsoft Phone System).

      OR:

    • Microsoft 365 E1, E3, or A1/G1, A3/G3 license and Teams Phone Standard (which includes Microsoft Phone System).

    • Voice for Teams users must be assigned a Microsoft Phone System license (or equivalent).

    • Voice for Teams users cannot be assigned a Microsoft Calling Plan.

  • Two spare Microsoft 365 user licenses such as Business Essentials/Premium or E1 - E5 will be required for a few hours during the initial setup process:

    • One spare license will work, but the setup process goes faster with two.

    • If you do not have a spare license, you will need to perform additional manual activation steps. Or obtain a couple of trial licenses through the Microsoft portal to facilitate.

    • Once setup is complete, spare licenses can be removed or re-assigned.

Important: The Microsoft Teams setup and sync processes in the 8x8 Voice for Teams admin portal are fully automated through Microsoft PowerShell scripting. 8x8 Support does not provide assistance with manual Microsoft tenant configuration.
Some elements of the configuration within Microsoft 365 services can be subject to delays as information propagates between different parts of the Microsoft system. This can vary from day to day, so we recommend that you aim to carry out the steps in this guide at least 48 hours prior to your go-live date to allow for this.

8x8 Voice Requirements

  • An 8x8 X Series service account is required.

    • MS Teams integration package licenses must be applied to your 8x8 X Series account, and appear in the 8x8 Admin Console under Licenses.

    • The initial sync process in the 8x8 Voice for Teams admin portal must be performed by a designated 8x8 Admin Console administrator with a minimum of Users permission applied, as listed in the 8x8 Admin Console in  Roles & permissions > Assignments. This includes the IT Admin, Company Admin, and Super Admin roles, or any custom role which includes the Users permission.

    • Subsequent syncs must also be performed by an 8x8 Admin Console administrator with a minimum of Users permission assigned.

    • For each 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams user:

      • One 8x8 X1-X8 license must be assigned.

      • A phone number and extension number must be assigned.

      • User email addresses must be identical in both their Microsoft and 8x8 user profiles.

      • Each 8x8 user profile with an enabled MS Teams Integration license must contain a unique email address.

      • In 8x8 Admin Console, the Enable MS Teams integration license must be enabled in each Voice for Teams user's 8x8 user profile.