Microsoft, Verizon team up to offer “true native mobile experiences” to Teams

Microsoft now pushes native mobile experiences to Teams through its new partnership with Verizon. It is aimed at business users of the well-known communication platform, which will now provide US business customers access to dedicated Verizon mobile features to make Teams calling and communication functions more convenient.

One main advantage Microsoft and Verizon highlight in the new service offering is the seamless Teams calling transition. This is through the single business-provided phone number for mobile and desktop devices. Users will also get a unified notification system, so they can get notified and answer calls using any device and Teams endpoint.

It is worth noting that the concept is not new. It is also one of the features of other communication apps like Meta’s Messenger, which is free. Current users of the app can be notified simultaneously across different devices logged in using the same account. However, this feature has a very limited function. Unlike in Messenger, calls in Verizon’s mobile Teams offering can be answered and transferred from one device to another without the user hanging up.

Additionally, the offering will give business customers a bunch of other features that will make the Teams calling function more accessible. For instance, Teams can now be accessed on the native dialer of the mobile phone. Verizon also says calls made this way will go over the Voice over its LTE network, delivering them superior call quality.

While the offering is obviously focused on making Teams calling more seamless across different devices, Verizon says it is more than that. Aside from calls, it is designed to make a business-grade unified mobile communications solution, creating combined call history data and streamlined management and governance. Additionally, it removes the need for other voice solutions, which should reduce the cost businesses are allotting for various communication services. Most of all, unlike any other communication platforms, business users are guaranteed high-quality privacy and security service from Microsoft, thanks to the variety of features now available to Teams. 

This is not the first mobile offering of Teams to business users. Microsoft has established the same service with other carriers before, but Verizon is the first telecommunications company in the US to bring it to the country’s market.

The new offering is just one of Microsoft’s recent aggressive moves to further push Teams as the top business communication platform. In February, it is expected to release the new Teams Premium add-on, which will introduce new advanced features to users. However, it also marks the transfer of some of the Teams features that come with Microsoft 365 subscription to Teams Premium.