Why Smart Enterprises Choose Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams?

In today’s cloud-first communication landscape, Microsoft Teams has become the cornerstone of enterprise collaboration. Yet when it comes to voice services, many organizations are realizing that Microsoft Calling Plans alone don’t offer the flexibility or control required for global, scalable, and cost-efficient operations.

That’s where Direct Routing enters the picture, enabling businesses to take full ownership of their telephony environment while still leveraging the collaboration power of Teams.

 What Is Direct Routing?

Direct Routing is a Microsoft-supported capability that allows enterprises to enable external voice calling in Microsoft Teams using their telephony provider and infrastructure, instead of being limited to Microsoft’s Calling Plans.

Here’s how it works in detail:

Organizations deploy a certified Session Border Controller (SBC)  either on-premises or in the cloud, which acts as a secure bridge between Teams and the public telephone network (PSTN).
Through this SBC, they connect to their chosen SIP trunk provider, allowing Teams users to make and receive calls to traditional landlines and mobile numbers.

This setup enables businesses to retain control over call routing, leverage existing telecom contracts, and ensure compliance with local voice regulations, especially in multi-country deployments.

In short, Direct Routing turns Microsoft Teams into a fully functional enterprise-grade phone system, with all the flexibility, control, and integration options large organizations demand.

 How does it work? Behind the Architecture:

At the core of Direct Routing lies a certified SBC, which bridges the Teams environment with external voice networks. The architecture includes:

• Session Border Controllers (SBCs): Secure and mediate traffic between Teams and the PSTN, ensuring high-quality voice transmission and protection from threats.

• SIP Trunks: Enable connectivity with chosen voice providers, giving businesses the freedom to select carriers that meet regional and operational needs.

• PSTN Access: Supports local and international calling using existing business numbers.

• Media Bypass: Optionally reduces latency by routing media traffic directly between endpoints and the SBC, bypassing Microsoft’s media processors.

• Security: Uses encryption, IP filtering, and multi-factor authentication to safeguard communications.

• Compliance: Ensures call routing and data handling meet industry regulations and jurisdictional requirements.

This architecture empowers organizations to manage voice services in line with their broader IT strategy while ensuring scalability, security, and resilience.

 Why Enterprises Prefer Direct Routing?

1. Flexibility and Control:

Direct Routing offers unmatched control over voice strategy:

• Choose from a wide range of SIP trunk providers.

• Retain and integrate existing PBX systems where needed.

• Customize routing logic, call flows, and number management.

• Deploy advanced features like call recording, analytics, and failover mechanisms.

This flexibility is critical for enterprises that operate across multiple geographies or have unique infrastructure needs.

2. Cost Optimization:

Direct Routing enables significant savings by allowing businesses to:

• Avoid unnecessary Microsoft Calling Plan bundles.

• Use existing contracts with telecom providers.

• Access better international call rates

• Plan phased migrations without disrupting operations.

These savings scale further as enterprises grow or expand globally.

3. Enhanced Global Reach:

With Direct Routing, enterprises can:

• Extend coverage to regions not supported by Microsoft Calling Plans.

• Use local PSTN providers to ensure regulatory compliance and local presence.

• Centralized management while localizing dial plans and number allocation

This makes it ideal for multinational organizations managing regional offices and distributed teams.

4. Operational Continuity:

Voice services are critical to business continuity. Direct Routing supports:

• High availability and failover configurations

• Seamless integration with existing call centers or PBX systems

• Ongoing infrastructure monitoring and proactive support

This ensures voice communication remains stable, secure, and performant at all times.

 Direct Routing vs. Microsoft Calling Plans:

When to Choose Direct Routing?

Direct Routing is the strategic choice for enterprises that need more than a basic calling setup. It’s ideal for:

1. Enterprises with existing on-prem voice systems.
Many large organizations have already invested in PBX systems or contact centers. Direct Routing allows them to extend those assets into Microsoft Teams, seamlessly integrating legacy infrastructure with cloud-based collaboration.

2. Organizations with multi-country operations.
Enterprises operating across multiple regions often face inconsistent telecom regulations and limited Microsoft Calling Plan coverage. Direct Routing enables them to work with local PSTN providers, ensuring compliance, availability, and localized presence.

3. Businesses needing customized voice workflows.
Whether it’s advanced call routing, integration with business-critical apps, or custom dial plans, Direct Routing provides the control and adaptability needed to tailor voice to operational workflows.

4. Teams with complex compliance or localization requirements.
In regulated industries (like finance, healthcare, or government), organizations need to control where and how call data flows. Direct Routing supports data sovereignty, regulatory compliance, and localization for sensitive environments.

5. IT leaders seeking long-term voice strategy alignment.
Direct Routing enables a scalable, future-proof voice architecture aligned with broader cloud transformation efforts—offering visibility, flexibility, and integration that grows with the business.

For smaller businesses with basic calling needs, Microsoft Calling Plans may offer a simpler, more managed path. But for most enterprises, Direct Routing delivers the infrastructure maturity needed to support growth, control, and global reach.

Arkan’s Role: Enabling Enterprise-Grade Direct Routing:

At Arkan Solutions, we deliver Microsoft Teams Direct Routing as a fully managed service, built for enterprises that require security, flexibility, and global scalability.

We support:

• Carrier-grade SBCaaS, certified for Microsoft Teams

• Custom PSTN integrations, whether on-prem or in the cloud

• Global ITSP interconnections for localized and international coverage

• Secure architecture, aligned with compliance frameworks

• End-to-end lifecycle management, including design, monitoring, and proactive support

By aligning our solutions with your operational and compliance goals, we help turn Microsoft Teams into a truly unified communication platform without limitations.

 Conclusion:

As organizations modernize their communication landscape, Direct Routing offers a strategic foundation for voice services within Microsoft Teams. It provides flexibility, compliance, and control, qualities that enterprises can’t afford to compromise.

With Arkan as your infrastructure partner, your Teams environment is backed by carrier-grade voice capabilities tailored to your global operations.