Microsoft redesigns the calling interface in Teams

[[356857]]

Microsoft Corp. has reportedly begun rolling out a redesigned calling interface in its collaboration app Teams, giving customers access to voicemails, contacts and more in one place.

Microsoft also said the redesign will be rolled out in the coming months. In addition to voicemail and contacts, customers who adopt Teams will be able to access call history, call settings and a dial pad.

Microsoft has improved the interface to make it easier for customers to use Teams to make calls without leaving the app.

Other new features for Teams calling services include the ability to merge calls, identify spam, and identify who is calling. Customers can also make and receive calls using CarPlay technology built into many cars.

Microsoft is making it easier for Teams users to share call recordings and transcripts, and has added support for its file-sharing apps OneDrive and SharePoint. Previously, the softphone service only supported storage in Microsoft's video-sharing app Stream. Teams customers can use the dial pad and other calling features in this interface.

Teams customers will have the option to move calls from their mobile devices to their PCs in early 2021. Microsoft will also let customers switch to low-data mode, which reduces the quality of video calls to accommodate slow global internet connections.

Microsoft Corp. is beefing up Teams' calling capabilities as it phases out Skype for Business Online. Microsoft Corp. discontinued Skype on July 31 and migrated its customers to Teams. The collaboration app has become the company's flagship product for online chat, calling and video conferencing.

Customer migration is not available for companies using on-premises Skype for Business Server. However, Microsoft has stopped feature upgrades and plans to end maintenance support by the end of 2025.

Teams' calling features are a direct competitor to Zoom Phone and similar products from RingCentral, 8x8, Cisco and Google. Zoom has been investing in Zoom Phone recently. In October, the company announced it would add spam blocking and messaging features to multiple people at once.