๐ 16 East 40th St, Midtown Manhattan
get@callifi.com
Your NYC team already lives in Microsoft Teams. Callifi is a Microsoft Operator Connect provider โ we connect directly to your Teams tenant in a few clicks. No Session Border Controllers to manage. No PowerShell scripts. No SIP trunks to configure. Just phone calling inside Teams, your existing numbers, and real local support across NYC, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester, Long Island, NJ, CT, and the Hudson Valley.
Microsoft Teams Phone turns Microsoft Teams into your business phone system. Your team makes and receives external phone calls using the Teams desktop app, mobile app, or a Teams-certified desk phone โ with full PBX features like auto-attendants, call queues, voicemail, hold, transfer, and call recording.
Instead of running a separate VoIP system alongside Teams, everything happens in one app your team already uses every day.
To connect Teams to the public telephone network โ so you can call external numbers and receive calls from outside โ Microsoft offers three options: Calling Plans, Direct Routing, and Operator Connect. The right choice for most NYC businesses is Operator Connect.
Operator Connect is Microsoft's program where approved telecom operators connect directly to your Microsoft 365 tenant through Microsoft-managed infrastructure. There's no SBC for you to deploy, no SIP trunk for you to configure, and no complex PowerShell scripts to run. The integration is automated by Microsoft. You pick the operator โ Callifi โ and we handle the rest.
Operator Connect skips weeks of SBC deployment and configuration. Most setups are live in days, not weeks.
The infrastructure is managed end-to-end with Microsoft. No on-premise SBC to fail. No firmware updates to schedule.
Manage phone numbers and call routing directly in the Microsoft Teams admin center. No third-party portals.
Your main lines, DIDs, fax numbers, and toll-free port to Teams Phone with zero downtime.
Operator Connect through Callifi is typically significantly less per user than Microsoft Calling Plans โ especially for 10+ users.
When you need help, you call Callifi at 16 East 40th Street in Midtown Manhattan. A real person answers โ not a Microsoft support queue.
Microsoft offers three ways to connect Teams to the public phone network. Here's how they compare for typical NYC businesses:
| Operator Connect | Calling Plans | Direct Routing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup complexity | Low (we handle it) | Very low | High |
| Time to deploy | Days to 2 weeks | Days | Weeks to months |
| SBC required | No | No | Yes |
| Cost per user | Lower | Highest | Often lowest at large scale |
| Keep existing numbers | Yes (port via Callifi) | Limited | Yes |
| Managed by | Microsoft + Callifi | Microsoft | You + your SBC vendor |
| Native Teams admin | Yes | Yes | Partial (PowerShell needed) |
| Local support | Callifi (NYC) | Microsoft only | You manage it |
| Best for | Most businesses 10-500 users | Simple needs, all-Microsoft | Complex telephony, large enterprise |
The honest answer: If you have between 10 and 500 users and you want the easiest path to Teams calling without paying Microsoft's premium for Calling Plans, Operator Connect with Callifi is the clear winner. The setup is fast, the experience is fully native to Teams, and you get a local NYC team for support โ without the operational overhead of managing your own SBC.
Make and receive external calls directly in the Microsoft Teams app โ desktop, mobile, web, or Teams-certified desk phones. One app for collaboration and calling.
Bring your existing main lines, DIDs, fax numbers, and toll-free numbers to Teams. Zero downtime cutover. Learn how porting works.
"Press 1 for sales, 2 for support." Multi-level IVRs, hunt groups, ring groups, holiday schedules, and after-hours routing โ all configured for your business workflow.
Manage everything in the Microsoft Teams admin center. Phone numbers, user assignments, call routing โ all where your IT team already works. No third-party portals.
Dynamic E911 sends each user's location to emergency dispatchers โ including floor/suite level for multi-story buildings. Compliant with Kari's Law and Ray Baum's Act.
Native Teams call quality dashboards plus call volume and queue performance reporting. See who's making calls, when, and how long they last.
We supply Teams-certified headsets and desk phones from Yealink, Poly, and Jabra. Configured and tested before delivery.
We come to your NYC office for setup, training, and any on-site work needed. Real local support, not a ticket queue.
One person at Callifi who knows your business, your call flows, and your team. When you need changes, you talk to someone who already has context.
Operator Connect is a partnership between Microsoft and approved telecom operators. The technical integration between the operator's network and Microsoft's cloud is automated and managed by both parties. From your perspective, here's what happens when someone calls your business number:
The call enters the public telephone network like any other call to a business number.
Callifi receives the call as the operator assigned to your Microsoft 365 tenant.
Through the Operator Connect integration, the call is delivered directly to your Microsoft Teams tenant via Microsoft-managed infrastructure. No SBC in the middle for you to manage.
Microsoft Teams uses your configured call routing โ direct to a user, auto-attendant menu, call queue, or wherever else you've set up.
The phone rings in Teams โ desktop app, mobile app, web client, or Teams-certified desk phone. Pick up and talk to the caller using the Teams interface.
Outbound calls work the same way in reverse. The key difference from Direct Routing: there's no SBC in your environment to maintain, monitor, or troubleshoot. Microsoft and Callifi handle the plumbing together.
Microsoft Teams Phone with Operator Connect requires specific Microsoft licenses for your users. The most common options:
| License | What's included | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic + Teams Phone Standard | Teams, Office web apps, email, Phone System | Small businesses under 300 users that don't need desktop Office |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard + Teams Phone Standard | Full Office apps, Teams, email, Phone System | Most small/medium businesses |
| Microsoft 365 E3 + Teams Phone Standard | Enterprise Office suite, advanced security, Phone System | Larger businesses, regulated industries |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | Everything in E3 plus Teams Phone, advanced security, Power BI | Enterprises that want everything bundled |
Important: A Teams Phone license enables phone calling capabilities in Teams โ but doesn't include the actual phone number or calling minutes. That comes from either Microsoft Calling Plans (extra cost to Microsoft) or Operator Connect (provided by Callifi). We help you sort out the right licensing during the free assessment.
Teams Phone with Operator Connect is a great fit for some businesses and the wrong fit for others. Here's how to know:
Not sure which is right for you? We've configured both โ Microsoft Teams Phone with Operator Connect and traditional hosted VoIP systems โ for hundreds of NYC businesses. The free assessment includes an honest recommendation based on your specific situation.
We meet with your team, audit your current phone system, review your Microsoft 365 setup, and confirm Operator Connect is the right path for your business.
We help you figure out which Microsoft licenses you need, what to add, and what to drop. Often there are existing licenses already in your tenant that include Teams Phone โ we find them.
In the Microsoft Teams admin center, you select Callifi as your Operator Connect provider. The integration is automated by Microsoft โ no SBC to deploy, no SIP trunks to provision.
We work with you to design auto-attendants, call queues, ring groups, and after-hours routing. Every business is different โ we tailor the call flow to how your team actually works.
We submit port requests to your current carrier for all your business numbers. Old system keeps working until cutover day. Federal law guarantees your right to port your numbers.
Phone numbers are assigned to each user in the Teams admin center. We test inbound and outbound calls, voicemail, transfers, conferencing, and E911.
On cutover day, we're at your NYC office. Train your staff on calling from Teams, hand out any Teams-certified headsets or desk phones, monitor the number port, and stay until everything is working perfectly.
We handle changes โ new users, new call flows, holiday routing, new locations โ and provide ongoing technical support. One number to call when you need anything.
Total time from signed agreement to live calling: typically 2-4 weeks, depending mostly on how long number porting takes from your current carrier. Operator Connect itself is a few days of configuration; the bottleneck is usually waiting for the carrier release.
Free on-site assessment for NYC and tri-state businesses. We'll audit your Microsoft 365 setup, review your current phone system, and design an Operator Connect implementation tailored to how your team actually works.
Get a Free Teams Phone AssessmentOr call (212) 423-1234 ยท get@callifi.com
