Microsoft doesn’t manufacture traditional telephone hardware, but it is entirely possible to transform one of the world’s most widespread software suites into a full-featured phone system for your business. The key is Microsoft Lync, the name Microsoft assigned to Office Communications Server (OCS) in 2010.
Lync Online, included with many Office 365 plans, is a robust communications platform that combines presence, instant messaging, voice over IP (VoIP), desktop sharing, and audio and video conferencing in a single interface. From one desktop client, users can manage nearly all their communications. The one notable gap, however, has traditionally been native telephony—classic circuit-switched voice services provided by a traditional phone system.
That gap has become an opportunity as IT and telecom converge. A number of providers have developed solutions to add telephony to Office 365 by voice-enabling Lync. By integrating a voice-enabled Lync deployment in place of the standard Lync Online component, Office 365 becomes a comprehensive communications platform. This approach lets organizations leverage their existing Office 365 investment and gain a fully hosted phone system that tightly integrates with the desktop applications they already use—Exchange for email and calendaring, and SharePoint for document collaboration among them.
For businesses replacing aging or end-of-life legacy phone systems, voice-enabled Lync delivers practical value. It supports the core features companies expect from a business phone system: receptionist and switchboard functions, intelligent call routing and hunt-group capabilities, IVR (interactive voice response), and other enterprise call-handling functions. Implementations can be configured to replicate legacy behavior, including office-wide paging or intercom announcements and custom call workflows, ensuring continuity of familiar telephony practices while modernizing the underlying platform.
Because Lync-based telephony is built on VoIP and software-first architecture, it offers additional advantages beyond feature parity with legacy systems. Centralized administration, simplified user provisioning via existing Active Directory and Office 365 credentials, and unified presence and messaging reduce complexity for IT staff. Users benefit from a single communications client on their desktop and mobile devices, which streamlines collaboration and shortens response times by consolidating voice, messaging, and conferencing into one environment.
Security and compliance are also considerations for businesses moving telephony into Office 365 and Lync. Voice traffic and call records can be governed by the same policies that apply to the rest of the organization’s collaboration tools, and many providers offer encryption, call logging, and retention features that align with regulatory requirements. Choosing a solution from a reputable voice-enablement provider can help ensure that quality of service, redundancy, and support meet enterprise expectations.
Adopting voice-enabled Lync can also reduce total cost of ownership. Hosted voice eliminates the need to maintain local PBX hardware, lowers maintenance overhead, and can simplify telecom billing by consolidating services. Scalability is easier with hosted models, allowing companies to add or remove lines and features as their workforce and needs change without major capital investments.
If your organization is evaluating whether to retain, replace, or upgrade an existing phone system, Lync-based telephony is a compelling option—especially if Office 365 is already in use. With careful planning around migration, user training, and network readiness for VoIP, businesses can move from legacy telephony to a modern, integrated communications platform that supports current workflows and future growth.