The total economic impact of Microsoft Teams revealed

How to improve & reduce your communication and collaboration costs

In a study commissioned by Microsoft, titled The Total Economic Impact™ Of Microsoft Teams (MS Teams), it was found that companies reduced or eliminated many cost types associated with their previous communication and collaboration tool when they moved across to Microsoft Teams from a portfolio of disparate spot solutions.

The MS Teams study conducted by Forrester in 2019 discovered how many different (and sometimes less effective) tools had been used throughout organisations by various departments prior to the implementation of MS Teams company wide.

Cost reductions made when MS Teams was used company wide included on premises hardware and maintenance cost reductions, the elimination of other solutions’ licensing and maintenance, a reduction in telephony charges (mobile and long distance), and reduced IT support requirements.

The study also revealed that having one solution provided improved collaboration and information sharing amongst teams as well as more efficient meetings that resulted in time savings for users of approx. 8 hours a week. If you calculate a time saving of 8 hours per week per employee, then that’s a massive savings with large increases in staff productivity each quarter and year.

Other key MS Teams benefits found were:

• 88%* of users stated its now easier to communicate securely & ensure privacy
• 86%* of respondents said teams & MS 365 has better privacy controls
• 6%* reduction in user downtime having resources available in one cloud-based location

Participants interviewed as part of the study made the following statements about the benefits of using MS Teams:

• “We are reducing our PBX costs in some locations.”
• “People used to go and buy their own communication solutions. Providing these centrally reduces costs and gets rid of shadow IT.”
• “We would have needed an enterprise license for another solution we were using. That would have cost $300 per user per year.”
• “We will save money by dropping our other calling services as people begin using Teams for voice calls.”

The benefits demonstrated across organisations using MS Teams meant staff were more productive and more engaged which in turn can result in better satisfaction and a more profitable business.

For years business executives have evaluated how technology (video calling and conferencing in particular) could reduce travel costs so the need for employees to travel to other offices could be reduced. Visit the MS Teams Voice site here.

This has been tested to the extreme over the past few months with the recent COVID-19 work from home measures. Recent changes in our collaboration tools and communication styles have shown that effective collaboration doesn’t always have to be in face-to-face.

Businesses of all types and sizes have been using MS teams Voice for calls, video chat, and video conferencing heavily each day, while working from home for months and weeks enabling highly effective, efficient communication. These tools have allowed businesses to operate during the lockdown situation.

Effective collaboration has been shown to empower your teams to do the following:

• make and execute decisions promptly
• go to market with new ideas and product offerings in a timely manner
• respond quickly to customer and supplier requests and needs
• work efficiently from home and remote locations for extended periods of time
• the ability to keep in touch with managers, co-workers, partners, suppliers and customers daily and weekly

Research shows that staff who simply feel like they’re part of a team of people working on a task makes them more motivated as they take on challenges and deal with their day-to-day job functions.

If your business is using Skype ( which will be End-of-Life in 2021) and already using Microsoft Office 365 – MS Teams Voice calling can provide cost reductions, increased communication and productivity  – so your staff can work from any location using voice, video calling or chat via MS Teams calling.

Try the MS Teams Voice ROI Savings Calculator here or to understand how simple, it is to use MS Teams Voice Calling click here to chat with an Enablis Voice expert now.