Evolve IP has partnered with distributor Pax8 to offer an MSP unified communications solution integrating Microsoft Teams with Cisco’s VoIP communications platform.

Evolve Teams with Enterprise Voice will be available to Pax8’s network of more than 10,000 MSPs in North America.

Scott Kinka, is Evolve IP’s CTO and founding partner. He said COVID-19 has created the largest work-from-home experiment that “we’ve ever seen.” It has pushed Microsoft Teams adoption to the forefront of nearly every conversation, he said.

Evolve IP’s Scott Kinka

“Once businesses have adopted Teams they are not going back,” he said. “Instead, they will be asking questions like, ‘How will my business live in Teams like it did during the pandemic, but get the enterprise voice features and five-nines reliability we need?’ This relationship gives Pax8 partners a great answer for those clients.”

The offering leverages Microsoft Teams direct routing; a platform-level integration of Cisco communications allows Teams collaboration with advanced voices services.

Clients can take advantage of Microsoft Teams while also supporting the needs of non-Teams users and contact centers.

“The solution we are bringing to market provides better reliability, along with flexibility in pricing and packaging, rather than the all-in offerings from Microsoft,” Kinka said. “Additionally, Pax8 clients will need access to traditional voice features and integration with non-Teams use cases. The strength of Pax8’s support and consulting, along with Evolve IP’s backing, will enable us to better support their clients’ needs.”

Using Cisco, should a business’ Teams solution or network go down, or should employees need to work remotely for an extended period of time, calls can be configured and delivered anywhere.

“Our focus now is moving the interface of many other features directly into the Teams client, starting with SMS, but expanding to advanced interactive voice response (IVRs), contact center and then Workspaces access to third-party and legacy line-of-business applications,” Kinka said.

“Now more than ever, it is critical for partners to provide their clients with remote working flexibility,” said Andrew Pryfogle, Pax8’s chief market development officer. “Evolve Teams with Enterprise Voice ensures that partners have access to the best features for collaboration, voice services, and features that are essential in today’s working environment.