How Operators Win Customers and Retain Margin in a Commoditised Voice Market

Price pressure isn’t new — but Microsoft Teams accelerates it. When dial tone and numbers are delivered directly into Teams, the operator’s role can become invisible. To the customer, voice looks like “something Microsoft provides”, and the operator risks being reduced to a low-margin utility.

For operators, this creates a difficult tension:

• Prices fall

• Differentiation erodes

• Customer churn increases

  
  

The answer isn’t a cheaper voice service.

It’s staying involved in the service experience.

The risk of being invisible

When Teams Phone is delivered with minimal service wrap:

• Configuration lives entirely inside Teams

• Customers believe they can manage it themselves

• Operator value is reduced to numbers and dial tone

  
  

This pushes customers toward the lowest offer — even when that offer costs them more in the long run.

Why “do it yourself” often costs more

Teams Phone configuration is powerful, but not simple.

Many customers underestimate:

• The time required to configure and maintain phone services

• The operational risk of misconfiguration

• The cost of outages, delays, and reactive troubleshooting

A good operator understands this — and can explain that leaving voice to experts is often the cheapest option, even if the headline price is higher.

But to make that case, the operator needs something tangible and recognisable to offer.

Adding value customers can see

Haptap Call Manager gives operators a way to remain central to the service.

By adding a branded, easy-to-use PBX-style management experience on top of Teams

Phone, operators can:

• Stay involved in day-to-day service delivery

• Offer customers a familiar, intuitive control layer

• Provide faster changes and more responsive support

• Reinforce their brand as the service owner

Call Manager turns voice from a background utility into a managed service customers recognise and value.

Protecting profitability and retention

Operators who innovate beyond dial tone can:

• Differentiate their Teams Phone offer

• Justify premium pricing with clear customer benefit

• Reduce churn by embedding themselves into the customer's operations

• Build long-term service relationships, not transactional contracts

The market doesn’t reward providers who stand still.

The opportunity

Voice may be commoditising — but managed voice is not.

Operators that combine Operator Connect or Direct Routing with a visible, valuable service layer can protect margins, retain customers, and remain relevant in a Teams-first world.

The goal isn’t to compete on price.

It’s to compete on outcomes, expertise, and experience.

And in voice, the cheapest option is rarely the one that costs the least.