Plan your Enterprise Voice solution in Skype for Business Server
Summary: Learn about your options for planning a unified voice and communications solution in Skype for Business Server.
Skype for Business Server offers two on-premises Enterprise Voice options—Enterprise Voice and Call Via Work—for you to integrate the telephone system of your organization with your Skype for Business Server deployment, making for a true unified communications solution. Both options enable users to use their Skype for Business client to initiate voice calls with other users, both inside and outside of your organization.
You can also use both Enterprise Voice and Call Via Work together.
Enterprise Voice is the most complete voice offering. It is a software-powered Voice over IP (VoIP) solution, providing a very rich feature set, including rich integration with Outlook and Exchange, and many powerful features such as Response Groups, Call Park, team calling, Group Call Pickup, and Enhanced Emergency E9-1-1 support. With Enterprise Voice, users use an audio device such as a headset with their computer, or a VoIP-enabled phone, instead of a traditional PSTN or PBX phone.
Call Via Work offers a way for you to integrate your Skype for Business solution with your existing PBX phone systems. A user enabled for Call Via Work can click in Skype for Business to call another user, either within your deployment or an external user. The call is completed using the user's PBX phone. Additionally, these users can click in Skype for Business to join conferences.
Deploying Call Via Work is also a benefit to users who still have PBX phones but are being transitioned to Enterprise Voice, as it enables these users to being using their Skype for Business client to control their phone calls.
Call Via Work offers a more limited set of voice features thanEnterprise Voice . For example, it does not support delegation, team call, response group, or Enhanced E9-1-1.
Of course, you can have some of your users enabled for Enterprise Voice while other users are using PBX phones. Additionally, while you transition to a full Enterprise Voice solution, you can enable users who still have PBX phones for Enterprise Voice. These users can use their PBX phone while at their desk, and also use Enterprise Voice to place or receive calls using VoIP devices while in other locations. If these users are enabled for Call Via Work, they can use their Skype for Business client to control their PBX phone while at their desk.
Note
Remote call control was a feature offered in previous versions of Lync Server, enabling users to use their Skype for Business client to make and receive phone calls on their PBX phones. Remote call control is not supported for users homed on Skype for Business Server servers, but is supported for users with Skype for Business clients who are still homed on servers running Lync Server 2013.
See also
Plan for Enterprise Voice in Skype for Business Server