How to Choose the Right Microsoft Teams Contact Centre: Connect, Extend or Unify 

Customer and internal interactions usually fall into four main categories, and each category places different demands on the contact centre. 

• Business to Consumer (B2C) interactions often involve high volumes and many channels, requiring advanced routing, automation and reporting. 

• Business to Business (B2B) communications tend to be more predictable and may focus primarily on voice or email. 

• Expert-to-Business interactions, common in sectors such as legal, finance, consulting, or healthcare, rely more on quality and reliability than high volumes. 

• Internal service desks, such as IT or HR, need simple routing, clear reporting, and an intuitive agent experience. 

B2C environments generally require the most advanced capabilities. The other categories place more emphasis on consistent service, efficient handling, and agent usability.

The Three Microsoft Teams Contact Centre Models 

1. Connect – Contact Centre Connected to Teams Phone 

The Connect model links your contact centre platform to Microsoft Teams through SIP or Direct Routing. Teams acts as the agent’s softphone, while the CCaaS platform handles routing, reporting, workflow automation, and digital channels. This is the most widely deployed model because it allows organisations to retain mature contact centre capabilities while adopting Teams for telephony. 

Strengths 

• It supports advanced voice and omnichannel features. 

• It works with your existing SBCs and telephony contracts. 

• It maintains the capabilities of an established CCaaS platform. 

Considerations 

• Agents may switch between Teams and the vendor’s interface. 

• Presence synchronisation varies across vendors. 

This model is ideal for organisations that want to keep their existing contact centre but use Teams as the telephony endpoint.

2. Extend – Certified API Integrations Inside Microsoft Teams 

The Extend model integrates contact centre interactions directly into the Teams client using Microsoft Graph and Teams APIs. Agents handle calls and tasks inside Teams, while routing and processing continue to run on the vendor’s cloud platform. Calls can enter Teams through Direct Routing; Operator Connect or Calling Plans. 

Vendors supporting this model include Luware Nimbus, Landis Contact Center, and AnywhereNow in Extend mode. 

Strengths 

• Agents have a single interface inside Teams. 

• Teams presence can fully drive routing logic. 

• Organisations can customise workflows using Power Platform and Azure. 

Considerations 

• The vendor still manages the underlying routing and infrastructure. 

• Feature availability depends on Microsoft’s API capabilities. 

Extend is a strong option when you want a clean Teams agent experience. 

3. Unify Model 

Unify is Microsoft’s newest and most integrated contact centre model. It places the contact centre directly on the Microsoft cloud infrastructure used by Teams, including Microsoft’s own telephony platform and Azure Communication Services. This means the contact centre benefits from the same connectivity, routing, global scale, and resilience that support Teams today. 

A key advantage is that the contact centre becomes independent of the Teams client and no longer relies on Teams communication APIs but can still leverage PSTN connectivity setup in Teams through Teams Phone extensibility. Instead, calling, signalling, routing, and presence all run natively within Microsoft’s own cloud platform. 

Dynamics 365 Contact Centre, launched in 2024, is the first major solution aligned with this approach. It demonstrates how Microsoft intends to bring Teams, CRM, communication, and AI together in one ecosystem. 

Strengths 

• Calling, presence, routing, and analytics run on the same Microsoft cloud foundation as Teams. 

• It delivers deep integration across Teams and Dynamics 365, providing a unified environment for communication and customer data. 

• It includes AI features such as transcription, sentiment analysis, call summaries, and real-time guidance. 

• You can leverage your investment in PSTN connectivity that has been setup in Teams through Teams Phone Extensibility. 

Considerations 

• The model is still early, with limited vendor availability today. 

• It is best suited to organisations that want to leverage a client agnostic Contact Centre built on an Enterprise Grade Communication Platform with deep integration capability into Microsoft ecosystem and AI 

Unify is designed for organisations that want their contact centre, collaboration tools, CRM, and AI capabilities to operate together on one Microsoft-native platform. 

Teams CCaaS Comparison 

The table below summarises how major contact centre vendors align with the three Teams integration models. 

Vendor	Model	Highlights	Best Fit
Dynamics 365 Contact Centre	Unify	Microsoft-native with built-in CRM and AI	Organisations committed to Microsoft
Luware Nimbus	Extend + Unify	Azure-based with strong Teams integration	Enterprises wanting embedded Teams workflows
Landis Contact Center	Extend + Unify	Simple and certified for Teams	Mid-market with straightforward routing needs
AnywhereNow	Connect + Extend	Supports both models for staged migration	Hybrid environments
NICE CXone	Connect	Enterprise-grade routing and AI	Global and high-volume environments
Genesys Cloud CX	Connect	Strong digital and omnichannel support	Digital-first organisations
Five9	Connect	Flexible and cloud-first	Fast-scaling cloud contact centres
Webex Contact Center	Connect	Cisco CCaaS with Teams softphone	Cisco-focused organisations

When Each Model Fits Best 

Connect makes sense when you want to retain your existing contact centre and simply make Teams the agent endpoint. 

Extend is ideal if you want agents working inside Teams while keeping advanced routing in a vendor’s cloud. 

Unify is strongest when your organisation relies on Dynamics 365 or aims to consolidate CRM, collaboration, calling, and AI into a single Microsoft platform. 

How to Choose the Right Model

This brings us right back to beginning of the blog, and what your contact centre is trying to do! 

 The right model depends on your operational goals. Consider the following factors as you evaluate the options: 

• The channels your contact centre must support 

• The CRM platform you rely on 

• The complexity of your routing and workforce needs 

• The size and scale of your contact centre 

• The level of organisational change you are ready to make 

• Your existing telephony and infrastructure investments 

If your organisation is built around Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365, Unify will often be the most aligned. 
If you prioritise a seamless Teams agent experience without replacing your vendor infrastructure, Extend is likely the best fit.
If you operate a large and mature CCaaS environment, Connect usually remains the most practical option. 

In our Experience 

Our architects work with customers, to deliver the Teams Contact Centre model that best serves their needs. 

Connect Model Use Case 

Having already invested heavily in its enterprise-grade contact centre platform, a large US based financial advisor partnered with SCC to deliver one of the most complex contact centre integrations ever deployed into Microsoft Teams. Their existing AnywhereNow contact centre was tightly integrated with Salesforce CRM for customer data management and reporting.  Rather than replacing this mature environment, SCC used the Connect model to seamlessly link their AnywhereNow solution with Microsoft Teams, thereby: 

• Preserving their existing investment: advanced workflows, routing logic, and compliance processes had already been built within AnywhereNow and Salesforce. Replacing this would have been costly and disruptive. 

• Cementing Teams as collaboration and voice layer: employees were already using Teams for internally, connecting the contact centre allowed agents to stay within Teams while still leveraging the enterprise-grade contact centre capabilities. 

• Cost savings: by connecting rather than migrating, the organisation achieved an estimated $1m in annual operating cost savings, avoiding duplicate licensing and infrastructure overhead. 

• Maintained enterprise-grade capabilities: skills-based routing, omnichannel engagement, and deep Salesforce integration remained intact, with no loss of functionality.  

Extend Model Use Case 

Our customer, a global healthcare company, had already standardised on Microsoft Teams for collaboration and voice communications, but its existing legacy contact centre lacked the deep integration and advanced analytics needed to support its patient-centric service model.  

They required a solution that integrated natively with Teams, providing features such as skills-based routing, call recording, and omnichannel support. Integration with Salesforce CRM was also critical, as Salesforce was the backbone of their customer data and case management workflows. SCC deployed the Luware Nimbus Contact Centre using the Teams Extend model, which allowed the organisation to: 

Scale: the ability to ‘extend’ Teams with advanced contact centre capabilities (without migrating voice workloads into Microsoft) and to grow incrementally, supporting new regions and service lines without a disruptive migration. 

• Provide agents with a Teams-native interface, ensuring minimal training and maximum adoption. 

• Improve operational efficiency: through integrating directly with Salesforce CRM, agents can access realtime customer records, case histories, and analytics during live interactions and reduce manual rework 

• Deliver advanced reporting and analytics: giving management visibility into call volumes, resolution times, and customer satisfaction metrics. 

• Improved customer experience: agents could handle calls, chats, and cases directly in Teams while pulling customer data from Salesforce, leading to faster resolution and more personalised service. 

• Teams at the centre: by keeping Teams as the hub for collaboration and customer engagement, the company reinforced its Microsoft-first strategy while still benefiting from Luware’s enterprise-grade features 

Unify Model Use Case 

A large IT consultancy company had already deployed Teams Enterprise Voice across its office locations. They wanted their contact centre to be fully integrated with Dynamics 365 for customer relationship management and compliance reporting. SCC helped the customer enable their service desk agents to handle calls, chats, and case updates directly inside their Dynamics CRM. 

• Instant Access: the Dynamics 365 integration meant customer data was instantly available during interactions, improving service quality and reducing handling times. 

• Leveraging Microsoft tools: They also leveraged Power Automate to trigger workflows (e.g., compliance checks, escalation paths) automatically during customer engagements. 

• Optimisation:  A single Microsoft ecosystem for collaboration, customer service, and compliance, reducing complexity and licensing costs compared to maintaining a separate CCaaS platform 

Looking Ahead 

Unify marks a significant shift toward deeper Microsoft native contact centre capabilities. More vendors are expected to adopt this model as the certification programme expands. At the same time, AI features such as live assistance, transcription, and sentiment analysis will continue to evolve and become central to customer interactions. CRM integration will also increase in importance as organisations pursue more connected and data-led engagement models. 

For now, the Connect model remains the most established, the Extend model offers an integrated Teams interface today, and the Unify model represents the future of contact centres within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Conclusion 

Changing your contact centre is a major decision because it affects both customers and employees. If your organisation already uses Microsoft Teams for calling and collaboration, integrating your contact centre can help you simplify communication, reduce operational complexity, and consolidate vendors. The right approach depends on your use case, CRM choice, scale, and appetite for change. 

Whether you choose Connect, Extend, or Unify, the goal is to align your contact centre with the outcomes your business needs while building a platform that supports future growth.