In the coming months, the Networks and Telecom team in Information Services will be expanding Microsoft Teams to include its Teams Phone feature. DePaul users will continue to have the same dedicated phone number that they have had before. After the upgrade, calls to this dedicated number will go to the Teams app on your laptop or phone. Microsoft Teams will also include a phone keypad feature for dialing phone numbers within the app.
DePaul students, faculty, and staff who prefer to use Zoom for calls and conferencing are welcome to continue to do so. Zoom will continue to be an important tool for the DePaul community.
Members of the Networks and Information Services teams will work with all DePaul schools, offices, and departments to upgrade physical phones in front desks and classrooms to the new system. Outside of these scenarios, any users with a physical phone will be encouraged to switch the Microsoft Teams Phone for calls to and from their DePaul phone numbers.
Your primary communication options at DePaul will be Zoom and Teams.
Microsoft Teams is a convenient way to make calls to people within DePaul. Simply search for the person you want to call and choose the video or voice call option. Microsoft Teams has a desktop, mobile, and web browser app. If you have been using Teams and have a DePaul phone number, you will see a new feature coming to the app called Teams Phone. This feature will allow you to make and receive calls to and from your DePaul phone number.
If you DO have a DePaul-based phone number, these are the ways you can communicate through Teams:
If you DON'T have a DePaul-based phone number, these are the ways you can communicate with other DePaul employees through Teams:
If you DO have a DePaul-based phone number, these are the ways people can communicate with you through Teams:
If you DON'T have a DePaul-based phone number, these are the ways other DePaul employees can communicate with you through Teams:
Communication channels via Zoom/Teams, etc. have always been available at all times. This isn't much different than the current communication options (especially for users who don't use a DePaul phone number or physical phone that much).
Fewer and fewer people are reaching out via phone calls. If you already use Teams, anyone in DePaul could contact you at any time today through the app. A phone number doesn't change that. You have the option to set hours of availability in Teams. Faculty also have the option to communicate to students their preferred contact methods and hours of availability.
For communication with colleagues and co-workers: Define your hours of availability on Teams by setting quiet time when you are not available on Teams.
For communication with students: Tell your students your preferred communication methods and hours. If you haven't used Teams for communicating and just want to use the phone feature, you have the option of setting quiet times when the app will not ring or notify you https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/quiet-time-in-microsoft-teams-for-mobile-devices-174c4d2d-c7c1-4228-80a7-031c14f9bcf2. Faculty have the option to give office hours, and limit Teams notifications to those specific times.
Zoom isn't going anywhere. Zoom remains an integral part of DePaul. Information Services recommends using Microsoft Teams for internal (DePaul to DePaul) meetings, conferences, phone calls, and video calls. We recommend using Zoom for audio calls, video calls, or group calls involving students and/or people outside of the university.
Although it is recommended to call any emergency services through your smartphone, calling 911 works from Microsoft Teams Phone on your computer or app if you have a DePaul phone number. Phones will be replaced and continue to be available in communal areas throughout campus for emergency calls.
Set up the Microsoft Teams desktop app for Mac. Download at office365.depaul.edu. Select the Install Apps button. Once you have downloaded Teams, login with your BlueKey credentials. After Teams is set up on your Mac, make sure to open the Teams app, log in, and allow Teams notifications. You will now receive calls on your Mac. It's recommended to make a habit of opening the Team app whenever you want to be available for any Teams-based calls on your Mac.
No. If you currently have a DePaul-based, ten-digit phone number, you will continue to have that number. The only difference is that you will now make and receive calls from and to that number in the Teams app.
No. Making calls from the Teams app either with your DePaul phone number, or via Teams audio or video callls, will not display your personal phone number.
All calls to your DePaul phone number will ring in the Microsoft Teams app after this migration is complete. If you are used to receiving and making lots of calls to and from this number, make sure to open the Teams app on your laptop or mobile app. Make sure you are logged into Teams, and that your phone or computer allows notifications from Teams. Since the goal is to start using Teams for voice and video calls more regularly, it is highly recommended to open Teams (and Outlook for BlueM@il) at the start of your work day, office hours, etc. Users also have the option to create separate ring tones for Teams Phone calls to your office phone number versus voice or video calls to your profile in the Teams app.
All DePaul faculty and staff who still have a physical phone in an office or workspace are encouraged to switch to the Teams app for all dialed calls. After this project is completed for your group, you can use the Teams mobile, desktop, and web app to make and receive all phone calls to and from your DePaul phone number. Physical phones will largely be discontinued for individuals and small groups. Only shared or communal phones, such as front desk, heavy call volume, classroom or lab support, or emergency phones will be upgraded.
Great question! The short answer is that we won't know about every physical phone. The Networks team will be reaching out to liaisons from your group in order to obtain that information. We will need an inventory of all of the working physical phones, and also more information about shared front desk phones. With the exceptions of places like front desks with heavy phone call volumes, all other physical phone users are advised to use the Teams app on their computer and/or smartphone instead of using a physical DePaul phone. These DePaul-based physical phones are outdated and expensive to replace.
Each DePaul office, department, school, or college will have a liaison working and communicating with the Networks and Telecom teams. This person will reach out about old phone collection procedures.
When a call is incoming, you will see two things: the person calling (either a number or an individual), and whether they are calling your DePaul phone number or your individual Teams profile.
The Jabber softphone feature will be retired with the the change to Microsoft Teams Phone. The Teams app will serve the same function as Jabber. You will be notified when your respective school, department, or area is scheduled to make the switch to the new phone system with the Teams app.
People who currently have a DePaul phone number but no longer want it are welcome to get rid of their number. Please contact your department or school liaison for this project. They will be able to make a note in our documentation that you have a phone number but no longer wish to use it.
We are returning to the previous voicemail system that was preferable for many users. Voicemail messages will be transcribed and sent to the inbox associated with the Teams account. For most individuals, this means that voicemail transcriptions will be sent your your individual BlueM@il. For shared phones such as front desk phones, transcribed voicemails will be sent to the shared resource mailbox associated with the shared phone.
If you are calling from your DePaul phone number, it won't be associated with your actual profile. Callers will have the same experience as calling to your old phone system.
DePaul University already has a licensing agreement with Microsoft 365. It is the goal of the Networks and Telecom teams to take advantage of services already available to the university. Physical phones are costly and inefficient to maintain for infrequent users. The Teams app is an effective communication tool that is already integrated into DePaul's technology environment. Many DePaul employees use Teams as their primary tool for chatting and calling peers every day. Once you acclimate to using Teams, incorporating Teams Phone will be relatively seamless.
It will be replaced and upgraded to a physical phone that uses a Microsoft Teams interface. This is also a physical phone but it works with the Microsoft Teams system, allowing the new front desk phone to be forwarded to others. Look for much more information about upgrading your front desk phone in the future. The project team will work with heavy phone users to make this transition as smooth as possible.
You will work with our team to recreate a very similar user experience for callers. We have the capacity to create automated menus, have phone queuing systems, and forward callers to other people. Many of the features you used before will be available after this change. Our team will work with you to find solutions. The actual phones and applications will be different at first, but the user experience should be similar for callers.
There are options. Calls can be forwarded to other members of your group via the Teams app. You can also use voicemail features.
Incoming calls very clearly display where the call is from, and the number or person the caller is trying to reach.
Physical phones in computer labs and classrooms will be upgraded to the new phones. It will be important to keep these phones for tech support and emergency calling.
Information Services has multiple groups that will be working on this upgrade project. For the majority of employees who don't receive many calls to their DePaul phone number, this change won't be very substantial. For other groups using shared or front desk phones, we understand that this change may be concerning. We will be reaching out to you in the coming weeks and months to discuss the process and make sure that the transition goes as smoothly as possible.
Voicemail messages to a shared phone will be delivered to the shared resource account (email inbox) that is associated with the number.
Yes! This is called "delegate access". All owners of a DePaul phone number have the option to delegate access to the number. This means that incoming calls can forward to others and they can answer. You also have the option to let others make calls from your number.
With the upgraded system, shared phone numbers and phones can be forwarded to individuals on their Microsoft Teams apps.