Cisco BroadWorks vs Microsoft Teams Calling: Which Cloud Phone System?
Why Are These Two Platforms Being Compared?
Cisco BroadWorks and Microsoft Teams Calling represent two fundamentally different approaches to cloud telephony — and they are the two platforms most frequently shortlisted by Australian businesses evaluating their options.
BroadWorks is a purpose-built, carrier-grade telephony platform that has been powering business phone systems for over two decades. It underpins the voice services of major telcos worldwide, including the platform PCONNECT delivers as UC XCEL. Microsoft Teams Calling, on the other hand, extends the collaboration tool that 78% of Australian businesses already use (Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2024) by adding PSTN calling capability directly into the Teams interface.
Both are legitimate cloud phone systems. But they are designed for different priorities, and choosing the wrong one leads to frustration, workarounds, and eventually a costly re-platforming exercise.
How Do They Compare on Core Features?
| Feature | Cisco BroadWorks | Microsoft Teams Calling |
|---|---|---|
| Call Quality (MOS Score) | 4.2-4.4 (carrier-grade) | 3.8-4.2 (variable, depends on Teams client) |
| Uptime SLA | 99.999% (5 nines) | 99.99% (4 nines) |
| Annual Downtime Allowance | 5.26 minutes | 52.6 minutes |
| Auto Attendant Levels | Unlimited, multi-level | Up to 10 levels |
| Call Queue Capacity | Unlimited concurrent queues | 25 agents per queue (standard) |
| Hunt Group Options | Circular, regular, simultaneous, weighted | Simultaneous, serial |
| Call Recording | Native, policy-based, always-on option | Requires compliance recording licence |
| Voicemail Transcription | Yes, included | Yes, included |
| Hot Desking | Native support | Limited (shared device mode) |
| Receptionist Console | Purpose-built console application | Third-party required (e.g., Anywhere365) |
| Analogue Device Support | Via ATA, fully supported | Not natively supported |
| Fax Support | T.38 fax over IP | No native fax support |
| CRM Integration | Broad — Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics, custom | Microsoft ecosystem (Dynamics native) |
| Monthly Cost (per user) | $15-$35 | $10-$20 (+ Microsoft 365 licence) |
Where Does BroadWorks Excel?
Telephony Depth and Reliability
BroadWorks was engineered from the ground up as a telephony platform. Its call processing engine handles complex call flows — multi-level auto-attendants, sophisticated hunt groups, time-of-day routing with holiday calendars, executive-assistant pairing — with a level of granularity that Teams Calling simply does not match.
The platform's 99.999% uptime SLA is not marketing. BroadWorks achieves this through geo-redundant architecture where the platform runs simultaneously across multiple data centres. If an entire data centre goes offline, calls continue without interruption. This five-nines reliability is why BroadWorks is classified as carrier-grade — it meets the same availability standards as the traditional PSTN.
Call Centre and Reception Functionality
For businesses that rely on structured call handling — medical practices, legal firms, property management, professional services — BroadWorks' native call centre capabilities are significantly more capable. Features include:
- ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) with skills-based routing
- Real-time queue wallboards and supervisor dashboards
- Whisper, barge, and silent monitoring
- Detailed historical reporting with 90+ standard reports
- Dedicated receptionist console for high-volume call handling
According to Cavell Group's Cloud Communications Market Report (2024), 62% of businesses that chose a carrier-grade UCaaS platform over a collaboration-first platform cited call handling capability as the primary driver.
Analogue and Legacy Device Support
Many Australian businesses still rely on analogue devices — fax machines, EFTPOS terminals, alarm systems, lift phones, and door intercoms. BroadWorks supports these devices natively via Analogue Telephone Adapters (ATAs), ensuring they continue to function without requiring separate PSTN lines.
Where Does Teams Calling Excel?
Integration with the Microsoft Ecosystem
If your organisation lives in Microsoft 365 — Outlook for email, Teams for chat, SharePoint for documents, OneDrive for storage — Teams Calling provides an experience that no other platform can match. Calling is embedded directly in the application your staff already have open eight hours a day.
Presence syncs automatically. Calendar-based routing works natively. Click-to-call from Outlook contacts requires zero configuration. For organisations where the phone system is secondary to collaboration and the call handling requirements are relatively straightforward, this integration is genuinely compelling.
Familiarity and Adoption
The adoption curve for Teams Calling is virtually flat because employees are already using Teams. There is no new application to install, no new interface to learn, and no additional login to manage. In organisations where telephony adoption has historically been poor — particularly among younger employees who default to mobile — embedding calling into Teams can significantly increase the use of the business phone system.
What About Pricing?
The pricing comparison is less straightforward than it appears at first glance.
Teams Calling requires a Microsoft 365 licence as a prerequisite — typically Business Basic ($9/user/month) at minimum, though most businesses are on Business Premium ($33/user/month) or E3/E5. The Teams Phone licence adds $10-$20/user/month on top, plus a Calling Plan or Operator Connect service for PSTN connectivity.
Typical all-in monthly cost per user:
| Component | BroadWorks (UC XCEL) | Teams Calling |
|---|---|---|
| Platform licence | $15-$35 | $10-$20 (Teams Phone) |
| Microsoft 365 prerequisite | Not required | $9-$57 (already paid by most businesses) |
| PSTN connectivity | Included | $10-$15 (Calling Plan) or via Operator Connect |
| Handset (amortised) | $3-$8 | $0 (softphone) to $8 (desk phone) |
| Total per user | $18-$43 | $20-$35 (excluding M365 licence) |
The critical question is whether your organisation is already paying for Microsoft 365. If so, the incremental cost of adding Teams Calling is genuinely lower. If you are comparing total cost from scratch, the difference is marginal.
However, cost increases once you need features that Teams Calling does not include natively. Compliance recording, advanced call analytics, a receptionist console, and contact centre functionality all require third-party add-ons that increase both cost and complexity.
When Should You Choose BroadWorks?
BroadWorks (delivered as PCONNECT UC XCEL) is the stronger choice when:
- Telephony is mission-critical — You cannot tolerate more than 5 minutes of downtime per year
- You have complex call flows — Multi-level auto-attendants, skills-based routing, executive-assistant pairing
- You need a call centre — Even a small one with 5-10 agents handling inbound queues
- You have reception staff — Dedicated receptionists who manage high volumes of inbound calls
- You support analogue devices — Fax machines, EFTPOS, alarms, lift phones
- You want platform independence — Your phone system should not depend on your email/collaboration platform
Ideal industries:
Medical and healthcare, legal, financial services, property management, government, contact centres, hospitality, and any organisation with a front-desk or reception function.
When Should You Choose Teams Calling?
Teams Calling is the stronger choice when:
- Your organisation is heavily invested in Microsoft 365 — Teams is already the primary collaboration tool
- Call handling is straightforward — Direct inward dialling, basic auto-attendant, simple ring groups
- You want a single application — Reducing the number of tools employees use daily is a priority
- Most calls are internal or ad-hoc — The phone system is secondary to chat and video
- You have no analogue devices — No fax machines, no EFTPOS on phone lines, no alarm systems
- IT simplicity is paramount — Your IT team wants one fewer platform to manage
Ideal industries:
Professional services (consulting, accounting), technology companies, creative agencies, and knowledge-worker organisations where collaboration outweighs structured telephony.
Can You Have Both?
Yes, and this is more common than many businesses realise. Some organisations deploy BroadWorks for their reception team, call centre agents, and analogue devices while running Teams Calling for the broader workforce. PCONNECT supports both platforms and can architect hybrid deployments where each user is on the platform that best suits their role. The key enabler is Operator Connect, which allows Teams to connect to PSTN services through a carrier-grade platform rather than Microsoft's own calling plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I migrate from BroadWorks to Teams Calling (or vice versa) later?
Yes. Both platforms support standard SIP and number porting, so migrating between them is operationally straightforward. The effort is primarily in reconfiguring call flows, auto-attendants, and user training. A phased migration — moving departments one at a time — is the lowest-risk approach and can typically be completed in 2-4 weeks.
Does Teams Calling work with desk phones?
Yes, but with caveats. Teams supports certified desk phones from Yealink, Poly, and AudioCodes. However, the Teams phone experience is optimised for the softphone client. Some advanced desk phone features available on BroadWorks — such as busy lamp field with dozens of monitored extensions — are more limited on Teams-certified phones.
What about call quality on Teams Calling?
Teams call quality is generally good but depends heavily on the client device, network conditions, and whether the user is on Wi-Fi or Ethernet. BroadWorks, by contrast, processes voice on dedicated carrier-grade infrastructure with consistent quality regardless of the client. Organisations with strict call quality requirements — such as those in regulated industries — often prefer the predictability of a carrier-grade platform.
Is Teams Calling cheaper than BroadWorks?
It depends on what you already pay for. If you are on Microsoft 365 E5 (which includes Teams Phone), the incremental cost is just the PSTN connectivity — making it very cost-effective. If you are on a lower Microsoft 365 tier, the additional licensing brings the cost close to or above BroadWorks. Once you add third-party tools for call recording, reception console, or contact centre, Teams Calling can end up costing more than a fully featured BroadWorks deployment.
Does PCONNECT favour one platform over the other?
No. PCONNECT is vendor-independent and delivers both BroadWorks (as UC XCEL) and Microsoft Teams Calling. The recommendation is based entirely on the business requirements, existing infrastructure, and budget. In practice, roughly 55% of PCONNECT voice deployments are BroadWorks and 45% are Teams Calling or hybrid — reflecting the fact that neither platform is universally superior.