Reliable, compliant phone systems for UK local authorities and public sector organisations. Call recording, central management across multiple sites, and expert advice on Microsoft 365 integration.
Local councils and public sector organisations have specific requirements around compliance, procurement, and reliability that the private sector does not. Phone systems must support large numbers of users across multiple sites, provide full call recording for FOI and compliance purposes, and work within public sector procurement frameworks. With many councils still running ageing ISDN-based PBX systems, the January 2027 PSTN switch-off deadline provides a natural trigger to modernise — and to make strategic decisions about how telephony fits within the wider IT estate going forward.
Phone systems do not have to integrate with Microsoft 365 — but the vast majority of UK councils choose to do so. Most already run Microsoft 365 across their organisation, and integrating the phone system eliminates costly on-premise PBX hardware, streamlines hybrid working, and simplifies IT administration. UK councils typically handle telephony in one of two ways:
Direct integration via Teams Phone — The council uses Microsoft 365 as its sole communications hub. Using Direct Routing or Operator Connect, Teams replaces the traditional PBX entirely. Officers and councillors make and receive standard phone calls directly from the Teams interface, with no separate phone system to manage.
Third-party contact centre integration — Where a council runs a dedicated enterprise contact centre platform such as Anywhere365 or 8x8, Microsoft Teams Phone Integration connects the two systems. Agents use Teams for internal collaboration while fielding resident calls through the separate contact centre platform — combining the familiarity of Teams with the advanced call handling features that resident-facing services require.
We advise on both approaches and will recommend the right one based on your council's existing infrastructure and service requirements.
Council calls are frequently subject to FOI requests and complaints procedures. Comprehensive call recording with long-term secure storage and easy retrieval supports compliance and reduces risk.
Councils operate across offices, depots, libraries, and community centres. A single hosted phone system managed centrally eliminates the cost and complexity of separate systems at each site.
Public sector organisations require defined uptime SLAs and clear escalation paths. The platforms we recommend include UK-based support and service level agreements appropriate for council use.
Council staffing fluctuates with seasonal services and elections. Hosted VoIP user licences can be added or removed monthly — no need to over-provision to accommodate peaks.
All systems we supply are fully PSTN switch-off ready. Migrating before January 2027 eliminates the risk of service disruption and removes dependency on ageing copper infrastructure.
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