Skype for Business Cloud PBX

Skype for Business Cloud PBX

Skype for Business Cloud PBX call management system enables you to use Skype for Business and either your company's existing phone lines or the Skype for Business PSTN Calling service for inbound and outbound calls. With Cloud PBX, your users can use Skype for Business to complete basic tasks such as placing, receiving, transferring, and muting or unmuting calls, from nearly anywhere with internet access.

Skype for Business Cloud PBX allows you to replace your existing PBX system with a set of features that are directly delivered from Office 365 and tightly integrated into Microsoft's cloud productivity experience. You can choose a completely in-the-cloud experience, or a hybrid deployment that takes advantage of Cloud PBX while keeping some functionality on your premises. For more information, see Plan your Cloud PBX solution in Skype for Business 2015.

PSTN connectivity

To enable calls between your users and people outside of your organization, you can connect Cloud PBX to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) in either of the following ways:

• By using Skype for Business software on-premises to connect with your existing telephony infrastructure and configure on-premises PSTN connectivity, allowing for the customer’s existing numbers and PSTN service to be used by Skype for Business Cloud PBX capability.
• By purchasing a Cloud PBX add-on license for your Office 365 users.

For more information about Cloud PBX and its interoperability with PSTN calling and conferencing, see Plan Cloud PBX with on-premises PSTN connectivity in Skype for Business Server 2015 or Lync Server 2013.

Availability

Cloud PBX is available worldwide for the following clients and phones as part of the Office 365 Enterprise E5 suite, or as an add-on to Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Enterprise E3, or Skype for Business Online Plan 2.

Cloud PBX features

Skype for Business Cloud PBX includes the following features:

• Call answer/initiate (by name and number)
• Call delegation and call on-behalf
• Call forwarding and simul-ring
• Call history
• Call hold/retrieve
• Call transfer (Blind, Consult, and Mobile)
• Caller ID
• Camp on
• Clients for PC, Mac, and Mobile
• Device switching
• Distinctive ringing
• Do-not-disturb routing
• Call routing based on Outlook Office Hours
• Integrated dial-pad
• Music on hold
• Qualified IP desk phones
• Skype and Federated calling
• Team calling
• Video call monitor
• Voicemail with personalized greeting, message waiting indicator, and reply with call

Tell us what you think

If you have comments or questions about this topic, we'd love to hear from you. Just send your feedback to Office 365 Service Description Feedback. Your comments will help us provide the most accurate and concise content