Integrating Your Intercom with Teams? Most Solutions Leave You Blind

The Moment That Changes Everything

Your visitor presses the buzzer. The call rings in Teams. You answer. But all you hear is a voice. No face. No visual confirmation. You are making a security decision based on sound alone.

This scenario plays out thousands of times daily across organizations that have connected their intercoms to Microsoft Teams. The goal seemed simple: answer the door from anywhere you can answer a Teams call. The reality is different. Most integration approaches deliver audio-only connections, leaving your staff unable to see who they are granting access to.

Before you commit to an integration path, you need to understand what you are actually getting, and what you are giving up.

The Video Gap: Why 99% of Teams Intercom Solutions Fall Short

The most overlooked limitation in Teams intercom integration is this: the vast majority of solutions are audio-only. Whether you use Microsoft's SIP Gateway or a traditional Direct Routing setup with a Session Border Controller, the connection between your intercom and your Teams user will be a simple audio call. You can talk to your visitor, but you cannot see them.

Some solutions offer one-way video, where the Teams user can view a camera feed from the intercom. But this still leaves a gap. The visitor cannot see who they are speaking with, which limits coaching, identity confirmation, and professional interaction.

CyberGate is the only solution that provides true two-way live video to Teams users on both desktop and mobile. Both parties see and hear each other in real time. This is not a workaround or an add-on. It is how the product was designed from day one.

What two-way video makes possible:

Visual identification for security decisions. When a delivery driver arrives after hours, your staff can verify the uniform, check the company vehicle, and confirm identification held up to the camera, all before opening the gate.

Clear coaching at access points. Contractors unfamiliar with your site can be guided visually to the correct entrance, reducing confusion and time spent on repeated explanations.

A professional visitor experience. Replacing an impersonal audio call with a face-to-face interaction changes how visitors perceive your organization from the first moment of contact.

Accessibility for hearing-impaired visitors. For visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing, an audio-only intercom creates a barrier. Two-way video enables lip reading, visual gestures, and dignified interaction that audio simply cannot provide.

The Hidden Costs of "Native" Microsoft Approaches

Choosing a "native" Microsoft path, whether through the SIP Gateway or Direct Routing, introduces costs and complexity that are easy to overlook during initial planning.

Additional licenses required. Both the Microsoft SIP Gateway and Direct Routing approaches require every user who answers intercom calls to hold a Teams Phone System license. This is an additional per-user cost on top of your standard Microsoft 365 license.

For an organization with 50 staff who might answer door calls, this license requirement alone can add thousands of euros annually to your operating costs. CyberGate does not require Teams Phone System licenses.

Hardware investment for Direct Routing. The Direct Routing approach requires a Session Border Controller. Hardware costs for an SBC typically range from EUR 2,000 to over 10,000, depending on capacity and redundancy requirements. For organizations without existing SBC infrastructure, this represents a significant barrier to entry.

Specialized expertise. Configuring and maintaining SIP Gateway settings or an SBC requires specialized skills that many IT teams do not have in-house. This often means engaging external consultants or training staff on unfamiliar systems.

Procurement friction. Traditional approaches may require separate procurement processes for hardware, licenses, and professional services. CyberGate is available directly through the Azure Marketplace, aligning with cloud-first procurement strategies and simplifying vendor management.

How the Options Compare

Protecting Your Existing Hardware Investment

A common challenge in technology projects is vendor lock-in. The Microsoft SIP Gateway approach restricts you to a specific list of certified intercom devices. If your current hardware is not on that list, you face a choice: replace working equipment or abandon the integration.

CyberGate takes a different approach. The platform supports over 25 intercom manufacturers, including 2N, Akuvox, Axis, DoorBird, Fanvil, Grandstream, Robin, and many others. This brand independence means you can connect your existing intercoms without replacement, regardless of manufacturer.

For organizations with multiple locations using different intercom brands, this flexibility enables a single, unified solution across your entire portfolio. There is no need to standardize on one vendor or run parallel systems for different sites.

This "no rip-and-replace" philosophy protects capital investments you have already made while delivering the modern functionality your teams need.

Beyond the Doorbell: A Platform for Physical Device Integration

A strategic solution addresses more than a single use case. CyberGate extends beyond intercoms to become a unified bridge for connecting physical SIP devices to Teams.

IP Paging integration. Address your network-compatible speakers, amplifiers, and paging systems directly from Teams. No separate phone numbers or dedicated consoles required.

SIP camera connectivity. Connect SIP-enabled cameras to Teams users or have them auto-join standing meetings for monitoring and incident response.

Multi-ring groups. Configure calls to ring multiple Teams users simultaneously, with the first responder taking the call. Supervisors can monitor and manage group assignments through a dedicated portal.

Full audit trail and call logging. Every interaction is logged for compliance review and security audits. Search, filter, and export call records as needed.

This platform approach reduces the number of separate systems your team needs to manage, consolidating physical device communication into the Teams environment your staff already uses daily.

What Customers Are Saying

Organizations across industries have made the switch to CyberGate. Here is what they report:

"CyberGate is top notch, simple, intuitive, and it works. I like your product, we will definitely turn this trial into a subscription and we will be adding more licenses." — Brett Maltbie, System Administrator, Quality Group of Companies

"When you're knee-deep in a Teams Voice migration, the last thing you want to deal with is a tedious door access integration. CyberGate's setup was straightforward, self-explanatory, and most important, fast!" — Integrated Warehouse Solutions

"We were looking for a way to get a video intercom that would work with Microsoft Teams, and there seemed to be very few options. Then we found CyberGate, which delivered exactly what we needed." — Oliver Smith, IT Manager, AGD

CyberGate is trusted by over 1,260 customers across 35+ countries, spanning financial services, healthcare, education, logistics, and commercial real estate.

The Real Question

When evaluating how to connect your intercom to Microsoft Teams, the decision is not simply about establishing a connection. It is about what kind of connection you establish.

An audio-only link gets the job done in the narrowest sense. But it leaves your staff making security decisions without visual information, creates barriers for hearing-impaired visitors, and misses opportunities to improve visitor experience and operational coaching.

A solution with true two-way video, broad hardware compatibility, and a transparent cost structure delivers more than basic functionality. It delivers capability that improves security, accessibility, and professionalism across every visitor interaction.

When connecting your building to your digital workspace, are you just opening a door, or are you opening a new line of sight?

See CyberGate in action. Request a demo or start your trial directly from the Azure Marketplace.

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