University of Cyprus struggled with poor audio quality, maintenance issues, and lack of collaboration features in its old telephony system.
University of Cyprus decided to further its Microsoft 365 A5 transformation by migrating its telephony services to Microsoft Teams Phone.
The shift simplified the university's telephone system, cutting hardware costs by 90% and improving call quality and enhanced employee collaboration.
The University of Cyprus, established in 1989, is a public higher education and research institution that welcomed its first students in 1992. With around 1,200 permanent employees, up to 800 non-permanent personnel including special teaching staff and researchers, and 7,000 students, the university’s information technologies (IT) department oversees an expansive digital estate. "Our goal is to streamline the academic and research work at our university. All our efforts are focused on helping the university transition smoothly into a more effective and efficient digital future," states Eftychios Eftychiou, Senior Information Technologies Officer at the University of Cyprus.
The university began its digital transformation journey in 2018. "We had attempted a smaller-scale move to cloud tools in 2016, which gave us a better idea of how to manage the change," recalls Eftychiou. This early experimentation informed the university’s planning. "Two years later, in 2018, we fully transitioned from on-premises software to Microsoft 365 A3. Then, in February 2023, we transitioned to Microsoft 365 A5," Eftychiou adds.
Soon, the university began encouraging staff and students to use apps like Microsoft Teams for communication and OneDrive for collaboration. Initial adoption was limited, but the change really took off with movement restrictions imposed by COVID-19. This new reality prompted faculty and staff to embrace remote work and the tools that made it possible. "By March 2020, we were flooded with requests to show people how to use Teams," recalls Eftychiou. Before long, Teams became the natural choice for expanding the university’s communication capabilities. "Since we were already familiar with Microsoft Teams, we decided to move our telephony service to Teams Phone as well," Eftychiou remarks.
Since we were already familiar with Microsoft Teams, we decided to move our telephony service to Teams Phone as well.
Eftychios Eftychiou, Senior Information Technologies Officer, University of Cyprus
2,000 academic and administrative staff
The university’s IT department introduced a structured migration plan to move away from its legacy telephony system. The first phase focused on moving all physical legacy phone lines to Teams Phone. This process uncovered scenarios where a single person had multiple phone lines. “For example, a person might be working on campus, in the research lab, and in the administrative offices. They would likely have a separate phone line for each location,” explains Giorgia Kosma, Senior Assistant Information Technologies Officer at the University of Cyprus.
The shift to Teams Phone addressed the issue of having multiple phone lines by assigning one number to each employee’s Microsoft account, which is also their Teams identity. “The Teams Phone line is already set up even before they open their university-issued laptop,” Kosma shares with a smile. “And because each user can install Microsoft A5 applications into five different devices, employees can access Teams Phone in multiple ways.”
In the second stage, Kosma set up call queues in Teams and assigned various numbers to these queues. This allowed multiple users to share a single line as members. Adopting this method streamlined IT operations and saved on licensing cost by 90%. Phone lines can also be set up in a matter of minutes instead of days with the previous solution. Being able to set up new lines faster was a huge advantage for the university’s researchers.
"For example, we have a center that conducts professional surveys, and they were experiencing problems with the old telephony solution,” shares Kosma. “In just half an hour, I set up a call queue and added the five people running the surveys. I showed them how the system works and by the end of the afternoon, they had completed over 4,000 calls using Teams Phone."
In just half an hour, I set up a call queue and added the five people running the surveys. I showed them how the system works and by the end of the afternoon, they had completed over 4,000 calls using Teams Phone.
Giorgia Kosma, Senior Assistant Information Technologies Officer, University of Cyprus
All the way the project implementation focused on demonstrating the benefits to the academic and administrative communities. “Promotion was critical because we had bad experiences with similar softphone solutions in the past,” highlights Kosma. “With Teams Phone, we emphasized the superior sound quality and ease of access.”
Since Teams was already installed on everyone’s devices, users could easily try the solution and use it anywhere with just an internet connection. “Additionally, we allowed some users to migrate later if they weren’t ready or were skeptical. This gave our community the chance to hear from colleagues how easy and accessible Teams Phone was. As a result, while progressing we saw very high adoption,” adds Kosma.
With widespread adoption underway, the community began sharing positive feedback. "The first piece of feedback we received from most users was about the sound quality—people were amazed with how clear, crisp, and steady it was," Kosma says. This marked a sharp contrast to the previous legacy telephony system and the softphone solution used.
Video calls also became a major benefit. "Our old softphone telephony solution had video call features, but no one used them. With Teams, everyone can use video calls because it’s so much easier to just turn on their camera," adds Eftychiou.
Screen sharing further enhances collaboration, enabling colleagues to jump on quick calls and assist each other.
Mobility also increased. “What we've realized is that more and more users have Teams on their phone, which allows everyone to move more seamlessly around campus while still being reachable,” explains Kosma. For instance, an IT technician might answer a call in their office, then transfer it to Teams on their phone and continue to the telecommunication rooms.
90% cost savings vs. previous telephony solution
The university’s transition to Teams Phone also brought significant cost savings. "Previously, we had close to 2,000 phones, many of which were duplicated devices. Now, we have 1,300 users on Teams Phone across the entire campus. The cost of a headset is about one-tenth that of a physical phone, so this shift led to substantial savings," shares Giorgia.
The new system also saves the university money on call forwarding. “Previously, employees would set up call forwarding to their mobile numbers from their office phones,” explains Kosma. “Now they don’t need to do that anymore because they have Teams on their mobiles.”
With Teams Phone, maintenance demands have also decreased. In the past, the university’s IT department frequently had to deal with malfunctioning legacy devices, damaged phone devices or handsets, broken cords, broken network cables, and faulty network points. With Teams Phone, all these issues have been completely eliminated. “Now, only one full-time employee manages Teams Phone—handling all the technical work and maintenance—at the university. That is amazing, considering we previously needed an entire team for the same tasks,” highlights Eftychiou.
Previously, we had close to 2,000 phones, many of which were duplicated devices. Now, we have 1,300 users on Teams Phone across the entire campus. The cost of a headset is about one-tenth that of a physical phone, so this shift led to substantial savings.
Giorgia Kosma, Senior Assistant Information Technologies Officer, University of Cyprus
The university’s digital transformation has fundamentally reshaped how its community works and communicates. "We no longer need printed phone directories because all the information is available on Teams, and the process is much simpler," Kosma remarks.
The shift goes far beyond calls. "Ten years ago, if we told someone we could have five different people simultaneously editing a document, with real-time visibility into who was working on what, they wouldn’t have believed us. But with the Microsoft 365 A5 suite, now it’s our reality. We have shared cloud storage, collaboration tools that enable mobility, and we can now set up a Teams conference in seconds, allowing anyone around the world to join it. This transformation has been a huge step forward into the digital era for the University of Cyprus," concludes Eftychiou.
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Now, only one full-time employee manages Teams Phone—handling all the technical work and maintenance—at the university. That is amazing, considering we previously needed an entire team for the same tasks.
Eftychios Eftychiou, Senior Information Technologies Officer, University of Cyprus
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