Direct Routing pairs a Microsoft 365 tenant with Xima's SBC (session border controller) infrastructure so that PSTN calls route through Teams into CCaaS. This is a distinct calling path from the embedded app covered in Teams Integration — Direct Routing carries the voice traffic itself, while Teams Integration handles the agent client and presence sync.

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Prerequisite Licensing

One of the following Microsoft license combinations is required:

• Business Basic, Business Standard, or Business Premium + Teams Phone Standard
• Office 365 E1, E3, or Microsoft 365 E1, E3 + Teams Phone Standard
• Office 365 E5 or Microsoft 365 E5

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Microsoft's admin menus change periodically. If a step below doesn't match the current Teams Admin Center layout, contact Microsoft support to confirm the current path.

Registering a Subdomain in the Tenant

An SBC FQDN (fully qualified domain name) is provided by Xima Software and must be registered and verified as a domain in the Microsoft 365 tenant before it can be used for Direct Routing. The FQDN typically follows a pattern such as customername.teams.channeluc.com.

1. In the Teams Admin Center (admin.microsoft.com/Adminportal), navigate to Settings > Domains > Add Domain and enter the FQDN provided by Xima Software

   

2. Select Use this Domain, then Verify you own your domain

3. Leave Add a TXT record to the domain's DNS records selected (the default) and continue

   

4. Note the three fields generated to verify the domain

   

5. Email the TXT value to [email protected] and wait for confirmation that it has been added to the SBC (the Enablr platform) on Xima's side

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Do Not Select Verify Early

Selecting Verify before receiving confirmation that the TXT value has been added will cause verification to fail. Wait for confirmation, then return to the domain to continue.

Creating a Temporary User to Activate the Subdomain

A temporary user in the new domain is required to register and activate the subdomain.

1. Navigate to Users > Active Users > Add a user

   

2. Assign the new domain to this user — the user must be created within the new domain

3. Assign a temporary paid license

4. Enable Admin Center Access and Global Administrator for this user

5. Finish creating the user and note its email address and password

   

6. Open an incognito browser window and log in as this user — this initiates the subdomain

7. Once complete, the FQDN can be added as an SBC in the Teams Admin Center

Connecting the SBC to Microsoft Teams

With the subdomain verified and activated, the SBC itself is registered in Teams.

1. In the Teams Admin Center, navigate to Voice > Direct Routing

2. Select Add to create a new SBC

3. Enter the SBC FQDN provided by Xima Software and a description

4. Toggle Enabled on and enter the signaling port provided by Xima Software

   

5. Leave the remaining settings at their defaults, unless configuring a failover or multiple SBCs

6. Save — the new SBC appears under Voice > Direct Routing > Settings

   

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TLS Connectivity Status Starts as Inactive

A newly created SBC shows a TLS Connectivity Status of Inactive and a blank SIP Options Status. This is expected — the status updates once call traffic starts flowing through the SBC.

Configuring Voice Routes

A PSTN usage rule and a voice route policy are both required before calls can be placed.

1. On the Direct Routing page, select Voice Routes > + Add

   

2. Name the route (e.g., LocalRoute) and optionally add a description

3. Set a Priority — Teams evaluates routes in priority order (1 first) and uses the first one whose dialed number pattern matches

   

4. Set the Dialed Number Pattern — a wildcard (.*) matches all traffic through this SBC

5. Under SBCs enrolled, select Add SBCs, choose the configured SBC, and select Apply

   

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Prioritizing Multiple Routes

A wildcard route matches everything, so it should carry the lowest priority (highest number) among multiple routes. More specific routes — such as an international-dialing pattern — need a higher priority (lower number) so Teams matches them before falling through to the wildcard.

Configuring Dial Plans

Short-number dialing through CCaaS requires a normalization rule on the Teams dial plan.

1. In the Teams Admin Center, navigate to Voice > Dial plans > Manage Policies

2. Select the Global (Org-wide default) policy

3. If no normalization rules exist, select + Add

   

4. Name the rule and select the Advanced option

5. Under the IF condition, set The number dialed matches this regular expression to:

   ^([0-9*#+]{1,10})$

6. Under Then do this > Translate the number based on..., enter $1

   

7. Test the rule with a sample phone number using Test, then select Save

This completes the basic Direct Routing setup between Microsoft Teams and CCaaS.