For an enterprise with hybrid infrastructure, we'd recommend a UCaaS deployment that puts call control in the provider's cloud. Keep equipment on site only where a named system, contract or outage requirement needs it, so each piece can be removed when its reason ends. Getting there takes separate choices about which existing systems stay connected, where call audio travels, and what a site can do when its internet connection fails. They're easy to blur together, and a design that answers one of them hasn't answered the other two.
\n","summary":"For an enterprise with hybrid infrastructure, we'd recommend cloud call control, with equipment kept on site only where a named system, contract or outage requirement needs it. Coexistence, media routing and survivability are separate choices, shown with Teams Direct Routing and, as a separate service, Atlantech's hosted lines.","publishedAt":"2026-09-27T14:29:18.879","verifiedAt":null,"editorialStatus":"APPROVED","lastReviewedAt":"2026-10-10T04:29:21.374","nextReviewDueAt":null,"templateVersion":"v2","aliases":["hybrid UCaaS deployment model for enterprises","UCaaS for hybrid cloud and on-premises infrastructure","when to keep a session border controller with UCaaS","cloud calling with on-premises SBC","Teams Direct Routing vs Operator Connect for hybrid enterprises","Webex Calling local gateway and site survivability","does hybrid UCaaS keep call control on premises","UCaaS survivability during internet outage","does call recording have to stay on premises"],"confidenceScore":null,"confidenceLabel":null,"canonicalUrl":"https://northflank.com/blog/what-is-hybrid-cloud-deployment"},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"contributorOrganizationProfile":null,"contributorPerson":null,"sections":[{"id":"38640756-95f5-4095-85ce-a7a2e03146bc","sectionKey":"the_choices_side_by_side","sectionType":"table_section","heading":"The choices side by side","introMarkdown":null,"introHtml":null,"outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{"rows":[{"cells":["Coexistence","Which carriers, phone systems and analog devices have to keep working, and for how long","Where audio travels and what happens in an outage"]},{"cells":["Media routing","Whether users sit on the same network as the equipment that connects to the carrier","Call setup, which still depends on the provider's cloud"]},{"cells":["Survivability","Which sites have to keep calling when their internet connection is down","Full calling features while the outage lasts"]}],"columns":["Decision","What settles it","What it leaves open"]},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":10},{"id":"b90d3ce3-ef6e-4a29-b8c1-389d4aa4018f","sectionKey":"coexistence_what_stays_and_how_it_connects","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Coexistence: what stays, and how it connects","introMarkdown":"Suppose an enterprise has three kinds of site. Its 400-person headquarters has a phone system (PBX) and a carrier contract that runs past the migration date. Its distribution center needs phones that work through an internet outage. Its four branch offices, with 20 people each, have nothing to preserve. The company can't move everything at once, so the deployment has to let the headquarters PBX and carrier keep working beside the cloud service until it's ready to retire them.\n\nMicrosoft Teams Phone makes a useful worked example, because its documentation treats each of these choices as a separate feature. On coexistence, Microsoft's [overview of PSTN connectivity options](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/pstn-connectivity) says one tenant can use several connections to the public telephone network at once, serving different users, locations and regions. In our example, the branches can take numbers from Microsoft or from a certified operator, and they need no telephony gateway or SBC. Headquarters has something to preserve, so it uses Direct Routing. We compare the operator routes in [the difference between Direct Routing and Operator Connect](https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-is-the-difference-between-direct-routing-and-operator-connect).\n\nDirect Routing connects Teams to your own telephony through a session border controller (SBC), a device that sits between the cloud service and your carrier trunks or phone systems. Microsoft's [Direct Routing planning guide](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-plan) names the cases it fits, among them an existing carrier relationship, a third-party PBX and analog devices. It also describes a common mixed pattern. Ordinary outside calling goes through a Microsoft Calling Plan or Operator Connect, and Direct Routing handles calls to the old PBX and the analog devices.\n\nHybrid doesn't oblige you to own that SBC. Microsoft says it can be procured, installed and managed by you, by your integrator, or by a provider that sells Direct Routing as a service. So the first question for each site is what has to keep working. Who runs the equipment is a second choice you make afterward.\n\nCoexistence can also run the other way, with the old phone system kept in place and cloud applications added to it. [Atlantech Online's UCaaS page](https://www.atlantech.net/solutions/voice/unified-communications) describes this. Its SIP trunking extends a softphone to the users of an existing PBX, so a business can start using unified communications before it replaces the phone system. Whether that works with the PBX you have is something the provider confirms against your system. We cover the general case in whether SIP trunking works with an existing phone system.\n\nAtlantech's hosted phone system is a different service from the Teams example, and it's priced by the user. Atlantech runs the phone system in its own cloud and advertises two lines: a Business Line starting at $12 per user per month and a Premium Line starting at $18. Suppose our enterprise chose this service, kept headquarters on its PBX for now and moved the four branches onto Premium lines. At the starting rate, 80 users come to $1,440 a month in per-user charges, if every branch user is on that line and the quote comes in at that rate. The quote also sets the contract term. The SIP trunking for headquarters needs its own quote.\n\nIn this example the subscription grows with each site that moves. The old system's support and carrier costs continue for as long as the contracts and equipment you've kept require them. We walk through the sequence in [how to migrate from an on-premises PBX to UCaaS](https://www.answerstack.io/q/how-do-you-migrate-from-on-premises-pbx-to-ucaas).","introHtml":"Suppose an enterprise has three kinds of site. Its 400-person headquarters has a phone system (PBX) and a carrier contract that runs past the migration date. Its distribution center needs phones that work through an internet outage. Its four branch offices, with 20 people each, have nothing to preserve. The company can't move everything at once, so the deployment has to let the headquarters PBX and carrier keep working beside the cloud service until it's ready to retire them.
\nMicrosoft Teams Phone makes a useful worked example, because its documentation treats each of these choices as a separate feature. On coexistence, Microsoft's overview of PSTN connectivity options says one tenant can use several connections to the public telephone network at once, serving different users, locations and regions. In our example, the branches can take numbers from Microsoft or from a certified operator, and they need no telephony gateway or SBC. Headquarters has something to preserve, so it uses Direct Routing. We compare the operator routes in the difference between Direct Routing and Operator Connect.
\nDirect Routing connects Teams to your own telephony through a session border controller (SBC), a device that sits between the cloud service and your carrier trunks or phone systems. Microsoft's Direct Routing planning guide names the cases it fits, among them an existing carrier relationship, a third-party PBX and analog devices. It also describes a common mixed pattern. Ordinary outside calling goes through a Microsoft Calling Plan or Operator Connect, and Direct Routing handles calls to the old PBX and the analog devices.
\nHybrid doesn't oblige you to own that SBC. Microsoft says it can be procured, installed and managed by you, by your integrator, or by a provider that sells Direct Routing as a service. So the first question for each site is what has to keep working. Who runs the equipment is a second choice you make afterward.
\nCoexistence can also run the other way, with the old phone system kept in place and cloud applications added to it. Atlantech Online's UCaaS page describes this. Its SIP trunking extends a softphone to the users of an existing PBX, so a business can start using unified communications before it replaces the phone system. Whether that works with the PBX you have is something the provider confirms against your system. We cover the general case in whether SIP trunking works with an existing phone system.
\nAtlantech's hosted phone system is a different service from the Teams example, and it's priced by the user. Atlantech runs the phone system in its own cloud and advertises two lines: a Business Line starting at $12 per user per month and a Premium Line starting at $18. Suppose our enterprise chose this service, kept headquarters on its PBX for now and moved the four branches onto Premium lines. At the starting rate, 80 users come to $1,440 a month in per-user charges, if every branch user is on that line and the quote comes in at that rate. The quote also sets the contract term. The SIP trunking for headquarters needs its own quote.
\nIn this example the subscription grows with each site that moves. The old system's support and carrier costs continue for as long as the contracts and equipment you've kept require them. We walk through the sequence in how to migrate from an on-premises PBX to UCaaS.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":20},{"id":"57faf071-0120-484e-a9c0-1d49676f15ae","sectionKey":"media_routing_where_the_audio_travels","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Media routing: where the audio travels","introMarkdown":"A call has two parts. Signaling is the exchange of messages that sets the call up and ends it. Media is the audio. In a cloud deployment the signaling goes to the provider, but the audio doesn't have to follow it.\n\nMicrosoft's [media bypass guide](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-plan-media-bypass) gives an example. A user in a Frankfurt building calls an outside number through an SBC in the same building. Without media bypass, the audio travels to a Microsoft datacenter in Amsterdam or Dublin and back to the SBC in Frankfurt. With media bypass turned on, the audio goes directly between the user's Teams client and the SBC. Microsoft says the longer route doesn't hurt call quality in most geographies, but it calls the loop unnecessary.\n\nTwo limits keep this decision in its place. Signaling always flows through Microsoft's cloud, so in ordinary operation a site with media bypass still depends on the cloud to set up its calls. And Microsoft states that turning on media bypass doesn't mean all media stays inside the corporate network. A user outside the network who can't reach the SBC has their audio relayed through Microsoft. Calls handled by voice applications such as auto attendants and call queues always pass through Microsoft's media processors.\n\nSo media routing is a choice about the audio path for people who sit on the same network as the SBC. We'd turn it on where many users share a building with the SBC, because that's where the shorter path applies to the most calls. It isn't an outage plan, although the outage plan below requires it.","introHtml":"A call has two parts. Signaling is the exchange of messages that sets the call up and ends it. Media is the audio. In a cloud deployment the signaling goes to the provider, but the audio doesn't have to follow it.
\nMicrosoft's media bypass guide gives an example. A user in a Frankfurt building calls an outside number through an SBC in the same building. Without media bypass, the audio travels to a Microsoft datacenter in Amsterdam or Dublin and back to the SBC in Frankfurt. With media bypass turned on, the audio goes directly between the user's Teams client and the SBC. Microsoft says the longer route doesn't hurt call quality in most geographies, but it calls the loop unnecessary.
\nTwo limits keep this decision in its place. Signaling always flows through Microsoft's cloud, so in ordinary operation a site with media bypass still depends on the cloud to set up its calls. And Microsoft states that turning on media bypass doesn't mean all media stays inside the corporate network. A user outside the network who can't reach the SBC has their audio relayed through Microsoft. Calls handled by voice applications such as auto attendants and call queues always pass through Microsoft's media processors.
\nSo media routing is a choice about the audio path for people who sit on the same network as the SBC. We'd turn it on where many users share a building with the SBC, because that's where the shorter path applies to the most calls. It isn't an outage plan, although the outage plan below requires it.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":30},{"id":"4eb2a73b-5058-4744-b38f-29df3dae7bd3","sectionKey":"survivability_what_a_site_can_do_when_the_internet_fails","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Survivability: what a site can do when the internet fails","introMarkdown":"Cloud call control has a consequence. When a site's internet connection fails, devices that reach the provider only through that connection can't set up calls. The fallback is either another path to the cloud, such as a second connection or a mobile phone on cellular, or equipment on site that takes over.\n\nFor Direct Routing, the on-site option is Microsoft's [Survivable Branch Appliance](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-survivable-branch-appliance). It's software Microsoft supplies to SBC vendors, who build it into the SBC's firmware or ship it to run on a separate machine. The situation it covers is specific. The branch can't reach Microsoft's cloud, but its internal network still works and users can still reach the SBC that connects to the carrier. When that happens, the Teams client switches to the appliance on its own and calls in progress continue.\n\nThe requirements are just as specific. The SBC has to be configured for media bypass, and each user needs a branch survivability policy assigned ahead of time. The appliance works with the Teams desktop app on Windows and macOS and with Teams Phones. Desktop apps on virtual machines and Teams in a browser aren't supported.\n\nWhat users get during the outage is a reduced phone. They can make and receive outside calls, put a call on hold, pass it to someone else with a blind transfer, and forward calls. A banner in the app tells users they're in appliance mode. Microsoft's troubleshooting note is that a user who doesn't see the banner isn't in that mode and can't call.\n\nEmergency calls need attention before the outage. Microsoft says a user in appliance mode can still place an emergency call, but the caller's location isn't shared. The appliance also doesn't support emergency call routing policies. The emergency number has to match a pattern in the user's regular voice routing policy, or the call fails. We explain what location normally adds in [what Enhanced 911 is](https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-is-enhanced-911-e911).\n\nOne more dependency follows from how the appliance works. It sends calls out through the local SBC's carrier connection. If that carrier trunk rides the same internet circuit that just failed, the appliance has nowhere to send them. So a site that needs survivability also needs a carrier connection on a separate path.","introHtml":"Cloud call control has a consequence. When a site's internet connection fails, devices that reach the provider only through that connection can't set up calls. The fallback is either another path to the cloud, such as a second connection or a mobile phone on cellular, or equipment on site that takes over.
\nFor Direct Routing, the on-site option is Microsoft's Survivable Branch Appliance. It's software Microsoft supplies to SBC vendors, who build it into the SBC's firmware or ship it to run on a separate machine. The situation it covers is specific. The branch can't reach Microsoft's cloud, but its internal network still works and users can still reach the SBC that connects to the carrier. When that happens, the Teams client switches to the appliance on its own and calls in progress continue.
\nThe requirements are just as specific. The SBC has to be configured for media bypass, and each user needs a branch survivability policy assigned ahead of time. The appliance works with the Teams desktop app on Windows and macOS and with Teams Phones. Desktop apps on virtual machines and Teams in a browser aren't supported.
\nWhat users get during the outage is a reduced phone. They can make and receive outside calls, put a call on hold, pass it to someone else with a blind transfer, and forward calls. A banner in the app tells users they're in appliance mode. Microsoft's troubleshooting note is that a user who doesn't see the banner isn't in that mode and can't call.
\nEmergency calls need attention before the outage. Microsoft says a user in appliance mode can still place an emergency call, but the caller's location isn't shared. The appliance also doesn't support emergency call routing policies. The emergency number has to match a pattern in the user's regular voice routing policy, or the call fails. We explain what location normally adds in what Enhanced 911 is.
\nOne more dependency follows from how the appliance works. It sends calls out through the local SBC's carrier connection. If that carrier trunk rides the same internet circuit that just failed, the appliance has nowhere to send them. So a site that needs survivability also needs a carrier connection on a separate path.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":40},{"id":"d4885f8f-dabd-4cdc-b742-de16dd413066","sectionKey":"fitting_the_model_to_each_site","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Fitting the model to each site","introMarkdown":"These choices get made one site at a time, so take our enterprise site by site.\n\nIts headquarters and distribution center follow the Teams Direct Routing design, since media bypass and the Survivable Branch Appliance are Teams features. Headquarters gets an SBC so the PBX and the carrier keep working while users move in groups. Its 400 users share a network with that SBC, so we'd turn on media bypass there. The distribution center gets the survivability appliance, a carrier connection on its own path, supported clients, and emergency dialing set up for appliance mode.\n\nThe four branches get plain cloud calling with no local call-control appliance, on whichever service carries them. Suppose each branch accepts mobile calling as its fallback, and its staff have that service's mobile app and working cellular coverage. A phone on a cellular connection doesn't depend on the office circuit. Atlantech's page documents apps of this kind for its own hosted service, for Android and iOS. A branch that can't accept those assumptions needs its own outage plan. A second internet connection is one option, and on Direct Routing the distribution center's design is another.\n\nEach piece of site equipment in that design has a named reason to be there. We compare the two ends of this path in [how UCaaS compares to an on-premises PBX](https://www.answerstack.io/q/how-does-ucaas-compare-to-on-premises-pbx). When the carrier contract ends or the PBX is retired, you know which equipment can go, and the deployment moves closer to plain cloud calling.","introHtml":"These choices get made one site at a time, so take our enterprise site by site.
\nIts headquarters and distribution center follow the Teams Direct Routing design, since media bypass and the Survivable Branch Appliance are Teams features. Headquarters gets an SBC so the PBX and the carrier keep working while users move in groups. Its 400 users share a network with that SBC, so we'd turn on media bypass there. The distribution center gets the survivability appliance, a carrier connection on its own path, supported clients, and emergency dialing set up for appliance mode.
\nThe four branches get plain cloud calling with no local call-control appliance, on whichever service carries them. Suppose each branch accepts mobile calling as its fallback, and its staff have that service's mobile app and working cellular coverage. A phone on a cellular connection doesn't depend on the office circuit. Atlantech's page documents apps of this kind for its own hosted service, for Android and iOS. A branch that can't accept those assumptions needs its own outage plan. A second internet connection is one option, and on Direct Routing the distribution center's design is another.
\nEach piece of site equipment in that design has a named reason to be there. We compare the two ends of this path in how UCaaS compares to an on-premises PBX. When the carrier contract ends or the PBX is retired, you know which equipment can go, and the deployment moves closer to plain cloud calling.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":50}],"citations":[{"title":"Microsoft - PSTN connectivity options","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/pstn-connectivity","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Vendor documentation: Calling Plan, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile and Direct Routing compared; Direct Routing works with any PSTN operator through a certified SBC managed by the customer, an integrator or a DRaaS provider; support and SLA shared between the PSTN partner and the customer; opti","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft"},{"title":"Plan Direct Routing - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-plan","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Vendor documentation: Direct Routing connects an organization's own telephony infrastructure to Teams Phone through a supported customer-provided SBC, allowing existing PSTN carriers and third-party telephony systems; deployment steps include a Microsoft-certified SBC, licensing and voice routing.","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"Configure Local Gateway on Cisco IOS XE for Webex Calling","url":"https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/jr1i3r/Configure-Local-Gateway-on-Cisco-IOS-XE-for-Webex-Calling","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Vendor documentation: Cisco Unified Border Element as a Local Gateway routing calls between the PSTN and Webex Calling; caution when converting an existing PSTN gateway or CUBE Enterprise deployment.","domain":"help.webex.com","publisherName":"Cisco Webex Help Center"},{"title":"Site survivability for Webex Calling","url":"https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/d68vi1/Site-Survivability-for-Webex-Calling","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Vendor documentation: Active and Survivability modes; daily sync to the gateway; internal calling in survivability mode; external and E911 calls need a local PSTN circuit or SIP trunk; gateway required at each site; revert after 30 seconds of restored connectivity; no conferencing or three-way calli","domain":"help.webex.com","publisherName":"Cisco Webex Help Center"},{"title":"Plan for media bypass with Direct Routing","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-plan-media-bypass","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Vendor documentation: media bypass keeps media between the SBC and the client instead of through Teams Phone when both are in the same location or network; signaling always flows via the Microsoft cloud.","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"Survivable Branch Appliance (SBA) for Direct Routing","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-survivable-branch-appliance","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Vendor documentation: SBA code supplied to SBC vendors for firmware or a separate VM or hardware; automatic client switch during internet outage with branch survivability policy; PSTN calls through the local SBA/SBC, hold, blind transfer and forwarding; desktop clients on physical machines and Teams","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"3170. Tape Recording of Registered Persons by Certain Firms","url":"https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/rulebooks/finra-rules/3170","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Rule text: taping firm definition based on registered persons from disciplined firms within three years; recording of all telephone conversations between registered persons and existing and potential customers; retention of at least three years, first two easily accessible; tape recording includes e","domain":"finra.org","publisherName":"FINRA"},{"title":"Configurable data storage region for user generated content in Webex Calling","url":"https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nyr2ribb/Configurable-data-storage-region-for-user-generated-content-in-Webex-Calling","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Vendor documentation: administrators select a storage region for call recordings, transcripts, voicemails and faxes at organization or location level; Cisco says the feature helps with local data residency laws.","domain":"help.webex.com","publisherName":"Cisco Webex Help Center"},{"title":"Plan for Local Media Optimization for Direct Routing","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-media-optimization","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Vendor documentation: controls media flow between Teams clients and customer SBCs, keeps media within corporate subnets, supports central proxy SBCs serving downstream branch SBCs.","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"45 CFR 164.306 Security standards: General rules","url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-C/part-164/subpart-C/section-164.306","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Regulation text: flexibility of approach; covered entities and business associates may use any security measures that reasonably and appropriately implement the standards, considering size, technical infrastructure, costs and risks to ePHI.","domain":"ecfr.gov","publisherName":"Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (US National Archives)"},{"title":"47 CFR 9.16 General obligations: direct 911 dialing, notification, and dispatchable location","url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-9/subpart-F/section-9.16","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Regulation text: installers, managers and operators of multi-line telephone systems in the US must configure direct 911 dialing, MLTS notification where possible without hardware or software improvement, and dispatchable location conveyed to the PSAP.","domain":"ecfr.gov","publisherName":"Electronic Code of Federal Regulations"},{"title":"47 CFR 9.3 Definitions","url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-9/subpart-A/section-9.3","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","supportsText":"Regulation text: multi-line telephone system definition includes network and premises based systems such as Centrex and VoIP, as well as PBX, hybrid and key telephone systems.","domain":"ecfr.gov","publisherName":"Electronic Code of Federal Regulations"}],"revisions":[{"revisedAt":"2026-06-15T14:29:18.879+00:00","versionLabel":"Originally published","note":"","reviewedBy":null}],"relatedAnswers":[{"id":"790feafe-8a6a-45e3-a954-23056b271d9a","slug":"how-does-ucaas-compare-to-on-premises-pbx","question":"How does UCaaS compare to on-premises PBX?","publishedAt":"2026-09-07T19:54:51.173","confidenceScore":null,"confidenceLabel":null,"industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"ucaas","label":"UCaaS","description":null,"schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"UCaaS and an on-premises PBX do the same calling job in different places. A PBX is equipment at your site that your team or a contractor maintains. UCaaS runs in the provider's cloud for a per-user monthly fee and adds video, chat and mobile apps. Cost, upkeep, outage exposure and control of data all follow from that difference, and a business can keep its PBX while changing the service that feeds it.","url":"/q/how-does-ucaas-compare-to-on-premises-pbx"},{"id":"62173c10-e3cc-4a28-bec3-67d899f7f24f","slug":"how-do-you-evaluate-ucaas-providers-before-buying","question":"How do you evaluate UCaaS providers before buying?","publishedAt":"2026-09-03T14:28:51.344","confidenceScore":86,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"ucaas","label":"UCaaS","description":null,"schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Evaluate a UCaaS provider in three passes: rule out providers that fail a fixed requirement, compare the rest on written price, term and service terms, then test your own call flow on your own equipment before signing.","url":"/q/how-do-you-evaluate-ucaas-providers-before-buying"},{"id":"a94ef24e-8f5b-40e8-9b5d-ec273215a8c8","slug":"what-ucaas-compliance-requirements-apply-to-healthcare-organizations","question":"What UCaaS compliance requirements apply to healthcare organizations?","publishedAt":"2026-08-25T14:28:52.466","confidenceScore":null,"confidenceLabel":null,"industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"ucaas","label":"UCaaS","description":null,"schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"In the United States, HIPAA sets the main requirements. A covered entity using UCaaS has to include it in its Security Rule risk analysis and safeguards, and needs a business associate agreement before using features that store patient information, such as voicemail, recordings and transcripts. HHS's Office for Civil Rights doesn't endorse or certify products.","url":"/q/what-ucaas-compliance-requirements-apply-to-healthcare-organizations"},{"id":"1c6a0083-3103-4910-9cc3-52258bd777bb","slug":"what-is-the-difference-between-ucaas-and-voip","question":"What is the difference between UCaaS and VoIP?","publishedAt":"2026-08-21T19:54:51.582","confidenceScore":null,"confidenceLabel":null,"industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"ucaas","label":"UCaaS","description":null,"schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"VoIP is the technology that carries voice over a data network using internet protocols. UCaaS is a hosted service that sells VoIP calling together with meetings, messaging and the apps to use them. Compare the applications you need with the ones you already have, since the labels overlap.","url":"/q/what-is-the-difference-between-ucaas-and-voip"}],"contributorStats":{"verifiedAnswers":149,"openDisputes":0},"schemaJson":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Question","name":"What UCaaS deployment model suits enterprises with hybrid infrastructure?","text":"What UCaaS deployment model suits enterprises with hybrid infrastructure?","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-ucaas-deployment-model-suits-enterprises-with-hybrid-infrastructure","answerCount":1,"datePublished":"2026-09-27T14:29:18.879","about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"UCaaS"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Telecommunications"}],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"For an enterprise with hybrid infrastructure, we'd recommend a UCaaS deployment that puts call control in the provider's cloud. Keep equipment on site only where a named system, contract or outage requirement needs it, so each piece can be removed when its reason ends. Getting there takes separate choices about which existing systems stay connected, where call audio travels, and what a site can do when its internet connection fails. They're easy to blur together, and a design that answers one of them hasn't answered the other two.","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-ucaas-deployment-model-suits-enterprises-with-hybrid-infrastructure","upvoteCount":0,"datePublished":"2026-09-27T14:29:18.879","dateModified":"2026-09-27T14:29:18.879","citation":[{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Microsoft - PSTN connectivity options","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/pstn-connectivity"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Plan Direct Routing - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-plan"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Configure Local Gateway on Cisco IOS XE for Webex Calling","url":"https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/jr1i3r/Configure-Local-Gateway-on-Cisco-IOS-XE-for-Webex-Calling"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Site survivability for Webex Calling","url":"https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/d68vi1/Site-Survivability-for-Webex-Calling"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Plan for media bypass with Direct Routing","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-plan-media-bypass"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Survivable Branch Appliance (SBA) for Direct Routing","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-survivable-branch-appliance"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"3170. 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