Teams Phone Resource Account licence (Virtual user licence) now required for all Resource Accounts used by Teams
This is an important change to be aware of. Previously, a Teams Phone Resource Account license (previously called Virtual user license) was only required when assigning a phone number to a resource account.
Now, all resource accounts used in Microsoft Teams must be assigned a Teams Phone Resource Account license, regardless of whether they’ll be assigned a phone number.
All auto attendants and call queues in Microsoft Teams require an associated resource account.
Will I have enough Teams Phone Resource Accounts?
Organisations may be concerned, as resource accounts are required for auto attendants and call queues, and this may now limit the number of auto attendants and call queues they can create and use.
Each tenant is allotted Teams Phone Resource Account licenses based on the number of user licenses of Teams Phone Standard (included in E5) or Teams Phone with Calling Plan (a single combined SKU).
Any organization with a minimum single subscription with Teams Phone features is allocated 25 Teams Phone Resource Account licenses at no cost.
One more Teams Phone Resource Account license becomes available for every 10 user licenses with Teams Phone in your organization.
Microsoft suggests this ratio will cover most organisations’ requirements.
Also, you can’t assign a Teams Phone Standard license (or excess E5 user accounts) to a resource account. You must switch to a Teams Phone Resource Account license if you currently have resource accounts configured with Teams Phone Standard licenses.
Will I have to pay if I need more Teams Phone Resource Accounts?
These licences have always been 0 cost and I don’t believe Microsoft intends to monetize these.
You can go into the portal and order more at no cost; I was able to add 50 to my tenant at zero cost.
I imagine Microsoft is giving themselves the option to limit these if the ratio of Teams Phone licenced users to auto attendants and call queues is way off.
Reference: Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account licenses on learn
Microsoft Teams MS-720 exam to be replaced with MS-721: Collaboration Communications Systems Engineer
For all my MS-720 friends out there, it’s time for a new exam.
The MS-720 Microsoft Teams Voice Engineer exam, which earned you the title Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Voice Engineer Expert, will be retired on June 30, 2023.
A replacement exam, Exam MS-721: Collaboration Communications Systems Engineer, will be available in mid-March 2023. Which will give you Microsoft 365 Certified: Collaboration Communications Systems Engineer Associate.
If you already have the MS-720, On July 1, 2023, you’ll see both the original Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Voice Engineer Expert and the new Microsoft 365 Certified: Collaboration Communications Systems Engineer Associate on your transcript.
The Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Voice Engineer Expert certification will stay on your transcript in your profile on Microsoft Learn. You can renew it through December 2023 (extending the expiration for one year). After it expires, it will move to the certification history section of your transcript.
If you are already studying and planning to sit the MS-720, you can up until June, or you could switch and focus on the MS-721; that is what I would do.
Need to keep up to speed for the upcoming MS-721 exam? Be sure to check out the Empowering.Cloud community. We will add more content around MS-721 in the lead-up to the exam.
Microsoft has provided a study guide for the MS-721 here. As you can see, it’s a much more rounded exam of both voice and meetings.
