Azure Communication Services July 2023 Feature Updates

The Azure Communication Services team is excited to share several new product and feature updates released in June 2023. (You can view previous blog articles here.)   

This month’s update describes the features below:  

• Call automation & recording 
• Direct routing
• Virtual rooms
• 3x3 Video support
• PSTN Updates

Call automation and recording

Call automation and Call recording APIs, originally announced at Build 2023, are now generally available. 

Call automation can transform your customer experiences with intelligent, automated calling workflows that drive better customer outcomes. Build calling workflows for telephony (direct offers and direct routing) and VoIP (WebRTC) channels to streamline customer interactions while ensuring compliance with call recording.   

Check out this video from Microsoft Build 2023 to learn how to build intelligent calling workflows using Call Automation and Call Recording. The workflow demonstrated in the video is also published on GitHub - try it out now! 

Direct routing

Direct Routing is now generally available, offering both inbound and outbound calling capabilities. This option empowers developers to build powerful telephony-based customer interactions. 

Bring Your Own Carrier (BYOC) and Bring Your Own Number (BYON) 

With direct routing, businesses can seamlessly connect their existing legacy on-premises telephony systems with Azure Communication Services, while maintaining their preferred carrier relationships. This means that companies can leverage their trusted telephony infrastructure and take advantage of the advanced features offered by Azure, all within a unified environment. Direct routing enables the use of voice channel for customer service, Power Virtual Agents, Call Automation SDK, and various Azure services such as Azure Functions, and Logic apps, utilizing their existing phone numbers.  

Direct routing provides telephony calling capabilities even in regions where Microsoft phone numbers and Voice Calling (PSTN) might not be readily available by connecting your existing carrier to Azure. This allows users to utilize communication experiences regardless of their geographic location. And, integrated built-in failover mechanisms ensure a high level of availability and redundancy for uninterrupted communication experiences.  

Read our documentation to learn more about Direct Routing.

Virtual rooms

A virtual room is a container that manages activity between Azure Communication Services end-users. With the release of Virtual Rooms to general availability, developers have the ability to control participant access, schedule meeting times, and assign roles and permissions. This level of customization is particularly valuable in scenarios such as telehealth appointments, virtual classrooms, and corporate meetings, where specific permissions and privacy are essential. 

These APIs empower developers to create customized communication experiences with enhanced control. Whether you need ad-hoc conversations or complex virtual events, Virtual Rooms allow developers to have full control over schedule, role assignment and roster controls. 

Discover the possibilities of Azure Communication Services Virtual Rooms and unlock a new level of communication control, get started today with our quick start documentation  and GitHub samples, available for .NET, Java, Python or JavaScript.   

Learn more with Virtual Rooms conceptual documentation.

3x3 Video support

The WebJS Calling SDK has launched the public preview of the ability to increase the video calling grid size to support a 3x3 calling experience. This new capability allows more video streams on a live call and can improve participant’s experience by providing a more engaging and interactive environment.  

Learn more about the Calling SDK and Video grid size in our documentation.

PSTN Service and Expansion Updates

We've released the following changes to the phone number acquisition process. 

Phone number acquisition update

Azure Communication Services has recently launched a new process to acquire phone numbers that cannot be directly obtained through the Portal. Instead of emailing a downloaded form to the Service Desk, customers will now be directed to the Service Desk portal where they can create a purchase request directly. This new process will speed response time and streamline the process for manual number purchase.  

New Cross-Country Offers

We have added several new cross-country offers in June. The following new offers are now available:

• Customers with Sweden subscription can now purchase Norway numbers 

• Customers with France subscription can now purchase Norway numbers 

• Customers with Netherlands subscription can now purchase United States numbers 

• Customers with Italy subscription can now purchase France numbers 

• Customers with United States subscription can purchase Denmark numbers 

You can learn more about these and other features of Azure Communication Services in our documentation.