New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) has completed a major telecommunications overhaul, swapping its decades-old PABX system for a modern, Microsoft Teams-native contact centre solution. The announcement, made on June 16, 2026, in Sydney, confirmed that the organisation has deployed AnywhereNow’s Tendfor platform, a move designed to streamline fan engagement, improve staff mobility, and integrate communications directly within the Microsoft Teams environment that NSWRL already uses daily.

This isn’t just a phone system upgrade; it’s a strategic leap from legacy hardware-bound telephony to a cloud-first, software-defined communication model. By embracing a Teams-native attendant console and contact centre, NSWRL positions itself alongside a growing cohort of businesses abandoning traditional private automatic branch exchange (PABX) setups in favour of the flexibility and cost savings offered by unified communications platforms.

The Legacy System: Why PABX Had to Go

PABX systems have been the backbone of business telephony for decades. These hardware appliances route external calls to internal extensions, require dedicated wiring, and typically demand significant upfront capital investment as well as ongoing maintenance costs. For NSWRL, the old PABX was not only expensive to maintain but also restrictive—it lacked the agility needed for a modern sports organisation that sees peaks in fan calls during ticket releases, event hours, and team announcements.

Staff were tethered to their desks to answer calls, remote work was cumbersome, and integration with other productivity tools was nonexistent. NSWRL’s operations encompass everything from youth development programs to professional match-day logistics, meaning communications aren’t confined to a single office. With legacy PABX, call routing, reporting, and agent management were manual and disjointed.

“Our phone system was a relic,” a NSWRL spokesperson said during the announcement. “It didn’t match the pace of how we work now. We needed something that could flex with our season, support our people working from anywhere, and give our fans a better experience when they call.”

What is Tendfor and How Does It Fit Into Microsoft Teams?

Tendfor, developed by AnywhereNow, is a cloud-native contact centre and attendant console built directly on the Microsoft Teams platform. Rather than bolting on a separate telephony application, Tendfor exists as an app within Teams, leveraging the Microsoft Teams Phone System for voice calls. This deep integration means agents can handle calls, manage queues, view caller history, and collaborate with colleagues—all from the same interface they use for chat, meetings, and file sharing.

For administrators, Tendfor offers a full-featured attendant console: a visual dashboard for routing calls, monitoring queue status, and managing agent availability. Unlike traditional call centre software that often requires separate login, training, and disjointed workflows, Tendfor brings these capabilities natively into the Teams environment that users already navigate daily.

Because it’s Teams-native, Tendfor does not require an additional standalone telephony backend. It connects directly to Microsoft’s Phone System and Calling Plans or Direct Routing, allowing organisations to consolidate their voice and collaboration infrastructure. That consolidation eliminates the complexity of maintaining a separate PABX, telephony servers, and the associated licensing.

How Teams-Native Differs from Traditional Contact Centre Integrations

Prior to solutions like Tendfor, connecting a contact centre to Microsoft Teams often meant deploying a third-party platform that sat alongside Teams, using SIP trunks and middleware to bridge the two. Agents had to juggle two screens or constantly toggle between applications, leading to inefficiency and longer call handling times.

Teams-native architectures change this by embedding the contact centre directly into the Teams client. This allows features like presence-based call routing, where calls are directed based on an agent’s Teams availability status, and click-to-dial from any Teams contact card. For NSWRL, the result is a unified communication experience that feels natural to employees already comfortable in Teams.

Key Benefits for NSWRL

For NSWRL, the shift to Tendfor yields tangible advantages:

  • Mobility and Remote Work: Staff can field calls from any device with Teams installed—laptop, smartphone, or desk phone—reducing dependency on fixed office lines. During match days, personnel can move around the stadium or work remotely while staying connected to the contact centre.

  • Simplified Management: The attendant console provides real-time visibility into call queues and agent performance. Supervisors can adjust routing on the fly, ensuring that spikes in call volume during ticket on-sales or event changes are handled gracefully.

  • Cost Reduction: Eliminating the PABX hardware, maintenance contracts, and separate PSTN connections translates into immediate operational savings. Moving to Teams Phone also opens the door to more predictable per-user licensing.

  • Unified Communications: All customer interactions are logged within Teams, enabling seamless hand-offs between agents and subject-matter experts. If a fan inquiry requires input from a coaching or membership team member, the agent can loop in a colleague via chat or a quick call, all within the same pane of glass.

  • Analytics and Insights: Tendfor’s reporting tools give NSWRL data on call volumes, wait times, abandonment rates, and agent performance. These metrics help the league better anticipate fan needs and seasonally adjust staffing.

A Closer Look at Tendfor’s Capabilities

Tendfor differentiates itself through a set of features tailored for modern work:

Feature Description
Attendant Console Drag-and-drop call transfer, visual queue management, and receptionist dashboard
Skills-Based Routing Directs calls to the most appropriate agent based on expertise
Queue Callback Allows callers to request a callback instead of waiting on hold
Wallboards Real-time displays of queue statistics and agent statuses
CRM Integration Pops relevant customer data when a known number calls
Outbound Campaigns Enables proactive calling for membership renewals or event updates
Scalability Add or reduce agent seats as demand changes without hardware procurement

Because Tendfor lives inside Teams, users can access these features without leaving their primary workspace. The learning curve is minimal, which accelerated adoption at NSWRL.

The Migration Journey

While the announcement didn’t lay out every technical step, typical migrations from legacy PABX to a Teams-native contact centre involve careful planning. Organisations often start by assessing call flow requirements, mapping existing hunt groups and auto-attendants, and then porting numbers to Microsoft’s Phone System. Direct Routing can be used to retain existing PSTN carrier relationships if desired.

For NSWRL, the move likely required collaboration between their IT team, AnywhereNow, and Microsoft partners. Training staff on the new system is simplified because the interface sits inside Teams, but change management remains critical. Early feedback from the league has been positive, with employees praising the intuitive design and the elimination of “phone booth culture.”

One interesting aspect is the ability to handle both inbound and outbound calls from the contact centre. NSWRL can now easily set up outbound campaigns for membership renewals or event reminders, leveraging the same Teams infrastructure. This unified outbound capability wasn’t feasible with their old PABX without add-on dialler software.

The Rise of Teams-Native Contact Centres

NSWRL’s migration is part of a broader industry trend. As more enterprises adopt Microsoft Teams as their primary collaboration hub, the demand for contact centre solutions that plug directly into this ecosystem has surged. Traditional standalone contact centre platforms often require complex integrations, sip trunks, and separate agent desktops. Teams-native solutions reduce implementation time and eliminate the friction of switching between tools.

Analysts have noted that the pandemic-era shift to remote work accelerated cloud telephony adoption dramatically. Many organisations that had been nursing aging PABX systems finally pulled the plug when they realised their on-premises hardware couldn’t support distributed workforces. Microsoft’s own push with Operator Connect and Teams Phone has made it easier to move phone numbers and calling plans into the cloud.

In the sports sector, where fan engagement is paramount, a modern contact centre can make or break the supporter experience. NSWRL’s decision to go Teams-native highlights a focus on digital transformation not just for internal efficiency but for improved customer service. When a fan calls to ask about tickets or game schedules, they expect a swift, knowledgeable answer—not a labyrinthine IVR that hasn’t been updated since the dial-up era.

Why AnywhereNow Tendfor?

While Microsoft offers its own voice capabilities and basic call queues, a full contact centre requires advanced features like skills-based routing, queue callbacks, wallboards, and comprehensive reporting. Tendfor fills that gap natively. AnywhereNow has positioned Tendfor as an easy-to-deploy, no-code solution that can be configured by business users, not just voice engineers.

For NSWRL, the selection of Tendfor may have also been influenced by the solution’s ability to scale up and down. The rugby league season is seasonal, with intense peaks and relative lulls. Tendfor’s cloud model means they pay for what they need, and can add or remove agent seats as demand shifts without hardware changes.

Additionally, Tendfor’s attendant console replaces the old switchboard that front-desk staff used. Now, receptionists can manage calls visually, transfer with a click, and even see who’s available across the organisation—all from within Teams. This kills the need for a separate PABX operator console.

Expert and Community Reactions

Though no direct community forum content was available, the announcement has sparked conversations on platforms like Reddit and LinkedIn. IT professionals have pointed to this move as a textbook example of “PABX sunsetting.” Some noted that the real test will be call quality and reliability during high-stakes matches, where PSTN failover was a touted strength of legacy systems. However, with Microsoft’s network guarantees and georedundant data centres, cloud reliability has closed the gap.

Others praised the transparency of costs. Instead of opaque maintenance fees for an aging phone closet, a per-user subscription is easier to budget. A member of the Sydney IT community wrote: “We’ve been dragging our feet on PABX replacement. Seeing a major league do it so publicly gives me ammunition to push our CFO.” This anecdote underscores how high-profile migrations can influence broader IT strategy.

The Bigger Picture: Digital Transformation in Sport

NSWRL’s move is more than a tech upgrade; it’s a signal that sports administration is embracing the same digital tools as forward-thinking enterprises. From player performance analytics to fan engagement platforms, data and connectivity are becoming central. A modern contact centre ties into that by feeding fan interaction data into CRM systems, enabling personalised marketing and improved service.

For the league, better communication with grassroots clubs, volunteers, and parents is also critical. Many calls come from community coordinators needing quick information. With Tendfor, staff can answer those calls on the go, reducing voicemail tag and speeding up decision-making.

Moreover, the shift aligns with the NSW Government’s “digital by default” initiatives, encouraging public and private entities to use cloud services for greater resilience and agility. While NSWRL is not a government body, it sets an example for other state sports organisations.

What’s Next for NSWRL?

With the new system live, NSWRL plans to iterate and expand its use. Future phases may include deeper integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for member management, AI-powered chatbots for after-hours inquiries, and eventually, voice of the customer analytics to measure sentiment over time.

The league has expressed interest in using Teams’ collaboration features to create a “virtual contact centre” where remote volunteers can handle simple fan queries during peak events, augmenting the core team. This elasticity was unimaginable with the old PABX.

As NSWRL approaches its next season, the real-world test will be match-day call volumes. If the system performs as expected, the league can shift focus from telephone maintenance to innovation—like video-based fan support or real-time language translation.

For organisations still clinging to their PABX, the message is clear: the era of the monolithic phone switch is ending. Cloud-native, Teams-integrated solutions offer a path to agility that’s hard to ignore. NSWRL just scored a try for modern communications.