ShoreTel IP Phone System Demo Series - ShoreTel Phones

  

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In this final episode of our ShoreTel Demo Series, we'll give you a preview of popular models of ShoreTel phones that work with the ShoreTel IP phone system.

The phones covered in this features demo are:

• ShoreTel 110
• ShoreTel 115
• ShoreTel 230
• ShoreTel 265
• ShoreTel 560
• ShoreTel 565
• ShoreTel Button Box

For more information on these phones or ShoreTel unified communications, contact us. 

ShoreTel Demo Series - Intro to ShoreTel Phones

  

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A ShoreTel phone system wouldn't be complete without the phone itself. ShoreTel offers a variety of phone models, but each come preconfigured with the ShoreTel unified communication system. 

ShoreTel phones are designed for ease of use, user comfort and maximum productivity. 

This video explains the basic features of all ShoreTel phones. Tomorrow, we will take a detailed look at each specific phone model. 

For more information on ShoreTel's IP Phone System, contact us.

ShoreTel IP Phone System Demo Series - ShoreTel Communicator

  

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ShoreTel Communicator, previously named ShoreTel Call Manager, is the end user interface of the ShoreTel IP Phone System. Communicator delivers unified communications (UC) in an intuitive and easy to use interface.

Communicator can be used to manage communications from computer or mobile phone, with easy access to voice, video, or IM as needed.

From within Communicator, users can access instant messaging (IM) giving them the power to contact people in remote locations, have sidebar conversations during calls, or to bring several people into a chat session.

Integration with Microsoft Outlook enables access to directories and personal contacts for quick-dialing options that speed communication.

Check out this demo of ShoreTel Communicator. For more information, contact us.

ShoreTel IP Phone System Demo Series - ShoreTel Director

  

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ShoreTel Director is a web-based tool that makes it easy for administrators to manage all applications of a ShoreTel IP phone system across all office locations.

ShoreTel Director can be used to manage users, voice routing, voicemail, auto-attendant, and basic automated call distribution, eliminating the need for multiple management systems for different PBXs, sites, and basic applications.

This demo video is a brief overview of ShoreTel Director, giving you an inside took into the simplicity of the management system of a ShoreTel VoIP phone system.

ShoreTel IP Phone System Demo Series - Architecture, Part II

  

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In Yesterday's Demo Video, we took a look at the basics of the architecture of the ShoreTel IP phone system, and walked you through the foundations of a single-site phone system.

Today's demo looks at ShoreTel Architecture for multiple locations as well as how the system recovers from public switched telephone network (PSTN) failures, WAN outages, failure of the call processing switch, and redundancy.

For more than one location, your IP phone system will need:

• Multiple ShoreGear Appliances
• Phones
• A way to connect the mulitple sites over telco (PSTN cloud)
• VPN or Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Wide Area Network (WAN) connection between 2 sites

The ShoreTel IP phone system also provides redundancy, not just resiliency. The ShoreGear switches contain a full database, so even if your WAN is down, the switches can appropriately route calls between sites.

The entire VoIP phone system can be backed up with addition of a single ShoreGear appliance.

ShoreTel is a SMART Solution:

• Scalability
• Manageability
• Available -99.999% uptime
• Reliability 
• Lowest Total Cost of Ownership - ShoreTel has a TCO guarantee 

For more information on a ShoreTel system for your business, contact an Xtelesis voice expert.

ShoreTel IP Phone System Demo Series - Architecture, Part I

  

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If you have deployed a ShoreTel IP phone system or are considering one for your business, do you know why the architecture of that system is important? What makes a ShoreTel IP phone system “brilliantly simple?” The simplicity of the ShoreTel VoIP phone system begins with the foundational building blocks of the system.

The first two videos in our ShoreTel Demo series will take a look at the architecture and structure of the ShoreTel system.

Part I

ShoreTel began with ShoreGear Voice Appliance, and is the fundamental building block of the ShoreTel system.

Built with no moving parts, except the fan, the mean time before failure (or life expectancy) is extended 11-15 years, bringing down the total cost of ownership.

The small size of the ShoreGear system has a dramatically smaller footprint, adding to cost savings.

For a business with one site, the system would be set up with:

• One or more ShoreGear Voice Appliances
• Phones
• Applications server -  voicemail, auto attendant, work groups (ACD functionality)
• Computer telephony integration and admin (ShoreTel Director)

All call processing is handled on the ShoreGear voice appliance, rather than the server. Even without the server, the core functionality of the VoIP phone system still exists, as those core functions are run on the ShoreGear voice appliance, separate from the server.

Watch the video below for more details and a visual representation of the ShoreTel architecture. 

Defining the buzzword - Unified Communications

  

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Unified Communications is certainly a buzzword easily tossed around the business world these days. Defining that buzzword isn’t quite as simple.

For business owners who are trying to figure out what it all means, we want to dissect the topic for you.

There are several definitions of unified communications. In their 2010 Unified Communications Tracking Poll, CDW, a technology solutions provider for businesses defines unified communications as “the convergence of enterprise voice, video and data services and software applications to achieve greater collaboration among individuals or groups and improve business.”

There are a few key capabilities of unified communications (UC):

• E-mail – ability to access email through Outlook or a similar interface
• Voice – amplifying standard capabilities with desktop handsets or Internet-based softphones with easily accessible voicemail
• Video – integration of video teleconferencing
• IM – tighter security for inner-office chat conversations
• Calendars – ability to manage schedules and projects of SMB owners and employees
• Directory Services – lists of contacts easily managed and shared, just like the calendars

Benefits of an effective UC deployment are vast. Some benefits include:

• Cost saving – managing multiple services together, such as e-mail and telephony reduces costs associated with both hardware and software
• Efficiency – the “one-stop-shop,” of UC services enables IT departments of SMBs to dedicate more time to other valuable company tasks
• Increased productivity – with one program to manage multiple communication channels, employees work more efficiently
• Flexibility – UC does is not limited to a physical location, enabling users to work productively inside the office, or on location
• Green – Perhaps one of the most attractive benefits of UC is the decreased footprint unified services leave on the environment. Less hardware and software means a need for less power. Because UC also enables employees to work outside the office, the overall carbon footprint associated with business is drastically decreased.

So how are businesses and organizations really utilizing a unified communications network and what benefits have they seen? Ask any IT director or business owner, and likely, the answer will be the same. Lower costs, increased productivity and improved decision making.

“Our unified communications deployment will save $10,000 annually, and it will enable our staff, from receptionists and attorneys to finance officers and parks personnel – all constantly on the go – to be more accessible to their colleagues and consultants. Why wouldn’t we do this?” Kim McKinney, CIO/IT director of Broome County, NY told CDW for their 2010 Unified Communications Tracking Poll.

(Resources: CDW 2010 Unified Communications Tracking Poll, 5 Benefits of Unified Communications from eWeek.com)