ShoreTel expand open standards for better UC option

Businesses are looking for ways to stay connected, and as technology evolves and business technology becomes increasingly mobile friendly, it's easy to understand why. A new study from COMMFusion forecasts that the worldwide market for unified communication (UC) options will hit $20.8 billion by 2016.

On July 17, UC provider ShoreTel announced the global availability of the latest software release, ShoreTel 13, which includes enhanced capabilities for video communications and instant messaging.

The highlight of ShoreTel's system is the support for open standards which include a number of interfaces which allow integration of third-party information and applications. As many companies look to mix and match solutions with those already in place, the ability to incorporate new hardware and software with legacy options hold many benefits.

The updated video conferencing solution is also a large draw. ShoreTel has been on the top of video options since releasing LifeSize earlier this year.

"Pervasive video equips organizations to leverage the power of video collaboration, providing a full, rich communication experience both internally and externally," said Sandra Hill, director of channels for LifeSize. "The integration between ShoreTel Communicator and LifeSize room systems now allows organizations to further maximize their investment in unified communications through multi-modal communication."

Using a unified communication option from ShoreTel can be cost effective. An article from TMCnet.com profiled MonaVie, a multi-level marketing and commerce organization, which recently accounced they have seen $500,000 in annual savings as a result of using a ShoreTel Enterprise Contact Center solution.

Businesses in Ohio looking to deploy a ShoreTel system would be wise to partner with an IT consulting firm to ensure a complete solution.

From our offices in Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland, PRO OnCall is your single-source technology consulting service, offering managed IT support, unified communications solutions and on-call IT support.