ShoreTel IP Phone Systems

The ShoreTel IP Office System is a completely distributed, modular voice communication solution with no single point of failure that is layered on top of your IP network. At the heart of the system is the standards-based Distributed IP Voice Architecture, which uniquely distributes call control intelligence to voice switches connected anywhere on the IP network. In addition, the Shoreline architecture distributes voice applications – including voicemail and automated attendant - to servers across locations, rather than centralizing applications at the network core.

ShoreTel 6.1 includes improved key-system functionality to rapidly connect callers with different employees or departments, enhanced scalability for large IP telephony deployments, and other enhancements. ShoreTel 6.1 is generally available in late August.

The rich key-system functionality is perfect for small branch offices and is ideal for small businesses. With this capability, the ShoreTel phone system behaves as key systems do, rather than like a PBX. That can result in reduced training times as users can quickly get accustomed to their new IP phones, as well as increased end-user satisfaction.

Smaller offices will also benefit from key-system features supported prior to ShoreTel 6.1, such as intercom, transfer, conference and redial. Overhead paging lets users make announcements through their phones' speakers. Group paging lets users communicate with a selected group of users also through their phones' speakers. The system also supports whisper paging, or letting a second call through while someone is on the phone. The park/unpark capability lets users "park" callers in a space where someone else can retrieve the call. This permits multiple calls on hold at the same time.

ShoreTel's 212k IP phone includes ShoreTel 6.1's new bridged-call appearance feature, which emulates classic line appearances in key systems and works with both digital and analog trunks.

Bridged-call appearances are useful office-wide for shared call answering environments typical of smaller offices. For example, blinking green lights on multiple phones signal that a call is incoming. When someone answers, the light turns to solid green on his or her phone and to solid red on all other phones. If the employee places the caller on hold, the light associated with the call blinks green until the call is picked up again.

In terms of outbound calls, someone can press a bridged-call appearance, enter a trunk access code, and then place a call. The caller ID for the bridged call appearance is delivered, and the correct button on the phone will light up as solid green while the same button on other phones will be solid red. The multiple appearance buttons allow multiple inbound and outbound calls to be shared among users.

ShoreTel 6.1 also supports a Centrex flash feature that allows you to flash an analog loop start trunk to transfer external calls to external numbers and make more efficient use of trunks, especially important for smaller offices with limited trunks.

In addition, ShoreTel 6.1 includes ShoreTel's Branch Office Solution, a package of survivable voice mail and unified messaging services optimized for locations with 100 or fewer users.

Enhanced Support for SIP
ShoreTel 6.1 includes new features that takes advantage of SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol. SIP initiates, modifies and terminates interactive communications sessions—from voice to video to chat to interactive games—among users, and works in tandem with other technologies, such as VoIP and XML.

ShoreTel 6.1 supports additional SIP trunk features including Dual-Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF), support for the Backup Automated Attendant so that when a caller connects he or she is given the option to dial individual extensions. ShoreTel 6.1 includes support for ring-back tones when a calling party gets transferred into a hunt group or work group as well as support for music on hold and fax improvement across SIP trunks.

Expanding to Europe Made Easier
Bolstering ShoreTel's rapid expansion into Europe, ShoreTel 6.1 adds support for the dialing plans in Ireland and Belgium. This allows dialing from both ShoreTel Call Manager and ShoreTel IP phones, as well as proper dial plan signaling to a central office in Ireland and Belgium. Customers with offices in Europe as well as Australia and New Zealand should definitely consider delivering the cost savings and productivity benefits of ShoreTel multi-nationally.

In addition, ShoreTel has exposed QSIG in ShoreWave Director to make it easier to configure PRI tie lies to third-party devices, including legacy PBX systems. This capability is important in Europe, where QSIG is the de facto standard, rather than Euro-ISDN for PBX-to-PBX networking.

More Phone Options
ShoreTel's IP phones have a unique focus on ergonomic design. The phones are designed to look beautiful, feel great and deliver superior sound quality. ShoreTel expanded its line of IP telephones to include the 212k key system phone, the 230 staff phone and the 560g executive phone, which give customers more options.

The phones include features such as a message waiting light that's visible from 360-degrees and a highly visible LCD display. The phones have an array of soft labels and colored buttons users' can customize with their most frequently dialed numbers. The wideband audio codec provides seven octaves of range that translates to crystal-clear sound. And the ergonomic design means the handset feels good whether held in the hand or tucked in the crook of the neck.

Getting Started with ShoreTel
Ultimately, ShoreTel 6.1 is the only IP phone on the market that can scale from a small business of 10 employees to a large corporation of 10,000 users with one hardware and software platform. ShoreTel 6.1’s capabilities match and exceed those of much more complex and costly IP telephony solutions. New customers may choose to tackle an IP telephony rollout gradually, starting with the headquarters office and then adding branch offices one by one. Or, they may work with a ShoreTel channel partner to install IP phones company-wide all at once. The choice is the customer's and is based on the type of business, number of employees and locations.