#5 - Shoretel unified communications overview

Businesses are embracing unified communications applications in droves. And no wonder. UC solutions boost productivity and increase efficiencies by enabling an organization's employees to work and collaborate anyway that suits them: from anywhere, at any time, and on the devices they choose - in particular, those smartphones and tablets they've come to love so much. But there is a catch: not all UC solutions are built to deliver those benefits with ease. Going with one of those big-name providers that everybody's heard of puts you at risk for ending up with a solution that - despite a lot of bells and whistles - is both cumbersome, and a hassle for users. Because if the solution isn't easy for folks to use on their own devices in the first place, then features are beside the point. And if it doesn't free them to work smarter and faster, then it just becomes one more problem for your IT staff to solve. And well all know IT pros have far more important things to do for the business. The lesson? Settling for a big name provider is not necessarily the right answer. So don't settle: Choose. Choose the one UC solution built from the ground up to support the real needs of today's workforce. Choose the solution with powerful, accessible communication and collaboration tools that users can make all their own. Choose ShoreTel. Before you go with a big-named unified communications solution, make sure it's really "unified." You could end up with a hodge-podge of separate tools, each with its own logic, protocols, and interface. And though it may offer features that look great on a spec sheet.. ...when it comes to the needs of actual human beings? Forget it. If the solution isn't well-designed, there's no amount of training that will ensure end-users master their unified communications tools. And nothing undermines productivity - not to mention creativity - like having to make constant distress calls to the helpdesk. ShoreTel tackles this head-on by offering the only all-in-one UC desktop client on the market: ShoreTel Communicator. With just one app for all job roles, it's the same for everybody - from knowledge workers, to operators, to contact center agents. So instead of being specialized and complicated, it's open and intuitive. Giving users the freedom to work anyway that suits them, be it on a desktop, smartphone, web app, or tablet. ShoreTel Communicator centers activity on the user's contacts directory. All capabilities - including instant messaging - are built-in and easy to access. So even before a single call has been made, ShoreTel is putting people first. Built-in presence let's users see who is available, and choose how to reach them. If they'd rather work from within a familiar interface, they can use Microsoft Outlook. Tight integration makes it effortless: one-click to schedule a conference, another to start it, and another for each collaborator to jump in. So even more than enjoying a choice in how to communicate, users enjoy the true self reliance that comes with being able to work how they want, at any given moment, without any outside help. A quick check-in that starts by chat can be moved in a single click to a voice and video session. One more click starts desktop sharing, and collaboration is underway. Easy. ShoreTel Communicator lets users manage their workflow independently, and work at their own rhythm. Without having to wrestle a hundred- page manual, and without having to call the helpdesk, they can set up call-forwarding rules for interacting with their colleagues and customers. They can route certain calls straight to voicemail. And instead of carrying around multiple phones and sharing mobile numbers, they can give out one corporate number, and have it follow them. And because they can specify the appropriate caller ID, their private phone number remains private -- no matter what. Moving between devices is a breeze. A call that comes in on a desk phone at five o'clock can be moved seamlessly onto onto a personal smartphone, and then out the front door of the office. And while on that smartphone, users enjoy the same great UC experience. ShoreTel takes the hassle out of BYOD. Other providers require a separate mobility interface for their system, but with ShoreTel's native dialer, users dial like they normally do -- an outside number, or a four-digit company extension. No other mobility solution makes it so simple. In fact, all those things that the big name solution providers make complicated, ShoreTel makes effortless. So the focus can be placed on better outcomes. On faster decision-making. And on staying competitive -- all while feeling very smart, and very much in control. Which was the point of all this technology in the first place. With ShoreTel, none of this is by accident: it all happens by design. ShoreTel's software solution was built from the ground up, and purely for IP, to eliminate complexity. On this foundation, ShoreTel designed its all-in-one UC solution with easy-to-use capabilities -- including contact center -- built right in. Removing complexity changes the game across the board: from freeing users to work where and how they want, to making phone-tag a thing of the past, to simplifying licensing and administration. Other solutions naturally excel at driving up costs. They can't help it. Keeping track of all those disparate tools -- all those interfaces, protocols, and multiple licenses to renew -- can be a full-time job. But ShoreTel drives costs down by being easy to use and light on resources. User management is streamlined through a single browser-based interface. Administrators just log on to manage their users' communication and collaboration needs. Giving a new user a full suite of UC tools takes about a minute: it's as simple as clicking check-boxes. And because those capabilities are built in, there's no worry about racking up incremental charges or additional license fees as users start accessing different features. Just another way ShoreTel's all-in-one simplicity helps you stay in control of costs. Meanwhile, complexity costs real money. Analyst research proves it. The Aberdeen Group measured the number of admins needed to manage a thousand-seat UC installation. Compared to ShoreTel, it can take up to three times more staff to maintain those other solutions. And when it comes to your IT staff, it's not a question of convenience. You need them for mission-critical, strategic tasks -- not for troubleshooting the UC solution. ShoreTel does more than take the hassle out of communication. It puts the emphasis where it belongs: on people, on teams, and on the work to be done -- namely, moving your business forward. And when the rewards of not-settling are so tangible, the only real risk is settling for high cost and complexity. So don't settle. Choose brilliant. Choose simple. Choose ShoreTel.