ShoreTel, a provider of IP telephony solutions, announced the release of ShoreTel 7, the latest version of its IP telephony offering.
ShoreTel 7 is based on a combination of a distributed software architecture and a switch-based hardware platform, an approach that, according to the company, has proven more reliable and cost effective than alternative server-centric solutions.
ShoreTel 7 includes software enhancements that simplify system administration, productivity-enhancing features on the desktop, and a higher-density switch chassis presented in a smaller physical footprint.
According to ShoreTel, one of the key software enhancements in ShoreTel 7 is Escalation Notification, which allows the customer to establish a "must respond" process for incoming calls. With this feature, the system administrator uses business rules to automate call routing to any combination of phones, pagers, and email devices.
With Escalation Notification, the administrator controls the time duration between escalations, helping to meet service levels and ensuring that each call gets the attention it requires. ShoreTel 7 also includes ShoreWare Unified Messaging software, which provides integrated messaging for any PC desktop, as well as unified messaging with Microsoft Outlook.
On the hardware front, ShoreTel 7 includes additional hardware switches that deliver increased capacity in a smaller footprint. According to the company, the smaller physical footprint further improves ShoreTel's total cost of ownership.
The new hardware is interoperable with existing ShoreGear(r) switches, allowing existing and new customers to deploy any combination of the expanded switch product line across many locations.
End-user productivity features of ShoreTel 7 include the ability for the administrator to customize the desktop calling interface with specific programmable buttons appropriate to the role of the employee (e.g. secretary, call center agent, sales executive, etc.)
Programmable buttons enable standard telephony capabilities at the click of a mouse, as well as provide additional value-added desktop features with 1-button access not available through programmable buttons on the phone (e.g., launching other applications or a web browser, viewing call history and more.) Over 50 programmable functions are available with the programmable buttons feature.
ShoreTel aims to boost call center agent productivity through ShoreTel 7 with integration that merges the agent client and ShoreTel's Personal Call Manager (PCM) desktop client. This feature gives agents the choice of using their agent interface or the intuitive PCM, which now integrates some commonly used contact center actions. For example, agents can log in and out, chat, silent monitor or barge-in via PCM.
"We wanted a bulletproof system with features that expedited workflows and gave our employees the ability to personalize their desktops for a more useable phone system -- we got that and more with ShoreTel. ShoreTel 7 is fantastic for efficiency," said Jason Dasher, IT manager at North Fulton Family Medicine.
"The new customizable tool bar with the drop-in buttons has been a big hit. Our employees can now interact with each other quickly and determine a colleague's availability with a quick glance at the desktop."
