ShoreTel announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire M5 Networks (“M5″), a recognized leader in hosted Unified Communications. As a result of the acquisition, ShoreTel will be uniquely positioned to provide customers a choice between on-premise and hosted UC solutions.

“The acquisition of M5 positions ShoreTel as a leader in the fast-growing cloud UC market and delivers a suite of hosted telephony solutions that is unmatched in the marketplace,” said Peter Blackmore, CEO of ShoreTel. “This acquisition is a critical step in our evolution and enables the company to capitalize on trends in cloud computing and advance our enterprise communications strategy.”

“We’re eager to learn more about how these two great companies will integrate, and how we’ll be able to leverage this technology with clients that prefer a hosted or Cloud-based model for their communications systems,” said Don Gulling, CEO of Verteks Consulting. “We’re looking forward to having a ShoreTel-provided cloud communications offering, since some of our clients prefer a solution that doesn’t require up-front capital investments and is on a pay-per-user model.”

M5 pioneered hosted UC in 2000 and today provides more than 2,000 companies with enterprise-grade communications on a subscription basis. This acquisition positions ShoreTel to be a leading provider in the emerging UC as a Service market, enabling it to extend its technology and industry-leading customer satisfaction that are the hallmarks of its value proposition into the cloud through a hosted offering.

ShoreTel is acquiring M5′s entire operation including its customer base, distribution capability, and proprietary network, and will be extending offers to substantially all of its employees.

Following the close of the acquisition, M5 will be operated as a ShoreTel business unit and will be led by M5 CEO Dan Hoffman, who shares ShoreTel’s brilliantly simple approach to unified communications, and an intense focus on customer satisfaction. Hoffman will become president and general manager of the new business unit.

While the engineering teams will remain separate they will cooperate and coordinate in order to leverage the innovation and best practices of both groups so that both product roadmaps will benefit from the combined capabilities.

“M5 is proud to be one of the leaders in the UC cloud market. We have achieved this position with a very strong management team and an excellent product offering that is the simplest in the industry,” said Dan Hoffman, CEO of M5 Networks. “Joining forces with ShoreTel enables us to reach our ambitions of scale and cement our position in the hosted UC marketplace.”

I’ve been looking for a reliable, easy-to-use application to access my PC and network from my iPad, and after trying several apps, I can recommend iTap RDP. I use this app almost every day and it’s extremely reliable and useful. With a few seconds of quick setup, you can easily access a Terminal Server in your network, or directly access your desktop. It’s easy to pan and zoom, easy to use a keyboard, or even issue a CTRL+ALT+DEL.

I use iTap RDP and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an easy way to use an iPad to access the corporate Windows network or Windows PC. You can download a trial version on the app store, or learn more on the website: http://itap-mobile.com/itap-rdp

ShoreTel recently announced an update to ShoreTel Mobility, a smartphone integration solution that simply and intelligently integrates all leading smartphones and tablets with leading IP PBX systems extending full UC and cost-saving calling capabilities to the mobile workforce.  IT professionals can now empower their users with enterprise UC on the smartphones they love, leveraging the IP PBX platform that they already have – all while reducing costs and securing enterprise communications. To see a demo of this exciting technology, contact your Verteks Consulting account manager, or call us toll-free at 877-VERTEKS.

ShoreTel Mobility is a solution that goes against conventional IT wisdom – counter to the complexity some vendors push. By design, ShoreTel marries its hallmark ease-of-use with uncompromising sophistication to deliver incredible value back to the enterprise, the IT team and the end user.

What’s New:

• Enable corporate communication applications on employee-owned smartphones and tablets, reducing support costs and burden with a simple and easy separation of personal and business identities on a single mobile device.
• Native telephony interface integration on Android OS 2.2+ such as Motorola ATRIX 4G, Samsung Galaxy S, Motorola Droid X2, HTC Droid Incredible 2, and Motorola Droid.
• Full-feature suite available for the latest devices on the BlackBerry OS 6 platform, including the Blackberry Torch 9800, Bold 9700, and Bold 9780.
• Ongoing support for Apple iOS devices, including the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

You can learn more at ShoreTel.com – http://www.shoretel.com/solutions/enterprise_mobility To see a demo of this exciting technology, contact your Verteks Consulting account manager, or call us toll-free at 877-VERTEKS.

In our world of digital photos, on-demand videos and ubiquitous e-mail, fax technology seems almost primitive. When sent via traditional methods, where one fax machine scans a document and transmits it to another fax machine which prints it out, faxes even present a multitude of problems:

• Paper jams or a lack of paper can cause a transmission to fail.
• Multi-page faxes can pile up on the machine – or spill to the floor.
• Fax machines are rarely private, making it impossible to guarantee privacy for medical records, financial records and more.

If they are to be stored electronically, faxes must be scanned manually.

These problems, however, can all be solved with new technology that allows each person in an office – or even those in remote offices – to receive faxes directly to their desktop via email.

For our clients, we have recommended and installed FaxFinder. This all-in-one fax server provides distributed faxing capabilities over the corporate network. Inbound faxes are converted to either .pdf or .tiff files and delivered to an e-mail inbox or network folder. Or, they can even be printed on a network printer.

On the outbound side, users can send a fax through a Microsoft Office application (e-mail-to-fax) or via the FaxFinder web client. When a user is working in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook or another Office application, they can simply click the FaxFinder button in the menu. Then, they will be given options to create a cover sheet, choose a recipient from their Microsoft Outlook address book, and more.

With the FaxFinder web client, users can take advantage of advanced features that make it easier to get the job done. For example, multiple documents from various applications can be uploaded to create a single, large fax. In addition, when fax transmissions fail, users are informed via e-mail in a timely manner.

Other advanced features include:

• Both inbound and outbound faxes can be archived in a shared network folder
• Outbound faxes can require approval before being sent
• Error correction mode creates fast and reliable fax transmissions

Best of all, each employee in the company can be provided with a virtual fax number. When the FaxFinder fax server receives a fax, it automatically routes the document to the correct location. This eliminates the risk associated with receiving confidential financial or medical faxes, which might cause security concerns if they are being sent to a traditional fax machine. No longer do recipients have to hover over the fax machine waiting for important documents.

Similarly, professionals who rely upon faxed documents to complete transactions or files now will have immediate access to electronic copies of the information. For example, real estate documents that can be received and stored electronically will make it easier for a mortgage broker or real estate agent to do their jobs.

Don’t let the hassles associate with a traditional fax stop you from offering this convenient communications technology to your clients and customers. Instead, update it with a more reliable, secure way of sending and receiving faxes.

For more information, visit the MultiTech site, or call our consulting department.  Current customers of Verteks Consulting qualify for a free 30-day trial of FaxFinder, call us at 877-VERTEKS to learn more.

FaxFinder Site: http://www.multitech.com/en_US/PRODUCTS/Families/FaxFinder/

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug 02, 2011 — ShoreTel(R), the leading provider of brilliantly simple IP phone systems with fully integrated unified communications (UC), today announced that, for the eighth year in a row, it has received the highest ratings for IP telephony products from IT decision makers in the Nemertes Research annual PilotHouse Awards report.

The high ratings earned ShoreTel the Nemertes PilotHouse Award for Top IP Telephony Provider among Market Challengers. Nemertes, an independent research firm based in Illinois, received ratings for 22 IP telephony vendors and determined the award solely on the views and experiences of more than 2,000 actual users of IP telephony systems.

ShoreTel’s overall score of 4.32, was above all vendors examined.

Customers rated their providers on a scale of 1 to 5 in the following categories: Technology, Customer Service, and Value. ShoreTel scored above a 4 rating in all categories. Nemertes analysts also conducted in-depth conversations with a subset of IP telephony decision-makers to understand the reasons behind the results.

– Technology: Technology ratings examine how customers view sophistication, features and implementation of the product. ShoreTel received a rating of 4.18 for technology. The report states, “ShoreTel has kept pace with technology innovation, invested in and integrated mobility into its platform through its Agito acquisition, and provides the integrated UC functionality including conferencing and high-quality desktop video that its IP telephony customers want.”

– Customer Service: Customer-service ratings look at technical support, responsiveness to deployment issues, sales support and general customer care. ShoreTel received a 4.18 rating for customer service, surpassing last year’s score of 4.10, with the report noting that ShoreTel has built its brand on solid customer service.

– Value: The value rating measures what customers think about what they get for their money. With a score of 4.65, ShoreTel received the highest score of all the IP telephony vendors in any market category. The report cites IT professionals feel the solution is affordable and easy to implement and operate. Respondents told Nemertes they “get a good bang for their buck” and the IT director of a midsize transportation company said plainly, “I like the simplicity.”

“What makes ShoreTel successful is our focus on clear product differentiation, low total cost of ownership and our commitment to continuously improving customer satisfaction. Adding new capabilities such as mobility to drive new revenue streams, product simplicity and quality shows our focus on Brilliant Simplicity is working. We are honored to win this award for the eighth year running as this demonstrates that we continue to deliver on these promises.”

- Peter Blackmore, CEO, ShoreTel

“For the unprecedented eighth straight year, ShoreTel claims the top prize in IP telephony. ShoreTel obviously is doing something right; no vendor ever has consistently won the same category multiple years as ShoreTel has in IP telephony.”

One of the coolest features in ShoreTel Communicator is ‘Simultaneous Ringing’, often referred to as Simulring, Twinning, dual ringing, or forking.  The feature was first introduced in ShoreTel 10.2 and is in all future releases.  With this feature enabled, a call to your extension will ring up to 2 additional phones in addition to your assigned phone, it also allows you to move a call from your primary phone to a secondary phone during a call.  The feature is enabled in Personal Communicator – so it’s a free productivity tool.  It can be configured on a per Call Handling Mode basis, so you can really tailor it to your specific needs.  The feature needs permissions to be set up in Director (Class of Service Telephony) – see your system administrator.  The feature can be enabled on a ShoreTel phone by touching the “AddOn” soft key.  Touching the same key a second time disables the feature.

Here is where you configure it in Communicator:

For your additional phones, you can use any of the following: a SIP phone, an external conventional phone, a cell phone, a Microsoft Office Communicator client – so pretty much any other device.  When a second call comes in, a call waiting tone / caller ID is presented on your active call, and all of your additional phones will ring.  The feature works with Call Manager and can be set up on a per Call Handling Mode basis, also the number of rings is configurable per device.  As a user of the system, you are in full control of the feature – able to turn it on or off, and able to choose which additional phones to ring.

Here is where you define the additional phones:

In addition to simultaneous ringing, this feature also supports ‘Call Move’ – a great way to easily move a call from your ShoreTel phone to your cell phone – and MOVE IT BACK.  This is a huge improvement for people that frequently travel out of the office and back that want to easily move calls from landline to cellphone and back again.

When you use the Call Move feature, you’ll either press the Move soft key, or click the Call Move button in Communicator.  If you’re moving the call from your ShoreTel phone to your cell, the caller will hear silence until your other phones is answered.  When you want to move it back from your cell to your ShoreTel phone, press the ‘Move’ softkey on your ShoreTel phone and the conversation is switched immediately back to your ShoreTel phone.  You can also use this feature from other phone types – to move the call:

From your ShoreTel Phone, press the ‘Move’ soft key
From your Mobile Phone, press *23
From a SIP phone, press *23

For existing Verteks Consulting customers, please call our helpdesk and we’ll be glad to assist you in configuring this feature.  Call toll-free: 877-837-8357.

Enterprise Connect 2011 in Orlando – Feb 28^th to March 2nd
 

We invite you to be our guest at Enterprise Connect Exhibition 2011 from February 28 – March 2, 2011 at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.  Call or email us if you’d like to setup an in-person meeting on the show floor with us and the ShoreTel team, and we’ll be glad to confirm a time that is convenient for you.
 

Connect with the major equipment and software suppliers and service providers; preview new communications systems, services and applications; and talk to the people who are developing the products and services that will be powering your enterprise communications.  Come by the ShoreTel booth to meet our development and support professionals – and to learn more about our exciting new product releases including our Enterprise Mobility System.

ShoreTel is at Booth 909 – we’ll be easy to find.Registration Link: https://enterpriseconnect.reg.techweb.com/orlando/2011/registrations 

Register with the code CNWMVR01 for a FREE Expo Plus Badge!

Enterprise Connect will have the most exciting cross section of market leaders and dynamic start-ups in the enterprise voice communications industry. Products and technologies will be shown in these enterprise communications product segments: Unified Communications, VOIP, mobile communications, IP-PBX, SIP trunking, cloud computing, teleconferencing, video conferencing, contact center, voice messaging, enterprise collaboration, instant messaging, and more.Visit the best and the brightest at the Enterprise Connect conference and exhibition, February 28 – March 3, 2011, at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, Orlando, FL. The exhibition is located in the Florida Exhibit Hall on the lower level of the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, and it is open to all Enterprise Connect attendees.

Exhibition Hours
Monday, February 28                     4:00 PM – 7:00 PM  

Tuesday, March 1                            12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Wednesday, March 2                     12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Attendee Party 

Monday, February 28                     7:00 – 9:00 PM

Located in the Emerald Bay Plaza