ShoreTel is pleased to announce that ShoreTel 11.2 is now Generally Available (GA). Please review the information below to learn more, or contact your account manager for more information on this release’s helpful features!

ShoreTel 11.2 Overview

Note: Customers who installed ShoreTel 9.1, 9.2, 10.1, 10.2, 11 or 11.1 can directly upgrade to ShoreTel 11.2. Please refer to the section on upgrade paths at the end of this document. The highlight of this release is the addition of the following capabilities:

• Voicemail synchronization with Gmail for business – This feature allows a ShoreTel user to manage their voicemail capability through Google email and provide synchronization between Gmail and the ShoreTel voicemail system.
• Enhanced Call Coverage – This functionality adds bridging and conferencing capability to the Shared Call Appearance (SCA) feature. This is often used in boss/secretary environments.
• ShoreTel Communicator for iPhone: support for iPad (emulation mode) – The iPad is now supported by Communicator.

Here are some additional details:

Voicemail Synchronization with Gmail for Business

The current ShoreTel system allows the voicemail server to send emails notifying a user of a new voice messages. This allows a user to perform the following functions:

• Allows users to listen to voice messages with their email client
• Voice message can be attached as WAV file

However, there is no Synchronization between voice message and email notification so that a voice message remains “unheard” even if user listened to message via email. For instance, if the Google mail message with the WAV file is listened to, nothing is updated on the voicemail server. The main Use Case for this feature is to synchronize the email attachment to voicemail server so that the voicemail server has the correct information. Please note, even with this feature, the system still cannot detect if the WAV file is actually played. If the email message is read, then the voicemail is marked as heard. This feature only supports Gmail Premiere and Education accounts so there is no support for the free Gmail accounts. This feature is also currently not available for other email servers such as Exchange, Lotus Domino, etc.

To accomplish this feature, a new service (VmEmSync) is added to run on the HQ and DVS servers to synchronize voicemail and email. The service monitors a user’s voicemail and email and synchronizes the delete and read/heard states. The feature works for user mailboxes that are on the same server as well as all mailboxes on V switches managed by the same server.

The feature must be configured in two areas:

• Must be configured in Google Apps – need to enable the consumer key (domain) and the OAuth consumer secret
• Must be configured in Director – on the “System parameters other page” the admin will
  need to enter the OAuth consumer secret

Please Note – the synchronization between Gmail and ShoreTel voicemail is not instantaneous; it depends upon the client sync rate.

Enhanced Call Coverage

The Enhanced Call Coverage feature integrates BCA (Bridged Call Appearance) conferencing features with Shared Call Appearance (SCA) features. The primary Use Case for this feature is to expand the call coverage capabilities for customers , particularly in the financial and entertainment industries and also in boss/secretary environments. This means that users can join calls in progress on another user’s personal extension simply by pressing shared call appearance button on their phone The new capabilities allow assistants to more easily manage calls on behalf of executives with the following new actions:

• Make/receive calls on behalf of executive
• Create Make Me conference calls on behalf of executive
• Add additional parties to Conference Calls already in progress
• Can join calls in progress on executives’ shared line

ShoreTel Communicator for iPhone: support for iPad

The Apple iPad is now supported by the ShoreTel Communicator for iPhone. This is accomplished with an emulation mode. Emulation mode means that CMiPhone will run and be qualified as an iPhone application running on the iPad (CMiPad). No code was written for this feature and it was strictly a test effort performed on iOS 3.x. Note: Even thought this is supported by the ShoreTel Communicator for iPhone, there are no phone capabilities on the Apple iPad.

**ShoreTel Upgrade Paths**

ShoreTel 11.2 adds features on top of ShoreTel 10.x and ShoreTel 11.1.

Customers who have deployed ShoreTel 9.x and 10.x will have access to ShoreTel 11 and 11.1 features with the release of ShoreTel 11.2, which merges the feature set of the 10.x line with the content of ShoreTel 11.x. If you are currently running ShoreTel 11.0 – you must wait for the release of ShoreTel 12.

Here is a great feature for those needing some help screening out callers that might be disreputable telemarketers, time wasting ‘surveys’, or other nuisance calls. ShoreTel’s Personalized Call Handling lets you filter and manage inbound calls on the basis of multiple criteria including time or date calls are received, end user status, and caller identity. Personalized Call Handling defines flexible handling methods for inbound calls from different callers received at various times and dates.

Some of the possible applications for Personalized Call Handling include:

• Requiring unidentified callers to announce their name by routing them to Announced Find Me.
• Assigning different ringtones for selected callers, such as family, personal contacts, external contacts.
• Routing calls from non urgent sources directly to voicemail or to other extensions.

Personalized Call Handling is easy to setup, kind of like an Outlook Email rule or filter. I’ll walk you through one of my favorite rules – automatically sending ‘unknown’ or ‘private’ caller ID calls straight to voicemail. Once you setup this rule, you can experiment with others, this one will get you started.

* Before we get started, you must have Professional Call Manger, or the Professional Access license for Communicator (essentially the same thing – ShoreTel changed the name awhile ago). You can also have any ‘higher’ version of Communicator, including Workgroup Agent, Workgroup Supervisor, or Operator – all have this feature except the ‘Personal’ edition.

Step 1 – In Communicator, open the options window, and choose Personalized Call Handling:

Step 2: In the Personalized Call Handling window, select New Rule to start the ‘Wizard’:

Step 3: Choose ‘Phone number match and click the hyperlink Phone Number Match:

Step 4: Choose the drop down box option for ‘Private’, click OK:

Step 5: Click ‘Add’ then in the drop down box, select ‘Out of Area / Unknown’, click OK

Your rule should now look like this:

Step 6: Click ‘Next’, then choose action “Forward Call to Voicemail”, click Next:

Final Step: Give the rule a name, like “Nuisance Calls” and click Finish:

You’ll see the rule listed as ‘Enabled’ in Personalized Call Handling rule window, click Apply and your done. No more calls will get through to you from either a ‘Private’ caller ID, or ‘Out of Area / Unknown’

Experiment with your own rules and see how Personalized Call Handling can help you manage your incoming calls more efficiently. Just another thing that ShoreTel does to make my life easier!

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.