ShoreTel, the provider of IP phone systems with integrated unified communications, has entered into an agreement with IBM to deliver unified communications (UC) and collaboration offering that reportedly combines a small business appliance, presence awareness, instant messaging and VoIP telephony in an “out-of-the-box integrated product for small and midsize businesses.
According to the company, the ShoreTel offering leverages the newly announced Lotus Foundations Reach, which customises and extends the IBM Sametime UC and collaboration capabilities, in an appliance, designed for SMBs, that does not require an enterprise administrator. ShoreTel’s IP telephony is expected to connect to Lotus Foundations Reach to provide an integrated communications and collaboration products.
Under the agreement, ShoreTel plans to integrate the IBM Lotus Foundations platform with the ShoreTel Director Management platform in a single office in a box appliance. ShoreTel’s use of open standards is expected to leverage IBM’s standard-based software to extend its telephony offerings to help increase employee productivity and improve business processes.
ShoreTel is reportedly adding its UC features, such as telephony presence, click to call, unified messaging and a single management console for voice applications, to the UC and collaboration capabilities of Lotus Foundations Reach. The resultant product is said to house all of the communications tools, including e-mail, calendars, contacts, office productivity tools, network security, remote access, file and print sharing, and instant messaging, in one place to enhance the overall user experience.
John Combs, president and CEO of ShoreTel, said: Working with IBM, we’re taking the next step in bringing unified communications to organisations of all sizes, with a solution that combines ShoreTel’s IP telephony expertise and experience with IBM’s collaborative technology.
Together, we plan to offer SMBs easy-to-manage, efficient and cost-effective tools with the advanced collaboration and communications capabilities that until now have only been accessible to large enterprises.
