Mitel recently took the next step with its software delivery strategy when it launched the Mitel Dynamic Extension solution. Dynamic Extension offers single-number 'reachability,' so calls to a user's business phone line can simultaneously ring up to eight devices in a "personal ring group," handing off the call seamlessly between devices.

The Dynamic Extension software provides user presence and availability to other authorized employees on the company network so that mobile employees' status and identity are preserved for business calls to and from any device, according to the company’s prepared statement. In addition, the features work with existing office and mobile phones (including phones not supplied by Mitel) so employees are free to use their personal cell phones if they choose. Dynamic Extension software can run on the industry- Mitel 3300 IP Communications Platform (ICP) or a standard server from Sun, HP, or IBM.

Commenting in a prepared statement about both the software strategy and the feature release, Mitel’s Stephen Beamish, VP Business Development and Marketing said, “Mitel’s Series X software provides location independence for employees, enabling a true ability to ‘work where you are.’ This allows organizations to leverage and add value to existing assets to both increase productivity and save money. This is just the tip of the iceberg for Mitel’s software innovation; watch this space for further evolutions of Series X.”

Our observations: Remote ringing to alternate numbers and transfers between handsets is nothing new, Mitel does offer a wider variety of interoperable phones than most competitors (including desktop models cell phones, Wi-Fi phones, and softphones. And the dynamic extension feature can also work with other vendors’ IP PBX systems. So we promise Mr. Beamish, we will continue to “watch this space for further evolutions.”

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. Larry Hettick is a principal analyst at Current Analysis.