ShoreTel has announced the release of ShoreTel Mobility, extending voice and unified communications (UC) applications onto mobile devices for customers of ShoreTel's M5 cloud division. The initial launch will support iPhones, with support planned in a subsequent release this summer for other smartphone and tablet devices running Android and BlackBerry operating systems. The solution is available to ShoreTel's Cloud Division clients for a monthly fee per user.
The release showcases ShoreTel's integration of the M5 cloud and the capabilities acquired with Agito Networks. ShoreTel acquired Agito in 2010 to better enable support for leading mobile devices by the enterprise user engaged with mobile voice and data applications over enterprise wireless LANs and carrier cellular networks. In February 2012, ShoreTel acquired M5 to quickly offer cloud-based unified communications as a service (UCaaS) to customers that are looking to deploy IP communications through a hosted model. M5 is a service provider with customer base of more than 2,000 companies.
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With ShoreTel Mobility, users can leverage a single converged device for both business and personal communications, and access desk phone and UC capabilities on their iPhone. In addition to offering users a "dual persona" (separating personal and business identities on a single mobile device), ShoreTel Mobility automatically and securely selects the best available network -- Wi-Fi or cellular -- without any action by the user.
Among the other ShoreTel Mobility features:
• Business calls to and from any ShoreTel Mobility user are made using their business phone number, not their personal mobile number.
• Users have access to the M5 cloud business-phone system features on their mobile device that they have on their desk phone such as call transfer, four-digit dialing, and coaching/management tools like barge and whisper.
• Records for business calls made to and from the mobile device are included along with those for the desk phone.
Commenting in a statement, Dan Hoffman, ShoreTel Cloud Division president, said, "The solution represents a win-win, giving our customers the ease of using the device that is already in their pocket and giving the enterprise a way to reduce costs, while maintaining a consistent corporate identity and caller experience."