ShoreTel Blog
2009: Looking Back at the Future of IP Telephony
Posted by ShoreTel on Monday, December 28, 2009
Authored by: John W. Combs, CEO
Of all of my years in the industry, few have been as interesting as 2009 when it comes to major shifts in the unified communications (UC) landscape.
The global recession drove much of the change this year, but that wasn’t the only contributing factor. There’s also a continuing industry-wide technology shift underway. Most are familiar with organizations moving from TDM to IP-based systems, but in the last year customers are looking for more than a new IP telephony system, opting for a modern UC solution.
Not that many years ago, many industry experts were questioning whether this IP telephony thing would ever take off. Well, the transition from TDM to IP is no longer a topic for debate. The question “if” has now become “when.” One Gartner study has projected that 77 percent of all enterprise line shipments will be IP-based by 2012.
This is perhaps one of the reasons we witnessed the once mighty Nortel crumble and be sold piecemeal to the highest bidders.
Another key factor driving the shift is the growing importance of UC to the business world.
This is why businesses should and do care about UC. The ability to manage all communications—IM, video, email, telephony interface, unified messaging, collaboration and more—from a single client is key to boosting productivity, increasing efficiency and improving customer service. In addition to controlling multiple communication methods, a full-featured UC system provides these capabilities to the end user regardless of their location; at their desk in the office, working from home or traveling worldwide.
At the same time, large enterprises and SMBs alike are dealing with cost pressures and limited staff resources. Never before has it been so important to maintain and even enhance communications capabilities on a tight budget. They also have to ensure that any new network elements are easily integrated with existing equipment and business processes to leverage current investments.
Simplicity is the key to solving this complex problem.
Organizations are turning to IP-based UC solutions that are flexible, easy-to-use and easy-to-manage. Brilliant simplicity and low total cost of ownership are fueling momentum in the UC market.
In 2009, ShoreTel proved it can deliver on that promise. That’s just one reason we’ve continued our strong growth despite the downturn. Here are some other reasons why we achieved revenue growth of 5 percent in fiscal 2009 when the IP telephony market was down approximately 25 percent:
- ShoreTel was the first UC vendor to achieve interoperability with Skype For SIP, giving ShoreTel customers the opportunity to save money, save time and stay ahead by integrating Skype into their communications portfolios.
- ShoreTel and IBM announced an agreement to deliver a unique UC and collaboration offering that combines a small business appliance, presence awareness, instant messaging and VoIP telephony in an “out-of-the-box” integrated solution for SMBs, ShoreTel for IBM Lotus Foundations.
- Ours was the most popular desktop application among SMBs (Synergy Research).
- We introduced ShoreTel Contact Center 5 to help enterprises of all sizes dramatically improve customer service and sales workflows.
- ShoreTel surpassed its 10,000th enterprise customer.
For more of ShoreTel’s 2009 highlights, check out the latest ShoreTel newsletter.
ShoreTel Customers Line Up for Skype for SIP Beta Program
Posted by ShoreTel on Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Authored by: Kevin Gavin, VP Marketing
Of the many consumer-facing innovations to come out of the Internet, Skype is arguably one of the most popular and ingenious.
Now that Skype is heading for the business market with Skype for SIP set to help more organizations save money and improve customer services, ShoreTel is delighted to have teamed up with Skype to offer communication innovations that are transforming the way organizations of all sizes do business.
ShoreTel was the first IP-based communication solutions provider to achieve interoperability with Skype for SIP. This was the result of our commitment to open standards, and also because of our obsessive focus on customer satisfaction.
Skype announced today that the highly popular Skype for SIP program is now in open beta. As additional ShoreTel customers on the waiting list join our first Skype for SIP beta customer, Maxim Integrated Products, ShoreTel will continue to expand support for this important program.
Once the Skype for SIP program is officially launched as generally available, it will be formally certified in the ShoreTel Technology Partner Program. At that time, even more ShoreTel customers can take advantage of the many features and cost savings.
For more information about how your organization can start benefiting from ShoreTel innovations, contact your local ShoreTel reseller today.