ShoreTel Delivers Collaboration Platform With Audio and Web Conferencing, Enterprise Instant Messaging and Document Sharing.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Hosted Locally Rather Than as an Internet-Based Service, ShoreTel's Converged Conferencing Greatly Reduces Cost and Has Rock-Solid Reliability While Improving Employee Productivity

ShoreTel(TM), Inc., the fastest growing IP PBX company in the United States and the leader in customer satisfaction, today announced ShoreTel Converged Conferencing 5.6, an integrated conferencing and collaboration platform that works side-by-side with the ShoreTel 6 IP telephony system to provide integrated audio and web conferencing, enterprise instant messaging and document sharing. Customers gain higher productivity at lower costs from this comprehensive solution while taking advantage of the ease of use, best-in-class management, and rock-solid reliability for which ShoreTel is known. Plus, ShoreTel Converged Conferencing is more secure than Internet-based collaboration services because it is an embedded Linux appliance onsite at the enterprise.

"ShoreTel Converged Conferencing eliminates the expense of using outside web conferencing services for our internal and customer collaboration," said Jason Colburn, IT manager at Optimal Solutions, one of the fastest growing suppliers of broadcast software in the United States. "Plus, managing the collaboration platform in-house lets us control the system and provide users with better support. We're excited about having greater access to desktop- and application-sharing and plan to create additional ways to take advantage of the ShoreTel Converged Conferencing's functionality."

ShoreTel's collaboration platform allows users to schedule one-time, recurring, or reservation-less conferences, ensuring they know exactly when people can access a conference while providing the flexibility to smoothly blend audio, text messaging, document-sharing, and web collaboration, as needed, during each call. With the integrated recording capabilities, users can also record both audio and presentations from a conference for archiving or for sharing the information with more people at a later time.

ShoreTel Converged Conferencing offers:

--The elimination of costly conference services by hosting audio and web conferencing directly from the customer's in-house solution.

--Expanded business reach and reduced travel costs with a collaboration solution that lets users communicate, share documents or presentations, or work interactively on the same desktop application with anyone, anywhere, right from the comfort of their own desk.

--Improved security by hosting converged conferencing in-house with IM text messages and collaboration exchanges secured through strong SSL while shared documents remain safely inside your network.

--Reduced business costs through integrating Enterprise Instant Messaging and Multi-Media recording into ShoreTel's Converged Conferencing, combining previously disparate and separately purchased tools into a single, cost-effective solution.

"ShoreTel Converged Conferencing gives enterprises the freedom to abandon expensive conferencing services while enhancing collaboration and productivity across the enterprise," said Steve Timmerman, vice president of marketing for ShoreTel. "By extending ShoreTel's IP telephony system to include Converged Conferencing, we are addressing customers' key business needs and delivering a compelling return on their investment."

Pricing and Availability

ShoreTel Converged Conferencing is available now through authorized channel partners. The base option supports up to 48 ports and an extended option supports up to 96 ports. Converged Conferencing is available in two configurations. Audio-only systems, listed at $750 per port, support audio conferencing and audio recording as well as enterprise instant messaging. Audio and Web Conferencing systems, listed at $1500 per port, support all the audio features and the sharing of individual applications and the entire Microsoft Windows desktop.

About ShoreTel, Inc.

ShoreTel is the fastest growing IP PBX company in the United States and the leader in customer satisfaction. The company has shipped its groundbreaking solutions since 1998 and continues to outpace the rapidly expanding VoIP market with technological advances and sales that are doubling year over year. ShoreTel voice systems are designed to make businesses smarter, setting new standards for usability and manageability while reducing telecommunications costs. A uniquely distributed architecture extends enterprise-class voice services to every office and outpost, keeping employees fully connected wherever they go. A select, worldwide group of channel partners provide top-notch service and support. For more information, visit http://www.shoretel.com or call 877-80SHORE.