Sphere Communications Closes $8 Million Round to Fund Expansion.

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- Sphere aligns new funding to expand on sales and marketing efforts for its newly released Sphericall 4 telecommunications software for enterprises

Sphere Communications, a leading enterprise telecommunications software provider, announced today the completion of a new round of funding for over $8 million. Participants in this series included Sphere's existing investors, several new private placements and lead investor Allied Telesis K.K., which represents a corporate investment in Sphere as part of an overall strategic alliance between the companies.

Sphere will focus this round primarily on expansion of its sales and marketing initiatives. Sphere recently released its fourth generation enterprise telecommunications solution, Sphericall 4, making them well poised to capitalize on the high growth enterprise IP telephony segment with a uniquely optimized product.

"The IP-PBX market is a high growth space, North American line shipments are expected to have a 34% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) through 2008." said Megan Marek Fernandez, Industry Analyst for Enterprise Communications with Gartner Dataquest, "Vendors that align with the changing market dynamics for IP-based telecommunications can take advantage of this accelerating market."

Sphere raised over $50 million since the company's inception in 1994, from which it has secured a substantially diverse customer-base across multiple vertical market segments. Customers include a wide range of installation sizes, from hundreds of users to 18,000 users - providing validation of Sphericall scalability. Sphere has continued to grow its base of industry alliances, providing a broad selection of best of breed components that give the enterprise choices that best meet their needs. Sphere reaches global markets though its strategic alliance with Allied Telesis K.K., which also provides a means to deliver end-to-end solutions for intelligent telecommunications.

"I am extremely pleased to have developed a strategic relationship with Sphere" said Taki Oshima, Chairman and CEO of Allied Telesis K.K., "The synergy between the two companies is tremendous and Sphere's robust telecom technology combined with their state-of-the-art product outrivals anything else available."

The new Sphericall 4 release provides a robust integration of IP-PBX features with an expansive set of new capabilities. Sphericall 4 comes with fully integrated productivity features including presence, text messaging, on-demand desktop conferencing, integrated multi-party video support, personalized call management and a powerful smart directory solution that brings a unique level of productivity to enterprise users. The Sphericall solution enables enterprise IT staff to truly take control of their telecommunications, providing a growth foundation for enterprises that goes beyond the offerings of traditional vendors. Enterprises seeking to provide a high level of productivity for their user-base with rich desktop tools should seek an opportunity to experience the Sphere product.

"We see dedicated Cisco customers make a complete shift to a Sphere solution", said Chuck Pearson, CEO of Sphere Communications, "If they take the time to experience the robust architecture and the level of productivity they can achieve with Sphericall, the decision becomes an easy one."

The Sphericall product is founded on a robust software platform and is the only solution that is all inclusive, integrating a complete feature set into a user-based licensing approach that integrates everything from voice mail and unified messaging to presence, soft phones and conferencing. Sphere has eliminated the penalties for redundancy and eliminated the large startup costs of server or processor-based fees, making it easy to get started and simplifying the expansion of systems across the enterprise. "You simply pay for the connections you need." said Pearson, "When an organization has decided to move to IP for their telecommunications, Sphere can demonstrate an approach that provides more productivity within the enterprise."

About Sphere Communications

Sphere is the leading provider of enterprise telecommunications software technology, providing truly integrated voice, video and data communications solutions. Sphere Communications, with thousands of installed customers, and first to deliver IP PBX systems into the market was founded in 1994. Sphere Communications is headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois and provides its products to a variety of enterprise customers. For more information please see the Sphere Communications web site at www.spherecom.com.

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