These new UC cloud services are sold through ShoreTel cloud partners and follows the introduction of cloud-based solutions as a partner managed service in the UK in 2015.
“This geographical expansion better positions us to serve the needs of global customers of all types and sizes, while helping to drive cloud growth in EMEA,” said Don Joos, president and CEO of ShoreTel. “Our channel is ready and excited to offer Connect CLOUD to their customers.”
ShoreTel Connect CLOUD has been available to US customers for 15 months.
Adrian Hipkiss, EMEA VP and managing director of ShoreTel commented: “Our aim is to make cloud-based unified communications brilliantly simple for customers with a no risk pathway to cloud based purely on their requirements and needs. This may include some elements that are not yet suited to a cloud-only approach. ShoreTel remains committed to providing choice and flexibility, so ShoreTel Connect CLOUD and ShoreTel Connect Contact Center for CLOUD are welcome additions to support a wider range of customer communication requirements.”
A number of customers have already chosen ShoreTel Connect CLOUD based on an intuitive user experience and the industry’s lowest cost of operations for a cloud service. This includes Jerry Belcki from Peter Colby Commercials, a property management company, who said: “Over the last 12 months we have extensively evaluated various tele-communication solutions for our business. We chose ShoreTel Connect CLOUD because it is simple to use and administer. It meets all our needs today and our expected future requirements in a cost-effective way. The Connect desk-top application will deliver voice, video, desktop sharing, conferencing and instant messaging across our 14 sites in a simple, easy to use interface that we can all actually understand and use!"
Peter Colby Commercials are supported by ShoreTel cloud partner Cranberry Communications. Their sales director Mark Nelson commented: “ShoreTel is making cloud UC simple for partners which means we can spend more time understanding customer unified communications requirements regardless of size or complexity.”
The ShoreTel Connect client app makes collaboration simple and consistent across various deployment types. With one click, users can easily escalate a conversation from an IM to a call, to an online meeting, and then to a web desk-top share and video. Browser-based, the app allows seamless collaboration among internal teams, while also enabling external users to engage and collaborate in the same experience without the need for plug-ins, multiple application windows, passwords or complex set-up.