ShoreTel Connect Cloud - Review 2022

It's been near 20 years since ShoreTel began aircraft IP-based PBX systems and, while the business organization voice over IP (VoIP) market has changed dramatically in that time, ShoreTel has certainly kept up, and fifty-fifty pushed things forward in many ways. With its ShoreTel Connect Deject (which begins at $19.99 per user per month), the company'south primary focus was and still is the small to midsize concern (SMB) market, with the capability to provide advanced features but not necessarily at the calibration needed by the boilerplate enterprise. Only, while ShoreTel delivers an overall solid competitor, some limitations in hardware and customizations equally well as a noticeably high price tag at its upper service tiers keep information technology slightly behind our Editors' Choice winner Fonality.

In 2022, ShoreTel took this model to the deject via their conquering of M5 Networks, and released ShoreTel Connect, a fully hosted VoIP service. Notwithstanding, this isn't just a cloud service. ShoreTel Connect can work in a hybrid fashion with on-premises hardware, delivering some capabilities while connecting offsite to provide other features via the hosted service. That combines the best of both worlds, delivering advanced cloud-capable features merely besides leveraging local hardware for reliability and toll benefits.

Pricing for all ShoreTel services is per-user, with four tiers in their ShoreTel Connect Cloud Service. Telephony-only users begin at $19.99 per user per month. This includes direct punch, PBX functions, voicemail, and 3-manner calling. The Essentials tier runs $thirty.99 per user per month and adds the ShoreTel Connect portal, ShoreTel Connect desktop app, instant messaging (IM), online meetings, video calling, and conferencing. The Standard tier is $37.99 per month per user, and adds enhanced services for supervisors, managers, and sales and back up teams, such equally the ShoreTel mobile app, voicemail transcription, and customer human relationship direction (CRM) integration. Lastly, the Advanced tier includes everything in the other tiers, plus call recording, archiving, and operator features for avant-garde call handling. Information technology besides offers integration with Salesforce for those interested in business intelligence .

It's possible to mix and friction match these tiers for users with different requirements. Additionally, those tiers can be managed directly from the ShoreTel portal.

Deployment and Connectivity

ShoreTel offers a malleable solution that does a skilful task of blending betwixt deployment models. For instance, a completely on-bounds solution could transition to the hosted platform without requiring customers to change out the currently used desk-bound phones. Another pick might be a main role that uses on-premises hardware and Master Rate Interface (PRI) lines, while still maintaining connectivity with remote offices that only utilize the net-based hosted services. Communication betwixt these deployment models would exist essentially invisible to users, though it'south of import to note that there are some caveats you'll need to look out for with these kinds of hybrid solutions. For instance, one caveat is the inability to leverage local PRI lines with the hosted product. Careful planning between your IT staff and ShoreTel'due south technical representatives should give you plenty of warning, notwithstanding.

The hosted service is usually delivered through general-purpose internet circuits or via dedicated MultiProtocol Label Switching (MPLS) circuits, with a managed router placed on-premises with the customer. If a general internet excursion is used, there are options for configuration assistance to implement Quality of Service (QoS). Yous'll need that to prioritize voice communications traffic through the circuit, then some other networked app doesn't cause your voice traffic to choke so your phone conversations pause upward. Merely don't let that worry you considering, when a new installation is planned, ShoreTel normally performs a light network cess to ensure the planned solution volition office as intended. ShoreTel does offering professional services support through partner integrators to address any issues. This is something most business organization-grade VoIP providers will practise, including Fonality and RingCentral.

ShoreTel - Visual Call Flow Editor - By Day

Broad Functionality

ShoreTel offers its ain line of IP phones, ranging from the general-purpose IP420 with a two-line black-and-white display, up to the IP480 with an eight-line blackness-and-white display, call history, visual voicemail, and telephone call history. At the top finish, there's the IP485g, which has all the bells and whistles, including a colour display. There'due south besides the BB424, a companion device for the IP485g designed for receptionists, operators, and supervisors that adds 24 function buttons and another color display.

ShoreTel's strategy of offering merely its own hardware has both pluses and minuses. On the plus side, it ensures the service volition run seamlessly and reliably with the service. On the minus side, competitors such as RingCentral and even Citrix Grasshopper offer 3rd-party hardware from companies that specialize in telephony, such as Polycom. And using phones from those vendors means getting the latest capabilities and also providing more options when it comes to pricing. Deciding between the 2 is all well-nigh planning out both your immediate and long-term needs. If hardware phones are going to be the standard, so opting for third-party hardware support may exist the ameliorate investment. But, if your business concern is moving mainly to mobile and software-simply phone clients, and then dealing with 3rd-political party issues might not be worth it.

ShoreTel does a good job with phone delivery, providing preconfigured handsets that will connect to the proper service automatically when powered upwardly for the offset time (provided you've washed your homework with ShoreTel's technical reps, including non only planning but some network cess, too). Users are required to log into their phones to complete the process. All phones tin can leverage Ability over Ethernet (PoE) for juice so at that place's no demand to worry about electrical cords. Plus, they also have a built-in switch for pass-through PC network connectivity, with the IP480g and IP485g models both supporting Gigabit Ethernet (GE) ports here.

All user tiers have admission to the ShoreTel Connect portal and desktop application, which includes enterprise IM, video calling, presence, screen sharing, audio conferencing, and voicemail. Nonetheless, the app itself is a little Spartan, only has an overall clean interface and relatively unproblematic controls.

Also bachelor at all tiers is integration with Microsoft Outlook in both its desktop and Function 365 iterations. This integration is surprisingly deep as it allows for features such equally voicemail sent via email to be marked as "listened" within the ShoreTel arrangement, or deleting a voicemail in Microsoft Outlook causing it to be deleted from the ShoreTel organization besides. Information technology's possible to create ShoreTel conference bridges from within Microsoft Outlook, also, and it besides integrates with calendaring. Furthermore, ShoreTel offers a Skype plug-in that works with Microsoft Skype for Business.

As well on the third-party integration front, yous'll find dedicated integration modules for popular business apps, including NetSuite and Salesforce. While these integrations are defended software bridges built by ShoreTel, the visitor also offers an open application programming interface (API) that would let your in-firm IT staff lawmaking their ain custom integrations, which is similar to what's offered by other business organisation VoIP vendors such as RingCentral.

ShoreTel's higher service tiers offering the ShoreTel Mobility Client, which brings that interface to mobile devices. This supplies a new prepare of features, such as the ability to make and receive part voice and video calls from your mobile phone via Wi-Fi or cell service, automatic phone call handoff betwixt Wi-Fi and cell service, visual voicemail admission, PBX features such as call transfer, conference, and even music on concord.

ShoreTel - Visual Call Flow Editor - By Hour

Phone call Center Features

ShoreTel's call eye features are delivered via the ShoreTel Connect Contact Eye solution, which can operate via an on-premises server or via the hosted service. ShoreTel Connect Contact Eye offers extensive call heart tools such as flexible telephone call routing, phone call recording, full Automated Telephone call Distributor (ACD) control, and visual and audible threshold alerts for overflowing queues. Information technology likewise offers flexible queue management, call monitoring, barging, and coaching features. Additionally, its reporting tools are designed specifically for call center operation.

Some of the more extensive phone call center integration configurations might include a scenario in which an inbound call is received, the calling number is looked upward in a database, and that caller is sent to a specific queue if they lucifer certain criteria (such equally having a priority status or being delinquent). Also included are outbound dialers, campaign tools, compliance tools, and more than inbound- and outbound call-center features. To aid with specific call middle scenarios, ShoreTel offers direct integration with non just third-party CRM products, but too popular helpdesk and applicant tracking systems (ATS).

Overall, the ShoreTel Connect Cloud hosted VoIP solution is a very solid competitor that's squarely aimed at the SMB market. While it limits some choices through its proprietary-only hardware strategy and it can rising to be somewhat expensive compared to the competition, its software capabilities are excellent. This makes it well worth a look to companies that are seeking to move their voice needs to the deject.