ShoreTel unified comms available for Mac and iPhone

Making ShoreTel available online makes it operating system-agnostic

ShoreTel has upgraded its core unified communications product with a range of capabilities intended to widen its user base.

Chief among the updates in ShoreTel 11 is a change to the Core Manager tool, which has been renamed ShoreTel Communicator and is now accessed online in order to remove the need for software to be installed on devices.

"By pushing the software online we can make it operating system-agnostic so we can offer the product to Mac users now, something we previously didn't do," said Tom Perry, director of marketing at ShoreTel.

"This will make it far easier for all users to update their details and access relevant information such as voicemails, contact lists, conferences and more, regardless of location."

ShoreTel has also created a dedicated app for iPhone users to access the Communicator tool without needing to visit the web site through a browser.

"We already provided this functionality for users on Windows devices, but wanted to make sure we were able to give iPhone users the same capabilities, given its growing position in the corporate environment," said Perry.

The company has also enhanced the architecture of its distributed database capabilities to allow users to install additional instances at remote sites, thereby alleviating potential performance bottlenecks and eliminating single points of failure, the firm said.

ShoreTel has also launched its first touch screen deskphone, the Executive IP 665, which Perry said will become one of the firm's high-end corporate devices and will be ideal for use as a conference room phone as well.

Lastly, the firm has upgraded its Contact Centre tool to handle 1,000 agents on a system, up from 500.

The new iPhone app is free to download from the Apple App Store, while ShoreTel 11 is available as a free upgrade for current customers with a ShoreTel support contract as part of the firm's standard support service.