Does Your UC Vendor Have a Healthy Partner Ecosystem?

When choosing a UC solution, it's important to look at many factors, including value, capabilities, ease of management and customer support. It's equally important to shine a spotlight on your vendor's technology partner ecosystem. A strong partner ecosystem allows you to address challenges that are specific to your industry or business need. It gives you the freedom to choose the right UC capabilities now – and as your business and technology needs evolve.

Knowing which products integrate tightly and easily with your UC system will save you considerable time and effort selecting and vetting third-party solutions later on. Plus, it gives you confidence that the combined solution will work as advertised.

"ShoreTel's commitment to open standards means that our system works with leading technology partners around the world to leverage best-of-breed UC solutions for our customers across all industries," said Steve Weinstock, senior technology partner program manager at ShoreTel.

Products that have been certified to work with the ShoreTel UC system include SIP trunking, UC applications, wireless and mobility, video and fax, network infrastructure, call accounting and recording, VoIP gateways, and high availability. See the complete list of ShoreTel certified products.

ShoreTel identifies world-class technology partners based on business and industry needs and works closely with these partners through the Technology Partner Program (TPP) to define, document and thoroughly test the combined solution.

"As a result of our testing, we understand what works, what the limitations might be, and most importantly, how it's configured to get to that point," Weinstock said. "We eliminate the guesswork for both our customers and resellers."

ShoreTel documents and validates the functionality of the combined solution, creating an application note that outlines the combined functionality, a recommended topology, the product releases used and the configuration.

In addition, ShoreTel and its technology partners provide coordinated support, eliminating the classic problem of vendor finger pointing and helping to ensure that deployment is quick and easy.

ShoreTel Showcases Strong Partner Ecosystem at VoiceCon
ShoreTel is showcasing several of its TPP solutions at a partner pavilion at VoiceCon in March, including for SIP, mobility, infrastructure, contact center, fax and video.

• @Comm CommView provides advanced VoIP call accounting, call usage and traffic analysis reports, which help business managers monitor and manage telecom expenses, pinpoint fraud and call hacking, and optimize employee productivity.
• Brocade networking solutions help organizations optimize information connectivity and maximize the business value of data. Brocade's voice-ready switches support automatic, dynamic IP phone discovery, VLAN and quality of service (QoS) and have integrated support for Power over Ethernet and wireless mobility.
• CallCopy provides call recording and contact center solutions. CallCopy cc: Voice blends different methods of call recording in a single-server solution, including call logging, random monitoring and record on-demand. Organizations can encrypt communications using SSL and automatically blackout sections of recording to protect information such as credit card numbers.
• Comdasys provides reliable, secure and scalable fixed-mobile communications (FMC) solutions. The Comdasys FMC Controller provides all necessary functions to seamlessly integrate into an enterprise network, including routing, security, QoS and session border controller to use the Comdasys MC Client. The MC Client, which resides on a mobile user's handset, allows users to roam between Wi-Fi and cellular networks.
• GFI FAXmaker is a fax server that makes sending and receiving faxes an efficient, simple and cheaper process. GFI FAXmaker allows users to receive and send faxes directly from their e-mail client.
• Ingate SIParator provides organizations with a controlled migration to VoIP. SIParator handles the Network Address Translation (NAT) traversal issues with SIP while maintaining the security of the enterprise network. Ingate's SIP Trunking software allows a customer to use an IP PBX to connect to service provider's SIP trunks.
• LifeSize designs and delivers high definition video communications products that provide a productive, true-to-life experience. Simplicity-LifeSize solutions plug seamlessly into existing networks. Complete Management-LifeSize provides enterprise-ready infrastructure for video and audio conferencing.
• Polycom is a leader in telepresence, video and voice solutions. Its SoundStation IP conference phones leverage SIP to deliver breakthrough voice quality. The Polycom KIRK Wireless Solution is built on the international DECT standard and provides reliable voice quality and robust security. SpectraLink Wireless Telephones operate on converged voice and data Wi-Fi infrastructure.
• Skype for SIP will serve as the SIP trunking service for the ShoreTel booth and partner pavilion at VoiceCon. Skype for SIP allows ShoreTel's business customers and their employees to receive inbound calls through their ShoreTel SIP-enabled UC system from registered Skype users around the world. ShoreTel customers can also use Skype for SIP for outbound calls, which further reduces telecom costs.

Visit our Web site for more information on the ShoreTel Technology Partner Program and drop by the ShoreTel Technology Partner Booth #917 at VoiceCon Orlando 2010 to see our many best-of-breed solutions in action.