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ShoreTel has reportedly completed interoperability testing with IBM (News - Alert) Sametime Unified Telephony, or “SUT,” to offer ShoreTel customers the option to access the advanced capabilities of SUT for collaboration and communications.

 

With this validation, ShoreTel (News - Alert) expects to extend its feature-rich capabilities to organizations that use IBM SUT client. Also, the company hope to bridge the gap with seamless integration between the ShoreTel phone system and the IBM Sametime environment.

 

The company recognizes that every organization has a different approach and a unique roadmap for its UC strategy, Kevin Gavin (News - Alert), vice president of marketing at ShoreTel, said, adding that the ShoreTel UC system already offers this degree of flexibility with ShoreTel Professional Call Manager.

 

However, organizations that have already deployed an IBM Lotus Sametime solution with Lotus Sametime Connect across desktops may prefer to standardize on that application, rather than require end users to switch, he said. “As a result, organizations can leverage existing IBM investment and reduce their training requirements.”

 

The feature of UC made available with IBM SUT include presence information so end-users can see if a contact is free to take a call, call alerts, and call routing for improved flexibility.

 

Company officials said that this interoperability testing marks yet another “milestone” in collaboration between IBM and ShoreTel to deliver UC solutions. Earlier in May, ShoreTel showcased its ease of integration with IBM Sametime for enterprise-level UC capabilities.

 

In July, the company announced an agreement with IBM to integrate with IBM Lotus Foundations Reach to offer a self-managed, brilliantly simple UC solution in a box for SMBs.

 

Cali.-based ShoreTel is a provider of UC solutions based on its IP business phone system. The company offers organizations of all sizes integrated, voice, video, data, and mobile communications on an open, distributed IP architecture.

 

This week, the company also announced that the Royal Agricultural Society of England has deployed a ShoreTel UC system to improve employee efficiency and enhance customer service.