LOD, Israel and SUNNYVALE, Calif. – September 19, 2007 – AudioCodes (NASDAQ: AUDC), a leading provider of Voice over Packet (VoP) technologies and Voice Network products, and ShoreTel®, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOR), a leading provider of enterprise IP telephony solutions, today announced interoperability between AudioCodes’ Digital and Analog Gateways with ShoreTel’s IP telephony system for Microsoft Exchange Unified Messaging deployments. With the completion of this interoperability, enterprises can now immediately use AudioCodes’ and ShoreTel’s solutions to provide their users with an integrated Unified Communications (UC) solution that will speed communications, improve productivity and eliminate performance bottlenecks, while reducing overall IT management costs.
“IT departments are actively evaluating UC platforms, but are faced with cost, complexity and business continuity issues associated with early adoption, particularly using closed systems that ‘kludge’ disparate technologies together,” said Steve Timmerman, Vice President of Marketing, ShoreTel. “ShoreTel’s distributed, switch-based architecture was purpose-built for IP communications, so we believe it is the ideal platform to deliver the ease-of-administration, reliability and performance that is required for UC. Combined with AudioCodes’ gateways, our enterprise customers can seamlessly combine collaborative applications like Microsoft Exchange with world-class IP telephony.”
AudioCodes’ SIP-compliant MediaPack gateways enable connectivity to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, legacy analog phones, fax machines and survivable remote branch offices, as well as connectivity to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) using digital and analog interfaces. These gateways now add additional value for AudioCodes and ShoreTel customers by interfacing to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 for Exchange Unified Messaging applications, while also allowing future integration with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 for Microsoft Unified Communications applications. The solution also supports coexistence of the Microsoft & ShoreTel unified messaging solutions on the same ShoreTel IP telephony system, with the ability to specify the user interface by individual.
ShoreTel Pure IP telephony systems provide customers with a number of key benefits, including ease of use, manageability and lower total cost of ownership than alternative solutions. ShoreTel's distributed software architecture and switched-based hardware platform extend enterprise-class voice services to every office and outpost, keeping employees fully connected wherever they go.
“We are pleased to have our media gateways successfully integrated with ShoreTel,” stated Lior Moyal, Vice President, Marketing, Media Gateways, Enterprise Business Group at AudioCodes. “At a time when IP telephony is the Unified Communication keystone, it is essential for one IP telephony system to be open to not only allow end users to select the most relevant interface for their needs but also to provide IT organizations with the safety net of investment protection. This solution will unquestionably help us to sustain our world-class level of customer satisfaction among our customers.”
About ShoreTel, Inc.
ShoreTel (NASDAQ: SHOR) is a leading provider of enterprise IP telephony solutions. ShoreTel voice systems provide customers with a number of key benefits, including ease of use, manageability and lower total cost of ownership than alternative solutions. ShoreTel's distributed software architecture and switched-based hardware platform extend enterprise-class voice services to every office and outpost, keeping employees fully connected wherever they go. Founded in 1996, ShoreTel has achieved broad industry recognition for its technology and high customer satisfaction. For the last four years, IT executives surveyed by Nemertes Research, an independent research firm, have rated ShoreTel highest in customer satisfaction among leading enterprise telecommunications systems providers. A select, worldwide group of channel partners provide service and support. ShoreTel is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has regional offices in the United Kingdom, Sydney, Australia and Munich, Germany. For more information, visit http://www.shoretel.com/ or call 1-877-80SHORE.
