Editor's Note: ShoreTel has been acquired by Mitel. While the review below is still relevant to those using legacy ShoreTel systems, those looking for current providers, including Mitel, should check out our review roundup of business-class Voice-over-IP (VoIP) and phone services.
It's been nearly 20 years since ShoreTel began shipping IP-based PBX systems and, while the business VoIP market has changed dramatically in that time, ShoreTel has certainly kept up, and even pushed things forward in many ways. With its ShoreTel Connect Cloud (which begins at $19.99 per user per month), the company's primary focus was and still is the small to midsize business (SMB) market, with the capability to provide advanced features but not necessarily at the scale needed by the average enterprise. But, while ShoreTel delivers an overall solid competitor, some limitations in hardware and customizations as well as a noticeably high price tag at its upper service tiers keep it slightly behind our Editors' Choice winner Fonality (24.99 Per User Per Month at NetFortris) .
In 2012, ShoreTel took this model to the cloud via their acquisition of M5 Networks, and released ShoreTel Connect, a fully hosted VoIP service. However, 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 but also leveraging local hardware for reliability and cost 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 dial, PBX functions, voicemail, and 3-way calling. The Essentials tier runs $30.99 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 support teams, such as the ShoreTel mobile app, voicemail transcription, and customer relationship management (CRM) integration. Lastly, the Advanced tier includes everything in the other tiers, plus call recording, archiving, and operator features for advanced call handling. It also offers integration with Salesforce for those interested in business intelligence .
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It's possible to mix and 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 good job of blending between deployment models. For instance, a completely on-premises solution could transition to the hosted platform without requiring customers to change out the currently used desk phones. Another option might be a main office that uses on-premises hardware and Primary Rate Interface (PRI) lines, while still maintaining connectivity with remote offices that only use the internet-based hosted services. Communication between these deployment models would be essentially invisible to users, though it's important to note that there are some caveats you'll need to look out for with these kinds of hybrid solutions. For example, one caveat is the inability to leverage local PRI lines with the hosted product. Careful planning between your IT staff and ShoreTel's technical representatives should give you plenty of warning, however.
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 circuit is used, there are options for configuration assistance to implement Quality of Service (QoS). You'll need that to prioritize voice communications traffic through the circuit, so some other networked app doesn't cause your voice traffic to choke so your phone conversations break up. But don't let that worry you because, when a new installation is planned, ShoreTel usually performs a light network assessment to ensure the planned solution will function as intended. ShoreTel does offer professional services support through partner integrators to address any issues. This is something most business-grade VoIP providers will do, including Fonality and RingCentral (24.99 Per Month at RingCentral) .
Broad Functionality
ShoreTel offers its own 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 black-and-white display, call history, visual voicemail, and call history. At the top end, there's the IP485g, which has all the bells and whistles, including a color display. There's also 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 only its own hardware has both pluses and minuses. On the plus side, it ensures the service will run seamlessly and reliably with the service. On the minus side, competitors such as RingCentral and even Citrix Grasshopper (Get an Extra $75 off on Select Annual Virtual Phone Plans at Grasshopper.com) offer third-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 two is all about planning out both your immediate and long-term needs. If hardware phones are going to be the standard, then opting for third-party hardware support may be the better investment. But, if your business is moving mainly to mobile and software-only phone clients, then dealing with third-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 up for the first time (provided you've done your homework with ShoreTel's technical reps, including not only planning but some network assessment, too). Users are required to log into their phones to complete the process. All phones can leverage Power over Ethernet (PoE) for juice so there's no need 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 access to the ShoreTel Connect portal and desktop application, which includes enterprise IM, video calling, presence, screen sharing, audio conferencing, and voicemail. However, the app itself is a little Spartan, but has an overall clean interface and relatively simple controls.
Also available at all tiers is integration with Microsoft Outlook in both its desktop and Office 365 iterations. This integration is surprisingly deep as it allows for features such as voicemail sent via email to be marked as "listened" within the ShoreTel system, or deleting a voicemail in Microsoft Outlook causing it to be deleted from the ShoreTel system as well. It's possible to create ShoreTel conference bridges from within Microsoft Outlook, too, and it also integrates with calendaring. Furthermore, ShoreTel offers a Skype plug-in that works with Microsoft Skype for Business .
Also on the third-party integration front, you'll find dedicated integration modules for popular business apps, including NetSuite and Salesforce. While these integrations are dedicated software bridges built by ShoreTel, the company also offers an open application programming interface (API) that would let your in-house IT staff code their own custom integrations, which is similar to what's offered by other business VoIP vendors such as RingCentral.
ShoreTel's higher service tiers offer the ShoreTel Mobility Client, which brings that interface to mobile devices. This supplies a new set of features, such as the ability to make and receive office voice and video calls from your mobile phone via Wi-Fi or cell service, automatic call handoff between Wi-Fi and cell service, visual voicemail access, PBX features such as call transfer, conference, and even music on hold.
Call Center Features
ShoreTel's call center features are delivered via the ShoreTel Connect Contact Center solution, which can operate via an on-premises server or via the hosted service. ShoreTel Connect Contact Center offers extensive call center tools such as flexible call routing, call recording, full Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) control, and visual and audible threshold alerts for overflowing queues. It also 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 call center integration configurations might include a scenario in which an inbound call is received, the calling number is looked up in a database, and that caller is sent to a specific queue if they match certain criteria (such as having a priority status or being delinquent). Also included are outbound dialers, campaign tools, compliance tools, and more inbound- and outbound call-center features. To help with specific call center scenarios, ShoreTel offers direct integration with not just third-party CRM products, but also 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 rise 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 cloud.
A mature player in VoIP PBX systems, ShoreTel Connect Cloud is the company's cloud-based unified communications offering that does a good job of focusing on ease of use and offers a decent selection of third-party integrations.
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