iPad to Become Enterprise Device with New ShoreTel UC and Collaboration Tools
iPad to Become Enterprise Device with New ShoreTel UC and Collaboration Tools by UCStrategies Staff
New unified communications (ShoreTel Mobility 6) and conferencing (ShoreTel Conferencing) solutions, adapted for the Apple iPad, have been unveiled by ShoreTel.
They are intended to equip mobile users with conferencing, application sharing and collaboration capabilities similar to those they can use on their laptops and PCs. Due to the fact that Apple’s device is driving the BYOD trend in enterprise, the solutions are being introduced on the iPad first, rather than on any Windows 8 or Android-based tablets.
According to the CEO of ShoreTel, Peter Blackmore: “The Apple iPad has quickly become the most popular tablet brought by users into the workplace. ShoreTel transforms the iPad into a true multimodal business communications device for placing and receiving calls just like a desk phone, for sending and responding to instant messages, and for easily collaborating with other PC, Mac and iPad users.”
Enterprise telephony, instant messaging and the ability to view users’ presence statuses from an iPad are all available through ShoreTel Mobility 6. Enterprise VoIP over Wi-Fi and 3G and 4G networks are also offered via the solution; through this, employees can lengthen their business lines to their iPad in order to both receive and place calls from the tablet device using their office phone numbers. iPads can also be used to allow users to dial extensions, transfer calls and access visual voicemail through the enterprise features which have been added by ShoreTel.
The solution can also work with other non-ShoreTel UC applications, like those from Cisco, Avaya and Microsoft.
ShoreTel Conferencing allows users to have on-the-go access to Web conferencing and collaboration solutions so that they can share documents, presentations and other files straight from the iPad. Security concerns related to BYOD have been somewhat dampened, according to ShoreTel, particularly as a result of the solutions; VPN and encryption for iPad users are automatically enabled for iPad users.
The two solutions from ShoreTel are set to convert the iPad into an enterprise-grade device, and it is expected that every solution will develop in such a way that the tablet’s simple and intuitive UI is maintained. The senior director at ShoreTel, Bernard Gutnick, said: “If you know how to use the iPad for 50 different things, here are two new ways to use it that are just as intuitive as before.”
The director of sales at the Boulder City, Nevada-based Perfect Video Conferencing solution provider, Randy Marcotte, stated that the new Mobility 6 and Conferencing solutions coincide well with the speedy adoption of BYOD in the enterprise.
Marcotte said: “We see the mobile device and tablet as having been an end user’s convenience and a CIO's nightmare. Now that vendors like ShoreTel and LifeSize are integrating them into their strategy, there is a logical, effective and manageable role for these devices.” (CY) Link