ShoreTel, IBM Collaborate on UC in a Box

ShoreTel (SHOR) has announced an agreement with IBM (IBM) to deliver a unified communications (UC) and collaboration offering that combines a small business appliance, presence awareness, instant messaging and VoIP telephony in an “out-of-the-box” integrated solution for SMBs.

Under the agreement, ShoreTel plans to integrate the IBM Lotus Foundations platform with the ShoreTel Director Management platform in a single “office in a box” appliance. ShoreTel’s use of open standards uses IBM’s standard-based software to extend its telephony solutions to help increase employee productivity, speed business processes and reduce overall costs. This open approach also allows smaller businesses to expand without worrying about upgrade costs or requirements to purchase additional technology, said the company.