Everything I need.

I'd say we've had a seamless integration of ShortTel at our firm. I love the added features and how easy they are to use. Fits very well in my day-to-day operations.

Pros

Our company switched to ShoreTel a few years ago, and I've noticed a significant difference in how I use my phone and voice services. The desktop application makes it extremely easy to track missed calls, know the status of people I'm trying to get a hold of, and forward any calls when I'm out of the office.

Cons

Only one complaint - when voicemails get sent to my email, I have to listen to them through my external phone speakers instead of the earpiece. Sometimes I get confidential calls, so I can't be discreet about checking my messages.

From the perspective of a Call Center Quality Assurance Specialist.

If you are a business who is not concerned about Quality Assurance for their call center, or if cost is an immediate issue, then this is a great, affordable option for you with some awesome features (silent monitor, silent coaching, call barging) that some other business VOIP systems don't allow/offer (note: costs may be an issue right away, but it can be more costly to have to switch your businesses entire VOIP system later). If you're concerned about the quality of your customer service or sales reps for your call center, or plan to grow big enough to have the need for a Quality Assurance department, it would be wise to look into other options that will streamline that department and work in tandem with your customer service/sales telephony system.

Pros

This product has a lot of great features that make it worthwhile to businesses: - the lowest price on the market (they guarantee the lowest price for their service) - option to "barge" calls (3-way the call without being transferred in) - option to silent monitor reps (monitor the reps with your phone on mute) - option to silent coach reps (talk to or coach your reps without the customer hearing) - see who is not on the phone, on a call, or has their phone set to do not disturb/busy/etc.

Cons

Mono recordings for calls; this is especially limiting for my job function (Call Center Quality Assurance), as to transcribe conversations you need dual stereo recordings to be able to differentiate your customer service rep from the consumer/customer. It is also such an old platform that it's difficult to find any 3rd Party Quality Assurance programs that are compatible with daily monitoring of our businesses customer service/sales reps.

Solid Phones & Sturdy products

I like that they are up to date on technology. I like the dial from keyboard function rather than dialing phone numbers all day. We have had many vendors, Shoretel/Mitel products have outlasted most other hardwares if not all.

Pros

I have used Shoretel/Mitel for 10 years now, i have been using the same phone since implementation. These are sturdy and well put together phones.

Cons

The initial sales rep was kind of a shark. Needless to say he is no longer doing sales for shoretel. Shoretlel did the right thing and made good on his promises.

Shoretel truly makes the communication process easier

Pros

I rarely actually use my voicemail, but I understand that it's a necessary part of doing business with some. I appreciate that when I'm on the go, Shoretel's transcription allows me to still read voicemails, and the IM function is so necessary for intra-office communication. I love that I can access my voicemails via email and I never have to call in!

Cons

I think Shoretel could benefit from a few more user-friendly benefits like recording of chats. Once the window closes, it's gone. However, at its core, what it does best is the availability of voicemail across other platforms. That happens very well. Also, I think that the interface that allows you to switch between the functions (calls, IMs, etc.) could be a little better organized. I've had complaints from colleagues that have been unable to figure out how to add contacts. When they try to set it up, they end up accidentally calling people.

Enterprise class VOIP phone system at a much lower cost than competitors

We needed a VOIP system that was powerful, yet easy to setup and use without having to hire someone full time to operate it. ShoreTel gave us exactly that and now with over 350 phones, we rarely ever have any issues.

Pros

Although its a hardware and software VOIP telephone system, the software is extremely powerful and flexible, yet very easy to setup and use. Once it's programmed, it simply works. There are a lot of hardware options when selecting phones and enterprise required devices that making simple connections to remote offices and mobile users possible. You will also notice Mitel has acquired ShoreTel, but same high quality software and hardware support available.

Cons

Tech support is great, but extremely expensive and only available through VAR's or primary vendor you purchased hardware through. Trade off is that if not too complex of implementation, instruction manuals provided make for fairly easy install and setup.