> I would be interested in hearing of any licensing gotchas or things to be
> aware of.

One license "gotcha" we just recently experienced: We have a user who uses 
their "Personal" license. This gives the users an extension, mailbox, etc... 
But this user wanted a feature which was only available to the "Workgroup 
Agent" license. (What the user wanted to do was to sign in/out of the workgroup 
remotely, which apparently a "personal" license can't do.) What we found out is 
that we can't upgrade the license, nor can we get a refund. If we choose to do 
this, we just have to purchase the additional license (at over $200).

> Which vendors switches are you using?

Shoretel makes you choose and stick to a vendor. I am unable to purchase 
additional licenses/phones/switches from a different vendor without completely 
transferring my vendor. We are using NCA (http://www.ncanet.com/) and we have 
had "good to excellent" support from them for over 10 years. We briefly looked 
into other vendors in our area.

If your question is more of a "which hardware switches do you use": A mix of 
the Shoretel 120s (IP phone capable or 24 analog lines) and the Shoretel 24As 
(Cheaper, 24 analog extension only switch). Oh, and a Shoretel T1 for our PRI.

> I'm not as involved in the financial side of this, I'm coming at this more
> from the technical side (I currently have zero knowledge of phone systems
> but obvious once you move from a monolithic analogue system to an IP system
> it starts to merge with network/server stuff).

I'm not really a phone guy. My predecessor was a phone guy. He is the one who 
got the school to move to Shoretel, and I thank him for it every time I use it. 
While now there are good, useable alternatives, it's worth looking into other 
solutions. But I have been extremely happy with this product.


--Matt Ross
Ephrata School District


----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Hutchings
[mailto:paul.hutchi...@mira.co.uk]
To: NT System Admin Issues
[mailto:ntsysadmin@lyris.sunbelt-software.com]
Sent: Wed, 09 Nov 2011
09:51:16 -0800
Subject: RE: ShoreTel


> Thanks Matt that helps and awful lot as it's the nitty gritty that tends to
> get overlooked.
> 
> I would be interested in hearing of any licensing gotchas or things to be
> aware of.
> 
> Which vendors switches are you using?
> 
> I'm not as involved in the financial side of this, I'm coming at this more
> from the technical side (I currently have zero knowledge of phone systems
> but obvious once you move from a monolithic analogue system to an IP system
> it starts to merge with network/server stuff).
> 
> Thanks again,
> Paul
> ________________________________________
> From: Matthew W. Ross [mr...@ephrataschools.org]
> Sent: 09 November 2011 4:48 PM
> To: NT System Admin Issues
> Subject: Re: ShoreTel
> 
> Shoretel is the the phone system we're using.
> 
> Pros:
> 
>  * Very easy to use.
>  * Works great for windows environments.
>  * Has good support for mass deployment of analog phones (which some do not,
> and we use a lot of).
>  * Can be used as your intercom (Using IP phones).
>  * Support has been good for us.
>  * Outlook integration (We don't use this, but it's there.)
> 
> Cons:
> 
>  * Windows Centric (There is now a web based client which is a big
> improvement in this front).
>  * Serious product lock-in:
>    ** Their switches will only work with Shoretel.
>    ** Their IP phones will only work with Shoretel.
>    ** They license you per extension, and those licenses cannot be
> refunded/transferred.
>    ** SIP phones do work, for an additional fee.
>  * "Optional" support is not so optional. It is also primarily through your
> vendor, not Shoretel.
>  * Not cheap.
> 
> I hope this helps.
> 
> 
> --Matt Ross
> Ephrata School District
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Paul Hutchings
> [mailto:paul.hutchi...@mira.co.uk]
> To: NT System Admin Issues
> [mailto:ntsysadmin@lyris.sunbelt-software.com]
> Sent: Wed, 09 Nov 2011
> 07:14:01 -0800
> Subject: ShoreTel
> 
> 
> > Anyone here using Shoretel for their phone system?
> >
> > From what we've seen so far we're confident they're a good fit both in
> terms
> > of features and architecture, and (most importantly IMO) the client
> software
> > appears to be pretty good to use.
> >
> > Any tales (on or off list) of how they have performed would be
> appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Paul
> >
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