ShoreTel announced its customers’ participation in multiple panel presentations at VON Enterprise 2006 (December 4-6, Cobb Galleria, Atlanta, GA). ShoreTel customers Hitachi Consulting, and Sovran Self Storage, will discuss their experience selecting, installing, and managing IP-based communications technology across their companies. In addition, ShoreTel will be taking the stage to discuss the decision-making process that enterprises face when making a switch from traditional phone service to VoIP.

Michael Shisko, director of IT for Hitachi, will join a panel discussion on December 5 at 9:30 a.m. EST entitled, “Choosing the Right IP PBX.” Responsible for the design, implementation and management of Hitachi’s voice over IP (VoIP) system, Shisko attests to ShoreTel’s ease-of-use and low total-cost-of-ownership. “We deployed the ShoreTel system beginning in February, 2001 and we’ve continued to generate savings,” said Shisko. “But perhaps most notable is how little we’re spending on voice. For instance, our long distance costs across 17 offices and 1200 employees come in at – or under – $2,000 per month. We just opened an international location and anticipate continued savings thanks to the low cost of administration afforded by the ShoreTel system and being able to by-pass the tolls on our international calls.”

Randy Hillman, customer care manager at Sovran Self Storage, led the national self-storage provider through a vendor selection process and implementation that resulted in the installation of ShoreTel’s IP communications technology. On December 5 at 2:00 p.m. EST, Hillman will join the panel presentation, “The IP-based Contact Center,” at which he will share his experiences managing Sovran’s sales and service call center operations, which encompass more than 300 properties. Hillman will also present at the strategy and planning session on December 4 at 10:15 a.m. EST entitled, “Implementing Enterprise Class IP PBX Functions: What’s Needed and When.”

“The technology of the ShoreTel system is much more advanced than others,” said Hillman. “ShoreTel’s ease of use and the robustness of the features resulted in the best value overall for Sovran. ShoreTel has helped us tie together our home offices with our retail facilities to allow our stores to operate as if they were part of the corporate call center.”

Chuck Krogman, regional director at ShoreTel, will join the panel entitled, "Case Studies: Deciding on VoIP," on Tuesday, December 5 at 9:00 a.m EST. This session will examine the issues involved in an enterprise’s decision to switch to VoIP technology. Krogman will join a panel of experienced VoIP managers to discuss exactly how enterprises have made the decision to implement VoIP and what they wish they had known at the outset.

“As our customers attest, ShoreTel provides the most reliable, accessible, manageable and cost-effective IP phone systems on the market,” said Steve Timmerman, vice president of marketing at ShoreTel. “Our switch-centric, distributed network architecture is unique in delivering these benefits to our customers at a price point that doesn’t break the bank.”

VON Enterprise 2006 features discussions on how the evolution of next-generation communications solutions will ignite the ability to collaborate and improve worker efficiency —with an emphasis on IP-PBX, VoIP security, wireless, mobile, and video. For more information about the event, please visit http://www.von.com/enterprise06/index.html.