ShoreTel claims lowest total cost of ownership – guaranteed

Buying a unified communications (UC) system can be incredibly confusing. But what if you could simply plug some variables into a piece of software and suddenly be comparing apples to apples?

You can, with the ShoreTel Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) tool.

TCO calculations include costs that may not turn up in initial budgets or statements of work, but may still have a significant impact on future business operations. Because of this, the solution with the lowest up-front purchase price ultimately may not have the lowest TCO. In fact, according to ShoreTel, up-front costs represent only 25 percent of TCO.

Based on third-party data, the TCO tool computes a UC system’s costs based on your company’s specific configuration requirements. And yes, the tool is accurate. It has been validated by third-party, independent industry experts. Variables you can feed into the tool include:
Hardware replacement
Training
Support
Software upgrades
Moves, adds and changes
System management
Energy consumption
Network and long distance charges
Up-front capital
Implementation costs

Once the TCO tool has been configured for your specific circumstances, you can calculate and compare the TCO of multiple UC systems over several years. Comparisons can be made between ShoreTel, Mitel, Avaya, Microsoft, Cisco and TDM.

The tool creates cash flow projections for each solution, including assessments of key financial ratios such as payback period, return on investment, internal rate of return and net present value.

ShoreTel is betting that its unique architecture will help it come out on top of these calculations for most potential customers. With its simple approach to UC, ShoreTel typically offers lower costs for network upgrades, implementation, training, maintenance, system management, long distance charges and energy consumption.

For small customers with under 100 phones, the percentage difference may not be large. But once a company reaches 300 phones or more, the TCO for ShoreTel is clearly superior. Consider an analysis of a company with 1,500 users over 10 years. It shows that ShoreTel has a payback period of 16 months, compared to 46 months for Cisco. The net present value for ShoreTel was $13.378 million for ShoreTel, compared to just over $8 million for Mitel and about $7 million for Avaya.

Still skeptical? ShoreTel offers a guarantee that is unmatched in the industry. The company guarantees the lowest TCO, so you can be confident you are purchasing the right UC solution for your business. If the ShoreTel TCO Tool and/or additional independent data determine that ShoreTel’s TCO is higher than a competing solution, ShoreTel will lower its price to beat the competition.

Avaya vies for small, midsize business mindshare

Avaya is vying for the attention of small and midsize businesses with an update to its IP Office unified communications platform that incorporates features from its enterprise line—including the Flare desktop videoconferencing tablet.

Probably the most significant feature in the new version, Avaya IP Office 7.0, is the integration of Nortel Enterprise Solutions technology and digital phones into the Avaya platform. Avaya acquired Nortel back in December 2009. That means if you have a Nortel legacy phone (about 14 million people do), you can now upgrade to the IP Office platform and use those handsets. Note: there is a software update and data migration required to do this, which will require you to work with an integrator or technology partner to make this real.

Another big feature: support for desktop videoconferencing and the Avaya Flare Experience, the tablet that Avaya is pushing as the front end to simpler and more seamless collaboration applications.

One early client of Avaya IP Office 7.0 is The Agency Group, a music booking firm that has deployed the technology in offices across Canada and the United Kingdom.

In a press release describing the implementation, The Agency Group Chief Operating Officer Jan Sikorski said:


“We need solutions to keep more than 70 agents in close touch with their artists and their managers, but in a way that seems as if they are just down the hall. With Avaya IP Office 7.0, we can enhance and extend our communications capabilities for our staff, while enabling our agents to have seamless collaboration with clients.”

Another technology that acted in Avaya’s favor in The Agency Group’s mind, integration with mobile clients.

Noted Sikorski:


“Our agents travel a lot and require the most advanced, yet easy-to-use mobility applications available. More employees were asking when we would get videoconferencing, which can help our international force put faces to voices. With Avaya IP Office in place, we’re ready.”

It seems to me that legacy integration is a big deal in these days of reducing the risk and costs associated with technology. Avaya’s ability to that – while also incorporating supporting for new collaboration form factors like its Flare videoconferencing tablet – should make businesses sit up and take notice.