SHORETEL
ShoreTel’s IP telephony system is based on a fully modular and distributed call processing design consisting of a variety of ShoreGear switches that provide call control and feature services, and also function as media gateways for analog (station/trunk) and digital trunk port interface requirements. ShoreTel proposed the appropriate number and type of ShoreGear switch units for the two headquarters facility equipment rooms and two remote facilities (regional and satellite offices). ShoreTel configures its system to provide for, at minimum, N+1 redundancy based on ShoreGear switch requirements. IP endpoints will fail over to a designated back-up ShoreGear switch if the primary unit fails or is not accessible; local gateway channels in the failed unit, however, do not fail over.
Remote survivability is not an issue with the ShoreTel solution, because all call control and processing is localized. It should be noted that call control is not supported over the WAN, and network failover resiliency between locations is not supported.
In addition to the ShoreGear switches, ShoreTel configured a conference bridge, ShoreWare Server and Contact Center Server in the primary headquarters facility equipment room; a back-up Contact Center server was also provisioned in the secondary equipment room. E911 services are embedded in the generic software, negating the need for an application-specific server. Voice messaging servers were distributed throughout the network (the two headquarters equipment rooms, and two remote offices) to reduce services loss in case of WAN transmission link failures.
ShoreTel proposed its ShorePhone IP 115 to fully satisfy Economy model requirements. The ShorePhone 560 with a 24-button expansion module was proposed for the Administrative model; the ShorePhone 560g was proposed for both the Professional and ACD model requirements; and the color display screen ShorePhone 565g with a 24 button expansion module was proposed for the Executive model.
The ShoreTel 560 series instruments generally satisfied the RFP requirements, except for their lack of LDAP support and an integrated Bluetooth interface. An external Bluetooth interface is available, but was not included in the pricing proposal. Stored call data was also limited for each of these models based on RFP requirements. The 560g and 565g models are both equipped with integrated Gigabit Ethernet interfaces and embedded Web services as standard attributes; the latter capability is relatively new for the ShoreTel IP telephone portfolio. ShoreTel does not currently offer a teleworker model with integrated VPN, though an external VPN appliance is available if required.
ShoreTel has continued to improve its generic software feature set, although it is not yet as strong as some of the more established vendor’s offerings. Missing Station features included: Line Lockout, Priority Calling, and Text Messages. Several station features require a SDK CTI option: Automatic Callback, Programmed Call Coverage, Hot Line, Malicious Call Trace, and Off Hook Alarm. Virtually all Attendant features were satisfied, except for Camp-on and Priority Queue (which requires the ACD option). Almost all System features were satisfied excluding the following: Automatic Camp-on, Direct Inward System Access and Security Violation Notification (third party equipment required).
System management features and functions fully satisfied RFP requirements; security features were generally satisfied, the notable exception being encrypted control signaling.
ShoreTel supports basic cellular extension capabilities through its Office Anywhere (OA) feature. The feature is controlled through Class of Service (COS) permissions and requires no additional hardware or licensing fees. For more advanced mobile requirements, the Mobile Call Manager soft client is built to run on selected Blackberry cell phones supported by a Blackberry Enterprise Server.
ShoreTel satisfied some, if not all, of the RFP unified communications requirements. The Personal Call Manager client used for soft phone applications is also used for unified communications applications. ShoreTel’s Converged Conferencing solution supports unified communications capabilities such as IM and presence (limited to telephony only), and audio and Web conferencing & collaboration. Third party solutions are required to satisfy voice portal and text-to-speech requirements. Future support of Microsoft OCS is planned, with no definite plans for IBM integration.
3COM
3Com proposed its SIP-based VCX7000 solution based on the IBM System i 515 Server. The VCX7000 is based on a distributed processing design for both redundancy and resiliency requirements, and a single System i 515 Server can support telephony services and a variety of co-resident communications applications. 3Com proposed one System i 515 server for each of the two headquarters facility equipment rooms and another at the regional office facility for remote survivability. A V6100 call server was proposed for the satellite office for remote survivability.
The primary headquarters equipment room System i 515 Server was partitioned to support the following: IP telephony and messaging services; EPIC contact center solution; IBM Sametime; conferencing and presence. The primary server was also partitioned to support 3Com’s VCX Authentication Server application for E911 services support. The secondary equipment room and regional office System i servers were partitioned to support IP telephony and messaging services, as was the satellite office V6100.
In addition to server hardware, 3Com proposed multiple media gateways for analog and digital port interface requirements as needed: VCX V7111 (FX, FXO) and VCX V7122 (T1). An IP Telecommuting Module was also provisioned in the headquarters facility primary equipment room.
VCX7000 remote survivability supports a seamless switchover between call controllers, and all system features are available when in survivable mode. It should be noted that one of the design benefits of the VCX7000 platform is that a customer has the option of provisioning local servers as the default primary call controllers with failover to remote servers in case of local server issues.
3Com proposed its 3101 IP telephone to satisfy the RFP’s Economy model requirements. The 3102 Business Phone generally satisfied Administrative model requirements except for an integrated Bluetooth interface and LDAP support. The 3Com 3101 Manager Phone was proposed for both Professional and ACD model requirements, and several attributes were lacking as required by the RFP: LDAP support, Bluetooth or USB interface, and, most important, embedded Web services. 3Com was the only vendor not to satisfy the latter Professional model requirement.
For the Executive model 3Com proposed a third party product, the Polycom IP650. The IP650 as proposed did not support two very important requirements for the Executive model: color display screen and Gigabit Ethernet interface. The optional button module needed to support the RFP-required 10 programmable line/feature keys was also not included in the price proposal. On a more positive note, the 3Com Telecommuter Module supports secure remote communications requirements for teleworking applications.
Like ShoreTel, 3Com has been enhancing its generic software feature set during the past few years. All RFP Station features were supported with the sole exception of Whisper Page. Most Attendant features were supported except for Auto Start/Don’t Split, Back Up Alerting, Priority Queue, Release Loop Operation, and Trunk ID. Only a few System features were missing: Automatic Transmission Measurement System, Extended Trunk Access, and Trunk Callback Queuing. ACD, UCD (uniform call distribution), and Voice Message System Interface required additional hardware/software. Systems management and security requirements were strongly supported by the proposed system solution.
3Com’s VCX7000 solution does not support cellular extension capabilities. 3Com proposed a third party solution to satisfy the basic requirements, FirstHand Technology Enterprise Mobility Solution UC release 1.2 and the FirstHand Mobile Console UC soft client. Systems users deploying this option can access the same features and functions available at their desktop instrument from a mobile device. BlackBerry and Nokia E-Series mobile handsets are supported.
3Com’s response to the RFP unified communications requirements was to propose the System i IP Telephony Integrated Collaboration Suite that supports integration between Lotus Domino/Lotus Sametime and the 3Com VCX Convergence Applications Suite of telephony applications. This satisfied almost all of the RFP requirements for unified communications with one key exception: voice portal or text-to-speech functionality. Also, 3Com indicated that Microsoft integration is planned for a future release of its VCX Convergence Applications Suite.
