Affordable, Wireless Mobility Solution Ensures Enterprise VoIP over Wi-Fi
Ruckus Wireless™ and ShoreTel® (NASDAQ: SHOR), the leading provider of brilliantly simple IP phone systems, today announced plans to deliver a Mobile Unified Communications (UC) Starter Kit, combining Wi-Fi and voice over IP (VoIP) products, which is specifically designed for the small and medium-sized business (SMB) sector.
The Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart Wireless LAN (WLAN) offering is a verified system within the ShoreTel Innovation Network, ensuring tight coordination between the two platforms for end-to-end interoperability. For mid-size enterprises looking to test mobile unified communications over Wi-Fi, Ruckus and ShoreTel have also created custom, discounted product bundles for their respective channel partners.
The ShoreTel/Ruckus bundle delivers advanced UC and wireless networking capabilities necessary to support corporate voice and data requirements all in an affordable and easy-to-use package. The Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart Wi-Fi system extends ShoreTel’s VoIP reach beyond the wired environment – allowing customers to use smartphones, tablets and Voice over Wi-Fi phones over the existing enterprise IP voice system, while maintaining superb voice quality.
“With the growth of mobile devices and consumerization of IT, there is now huge demand by enterprises for the use of diverse smartphones using advanced Wi-Fi and VoIP technology,” said Denis Maynard, vice president of worldwide sales for Ruckus Wireless. “ShoreTel and Ruckus now give organizations a complete turnkey system that takes advantage of the best VoIP and Wi-Fi technologies to easily and securely integrate employee smartphones into their existing network framework.”
Helping the Mid-Market Capitalize on the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ Trend
As the corporate workforce becomes increasingly mobile, desk phones are giving way to smartphones, while powerful tablet devices marginalize PCs. As these smart devices pop up everywhere within companies, more Wi-Fi will be needed to achieve the same performance as traditional laptops, according to a recent report by Gartner.
Combined, the ShoreTel Mobility and Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi systems are ideally suited to address these growing concerns. IT professionals can now empower their users with enterprise unified communications on their personal smartphones while leveraging the IP PBX platform already in place – all while reducing costs and securing enterprise communications.
“Research reveals that half of enterprise knowledge workers are using smartphones as their primary communications device – a number that continues to grow, particularly as younger generations enter the workforce,” said Mark Arman, vice president of business development for ShoreTel. “There have been limited options available to support enterprise mobility for the mid-market sector. Ruckus shares our dedication to ease of use and implementation, and we are pleased to partner to bring about a much-needed affordable Wi-Fi-integrated VoIP solution to market.”
Availability
The ShoreTel/Ruckus bundle includes:
ShoreTel Mobility Router 2000 appliance (supporting up to 100 users; upgradable versions available) bundled with 10 user licenses
Ruckus ZoneDirector 1100 (supporting up to six APs and is license upgradable to 50 APs)
Ruckus Premium Partner Support
Ruckus ZoneFlex 7363 802.11n APs (includes three APs to start, and license can extend to additional APs if needed)
Ruckus ZonePlanner Software
The ShoreTel/Ruckus product promotion is being offered for a limited time through ScanSource, which distributes both ShoreTel and Ruckus products throughout North America.
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