N@N

ShoreTel: ShoreTel Helps Non-Profit Organizations Maximize Donation Performance With Reduced Costs and Increased Productivity

^{Published on 2009-04-16 05:11:31, Last Modified on 2009-11-03 07:48:41 - Market Wire}
 

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwire - April 16, 2009) - [ ShoreTel® ] (NASDAQ: [ SHOR ]), a leading provider of Pure IP Unified Communications (UC) solutions, is attracting a growing number of satisfied customers in the non-profit sector. Across the nation, a diverse group of charitable organizations have successfully deployed ShoreTel solutions, including high profile causes such as the Audubon Nature Institute, Better Business Bureau, Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas, Heifer International, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County and the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston.

Due to the current economic climate, non-profit organizations -- similarly to for-profit businesses -- are being forced to evaluate their expenditures and find cost-effective, reliable solutions that are easy to install, enhance productivity and are simple for busy workers and volunteers to use. Unlike businesses, many non-profit organizations rely on donations, putting even more pressure on them to think strategically and thoroughly justify any expense, particularly during tough times. ShoreTel's UC solutions give non-profits outstanding functionality at an affordable price so they can maximize the performance of their donations and achieve more with their budget.

EXAMPLES OF NON-PROFIT CUSTOMER DEPLOYMENTS

 -- Audubon Nature Institute: Audubon Nature Institute is a collection of attractions and parks in New Orleans, La., dedicated to celebrating the wonders of nature. By installing a ShoreTel UC system, Audubon can scale quickly across its family of facilities such as Audubon Zoo, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, and Audubon Insectarium. This ensures reliable, affordable communications that help employees and volunteers stay in-touch. -- Heifer International: An organization devoted to ending hunger and empowering poverty-stricken citizens through self-reliance and sustainability, Heifer International, headquartered in Little Rock, Ark., deployed a ShoreTel system to dramatically reduce costs and energy consumption while focusing on the important issues -- the people they serve. -- Habitat for Humanity of Orange County: Headquartered in Santa Ana, Ca., is dedicated to ending substandard housing and building strong communities in Orange County. Habitat for Humanity uses non-government donations of funding, materials, professional services and volunteer labor to build simple, decent homes which are sold to qualified low-income families for 500 hours of "sweat equity," a 1% down payment, closing costs, and a zero-interest mortgage. 

QUOTES

Andy Landry, Information Systems Director, Audubon Nature Institute: "ShoreTel allowed our organization to complete projects that we thought were far too costly. For instance, a ShoreTel system allowed us to rapidly set up communications through a wireless network link for a Dinosaur Adventure Exhibit at a remote location within Audubon Zoo. We were considering alternative communication means and vendors; but with our budgets being tightened, we needed the functionality, ease-of-use and cost-effective price that only ShoreTel could provide."

Cedric Lambert, Director of Infrastructure Solutions, IT, Heifer International: "Since 1944, Heifer has helped more than 50 million people, and now works in more than 50 countries, including the U.S. Effective communications are essential tools in helping us in our mission, and the reliability of the ShoreTel UC system keeps our employees and volunteers connected, while the low total cost of ownership will help us do more with our donations. ShoreTel also helps us further our green initiatives of being a good role model. As we expand the ShoreTel UC system into more of our offices, its energy savings and green footprint support our mission to care for the Earth."

Sharon Ellis, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County: "Our new ShoreTel phone system has dramatically increased our efficiency by making it easier than ever to manage calls both remotely and in the office. The computer-assisted call system increases our ability to respond to our donors, volunteers and families. And it saves us time so that we can focus on building more affordable homes in Orange County."

Kevin Gavin, Vice President, Marketing, ShoreTel: "It's an honor to have ShoreTel's unified communications systems deployed by organizations that do such tremendous philanthropic work and have a positive impact on society. We are proud that ShoreTel's technology can play an active role in helping these charities stay better connected and reduce expenses so more of their donation dollars can be channeled into the services that help communities best."

For detailed information on ShoreTel products and features, click [ here ].

RELATED LINKS & CONVERSATION

-- [ ShoreTel Customer Success Stories (videos and case studies) ]

-- [ ShoreTel Features ]

-- [ ShoreTel blog ]

-- [ ShoreTel awards ]

About ShoreTel, Inc.

ShoreTel, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ SHOR ]) is a leading provider of Pure IP Unified Communications solutions. ShoreTel enables companies of any size to seamlessly integrate all communications -- voice, video, messaging and data -- with their business processes. Independent of device or location, ShoreTel's distributed software architecture eliminates the traditional costs, complexity and reliability issues typically associated with other solutions. ShoreTel continues to deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction, ease of use and manageability while driving down the overall total cost of ownership. ShoreTel is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has regional offices in the United Kingdom, Sydney, Australia and Munich, Germany. For more information, visit [ www.shoretel.com ] or call 1-877-80SHORE.