Upgrading to ShoreTel Connect – August 2016

Upgrading to ShoreTel Connect – August 2016
By Travis Dillard, President of Inflow Communications

 

If you’ve been following our updates regarding the buzz around ShoreTel’s latest release, ShoreTel Connect, you’ll recall our latest blog post from July where we unveiled some new insights about the product. Well, we’re back again with the latest information you should know before making the switch to ShoreTel Connect. As of August 2016, these are the things you need to be aware of if you are considering upgrading to ShoreTel Connect for your business and some examples of issues we’ve run into. Let’s start off with some general information:

 

Should I Upgrade to ShoreTel Connect?

 

Connect Status and Customers That Should Delay Migration:

  • Customers reliant on toolbars: Working toolbar enhancement on the client roadmap (target Q4 2016)
  • Customers using workgroups (>10 agents): working client performance when >10 workgroup agents Nodewebkit upgrade (target Q3 2016 – August)
  • Customers using Citrix / WTS: working client performance issues (target Q3 2016)
  • Customers using Contact Center (>400 agents): working web agent performance issues (target Q3 2016). Also review integration requirements.
  • Customers needing Double Take for HQ server redundancy: working to certify DT 8.0 (target Q4 2016).

 

As always, we strive to bring you the most up-to-date, unbiased information regarding ShoreTel and their products. Let’s go over the good, the bad, and the ugly surrounding the recent ShoreTel Connect product:

 

The Good:

 

  • The initial feature implementation of the “Operator” Role has gone live with the Connect CR July Build
  • There were many bug fixes implemented in the July build
  • Noticeable speed improvements in the Director pages from previous releases

 

The Bad:

 

  • We’re still unable to install on anything other than all default directories
  • The Bulk Edit feature is currently not working as intended
  • Copying IP phone buttons don’t work
  • IP programmable buttons don’t always save
  • Fully updated and verified phones have occasionally rebooted on their own
  • Client authentication/authorization with the proper password doesn’t always work
  • Password Complexity policy is so complex nobody understands it
  • User profiles on the rare occasion just stop working and corrupt on the spot, requiring a rebuild
  • Adding users to Workgroups via their user profile doesn’t work. It must be done directly from the Workgroup itself
  • System alerts aren’t clearing from the Diagnostics and Monitoring Tool even after selecting and clearing the alert manually

 

The Ugly:

 

  • We’re still seeing a lot of new or returning bugs
  • The Outlook contact plugin does not de-synch contacts once unchecked. To do so requires an export of a user’s Outlook contact list, followed by the deletion of that list, a re-import of the blank list and then a complete disable of the plugin within Outlook.
  • Users are getting messages about an unavailable Service Appliance (SA) in their taskbar when there is no SA in the environment

 

Stay Current About Upgrading to ShoreTel Connect:

Keep up-to-date on all things ShoreTel and follow Inflow President Travis Dillard as he shares the good, the bad, and the ugly. Click here to get valuable insights or sign up for our regular newsletter. There is no such a thing as politics at Inflow!

 

About Inflow Communications

Founded in 1997, Inflow is one of the nation’s top Unified Communications and Contact Center consultants in today’s market. Pioneers in cloud unified communications and cloud contact center success, Inflow is the first company to provide contact center consulting and training focused solely on helping you elevate your customer experience.

With over 200,000 endpoints supported under Inflow’s innovative success programs around the world, Inflow built its brand and reputation around providing unrivaled customer support. Inflow is in Mitel/ShoreTel’s top 2% in global customer satisfaction, and quickly acquiring a top spot with RingCentral, Genesys PureCloud and NICE inContact.

By partnering with Inflow, you can expect the highest level of strategic consultation, execution, and optimization available in the industry.