Phone System Features
Everything you expect from an enterprise-class VoIP phone solution
The ShoreTel Sky solution comes complete with all of the business phone system features you’d expect from an enterprise phone system and more. Take a look at the 90+ features included with the business VoIP system at no additional charge.
- Auto Attendant
- Allows callers to be transferred to an extension based on their selection from a menu, without help from a live operator or receptionist
- Dial by Extension
- Auto-attendant global or menu option that enables callers to reach a user by dialing his or her extension
- Dial by Name
- Auto-attendant menu option/Directory that enables a caller to reach a user by dialing the first three letters of the last name or first name
- Music On Hold
- Authorized users can choose a song from ShoreTel Skys’s selection, or upload one of your own at no charge, and play that audio across your enterprise for callers on hold
- Legacy Extension Support
- Callers can use legacy extensions to reach users from the automated attendant, so important calls are never missed through the upgrade process
- Personal Automated Attendant
- Unanswered calls to a number or extension are delivered to a voice prompt that allows callers to choose from multiple options (e.g. another extension, an external number) or deposit voicemail
- Bandwidth Utilization
- Administrators can view a visualization of data usage over time
- Inbound/Outbound Call Detail Reports
- Administrators can view and export inbound and outbound call details by originator, destination, rate centers, duration, and cost
- Virtual Phone Number – Conditional Call Forwarding
- When a line is in use, this feature forwards incoming calls to an alternate internal or external number
- Permanent Call Forwarding
- All incoming calls to a specified number or extension (called a virtual extension) are permanently forwarded to another destination (e.g., a mobile phone or fax machine)
- Call Screening
- Users can treat calls differently depending on the caller ID. For example, specific incoming Caller-IDs can always be forwarded to a cellphone, whereas others can always be sent to voicemail or disconnected
- Direct Inbound Dial Phone Number Assignment
- Every phone or user is assigned a Direct Inbound Dial (DID) phone number, allowing calls to be routed to the intended recipient without passing through the main number or an auto-attendant (AA)
- Do Not Disturb
- A user can temporarily prevent incoming calls from ringing their extension, and route them automatically to voicemail or another pre-programmed destination
- Extension Assignment
- Every phone or user is assigned an extension, typically the last four digits of that user or phone’s Direct Inward Dial (DID) number. Extensions can be used for internal calling, transferring, or in conjunction with dial-by-extension functionality in the auto-attendant (AA)
- Find Me/Follow Me
- A user can create lists of numbers that he would like to be ‘found at’ (such as a cell phone) before sending an inbound call to voicemail. Find Me lists are more sophisticated than Call Forwarding; e.g. a user can configure it to first ring his office phone, then after a number of unanswered rings, to ring his cellphone, then his home phone
- On-Phone Presence Monitoring
- Users can view the on or off phone status of other users’ lines by associating line buttons with those lines
- Shared line Appearances
- Allows a set of extensions or Direct Inward Dial (DID) numbers to appear on a group of phones in addition to each phone’s primary number
- Time Dependent Call Treatment
- ShoreTel can configure auto-attendant (AA) functionality that enables different call treatment depending on the day of the week or time of day. Once set-up, users can enable or disable this functionality
- Call Park
- A user pauses a current conversation, and he or another user, can retrieve the call from any phone using a graphical Park service menu
- Call Pickup
- Answer a call ringing on another phone in your office
- Directed Call Pickup
- Enables a user to pick up incoming calls ringing on a phone from another phone by pressing a soft key and dialing the ringing phone’s extension
- On-screen Pickup
- A user can pick up incoming calls ringing on a phone by selecting it from an on-screen list
- Ring (Hunt) Groups
- Allows calls to a single number to ring on multiple phones simultaneously or in series
- 900/976 Blocking
- Calls to the 976 exchange or 900 area code can be blocked
- Forced Conferencing Barge
- Allows a user (the barge initiator) to barge another user’s (the barge target) phone by forcing a conference call into an existing conversation
- Monitoring Barge
- Allows an authorized user (the barge initiator) to listen in on an active call of another use (the barge target)
- Call hold beep timer interval
- Administrators can customize the Call Hold beep (‘chirp’) timer interval for individual lines
- Caller ID
- View callers’ phone numbers (if available) on incoming calls
- Caller ID with Name
- A service that displays the caller’s name on the calling party’s digital readout. This is similar to Caller ID except that the calling party’s name is displayed along with the calling number or instead of the calling number
- Classes of Service
- Allows restriction of outbound calls, either entirely, or by calling areas (local, toll, domestic, international) on a per-user basis
- Hold
- A user may pause the current conversation, and retrieve the call from the same phone
- Intercom Groups
- ShoreTel Sky can set up intercom groups that enable a user to communicate hands-free with multiple users via their speakerphones
- Intercom One-to-One
- Two users can communicate hands-free via speakerphone
- Internal Caller Name Display
- This option allows the internal caller’s name, in addition to his or her extension, to be displayed on the recipient’s phone
- Paging Groups
- Users can page (one-way speakerphone) groups of phones throughout the enterprise, regardless of physical location
- Phone Alerts
- Some phone system events, such as missed calls and new voice messages, are brought to a user’s attention by on-screen alerts. These brief messages appear near the top of the phone’s display
- Redial
- A user can call the previous internal or external phone number dialed without re-entering the number
- Remote Phone Use
- Remote and traveling users can use a ShoreTel Sky phone from any location with a cable/DSL broadband connection, such as a home office
- Speed Dial
- A user can program up to 100 internal or external numbers as two-digit speed dials accessed using a feature code
- Transfer-Announced
- A user can send a current call to another extension or phone number after conferring with the recipient. This puts on hold the primary call, opens up another call with the party intended to receive the primary call, and allows the user to speak with the recipient before actually connecting the transferred call. This is also called a warm transfer, consultation transfer, and supervised transfer
- Transfer-Unannounced
- A user can send a current call on his phone to another extension or phone number without first speaking to the recipient. This transfers a call without notifying or waiting for a response from the person at the destination number. This is also called cold transfer, blind transfer, immediate transfer, and unsupervised transfer
- Client Matter Codes (Billing Codes)
- End-users have the ability to optionally press a soft key, and then enter an accounting / billing code to tag inbound calls while the call is in progress
- Door Phone Entry Buzzer Integration
- Integrates with an analog door phone to allow a user to have a two-way call with a visitor, and then unlock the door from the user’s ShoreTel Sky phone
- Paging System Integration
- The ShoreTel Sky solution integrates with most third-party office paging system
- Personal Phonebook
- A dial-able list of personal contacts, configurable by each user from a ShoreTel Sky phone and the ShoreTel Sky Portal
- Personal Phone Book-Import
- A user can import a Personal Phonebook into the ShoreTel Sky portal from a comma-separated values (CSV) file
- Phone Assistant
- Software used in conjunction with a ShoreTel Sky phone that allows individuals (such as receptionists, executive assistants, or power users) to monitor–on their computer–multiple lines in an office and handle multiple calls with greater ease
- View/Add Service Requests
- Administrators can view the status of ShoreTel Sky service requests (support tickets) online, and add them online
- ShoreTel Sky Portal
- ShoreTel Sky provides individual users as well as phone systems administrators the access they need to configure and manage their system, set preferences and monitor activity through this simple, easy-to-use web interface
- Ad Hoc Conferencing
- A user can set up a conference call with up to five additional parties without conference bridge port reservations.
- Conferencing Floor Control/Moderator
- A user can serve as moderator for a conference call, managing invitations, viewing and resetting “hand-raises,” muting individual participants, and more
- On-Screen Moderator Conference Controls
- A user can manage conference participants from a conference service menu on the phone
- General Voice Mailbox
- An Auto Attendant option that allows callers to leave a message in a general voicemail box that is not associated with a user’s extension. This voicemail box is normally accessible by the receptionist and greets callers with information specific to your company
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Voice Mail Access
- Users navigate voice menus to retrieve, deposit, and otherwise handle voicemail messages via IVR. A user can access voicemail from their own phone with one-touch, or remotely from any touchtone phone
- Message Envelope Information
- Incoming voicemail messages are automatically labeled with date, time, duration, and Caller ID
- Message Waiting Indicator
- User are given visual notification of voicemails through on-screen alerts and the handset (such as a red light)
- Multiple Voice Mailbox Access
- A single user can access multiple voice mailboxes through their phone
- On-Screen Voicemail
- Users can navigate the phone screen to retrieve and otherwise handle voicemail messages
- Reply By Calling
- A user can reply to a voicemail message from the voicemail system by calling back the Caller ID, when available
- Voicemail Broadcast/Distribution to all users
- A user can forward a voicemail to the entire user base
- Voicemail Keep On Phone Control
- Users can choose to keep emailed voicemail messages saved on their ShoreTel Sky phone, or have them deleted once forwarded to an email
- Voicemail Messaging
- Messaging integrated with your ShoreTel Sky Phone System
- Voicemail to Email Group Notification
- Multiple email addresses can receive notification of voicemail receipt
- Voicemail to Email WAV file forwarding
- Sends a notification with the WAV sound file attached to any email address
- Company Phonebook
- A dial-able list of company extensions configurable by a client administrator or ShoreTel and accessible from the phone and the ShoreTel Sky Portal
- Employee Directory
- A dial-able list of users and extensions of your enterprise’s ShoreTel sky Phone System accessed from the phone and the ShoreTel Sky Portal
- On Phone Call Logs
- Display the date and time of missed, received, and placed calls for a particular user
- 311
- A 3 digit number reserved for local/city non-emergency services in many communities
- Directory Assistance Listing
- ShoreTel Sky ensures that your company’s directory assistance listing (411) is accurate. Your main listing is included with your service; supplemental directory assistance listings may incur an additional charge
- 800 Numbers / Toll Free Numbers
- Toll free numbers let customers call you free of charge to them to make sure you always can be reached. Vanity toll free numbers let you brand your phone number
- Enhanced 911 Service
- ShoreTel Sky sends location information to your geographically local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) when a 911 call is made from an on-network ShoreTel Sky phone
- Alternate Outbound Dial Digit
- An additional digit is allowed to make an outbound call due to requirements form the customer to send certain digits (e.g. to send blocked call ID).
- Authorization Codes
- Require a code to make certain kinds of calls. Used to prevent unauthorized international or regional billed calls
- Customer Logos
- Customers can upload a logo (or multiple logos) to appear on supported
- Fraud Monitoring
- ShoreTel routinely monitors unusual international activity for potential abuse
- Hardware Reassignment
- Users can log in and out of phones, allowing for time-sharing of phones or moving one’s presence from one phone (e.g. home phone) to another phone (e.g.office phone) and back
- Line Management
- An administrator can create new users and change names
- Nationwide Telephone Number Availability
- ShoreTel works with our partner carriers to secure telephone numbers across the United States
- Outbound Caller ID
- Outbound caller ID can be configured by ShoreTel to announce individual Direct Inward Dial (DID) numbers or the company’s main number, or it can be blocked entirely
- Outbound Caller ID Blocking
- ShoreTel can restrict, by location, your company’s outbound caller ID information from being announced
- Password Administration
- An administrator can manage phone and voicemail passwords online
- Privacy Settings
- ShoreTel Sky can configure whether customer phone line can be accessed by Pick Up, Barge, and other features that increase group functionality but reduce privacy
Desktop Phone Support
We support several of the Cisco 79XX series handsets for desktop phones, including the 7941, 7961, and 7975, and specialty purpose phones, such as the 7937.
Here are a few other things you should know:
- These phones can be powered by a compatible Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) switch or individual power adapters.
- For analog conference room and cordless phones, ShoreTel Sky supports the ATA 186 -188, which allows use of traditional analog phones over IP.
- Basic hardware and configuration and trouble shooting is included with our solution. Most issues can be remotely resolved by our support team.
- The Cisco IP phone can be used from a cable/DSL broadband-enabled location (additional networking hardware may be required.)
As you can see, our phone system is loaded with features, now take a look at how it works: