Recent Updated News: As additional details of the Mitel/RingCentral acquisition emerge from our partners, we will continue to update our news feed here. Or if you need immediate support, please reach out to one of our cloud procurement specialists.
In an effort to keep our customers informed of the latest updates due to the recent acquisition of ShoreTel by Mitel, we’d like to share some updates we have recently received.
Mitel has announced their go-forward strategy for their UCaaS portfolio. For those who have wondered if the ShoreTel Connect Cloud product was going to go away, well it isn’t.
MiCloud Connect and MiCloud Enterprise
Mitel will be rebranding the ShoreTel Connect Cloud portfolio into two “flagship” offerings, MiCloud Connect and MiCloud Enterprise:
-
MiCloud Connect: “A complete unified communications and collaboration solution that features a brilliantly simple customer experience across all devices for small, medium, and highly distributed businesses”*
-
MiCloud Enterprise: “An advanced unified communications and collaboration solution engineered to deliver a more comprehensive set of collaboration and contact center capabilities for specialized businesses of all sizes”*
What we can ascertain as the main differentiator between these two products is the MiCloud Enterprise will contain advanced features that are relevant to those in the contact center market segment as well as businesses with specialized requirements.
As a ShoreTel and Mitel Platinum partner, we can’t say we are surprised by this announcement. The ShoreTel Connect CLOUD was/is a great product. One of Mitel’s weaknesses, which they successfully turned around by this strategic acquisition, was their UCaaS market presence. To retain the ShoreTel Connect CLOUD portfolio and rebrand it to MiCloud Connect and MiCloud Enterprise puts Mitel light-years ahead of where they were.
What's Included in the "Go Forward" Strategy?
As additional details of the Mitel RingCentral acquisition emerge from our partners, we will continue to update our news feed here. Or if you need immediate support, please reach out to one of our cloud procurement specialists.
As for what changes to the product itself will occur regarding features and functionality, we can only anticipate greater improvements and enhancements especially for the enterprise contact center market.
Plus, as a reminder, one of the best assets Mitel acquired was the ShoreTel Summit CPaaS offering (Communications Platform as a Service) for cloud based IVR solutions which will provide even more options for businesses. Check out our article here where we touch on why CPaaS is critical to Mitel's strategy.
In Good Hands
Mitel has a greater number of resources to devote to taking the product to the next level and to the masses further than ShoreTel was able to. We’ve been strong supporters of ShoreTel’s product line and are confident Mitel has made the right decision.
As one of the only Platinum partners in the country, we are on the front lines every day working and talking with businesses, organizations and government agencies. We are confident that our customers are truly in good hands with the Mitel team.
Portfolio Consolidation
We have been and continue to be in communication with the Mitel leadership to provide additional perspective and feedback regarding these post-acquisition changes. Mitel has stated that the complete portfolio consolidation effort will be announced in early 2018.
400 Series Phone to be Rebranded
It has also been stated that the 400 series phones which were previously sold with ShoreTel Connect Cloud will continue to be the default end points for this solution in the near term. You will start to see the 400 series phones rebranded Mitel early 2018.
*quoted from letter to Mitel partners
Suellen Meyers: December 21, 2023
Liz Krause : November 10, 2021
