Sunnyvale, CA, USA -  August 4, 2008 - In a power consumption study of IP telephony components conducted by independent testing firm, The Tolly Group, the ShoreTel(R) (NASDAQ; SHOR) Unified Communications system held a clear advantage over the Cisco Unified Communications Manager, requiring up to 45 percent less energy. Testing and analysis was conducted across three classes of enterprise deployments.

- In a large-scale network with 1,500 users at a headquarters site, regional office and branch office, ShoreTel’s UC system was calculated to use 37 percent less power.

- In a medium network with 350 users in a central headquarters and 19 branch office sites, ShoreTel’s UC system was projected to consume 45 percent less power.

- In a self-contained single site office with 65 users, ShoreTel’s UC system was calculated to use 44 percent less power.

"With escalating energy costs, the energy efficiency of UC solutions is heavily weighted in buying decisions," said Kevin Tolly, founder, president and CEO of The Tolly Group. "The reduced power usage of ShoreTel’s UC system translates into lower cooling expenses, which results in lower cost of ownership. For today’s energy-conscious buyer, the green footprint is increasingly important."

In addition to testing power consumption of VoIP communications in enterprise scenarios, The Tolly Group conducted a comparison test of monochromatic GbE-based IP phones. The ShoreTel phone required almost 60 percent less power than its Cisco counterpart in idle state, and 33 percent less power in active mode during a voice call – a clear demonstration of ShoreTel’s engineering ingenuity in designing energy-efficient phones.

"The Tolly Group study validates what we frequently hear from our ShoreTel customers and distribution partners regarding energy savings in both large and small deployments," said Kevin Gavin, vice president of product marketing, ShoreTel. "In addition to helping lower total cost of ownership, reduced energy consumption also helps us deliver on our commitment to being environmentally friendly."

About ShoreTel:
ShoreTel delivers IP telephony solutions to the enterprise. The spark for this solution emerged out of frustration. While purchasing a phone system at a previous venture, ShoreTel''''s co-founders were confounded by products short on features and long on complexity. So they created a better solution.