BusinessConnect is targeted at businesses who are keen to use Skype for Business capabilities but who, perhaps having already invested heavily in modernising their systems through virtualisation or cloud migration in recent years, are reluctant to pay out yet more money to upgrade their Microsoft package. BusinessConnect requires only Standard Microsoft CAL for users to be able to access Skype for Business, removing the need to upgrade to ‘Enterprise’ and ‘Plus’ CALs and thereby also the hefty license fee. It is quick and easy to deploy, and cheaper to maintain.
Oak Joint CEO James Emm believes it’s a bold and exciting statement for the company, “BusinessConnect is a perfectly positioned product. It enables the exciting features that businesses want from Skype – instant messaging, group chat, conferencing, presence, desktop sharing and whiteboarding, click-to-dial and so on – whilst allowing them to keep their current platform in place. For Oak, it gives us a foot in significant new doors, including Microsoft for Business and Broadsoft. It also strengthens our longstanding status as a ShoreTel Innovation partner.”
BusinessConnect is currently available for ShoreTel, Avaya Aura, ACE, and IP Office (SIP mode only), and Broadsoft, and discussions are underway to add to this portfolio.