Mitel’s smart unified communications solutions and applications are on the move, and they’re bringing them right to your doorstep!  They’ve equipped a 40-foot tour bus with working demos of the latest Mitel innovations so you can experience Mitel’s “better than live” communications solutions first-hand.  Mitel’s and AmeriTel’s knowledgeable communications specialists will be onboard to guide you through the hands-on demos, and answer all of your questions to help you break down the barriers to more effective business communication.

Contact AmeriTel to reserve your space on the bus today, and learn how Mitel is making Simply Communicating®… simple.

The barrier for virtualizing real-time voice applications is gone.
Mitel® and VMware® made it happen.

Now you have choice. No longer do you need dedicated servers for voice. Run all your voice and non-voice business applications in one single virtualized environment.

Find out how your business will benefit from this breakthrough in communications.

Featured speakers at this webcast include:

Brent Kelly, Senior Analyst and Partner, Wainhouse Research

Rob Neil, Head of ICT, and Customer Services, Ashford Borough Council

Parag Patel, Vice President of Alliances, VMware

Stephen Beamish, Vice President of Business Development, Mitel

Learn More http://vmware.mitel.com

Register Now for the Series X Webinar! USA/Canada/EMEA/Caribbean/Latin America or Asia/Pacific

Contact AmeriTel, Inc. on how you can take advantage of this exciting technology.

“We’re excited to bring this unique experience to Los Angeles.” says AmeriTel President Scott Murphy.  “This Solution Center will showcase the hottest in Voice Over IP applications available today, by some of the best in the industry, with Mitel being #1 in Small to Mid-Size system sales in North America and the UK.  Our new demo facilities are unique in that there is no other like it in all of the northern section of Southern California.  This allows us to provide immediate, demonstrable access to all that our manufacturers have to offer in a casual and comfortable setting.”

AmeriTel is expected to make the Solution Center available in April 2010, with an Open House announcement to be made in the next couple of months.

For more information on AmeriTel, Inc.’s service please visit www.ameritelinc.com

AT&T said in its response to the FCC that “with each passing day, more and more communications services migrate to broadband and IP-based services, leaving the public switched telephone network (“PSTN”) and plain-old telephone service (“POTS”) as relics of a by-gone era.”

It also stated “It makes no sense to require service providers to operate and maintain two distinct networks when technology and consumer preferences have made one of them increasingly obsolete.”

Moving to VoIP

Providers like Vonage have been delivering VoIP (Voice over IP) for consumers over broadband Internet connections for years. I should know, I was one of the charter members. I haven’t had an actual POTS landline for at least five years.

While my local telephone providers wanted to nickel and dime me for “features” like caller ID and voicemail, Vonage has reliably provided all-inclusive service for $24.95 for as long as I can remember.

While Vonage is still a major player in the consumer VoIP market, just about every communications entity has joined in the game now. VoIP phone services are offered as a bundled service along with broadband Internet service, and digital cable TV by major players like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T itself.

Transition to Mobile

The way wireless phone plans are set up now, it is hard to argue in favor of keeping both a mobile phone and a home phone–even a VoIP line. You can get unlimited minutes of talk time with all of the bells and whistles you can imagine–caller ID, call forwarding, etc. Many plans come with unlimited data, unlimited text messaging, and more. With all of that service in your hip pocket, do you really need a phone attached to your wall?

The number of U.S. households that have ditched the landline entirely in favor of relying solely on mobile phones doubled between 2006 and 2009. A quarter of U.S. households no longer have a landline of any kind, and that number will continue to grow.

No Dial Tone

One of the last remaining reasons for maintaining a standard POTS landline is the fact that in most cases the POTS line maintains a dial tone and the ability to make and receive calls during catastrophes and emergencies.

When Hurricane Ike hit here in the Houston area, there was no power for days, or even weeks in some areas. No power means no broadband Internet, which means VoIP phone services like Vonage don’t work. No power to cell towers means no bars on your cell signal and no wireless service.

Some broadband VoIP providers have solutions to address at least short-term power outages. AT&T provides its UVerse customers with a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) battery back-up that maintains power to the broadband router at least for a while.

Emergency services, and the ability to place 911 calls have also been an issue. With a POTS landline it is easy to match a phone number with a physical address, but with broadband VoIP you could be calling from around the corner or around the world and the 911 operators can’t tell. There are solutions in place for 911 calls via broadband VoIP, but users who drop landlines entirely in favor of wireless phones may have issues getting timely emergency service.

Those are issues that will have to be worked out, though. The future marches on, and it is fair for AT&T and other traditional POTS providers to want to drop the obsolete, unprofitable technology and focus their resources on the universal broadband and IP communications of tomorrow.

Companies today are in the midst of significant transformation into more global, collaborative workforces that are increasingly becoming more mobile. In order for businesses to thrive in this environment, given today’s economic pressures, a well-defined unified communications strategy is a must. This will certainly help companies reduce the overall cost of communications, streamline business processes, and increase employee productivity. But more importantly, deploying unified communications will help companies improve customer satisfaction and increase customer loyalty, thereby driving up revenues and profitability.

Mitel Unified Communicator® (UC) Advanced provides a single client interface with a rich feature set and access to all of Mitel’s communications applications. UC Advanced delivers voice, rich presence, video, messaging, call history, conferencing, collaboration, rich contact management capabilities, and mobility options for Mitel Communications Director (MCD) and Mitel 5000 Communications Platform (CP) customers. The UC Advanced Web and Mobile Portals provide remote access to a subset of UC Advanced features.

UC Advanced is suitable for businesses of all sizes across all vertical markets.

Mitel Unified Communicator® (UC) Advanced release 3.0 is Mitel’s unified communications desktop application that provides a single access point for all your business communication and collaboration needs. It gives you unprecedented control over your communications and allows real-time access to everyone in the organization, on or off the premises.

Revolutionize how you communicate and collaborate with colleagues, customers, and business partners

UC Advanced is the solution with options that specifically meet the needs of your user communities, delivering real business benefits: better efficiency and productivity, reduced costs, enhanced responsiveness, and streamlined business operations.

Improved workday efficiency

With UC Advanced, you are accessible and able to respond immediately to the needs of others through real-time communication methods. Contact information can be launched from caller ID screen-pops, while secure chat and web and video collaboration sessions can be initiated with a single click. By integrating widely-used PC applications with a single access point for all communications and collaboration needs, you can improve the speed and efficiency of your employees, while also maximizing the value of your technology investments.

Widen your communication choices

UC Advanced enables smarter communication with your colleagues, customers, and business partners. With UC Advanced, you can choose the best method of communication before even initiating contact, thereby improving the efficiency of your interactions with others. UC Advanced incorporates voice communications, conferencing, and collaboration capabilities into popular business applications so you can further enhance your productivity with click-to-call from personal information managers (PIMs), Microsoft® Internet Explorer®, and Microsoft® Office.

Stay connected, wherever you are

The new Dynamic Extension feature lets you select up to eight different devices to act as your business phone (for example, a home phone, client phone, or vacation-home phone), so your many phone numbers collapse into one – your business extension, with a number of Mitel’s rich in-call features. Using a simple interface in UC Advanced, you set up Personal Ring Groups and decide how your calls are routed with Dynamic Extension, including any preferential treatment for certain callers. You can use your mobile phone, residential set, or any phone to make and receive calls as if you were at your desk, so you are always within reach. You can use a mobile device or a web site to access the UC Advanced Web Portal to update Dynamic Status and check corporate contact details, presence information, and voice mail message details. Wherever you are, you have access to the entire organization and its toolset.

Reduced costs across the board

Everything you spend doing business comes off your profit margin. Hosted services, employee travel, facilities expenses, and long-distance communications charges add up. User communities involved in regular conference calls or meetings can benefit from Mitel Audio & Web Conferencing (AWC), now fully integrated with UC Advanced, so that any phone call can become an audio or web conference with the click of a mouse. This easy-to-use option eliminates the need to pay for hosted external conferencing services.

Rapid customer responsiveness

Employees that deal with your customers are the face of your company. Their ability to process requests and queries as quickly and completely as possible reflects on the whole organization. With UC Advanced, front line staff can easily check the presence and availability of a subject matter expert, and contact that person in the most effective way. Tools such as AWC can be used to quickly establish a conference call or a web conference, including the ability to share documents quickly and securely, resulting in a quick resolution to your customer’s enquiry.

The key new features that are available with UC Advanced 3.0 are as follows:

- User Interface (UI) enhancements
– Presence and availability enhancements
– Context Driven Communications (with support for Dynamic Status)
– Instant messaging enhancements
– Visual Voice Mail integration with Mitel NuPoint Unified Messaging™ (UM)
– UC Advanced Console Option
– Web and Mobile Portals
– Support for Mitel Audio & Web Conferencing (AWC)
– RSS feeds for the Web Window
– Improved deployment options
– Administrator improvements

UC Advanced release 3.0 is supported with Mitel Communications Director (MCD) release 4.0 or 4.0 SP1 or Mitel 5000 Communications Platform (CP) release 3.2. The general availability date at this time is December 1st 2009, but is subject to change.

User Interface (UI) enhancements UC Advanced release 3.0 includes the following UI enhancements:

• Views have replaced Shutters: The UI has been streamlined to provide easier access to the various UC Advanced features. To make better use of the desktop space, one view is displayed in the main desktop interface.

• Display Photos: You can upload a photo to the server to be used with your contact card. Your photo is displayed in the various communication dialog boxes.

• Preferred calling device: Users with a combined desk phone and softphone license have the ability to choose their preferred audio device for outgoing calls. The user can easily toggle between desk phone and headset mode

• Menus and dialog boxes: Several enhancements to menus and dialog boxes have been made to provide greater usability and support for new features.

• Favorites: The favorites menu has been relocated to the Contacts view for easier access. In addition, Favorites are now available from the Dynamic Status view.

• User setup wizard: When the UC Advanced 3.0 client is first installed, the user is presented with a configuration wizard that helps the user set up the most commonly used features and functions. This setup wizard can be invoked at any time from the user menu.

New Look and Feel for UC Advanced 3.0

Presence and availability enhancements Release 3.0 provides the following presence and availability enhancements:

• Status view: Provides the ability to set and configure Dynamic Status.

• Custom text: Allows you to add more information to your selected status.

• Calendar advisory text: Displays Outlook calendar information for your corresponding status.

• User login notification: This new feature enables UC Advanced users to “tag” other users so that, when the “tagged” contacts log in, a login notification window appears. Upon receiving the login notification, a voice call or chat session can be started from within the notification window.

Context Driven Communications

Dynamic Extension and Dynamic Extension Express integration: UC Advanced 3.0 is able to monitor the status of a user’s personal ring group (PRG). This means that an incoming call that is answered by a device in the user’s PRG (for example, a cell phone) will correctly reflect the current telephony status (for example, off-hook) against that user.

Support for Dynamic Status: Mitel recognizes that the workday is dynamic. The context of how workers need to be contacted is dynamic and can change by the hour. To help users manage this changing context, UC Advanced 3.0 introduces Dynamic Status.

Dynamic Status provides the end-user with an easy way to specify IM, Presence, and Call Routing treatment when in a specific Dynamic Status. UC Advanced will update Dynamic Status to reflect the state of a user’s Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007 calendar. Also, if the user has indicated in Outlook that they will be “Out of the office,” UC Advanced updates the user’s Dynamic Status to reflect “Out of the office.” Dynamic Status can also be changed through the desktop client, the Web Portal, or the Mobile Portal on a smart phone. Using Dynamic Status, in conjunction with Dynamic Extension or Dynamic Extension Express, each user can route calls more efficiently (e.g., to your desk or to your mobile, or any location on the planet with a direct dial number) to quickly respond to customer demands.

Call with subject and priority: When calling another UC Advanced user, additional information can be appended to the incoming call notification. This enables the called party to make an informed decision about how to best deal with that particular call. Information that can be added to the call notification includes a High Priority flag and a Call Subject field.

Responding to incoming calls: The user can choose to respond to a call based on the context in which they are working. They can choose to answer the call, forward to voice mail, forward the call to a colleague, or respond with an IM if they are unable to pick up the call (in a meeting, for example).

Instant messaging enhancements Release 3.0 provides the following IM enhancements:

• Emoticons: Emoticons can now be used for chat messages.
• Far-end typing: Indicates when other users are typing a message during a chat session.

Visual Voice Mail integration with NuPoint UM

This feature allows access to your voice mail from the UC Advanced client, providing the name and number of the caller along with a date and time stamp. With the embedded media player, from the PC messages can be played, forwarded, and deleted. The UC Advanced client also allows you to view fax messages and change your voice mail PIN. Visual Voice Mail is fully integrated with presence and contact information to easily reconnect with the user. The UC Advanced desktop client provides the following voice mail features from the desktop client

Advanced desktop client provides the following voice mail features from the desktop client:

UC Advanced 3.0 – Visual Voice Mail integration:

• Message Waiting indication icon: Indicates that you have a new voice mail message.
• Access to voice mail messages: Play messages via phone or embedded audio player, forward messages, and delete messages.
• Access to fax messages: View, forward, and delete fax messages.
• Settings: Modify your voice mail PIN.

UC Advanced Console Option

The console is an integrated, licensable component of the UC Advanced client. The UC Advanced Console supports a call-handling feature set that is desirable for group administrators, regional attendants, or anywhere that back-up, live-call answer and sub-attendants are required. Using presence and availability information, the attendant can transfer calls to the appropriate location, transfer directly to voice mail, or quickly set up conference bridges for ad hoc conference calls. The Console user has the ability to view and handle calls for all contacts on the system from the Console view. The UC Advanced Console can be used in conjunction with a regular desk phone, or can be used with the UC Advanced softphone. The UC Advanced Console Option also provides the attendant with the ability to change the Dynamic Status and Advisory Message for UC Advanced users.  The license is configured on a per-user basis.

UC Advanced Web and Mobile Portals

UC Advanced release 3.0 provides new Web and Mobile Portals. You can access the Web Portal using a web browser from your computer. Access the Mobile Portal using a web browser from a mobile device.

The Web and Mobile Portals provide a subset of UC Advanced features, including:

• Dynamic Status: View and change Dynamic Status setting.

• Call History: Access a list of missed, received, and placed calls. Call history displays the caller’s presence information, if available.

• Corporate Contacts: View, search, and sort corporate contacts in a table format, and view corporate contact details, such as presence information. Personal contacts are not supported.

• Messages: View faxes and voice mail messages, and easily dial into the voice mail system from the Mobile Portal. View and play voice mail from the Web Portal.

• Account Options: View and change your password and time zone.

Support for AWC

Mitel Audio & Web Conferencing (AWC) is now integrated with UC Advanced 3.0. AWC provides users with real-time web conferencing, annotation, chat, file transfer, application sharing, desktop sharing, and video capabilities. In addition to AWC, UC Advanced 3.0 also supports the legacy Mitel Your Assistant® Collaboration module for existing Your Assistant Collaboration customers. However, the Your Assistant Collaboration module is being Manufacture Discontinued at the end of 2009. Customers with existing Your Assistant Collaboration licenses will be able to migrate to AWC. A separate bulletin providing details of the migration program will be announced in the near future.

UC Advanced 3.0 users will be able to quickly view, schedule, or start an audio, web, or combined audio and web conference. UC Advanced 3.0 users are also able to escalate a voice call with another UC Advanced user into a web conference.

RSS feeds for the Web Window

The RSS window provides the ability to push customizable syndicated content, such as event listings, headlines, or corporate information. The organization can choose to force the window to be open and pointed at corporate information. This is a great method to communicate corporate information to the organization, and can be a tool for mass notification.

Improved deployment options

Improved scalability: Scalability on a single server has been greatly enhanced. UC Advanced 3.0 can support up to 5000 contacts, and 1500 concurrent UC Advanced users on a single server, thus eliminating most scenarios where multiple servers are required. Please note: On-demand presence may be required to improve scalability.

Support for Lotus Notes 8.5: Lotus Notes 8.5 users can now benefit from integration with UC Advanced. Features include click to dial and click to collaborate from within the Lotus Notes contact list.

Teleworker support for desk phones (MCD PBXs only): UC Advanced 3.0 extends Teleworker support to remote IP phones; prior to UC Advanced 3.0, this service was limited to UC Advanced softphone users.

VMware®: UC Advanced 3.0 will now support ESXi 4.

Administrator improvements

Web interface: UC Advanced 3.0 introduces a web-based administration interface. This web-based interface is used for the configuration and management of the UC Advanced users. The web-based interface enables access by an administrator from a remote location.

Administrator provisioning of “launchpad” buttons: The administrator is able to configure and provision the launchpad feature on behalf of the UC Advanced users. This could be used to set up links to shared drivers, help desk numbers, intranet portals, etc. The user can add new launchpad options but cannot delete any links created by the administrator

Desktop client auto software upgrade: UC Advanced 3.0 introduces an auto software upgrade feature. This feature informs the user that a new version of software is available and gives the user the option to upgrade simply by clicking on a button.

The 5610 DECT Handset and IP DECT Stand provide Mitel Communications Director (MCD) SIP call processing features on a cordless handset. The new IP DECT Stand is an accessory peripheral for the Mitel 5300 Series IP Phones. The IP DECT Stand connects to the base of a Mitel 5312 / 5324 / 5320 / 5330 / 5340 or 5360 IP Phone and acts as an IP DECT base station with SIP Gateway functionality. The IP DECT Stand connects to the network through the PC port on the Mitel IP Phone. It supports up to eight 5610 DECT Handsets that act as SIP extensions. MCD extends SIP call processing features to the 5610 DECT Handset. Users can activate phone features through Feature Access Codes. Each 5610 DECT Handset can be programmed as a separate extension on the MCD or programmed in a Personal Ring Group and use Dynamic Extension to allow the handset to be “twinned” with an IP Phone. The IP DECT Stand and 5610 DECT Handsets operate as generic SIP devices behind the MCD.

The 5610 DECT Handset has a range of up to 50 meters (150 feet) (for indoor use) and up to 300 meters (900 feet) (for outdoor use) from the IP DECT Stand. Using an IP DECT Repeater to extend this range even further makes the 5610 DECT Handset and IP DECT Stand the ideal mobility solution in hospitality, education, health care and retail as well as small and medium business (SMB) and enterprise markets.

IP DECT – Voice-centric and Simpler
IP DECT is ideally suited to businesses seeking a voice and messaging capable on-premise wireless solution for secure, quality voice performance that is lower cost, more robust to interference and easier to manage when compared to Wi-Fi or cellular solutions. IP-DECT involves deploying a dedicated wireless infrastructure that may not necessarily be capable of supporting wireless data access.

Improved productivity and business efficiency
The productivity benefit of mobile communications is well understood. Extending mobile on-premise communications through integration with other value add applications or business process systems; delivering the relevant information to the responsible individual; delivering work flow information in real-time; the ability to deliver and respond to emergency situations in a hospital, manufacturing plant, retail or educational institution drives significant productivity benefits.

Improved customer service
In the retail segment, staff becomes reachable wherever they are and the use of objectionable overhead paging can be eliminated. In hospitality, front desk staff or the concierge can respond to guests’ needs more expediently. The customer or guest has a better chance of reaching the right person; the establishment becoming more responsive; all resulting in a more satisfying experience.

Improved cost control
Workers are becoming increasingly mobile in the workplace; however, the option of widespread cellular phone usage can prove very costly. Deployment of an IP DECT voice-capable solution in conjunction with the MCD and 5300 Series IP Phones enables the enterprise or small business to control and manage their mobile communication costs on the premises. Once the infrastructure is deployed, internal and external mobile calling is essentially free, with the added benefit that usage is subject to the same class of service privileges as the wired communication system.

Improved safety and security
Security of staff in traditional high risk environments as well as in health care, education and retail establishments is an increasing concern. The 5610 DECT Handset integrated with the MCD gives enterprise and small business users the ability to respond quickly to situations involving a security breach or an emergency, allowing them to manage the situation in real-time to ensure the safety of staff, community and property.

Features of the 5610 DECT Handset and IP DECT Stand include:

• IP DECT Stand supports up to eight handsets and three simultaneous calls
• Supported on Mitel 5312 / 5324 / 5320 / 5330 / 5340 and 5360 IP Phones
• Handset supports color display with backlighting and auto dimming
• Full dial pad with navigation keys, soft keys, answer and end keys
• Teleworker support
• Supports Dynamic Extension on MCD
• Menu (OK) Key provides graphical menu options for Contacts, Settings, Messages and Call Logs
• Settings allow users to adjust audio preferences, ringer melodies, telephony functions, call forwarding options, and to access system and network settings
• Speakerphone capable, with adjustable volumes, including mute
• Nine polyphonic ring tones
• Handset supports operating time of 8 hours talk / 240 hours standby
• Multiple languages supported on the 5610 DECT Handset
• Optional IP DECT Repeater extends signal range of handsets
• DECT-based design: DECT 6.0 cordless technology provides higher quality voice transmission, density, and less interference compared to Bluetooth
• Operating range of up to 50 m (150 feet) indoors or 100 m (300 ft) outdoors
• Supported on MCD

General availability of the Mitel 5610 Cordless DECT phone is December 14th, 2009.  Please contact your AmeriTel representative to reserve yours!

The Philadelphia Phillies has extended its long-standing relationship with strategic business communications provider, Mitel®, to deploy an innovative communications solution to its Spring Training facilities in Clearwater, Florida. The Phillies selected Mitel for its ease of scalability and flexibility in deploying applications suited to meet each individual user’s communications needs.

The solution is networked with the Phillies existing Mitel system providing communications for the club’s operations in Philadelphia by connecting more than 400 front office, customer service, and ticketing staff.

The result is one complete unified communications solution to connect the entire organization from its many minor league employees up to the Philadelphia Phillies by increasing communications and collaboration between staff and enhancing customer service while simplifying management.

Highlights:

• The Phillies chose to displace its aging Nortel system with the superior Mitel Communications Director (MCD) software with the ability to enable key business process improvement via business applications such as Mitel Dynamic Extension, unified messaging, and contact center capabilities. This is combined with more than 115 HTML-capable Mitel 5300 series IP phones for staff.
• Embedded in MCD, Dynamic Extension delivers single-number ‘reachability’, meaning a call to an employee’s business number will simultaneously ring up to any eight devices, (whether a Mitel phone or not) in a personal ring group. Additionally, this provides seamless hand off between devices and access to in-call business communications features regardless of location or device.
• With an extremely mobile workforce, especially during Spring Training season, Phillies staff previously had multiple phone numbers and voicemails. Now with Dynamic Extension and unified messaging, executives and staff can be reached through a single phone number and voicemail ensuring calls are received regardless of location resulting in faster decision making. Users have the flexibility of adding or changing numbers in their personal ring group on the fly for increased accessibility.
• Mitel Contact Center Solutions have been deployed for ticketing and customer service. The solution intelligently handles and retains callers in queue by providing them with flexible alternatives to waiting in queue and directing them to the agent(s) best qualified to handle requests. Customized messages keep callers informed not only of wait times but of special team promotions, statistics, and upcoming games.

Quotes:

“Over the past quarter century we have worked together with CENet/EMInterlink to provide the Philadelphia Phillies organization with the latest innovative technologies to streamline their operations and enhance customer service so they can focus on continuing to grow their world-class baseball franchise. We look forward to continuing our relationship as we connect staff across the entire organization.”

- Rick Dell, President U.S. Sales, Mitel

“We have a long-standing relationship with Mitel so when we needed to upgrade our Spring Training facility Mitel was the clear choice. By networking all our locations it has made it easier for us to manage all our teams and staff, deploy applications so we can communicate with one another effortlessly, and most importantly increase our customer service and satisfaction.”

- Bill Touch, Telecom Manager, Philadelphia Phillies

“Together with Mitel, we have been able to provide the Phillies with the best-in-class communications solution that connects the entire club’s operations. The Phillies organization will benefit from enhanced mobility, collaboration, and contact center capabilities that will reduce cost and simplify management.”

- Marj Vance, Managing Partner, CENet Solutions, Inc./EMInterlink

About the Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.[1] The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball’s National League. Since 2004, the team’s home has been Citizens Bank Park in the South Philadelphia section of the city.

News Facts:

Mitel®, the trusted provider of unified communications applications, announces Mitel business communications solutions as VMware Ready™, leveraging technology designed for VMware vSphere™ 4.  The latency challenge of virtualizing voice has also been solved with Mitel Communications Director (MCD) software, the first real-time voice application designed for the VMware vSphere 4 platform.    These developments come after the two companies announced their strategic relationship in June 2009, with the intent to develop Mitel real-time voice applications that run on VMware vSphere™ 4.

Mitel has the following unified communications applications that are now VMware Ready™ and available to customers. They include:

o Mitel Unified Communicator® (UC) Advanced
o Mitel Contact Center Solutions
o Mitel Enterprise Manager

Mitel’s software approach offers organizations choice and flexibility in deploying unified communications solutions from the data center with the ability to run Mitel’s call control and applications on industry-standard servers in a VMware environment.

The Mitel solution leverages the VMware platform to enable organizations of all sizes to build internal clouds that transform IT into a dynamic, flexible service that delivers efficiency, control and choice within their infrastructures while dramatically lowering capital and operating costs.

The solution maximizes hardware utilization, simplifies application management, enhances applications performance, and streamlines IT’s business continuity objectives.

Continuing Mitel’s rollout of software solutions, VMware Ready releases of Unified Communicator Advanced, Contact Center Solutions, and Enterprise Manager are available now. Mitel MCD on VMware will be available Q1 2010.

For more details, please visit: http://www.mitel.com/DocController?documentId=33619

Quotes:

“Until now, the process of virtualizing voice has been quite difficult. The reason is latency; while latency is accepted and even expected for certain applications, it is not an option for real-time applications such as voice. Together, Mitel and VMware have solved this complex challenge, and as a result, users will experience voice just as they always have, while their organizations enjoy the significant benefits of virtualizing this application.” – Stephen Beamish, Vice-President Marketing and Strategic Partnerships, Mitel.

“VMware and Mitel are paving the way for virtualizing voice applications so that customers can now apply the benefits of virtualization to their unified communications strategies. With the groundbreaking performance provided by VMware vSphere™ 4 and the collaboration between our companies, customers of all sizes can capture the benefits of virtualization for voice applications, offering greater efficiency, control and choice for customers while lowering costs and increasing resource utilization.” – Parag Patel, Vice President, Alliances, VMware.

“Everyday we have more customers approaching us about combining their business applications with their real-time communications applications in a virtualized environment in their data centre.The leading work Mitel and VMware are doing to enable this is critically important, allowing customers to further capitalize on this growing trend.” – Ben Treadway, President and CEO, Fulton Communications

I.  What is Section 179?
II.  How to Use it to Your Advantage
III.  Example
IV.  One Step Further

WHAT IS SECTION 179?

We’ve all heard of it. Chances are people have tried to explain it multiple times in different ways. We know it is somehow related to a business’ tax liability. But do we really know what Section 179 means and how it can benefit you as a business trying to keep up with technology in these tough times?

First, let’s start with a very clean and clear definition of what the term “Section 179” is referring to. Tax benefits, including the Section 179 provision that aided businesses in acquiring new equipment in 2008 were extended to 2009 when President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) on February 17th, 2009.

Under Internal Revenue Code Section 179, businesses are allowed to expense up to $250,000 on most equipment or software placed in service during the tax year 2009. Additionally, you are able to expense up to 50% of the remaining figure under the depreciation bonus provision.

According to the Monitor Daily (www.monitordaily.com), the Associated Equipment Distributors has sponsored a website that explains the provisions in more detail and provides a tax calculator (www.depreciationbonus.org) to illustrate examples of deductions.

HOW TO USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

So what does this mean to your business? As many of us are experiencing today, a good number of you are sitting on the fence and “waiting to see what happens” before you make a buying decision.

Unfortunately, during the economic times we’re in when your business is not moving or expanding and you’re trying to hold off on buying new equipment, companies like AmeriTel are left trying to find something else to spur movement on behalf of yous. We recognize the impact our technology can have on your business, perhaps more so now than ever, but unless we can find a compelling reason for you to make a purchasse, we are out of the game.

This is where Section 179 can come in to play. Your business has limited time to take advantage of this benefit. In order to use Section 179, the equipment must be purchased and installed during the 2009 tax year. This gives us an “impending event” on which to encourage movement by yous, but which in the end benefits both you as you and us as a value added technology implementation company. So just how compelling is the proposition to you as a customer to implement our technology now in order to reap the benefits of Section 179? Let’s use an example to illustrate just how beneficial this can be for you.

EXAMPLE: YOU PUCHASE A NEW TELEPHONE SYSTEM FOR $50,000

If you purchase and deploy this technology during tax year 2009, you can write off the entire amount of the phone system as long as you have not already exceeded the $250,000 limit of total equipment. Assuming your business is in the 35% tax bracket, you will generate $17,500 in tax savings this year ($50,000 x 35%). In other words, your net investment in our telephone system will only be $32,500 ($50,000 cost – $17,500 tax savings) if you implement it now!

On the other hand, if you put off the purchase and the Section 179 benefit expires, this same scenario would yield you only a $3,500 tax savings ($50,000 x 20% MACRS depreciation = $10,000 deduction x 35% tax bracket).

Now let’s assume you plan to implement $350,000 worth of equipment this year, including our $50,000 telephone system. In this case, under normal circumstances your business could take advantage of the standard 20% MACRS depreciation, giving you a $70,000 deduction ($350,000 x 20%) resulting in a savings of $24,500 ($70,000 x 35%) assuming a 35% tax bracket.

However, by implementing this equipment in the 2009 tax year, your savings soar. Section 179 allows you to write off $250,000 up front, leaving the you with a depreciable basis of $100,000 ($350,000 – $250,000). A 50% bonus depreciation means you can depreciate another $50,000 this year ($100,000 x 50%), leaving you with a depreciable basis of $50,000 ($100,000 – $50,000). Finally the standard MACRS depreciation means your business can deduct an additional $10,000 this tax year ($50,000 x 20%). All together, this means you now have a total deduction for 2009 of $310,000 ($250,000 + $50,000 + $10,000), as opposed to $70,000 using just the standard MACRS depreciation. The end result, again assuming a 35% tax bracket, is a $108,500 tax saving to you ($310,000 x 35%). Now, instead of a typical ‘after-tax’ cost of $325,500, your business sees an ‘after-tax’ cost of $241,500!

So by educating you on the Section 179 benefits and encouraging you to implement our technology this year as opposed to pushing off the purchase, your business has essentially saved nearly $20,000 on our $50,000 phone system! What business in today’s market would knowingly turn down that kind of impact on your bottom line?  Would you?

ONE STEP FURTHER

Now that we have shown you just how much you stand to benefit from Section 179 if you implement our technology now, we have the opportunity to take things one step further and truly enter the realm of becoming a trusted advisor to you. We can do this by combining the tools at our disposal.

Let’s revisit our example of you wishing to purchase a new $50,000 telephone system from us. Remember, we have shown you that you stand to save $17,500 if you purchase the system this year, meaning your net investment is only $32,500. One thing we may often hear from businesses like yours in this position is that, while the prospect of saving nearly $20,000 is certainly attractive, it is difficult to get past putting out the initial capital to acquire the equipment. One important question for you to ask yourself is if you plan to buy the equipment at any point over the next few years. If the answer is ‘yes’, then it only makes sense to take advantage of the Section 179 savings. But how can we make our proposition even more compelling to encourage some actual movement on your part?

This is where leasing can become a strong addition to the solution. Instead of proposing that you outlay the initial $50,000 today, youcan purchase the equipment using a dollar out lease, which compounds the impacts to your bottom line for the 2009 tax year. By utilizing leasing, you can still benefit from the savings, but you don’t have the worry of outlaying significant capital, which may be more precious now than ever.

Instead, you can make monthly payments that are a fraction of your savings, and an even smaller fraction of what you would have had to expend to purchase the equipment and take advantage of Section 179! If your business purchased a $50,000 phone system this month, you would likely make less than $2,500 in payments this year and still realize around $17,500 in tax savings. In other words, your 2009 tax savings actually outsize your cost! As a matter of fact, you could use your 2009 tax savings to cover your monthly payments, meaning you can get the new technology you need and want today and essentially spend none of your own capital for the next 18 months!

Finally, what about those who see the need to purchase the technology this year, but are still reluctant to even make the small monthly payments to obtain the tax savings? This may be an opportunity to help you with deferred payments. In other words, the potential is there for you to obtain the technology you need today, realize the significant tax savings resulting from Section 179 and make no payments this year! We will help improve your business communications, help you generate significant tax savings on that investment and not require any capital expenditures to get those things…

NOTE: All figures used above are merely examples and are based on assumptions that may not apply to your business or to your lease. This is not tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor to be certain as to how Section 179 will apply to your specific situation.  Please contact your AmeriTel representative to see about how Section 179 can benefit your specific needs for a new phone system today.