Vertical Equips Reseller Channel With New Solution Selling Resource

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Recognizing that seminar selling is one of the most effective ways to produce qualified opportunities and build credibility as experts in local markets, Vertical Communications, a leading provider of next-generation IP-based phone systems and voice applications, today introduced its new ‘Seminar-in-a-Box' program to its reseller channel. U.S.-based Vertical Wave™ resellers and Internationally-based Vertical Wave distributors can leverage the free ‘Seminar-in-a-Box' resources to host a successful seminar in their area – from planning the event, sending invitations and tracking responses, executing the event, and managing post-seminar follow-up. The seminar program, which focuses on ways small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can cut communications costs, was developed to make it easier for partners to offer solutions to their customers instead of competing simply on the traditional feature/function/price approach.

"We've found that holding seminars for local businesses has been a great way to build awareness and win new customers," said Karen Schneider, Executive Vice President and co-founder of Voice Systems, a 25-year old MA-based telephony integrator and Vertical business partner. "Vertical's new ‘Seminar-in-a-Box' program makes it easy to manage seminar activity because it gives us all the easy-to-use resources necessary to convey professionalism and help us project that we are the company to turn to for business communication solutions."

‘Seminar-in-a Box' is the latest valuable addition to Vertical's new V-Connect (http://vconnect.vertical.com) dealer website introduced earlier this week. V-Connect allows dealers to directly connect to critical information and people related to Vertical products and business activities through an easy-to-use and highly interactive Web-based system. Like V-Connect, the ‘Seminar-in-a-Box' program was developed in collaboration with Vertical partners.

The ‘Seminar-in-a-Box' program provides the tools required to host a seminar along with complete step-by-step instructions to help certified Wave partners to be successful with seminar selling, including:

• An account with RegOnline™, a 3rd party event management tool that gives partners the ability to create a customized online event registration page with a unique URL. RegOnline manages online registration, confirmation, e-mail reminders, and follow-ups – automatically.
• Three unique e-mail invitations to send to prospects.
• An illustrated Seminar Success Guide that helps anyone, regardless of experience, plan and execute a successful Wave seminar; the guide includes information on all aspects of event management, from selecting a location to sending invitations to planning a budget, and more.
• Seminar Planning Worksheet – just enter the target event data to see what needs to be done and when.
• A new "5 Ways to Cut Communications Costs with Vertical Wave" solution-oriented presentation and new live demo guidelines.
• Publicity templates to help promote the seminar to a partner's local press outlets.
• Sample attendee evaluation form for seminar feedback.

"We're extremely pleased to be delivering one of the industry's most comprehensive sales and marketing tools, again developed in partnership with our dealers," said Dick Anderson, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Vertical Communications. "The key message of this seminar program is timely given today's economic climate because it offers very specific ways that businesses can immediately cut their communications costs by slashing monthly carrier costs using SIP trunking, and substantially improve employee productivity through the use of "next generation" telephony applications, while minimizing hardware and software acquisition and ongoing management costs with an integrated VoIP solution." He added, "We will continue to invest in and deliver programs to our partner channel that provide value, address techniques for increasing sales success, improve business operations, and entice customers to invest in new converged/VoIP technology solutions."

About Vertical Communications

Vertical Communications is one of the largest telephony vendors in North America and a global leader in next-generation IP-based voice and data and digital communications systems for business, with a current installed base of over 200,000 customers. Vertical combines voice and data technologies with business process understanding to deliver integrated IP-PBX and application solutions that enhance customer service and business productivity. Vertical's customers are leading companies of all sizes, from small to large and distributed, and include CVS/pharmacy, Staples and Apria Healthcare. Vertical delivers its solutions through a worldwide network of over 1800 business partners. With headquarters in Cambridge MA, Vertical has sales, engineering and operations facilities in Charlottesville VA, Phoenix AZ, Santa Clara CA, Sarasota FL, Munich Germany and Hyderabad India. For more information about Vertical, please call 877-VERTICAL or visit our Website at www.vertical.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This document contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events, and these statements are subject to important facts and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this document address a variety of subjects, including, without limitation, statements about the benefits of certain of the Company's products, including, without limitation, the improved cost and customer service benefits for the Company's business partners and customers; the Company's assumptions about the future performance of ‘Seminar-in-a-Box' program; the Company's ability to enhance its revenue opportunities in the IP-PBX marketplace; the Company's ability to continue providing products to the IP-PBX marketplace; the Company's ability to continue to certify additional Internet Telephony Service Providers in the IP-PBX marketplace and others. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements: the risk that the Company may fail to achieve the anticipated benefits from ‘Seminar-in-a-Box' program, including, without limitation, failing to obtain the desired benefits for the Company's dealers and customers; the risk that the Company's assumptions about the future performance of ‘Seminar-in-a-Box' program may prove to be incorrect; the risk that the Company may be unable to become a significant player within the IP-PBX telephony market; the risk that the Company will not be able to certify its products with additional Internet Telephony Service Providers and other risks and assumptions detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent filing of the Company's Form 10Q.

Trademark Information

Vertical Communications and the Vertical Communications logo and combinations thereof are trademarks, and Vertical Networks and Vodavi are registered trademarks of Vertical Communications, Inc. All other brand and product names are used for identification only and are the property of their respective holders.

Copyright 2008 Business Wire All Rights Reserved.