At the end of the year, most start looking back and reflecting on how it went. Those people are usually not working in a business, as this is the time when most of them start looking toward the coming year. ShoreTel (News - Alert), for example, has made some plans and predictions for 2013, but hasn’t forgotten all that it’s done to get to this point in 2012.

The past year has been a good one for ShoreTel. It acquired M5 Networks (News - Alert) in March, gaining a hosted UC portfolio along with new customers, new channels, and a good foothold into hosted solutions. It provided UC solutions to universities and insurance companies and more, including presenting a keynote at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Yes, it’s been a busy year for ShoreTel, and in this industry, that’s never a bad thing.

Of course, there were also some trends in 2012 that ShoreTel’s officers found noteworthy. 2012 was the year of the cloud, with cloud-based UC being implemented and expanding at an impressive rate. Customers are seeing the value of UC in the cloud, so it’s been adopted at a great rate. Still, that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what awaits in 2013.

ShoreTel has quite a bit planned for 2013. It has the chance to make UC apps in the cloud available to premise-based customers, so it’s working on a hybrid architecture approach dubbed “ShoreTEl Connect”.This will bring the cloud apps and services to on-premise customers, while applications, such as ShoreTel Mobility, will be available as cloud services.

“ShoreTel Connect sprung from the need to give customers a choice in deployment models along with growth and expansion options,” says Kevin Gavin (News - Alert), ShoreTel’s CMO. “If a business prefers to remain with an on-premise solution, ShoreTel Connect will offer a path that allows the enterprise to enable specific cloud-based applications or services that will augment their existing premise-based solution. The two different delivery models are no longer an either/or equation. The customer can achieve the best of both.”

There are also some predictions for the tech industry from ShoreTel. The company recognizes that UC is still young, and that the cloud has made it more widespread and applicable. In 2013, it predicts that cloud-based UC solutions will continue to grow and become more applicable and viable to even more businesses and industries. Furthermore, hybrid solutions will also see a great boost, as they can provide continuity across devices and the same experience to all users.

2012 was a good year for ShoreTel, as well as cloud-based UC as a whole. Will 2013 prove to be just as good? The signs are pointing to “yes,” if not better. ShoreTel’s got a lot in store for us, let’s see how it goes.

To find out more about Bernard Gutnick, Senior Director - Product Marketing, and Shore Tel, visit the company at ITEXPO Miami 2013, taking place Jan. 29- Feb 1, in Miami, Florida. Gutnick is speaking during “How Consumer Demand Drives Video Adoption Across Devices and UC Platforms.” For more information on ITEXPO Miami 2013 click here.