Vertical Expands Features in SBX Converged IP Telephony Solution

Vertical Communications, a leading provider of next-generation IP-based phone systems and voice applications announced today significant enhancements to the award-winning SBX IP 320, a converged IP telephony system developed in partnership with LG-Nortel. Today’s availability of Release 2.5 provides improved mailbox management and new call management features to help small businesses further increase productivity and efficiency.

SBX IP 320 is a small business telephony system that incorporates enterprise class features, integrated voice mail/auto attendant, Voice over IP (VoIP), CTI, Conferencing, IP soft phone support and multi-site networking for single- and multi-location small businesses.

SBX IP 320 Release 2.5 Enhancements

In addition to its already comprehensive feature set, Release 2.5 offers a number of high-value new capabilities which are available through a simple free software upgrade. Among the notable enhancements:

• Improved Mailbox Management
  • The same digit keypresses achieve the same result whether CO or local, digital or SLT
  • Zero out to operator, pound out to reach another mailbox
  • System prompts adjusted for clarity
  • Bypass greeting w/ digit 1
  • Callback and VM buttons get you into the mailbox even if there are no messages
• Expanded Call Management Functionality
  • Urgent message status — Callers can flag a message as urgent
  • Display the number and type (New-Urgent-Saved) of messages on the telephone LCD
  • Announce New-Urgent-Saved totals when logging in
  • Send internal voice mail — record a new message for another mailbox
  • Callback to sender — allows a call to be placed to the party leaving the message including external and intercom calls

“The telephone is the lifeline of our business. Our insurance business is a high volume business and with that comes a high volume of calls from potential clients and current customers. Our ability to satisfy customer needs quickly is how we build loyalty and grow our business. When one office is experiencing high call volumes or when we need backup assistance at another office, we simply program the SBX IP 320 to roll calls over. It all boils down to flexibility to meet business needs and the SBX IP 320 delivers,” said Arthur Martinez, President, Martinez & Associates, Inc.

“We recently replaced our Avaya legacy system with the SBX IP 320, the installation and cutover was painless and easy. We are extremely pleased with our investment, the SBX IP 320 turned out to have far more features for the money than other systems we reviewed,” said Ken Hemry, Hemry, Hemry, & McDonial Law Firm

According to Steve Davidson, President of U.S. Infortel Corp (www.usinfotel.com) an authorized Vertical dealer, “The SBX IP 320 is a great entry level system for those clients that are simply looking for an affordable phone system but want extra features. It goes in and stays in; we never have to go back!”

“The rapid pace of SBX evolution is a direct result of significant cooperative development with Vertical channel partners and end-customers to identify and deliver new high-value features,” said Peter Bailey, Sr. Vice President Product Management and Business Development for Vertical Communications. “The combination of world-class quality, hundreds of features, VoIP support, simple install tools, and a fantastic price-point make SBX IP 320 the clear leader in small business telephony systems.”

“In conjunction with this release we are also excited to announce the Vertical SBX IP 320 Webinar series. Our SBX experts will be presenting a range of topics submitted from our dealer community via V-Connect, our new dealer Web portal” said Bailey.

Using V-Connect, dealers enjoy direct, two-way communication with Vertical technical, sales and marketing teams to receive the critical information they need to provide the best IP solutions to business customers. Dealers can also communicate with other registered Vertical dealers through blogs.

“We believe achieving transparency and a spirit of partnership are paramount to fostering successful relationships with our channel partners, and the introduction of V-Connect represents a significant step towards this goal,” said Bailey.

About SBX IP 320

VoIP is made simple with Vertical SBX IP 320. It’s easy to manage, easy to install and easy to use. Developed in partnership with LG-Nortel, a worldwide leader in telecommunications and strategic partner of Vertical Communications, SBX IP 320 supports both traditional and IP endpoints as well as SIP trunking in a single system providing businesses with complete flexibility on when and how VoIP is deployed, offering large enterprise-class features at a small business price.

The SBX IP 320 can be purchased through Vertical’s network of over 1,800 Vertical Business Partners. To learn more about SBX IP 320, please call 877-VERTICAL or visit www.sbxip320.com.

About Vertical Communications, Inc.

Vertical Communications is one of the largest telephony vendors in North America and a global leader in next-generation IP-based business communications systems and applications, 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 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 SBX IP 320; 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 SBX IP 320, 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 SBX IP 320 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, and SBX IP 320 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.