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Description of Business	3 Months Ended
Description of Business	Dec. 31, 2011
Nature Of Operations [Abstract]
Description of Business	1. Description of Business ShoreTel, Inc. and its subsidiaries (referred herein as “the Company”) is a leading provider of Pure Internet Protocol, or IP, unified communications systems for enterprises. The Company's systems are based on its distributed software architecture and switch-based hardware platform which enable multi-site enterprises to be served by a single telecommunications system. The Company's systems enable a single point of management, easy installation and a high degree of scalability and reliability, and provide end users with a consistent, full suite of features across the enterprise, regardless of location. As a result, management believes that the Company's systems enable enhanced end user productivity and provide lower total cost of ownership and higher customer satisfaction than alternative systems.