Vertical Introduces InstantOffice 7.0

Offers Customers Greater Productivity and Lower Costs Through SIP and a Broader Array of Phone Options

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (January 16, 2006) – Vertical Communications (ASFT.OB), a leading provider of next-generation phone systems and voice applications that help businesses better serve their customers, today announced Vertical InstantOffice 7.0, the new release of the company’s award-winning integrated communications platform for retailers and other large, distributed enterprises. InstantOffice 7.0 takes advantage of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) standard, which allows customers to create a true channel to manage voice across their entire networks. Built on Microsoft Windows 2003, InstantOffice 7.0 demonstrates Vertical’s continued commitment to helping businesses increase sales, enhance customer loyalty and reduce operational costs.

“Vertical InstantOffice was designed as a unified platform, to make it simple for our customers to streamline the need for multiple devices,” said Bill Tauscher, Vertical’s Chairman and CEO. “In InstantOffice 7.0, we have made it even easier for our customers to use the latest voice, data and application services technologies. In leveraging SIP, we are providing our customers with a critical advantage for better serving their customers and thus creating the opportunity for more loyal and profitable customer relationships.”

Designed for retailers with hundreds or thousands of stores, InstantOffice 7.0 is a integrated communications platform that consolidates voice, data networking and voice applications, thus allowing customers to track, manage and optimize voice communications in a flexible, timely way to support their business goals. Because these organizations are continually looking for more cost-effective ways to provide better customer service, InstantOffice 7.0 now leverages SIP to provide the greater productivity benefits and lower costs delivered through Voice over IP (VoIP). In particular, VoIP’s rich routing and historical reporting capabilities help meet retailers’ needs to enhance business processes, profitability and customer service.

Importantly however, InstantOffice 7.0 does not force customers to commit to a pure IP environment. Comprehensive voice services, including robust IP-PBX capabilities, a VoIP gateway, voice mail and automated attendant services, are integrated with powerful data networking functionality, including router, secure Internet and Ethernet LAN connectivity. This open, standards-based platform offers investment protection for existing resources and allows customers to leverage new technologies as they emerge and as their business needs dictate. As part of the company’s open IP approach, InstantOffice 7.0 allows customers to choose the best mix of phones for their businesses, including digital, analog, wireless and IP phones.

In InstantOffice 7.0, Vertical is now offering customers a broad choice of SIP phones. The family of Vertical SIP phones now includes three models that are designed specifically for the business user – the 9112i, 9133i and 480i. The addition of these SIP end points makes the Vertical terminals portfolio even more comprehensive. Furthermore, InstantOffice also now supports a range of soft phones that transform desktop or laptop computers into versatile communications platforms, enabling remote and mobile workers to stay connected and productive. The new soft phones offer a rich set of productivity features including programmable soft keys and dynamic context sensitive keys.

InstantOffice 7.0 is currently available. For more information, please call 800-914-9985 or visit: www.vertical.com.

About Vertical
Vertical Communications, Inc. is a leading provider of phone systems and voice applications that help businesses boost revenue, increase productivity and provide superior customer service. Vertical’s products and solutions help companies of all sizes – from small and medium-sized businesses to large, distributed enterprises – including CVS/pharmacy, Household International and Apria Healthcare. Vertical is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. and delivers its solutions through a worldwide network of systems integrators, resellers and distributors. For more information, please visit the company’s Website at www.vertical.com.

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"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
This release 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 release address a variety of subjects, including, without limitation, the value that our customers may or may not place upon our products, including our new Vertical InstantOffice 7.0 release; the ability of our products to perform as we anticipate in any individual customer’s telephony environment, including, without limitation, the ability to improve the financial results of our customers; and the perceived value our products have for our customers. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements: the risk that our customers may not perceive that our products, including the new Vertical InstantOffice 7.0 release, have value; the risk that the use of our products may fail to achieve the desired results in our customer’s telephony environment, the risk that our products may fail to improve the financial performance of our customers; and the risk that our current and potential customers may fail to perceive the value that we ascribe to our product offerings, or difficulties and other factors detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its most recent filings on Form 10-K.

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

Press Contact :
Julie Blake
Emerge Public Relations
jblake@emergepr.com
617-729-3174