Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), a global leader in unified communications (UC), today announced the close of its acquisition of HP’s Visual Collaboration business, and the agreement under which Polycom will serve as an exclusive partner to HP for telepresence and certain video UC solutions, including both resale and internal HP deployments. The acquisition and agreement doubles Polycom’s immersive telepresence marketshare and further strengthens Polycom’s leadership in the UC video market, which is growing rapidly as businesses of all sizes around the world are using video collaboration as a strategic and cost-effective way to improve productivity and create high-performance workplaces. In addition to HP, Polycom works with a large and diverse channel community representing multiple routes to market, including: distribution partners, value added resellers, service providers and systems integrators. Polycom’s uncompromising commitment to open standards and 100% channel orientation remains unchanged.

The two companies also recently agreed to make Polycom’s enterprise-grade video applications available for HP’s webOS platform, in keeping with Polycom’s commitment to enable mobile UC as a key element in its UC Everywhere™ vision.

Polycom CEO & President Andrew M. Miller

“Polycom is excited to close this acquisition and we welcome Halo customers to Polycom. We’re looking forward to our expanded strategic relationship with HP, to offer customers an end-to-end UC solution with an unparalleled user experience, open standards-based interoperability, the industry’s best TCO, investment protection through backwards- and forwards-compatibility, and ease of deployment,” said Andrew Miller, Polycom president and CEO. “HP has enormous global reach, and our broadened relationship with the company is another important step in meeting Polycom’s commitment to bring the most advanced and innovative UC solutions to market – from mobile video applications and UC software to room and immersive telepresence solutions. In addition, Polycom and HP share a strategic ally in Microsoft, and we believe our combined offerings will provide transformative benefits and value to customers worldwide.”

In the rapidly growing UC and telepresence markets, Polycom has emerged as a leader and continues to gain significant marketshare in both video endpoint solutions and video infrastructure. In the latest Wainhouse Research quarterly report on video conferencing and telepresence, “Wainhouse Spotcheck: Videoconferencing Q1 2011,” Polycom gained nine points vs. the previous quarter and extended its leadership in video endpoint unit shipments to 45 percent market share in Q1 2011. Polycom also grew three points sequentially in video infrastructure revenue (Polycom offers the UC Intelligent Core™ platform), as the overall video infrastructure market grew at 24 percent year-over-year.

The acquisition strengthens Polycom’s leadership position in the UC and telepresence markets by bringing HP’s installed base of visual collaboration products and technology together with Polycom’s customer base – the industry’s largest at about 1 million video systems. The acquisition includes the assets of HP’s Visual Collaboration business, including the Halo Products and Managed Services business. Polycom picks up customer sites with many Global 500 customers across 36 countries.

For current Halo and Halo Video Exchange Network (HEVN) customers, Polycom will deliver uninterrupted services and support– providing the same quality of experience and service level agreements these customers have enjoyed and expect. Polycom is also committed to providing interoperability between Halo deployments, Polycom telepresence systems and open-standards UC systems.

Polycom and HP’s Expanded Alliance
Under the terms of its agreements with HP, Polycom provides expertise in software technology and UC infrastructure and solutions, covering the full continuum of integrated and secure mobile, desktop, room and immersive telepresence solutions. HP provides its expertise and leadership in go-to-market strategies for UC solutions and will resell Polycom’s UC solutions including: mobile, personal and group UC devices, UC Intelligent Core software platform, UC managed services, and audio/video software.

Together, Polycom and HP empower collaboration, increase productivity, speed decision making and help create high-performance workplaces across industries and the globe by offering a tailored approach to customer requirements and supporting a variety of UC solutions that scale and evolve as business needs change.

“Clients are seeking ways to enable their employees to share information faster, increase responsiveness and ultimately improve productivity,” said Arthur Filip, vice president and general manager, Technology Consulting, HP. “HP works with clients to create their unique Unified Communications strategy, transforming their communications infrastructure to improve collaboration and business responsiveness. By collaborating with HP and Polycom, clients will benefit from an end-to-end UC solution that will address their needs today and in the future.”

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• polycom news
• gardner magic quadrant polycom 2011
• telepresence magic quadrant gartner
• magic quadrant polycom
• telecom oem news
• telepresence magic quadrant
• magic quadrant telepresence
• new telecom devices
• telecom equipment news
• andrew miller alcatel lucent

Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) today announced new video offerings designed for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that make it easier than ever to purchase, install, and operate high-quality, business-grade video collaboration solutions from Polycom. Today, Polycom introduced Polycom RealPresence Ready, its new comprehensive open video collaboration solution optimized for SMBs that delivers the highest quality video collaboration at the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). Polycom is also introducing with its partners new cloud-based offerings powered by the Polycom® UC Intelligent Core™ software platform to deliver affordable and secure video solutions on demand. Tailored for the tighter budgets and leaner staffs of emerging companies, these cost-effective solutions are integral to Polycom’s strategy to offer SMBs a fast on-ramp to the benefits of video collaboration and a flexible expansion path in line with their business growth.

“Polycom has built a strong business in the SMB market over many years with tens of thousands of customers across many industries that choose Polycom for our commitment to interoperability, highest quality and lowest TCO,” said Susan Hayden, executive vice president, Polycom. “As the demand for affordable and easy-to-use video solutions continues to grow, we’re doubling down on our SMB initiatives and accelerating the pace at which we’ll bring innovative software solutions to market—delivered on premises or from the cloud to any end point: room systems, desktops and mobile, while ensuring the best video experience at the most compelling price point. When customers choose Polycom open solutions, they can be assured that all their communications systems will work together seamlessly today and as their businesses grow.”

Polycom Video Solutions: The Best Choice for SMBs
Polycom RealPresence Ready is a comprehensive video solution for SMBs that delivers business-grade performance in terms of quality, reliability, security, and scalability at an affordable price and with the ease-of-use that growing businesses need. Demonstrating Polycom’s commitment to assuring interoperability with open standards-based solutions, RealPresence Ready is fully backward and forward compatible with any communications system customers have today or may purchase in the future.

Comprehensive and easy to use. Makes it easy to purchase, deploy and manage business-grade video with a complete system that includes two Polycom HDX® 6000 room systems, one Polycom HDX® 7000 system, and five Polycom Telepresence m100 software licenses.
Business-grade quality, security, reliablity. Delivers high-quality, reliable and secure conversations with Polycom UltimateHD™ technology and patented innovations that ensure great experiences even in congested networking environments. Polycom video is the highest quality available with the lowest consumption of network resources – using H.264 coding and compression technology that delivers life-like video experiences while consuming up to 50 percent less network bandwidth than alternative products.
Cost-effective for the lowest TCO. Combining a competitive entry-level price with the lowest total cost of ownership, Polycom RealPresence Ready can be financed for less than the cost of one business trip per month. Polycom solutions are modular so that SMB customers can add innovative components such as Polycom® Eagle Eye Director, Polycom telepresence m500 for tablets, and Polycom VVX® 1500 business video phone down the road – bringing the full Polycom video experience to SMBs as they expand. To assure interoperability with other systems and products that SMBs may have in place, Polycom systems are based on open standards and provide native integration with industry-leading partners and products, including Microsoft Lync. With Polycom, SMBs can interoperate with the broadest range of video collaboration systems, and be assured of a cost-effective growth path.

“There’s something about seeing the person you’re working with that a voice alone can’t provide,” said Gene Crosby, chief operating officer at Jackson Spalding, an Atlanta, Georgia-based firm of 80 creative professionals who develop advertising, media, and public relations campaigns. “We need to be able to communicate face-to-face, internally and with our clients, even if we aren’t in the same place. When looking for affordable, high-quality and secure video conferencing capabilities, we needed to weigh the investment carefully. Choosing Polycom telepresence solutions was easily the smartest purchase we made last year, and we’ve seen amazing results. Polycom improves our productivity and the work we do, and our employees and clients feel much more engaged.”

Polycom’s Go-To-Market Ecosystem Expanding to Meet Growing Demand from SMBs
Polycom’s SMB customer base is growing from virtually every corner of the SMB market, across a wide variety of industries including financial services, manufacturing, professional services, education, retail, non-profit, and media and entertainment. Polycom continues to aggressively build out its successful telesales program to reach more SMB customers and to simplify the purchasing and deployment of video communications systems through VARs and service providers. Polycom’s partner ecosystem and open collaboration network include thousands of partners and resellers with deep expertise in meeting the unique needs of SMBs around the world, offering flexibility and choice in products and services that customers can be assured will interoperate.

Polycom also works with companies such as Regus to enable travelers and businesses of all sizes to reserve Polycom-equipped video conferencing rooms. This service is especially helpful for SMBs with mobile employees or offices that do not have dedicated video conferencing space and limited IT resources, providing yet another affordable deployment option for SMBs.

Cloud Solutions from the Polycom Ecosystem
Launching this week, a new cloud-based “Virtual Room” service from 8×8, Inc., enabled by the Polycom UC Intelligent Core software platform, will include Polycom HDX video solutions and Polycom VVX business media phones. 8×8′s “Virtual Room” service allows users to join meetings via video and audio devices as well as web telephony and smart mobile phone clients.

Another new offering from Polycom’s ecosystem is BroadSoft’s BroadCloud Video service, a cloud-based, hosted infrastructure that integrates with existing service provider offerings and Polycom UC solutions to create more video conferencing service-option packages for SMBs to choose from. Additional Polycom service provider partners plan to announce cloud-based video solutions in the coming months.

Polycom, in concert with the Open Visual Collaboration Network, is also working with many partners and service providers to offer cloud-based video conferencing services to companies of all sizes with a common vision to make video collaboration between people and devices as simple and reliable as making a phone call – regardless of network, provider, end-point or technology.

Polycom UC Solutions
Polycom UC solutions bring people face-to-face, creating a highly collaborative environment that significantly improves learning, retention, and engagement as well as overall productivity and efficiency. Polycom helps companies of all sizes, in all industries, become high-performance workplaces where people collaborate on-demand between any location, over any network, with their device of choice to enable UC Everywhere™ by Polycom.

Polycom UC offerings include HD voice and video solutions for personal, mobile, group, and immersive telepresence experiences – using up to half the video bandwidth required by other solutions. The UC Intelligent Core technology is the only platform that connects up to 75,000 devices and enables 25,000 simultaneous calls with 100 percent auto-failover, providing the best-in-class user experience. With a broad ecosystem of strategic partners, Polycom provides the most comprehensive, reliable, and scalable collaboration platform for managing and delivering UC solutions to employees, partners and suppliers – on premises or from the cloud.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• POLYCOM M500
• m500 polycom
• HDX Media Center 7000
• polycom 7000 system
• client m500 polycom
• polycomm500
• polycom realpresence room price
• polycom telepresence m100 alternatives
• polycom telepresence m500
• setup polycom realpresence

Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) received Unified Capabilities Approved Product List (UC APL) certification from the U.S. Department of Defense for several components of its Unified Communications (UC) Intelligent Core infrastructure platform – the Polycom RMX 2000 and RMX 4000 scalable multipoint conferencing platforms and the Polycom RMX Serial Gateway for connecting Polycom and standards-based telepresence and video conferencing systems to serial (V.35/RS-449/RS-530) networks.

The UC APL, as tested under the authority of the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC), certifies that the product in question has passed a stringent set of security-based information assurance and interoperability tests to ensure the solution can be placed on the Defense Switched Network (DSN). UC APL certification is one of the strongest security certifications specific to UC devices anywhere in the world.

Polycom RMX 2000 and RMX 4000 support telepresence and video teleconferencing (VTC) applications from desktops to conference rooms, and are designed with intelligence built-in—including dynamic resource allocation, network flexibility and reliability, and cost-effective scalability. The Polycom RMX Serial Gateway is a new solution developed specifically for Federal government applications that require secure connections over ISDN and serial networks.

The U.S. Federal government uses telepresence and VTC solutions to enable communication among strategy planners, command and war fighters in the field. VTC is widely used for distance learning, disaster preparedness, telemedicine, and to enable a remote workforce in response to BRAC and telework initiatives. The use of immersive telepresence for remote training and logistics is used throughout many theatres of operation.

“Use of video communications within the Department of Defense, and the Federal government as a whole, continues to grow. The ability to effectively communicate face to face at a distance adds value to many applications,” said Terry Peck, IT Specialist, and member of the Polycom Federal Customer Council. “It is important for us to meet application requirements and achieve the required certifications for operating video communications in secure network environments.”

“The U.S government has some of the most progressive and extensive video communications applications anywhere in the world. Polycom is committed to delivering fully integrated solutions that meet the stringent scalability, interoperability, quality and security requirements of this important market,” said Barry Morris, vice president of Polycom Federal. “The Polycom UC Intelligent Core infrastructure platform offers unrivaled scalability and resiliency for mission-critical applications, along with flexibility to integrate with core unified communications environments. Today’s announcement includes several key certifications in a roadmap that will bring these unique benefits to our Federal customers.”

Polycom recognizes that implementing secure communication technologies, validating standards and interoperability is, in many cases, a mandatory requirement for government customers and has created the Polycom Government Security website to provide easy access to related information and resources, including a new whitepaper on video conferencing security.

Additional information about Polycom products currently on the Department of Defense (DoD) Unified Capabilities Approved Products List (UC APL), the DISA’s Memorandum of Certification, and the latest software releases are available on the Polycom Certification & Accreditation page.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• polycom uc infrastructure exam

Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) has signed a multi-year, strategic global agreement with Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) to deliver integrated end-to-end unified communications (UC) and to improve customers’ business productivity. Under the agreement, Polycom plans to develop and market standards-based UC solutions that span the enterprise, small-to-medium business, and government markets, that will encompass software, hardware, networking and services, and will enable customers to improve business productivity and reduce travel, telecom and IT operating costs.

Polycom and Microsoft share a vision for business productivity solutions built on standards-based platforms that work with the tools and applications people know and use today. The companies’ strategic agreement is a major step towards streamlining communications across messaging, video and voice with connected applications and devices.

“Microsoft and Polycom solutions play a critical role within our current and future unified communications strategy,” said Martin Smale, IT director at NDS, a News Corp. company. “We’re already benefiting from improved collaboration, increased productivity, and significant ROI based on our existing UC network, and we’re looking forward to leveraging the expanded offerings from two of our most valued vendors in the UC space.”

“Our research shows that nearly 70 percent of the companies considering a unified communications solution are thinking of deploying Microsoft Office Communications Server,” said Brent Kelly, senior analyst and partner at Wainhouse Research. “These enterprises need seamless integration and interoperability between Office Communicator on the desktop and personal, group, and telepresence video solutions like those offered by Polycom for executive offices, meeting suites, and conference rooms. By working together, Microsoft and Polycom are making it easier for organizations to have a true end-to-end unified communications environment, which includes high definition video.”

Offering a broad portfolio of integrated solutions spanning voice, video and application integration for Microsoft UC, this agreement makes Polycom a member of Microsoft’s key strategic global alliance for the company’s UC business. As part of this long-term strategic agreement, each company is investing in product development, sales, and marketing. Through resources, investments, and strong field engagement, Polycom and Microsoft will deliver rich, compelling UC solutions, offering customers the flexibility to deploy the features that help them lower their costs, improve productivity and meet their unique business needs.

“Microsoft and Polycom are committed to a roadmap that will deliver interoperable UC solutions with choice and innovation in video conferencing and customer devices that will help transform enterprise communications,” said Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate vice president of Unified Communication at Microsoft. “By integrating video, voice, instant messaging and conferencing solutions, Microsoft and Polycom give customers the ability to be present, anytime, anywhere.”

“Polycom and Microsoft deliver a winning combination to our customers around the globe by delivering seamless, easy-to-use, high-definition communications at the click of a mouse,” said Andrew Miller, Polycom president and CEO. “Polycom is 100 percent committed to delivering best-in-breed, standards-based, fully interoperable UC solutions to market, and Microsoft is integral in helping us achieve this goal and meet the needs of our customers.”

Product Development
The roadmap entails Polycom developing a broad base of solutions for Microsoft Communications Server “14″ and beyond, including:

• New and next-generation Polycom CX series endpoints optimized for Microsoft UC, featuring Polycom’s market-leading HD video and voice technologies
• New, innovative room-based video systems designed specifically for enabling direct integration with Microsoft Communications Server “14″
• Additional interoperable solutions between Polycom’s existing and future video conferencing solutions

Global Polycom / Microsoft UC Go-to-Market Initiatives

• Sales resources and training
• Integrated marketing campaigns
• Collaboration to develop and support channel partners
• Polycom participation in multiple Microsoft Technology Centers around the globe, with active demos already available in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, London, and Paris
• Global governance and cadence around voice and video UC solutions
• Common messaging and industry presence to drive adoption of UC

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

As technology leaders convene in Washington D.C. for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) 2010, Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), a global leader in telepresence, video and voice communications, will profile for the first time several enhanced capabilities of its new CX IP phones before an audience of Microsoft partners. Via native integration with Microsoft Communications Server “14,” a business solution for presence, instant messaging, voice, video and web conferencing that connects people in new ways, anytime, anywhere, Polycom’s new CX IP phones deliver a more affordable, rich unified communications experience.

“The once clear lines between voice communications, video conferencing, telecom, and IT are disappearing, as these previously disparate technologies are unifying under groundbreaking platforms like Microsoft Communications Server ’14,’” said Garry Reichert, vice president of Strategic Partners at Polycom. “Microsoft is an important partner in the Polycom Open Collaboration Network, and with the CX series IP phones profiled at WPC 2010, we are offering real-world solutions for channel partners who are looking to break out of fast-disappearing niches and succeed in a world increasingly defined by end-to-end UC solutions that are complete, compelling and interoperable.”

Polycom Solutions Optimized for Microsoft Unified Communications
The Polycom CX series includes two new network-based IP desktop phones (CX500 and CX600) and the industry’s first and only IP conference phone (CX3000) designed for Communications Server “14.” The three new phones offer one of the most robust feature sets available for Microsoft Communications Server “14,” including Polycom HD Voice™ sound quality and the legendary ease of use of Polycom’s renowned hardware and ergonomic design.

Polycom will also demonstrate additional UC solutions that deliver a richer experience with Communications Server “14″ including the CX700 IP phone, CX5000 Unified Conference Station and Polycom HDX personal and room-based HD telepresence solutions. In addition, Polycom will show its integration with Microsoft in other areas including Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server to simplify the scheduling, joining, recording, streaming and rich content sharing for voice and video meetings. Polycom offers a comprehensive portfolio of integrated solutions spanning voice, video and application integration for Microsoft unified communications.

“At WPC, Microsoft partners from around the world will see how Polycom solutions maximize the reach of Communications Server ’14,’ while offering one of the highest-quality voice communications experiences delivered from Polycom HD Voice technology,” said Kirk Gregersen, senior director of Unified Communications at Microsoft Corp. “Microsoft has worked with Polycom to deliver exceptional voice and video experiences within a unified Microsoft environment. As our partners are learning this week, the CX series is an important part of that portfolio.”

CX IP Phones Features
All three new CX IP phones seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Communications Server “14,” independent of a PC, to provide enhanced unified communications to a broader set of use cases and environments. Some of the new enhancements include:

• Photo-enabled contact information for easier recognition
• Visual voicemail enables users to easily select only the voicemails they want to hear
• Viewable calendar information on phone and join meetings easily with one-click
• Automatic synchronization of call logs between both the phone and the Communicator “14″ PC client, saving users time by reducing the number of look-ups
• Simplified pin authentication for easy sign-in on any device
• “Better together” USB connectivity (CX600 and CX3000) to an associated PC, enabling single sign-in, click-to-dial from a PC and audio coordination between phone and PC.

Partner Opportunities
For WPC 2010 attendees, Polycom will spotlight how its CX series phones enable information workers to access the productivity-enhancing features of Communications Server “14,” delivering a personalized phone experience that makes telephony a more effective part of business communications. Polycom also plans to outline the opportunities the CX series offers to Microsoft and Polycom channel partners. For Microsoft partners new to Polycom, the CX line and Polycom’s video conferencing and telepresence solutions offer an opportunity to enhance the revenue potential of Microsoft UC sales through a comprehensive hardware, software and services solution. For Polycom partners, the CX series offers a way to solve customers’ UC application needs with a unique Polycom solution and benefit from the momentum and new user capabilities surrounding Microsoft Communications Server “14.”

Pricing and Availability
Polycom CX series phones are affordably priced from MSRP U.S. $199 for the CX500 IP phone, designed for use in public areas; $299 for the CX600 IP desktop phone; and $849 for the CX3000 IP conference phone. The new phones will be available in the fourth quarter of 2010. To see a demo of the new phones, visit Polycom at WPC booth no. 339.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• cx500 on alcatel pbx
• polycom cx500 sip
• polycom cx500 logs
• polycom cx500 ip phones
• polycom cx500 and cx600
• polycom cx phones - difference between cx500 and cx600
• intergrade outlook 2010 with polycom cx 600
• exclusively integrate
• enable conferencing on polycom cx500
• cx500/600

Polycom’s new President and CEO, Andrew Miller, has been appointed to serve on its Board of Directors, with a term as a director commencing immediately.

As previously announced on May 10, 2010, Mr. Miller was named president and chief executive officer. Prior to this, Mr. Miller served as Polycom’s executive vice president of Global Field Operations.

“Andy Miller brings a pace and collaborative style that is emblematic of the successful leader of today and tomorrow – one fully empowered by collaboration technologies,” said David DeWalt, Polycom chairman of the Board of Directors. “His successful 28-year track record and industry experience provide deep insight and vision into the collaboration marketplace and where it’s going.”

Polycom CEO & President Andrew M. Miller

Mr. Miller received his degree in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina. He is on the Board of Directors for BroadSoft (Nasdaq: BSFT), is a former chairperson for the YPO Stanford Executive Education Program, and a former fellow at the Aspen Institute.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• andrew miller named polycom ceo
• future of andrew miller
• miller ceo telecomm

Polycom CEO & President Andrew M. Miller

Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communications solutions, today announced its Board of Directors has named Andrew Miller president and chief executive officer, effective today.

He joined the Company in July 2009 as Executive Vice President of Global Field Operations. In that position he was responsible for Polycom’s go-to-market strategy, including the sales, channel, alliances, and sales engineering organizations.

A video and networking industry veteran, Andy has a brilliant 28-year track record of technology industry and sales achievement. Over the course of his career, Miller has led world-class sales organizations and driven growth for such companies as Cisco, where he held several leadership roles in sales and marketing from 1990 to 2001, and Tandberg, where he was CEO from 2002 to 2006. Immediately prior to joining Polycom, Mr. Miller was global president of IPC Information Systems, where he was responsible for sales, marketing, operations and engineering.

Andy holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina. He is on the board of directors for BroadSoft, is a former chairperson of the Young Presidents’ Organization/Stanford Executive Education Program, and a former fellow at the Aspen Institute.

Mr. Miller succeeds Robert Hagerty, who will step down as CEO, president, and chairman and is resigning from the Board. To facilitate a smooth transition, Mr. Hagerty will serve as an advisor to Mr. Miller and the Board. Concurrent with the CEO succession, David DeWalt, currently Polycom’s lead independent director, will assume the role of chairman of the Board of Directors. The Board plans to appoint Mr. Miller to the Board of Directors shortly following this year’s Annual Stockholders Meeting.

Mr. Miller, who joined Polycom in 2009 as executive vice president of Global Field Operations, has been successfully leading the Company’s strategic initiatives to transform Polycom’s go-to-market, build core strategic and service provider alliances, and launch the Polycom Open Collaboration Network.

“Andy Miller has been transformative in leading Polycom’s shift to a more customer-centric execution model, which has already resulted in significant growth for the Company,” said David DeWalt, Polycom chairman of the Board of Directors. “Andy’s industry track record, proven leadership, and customer skills make him the ideal CEO to take Polycom to the next level. I also want to thank Bob Hagerty for growing Polycom from $37M to $1.1B over his 13 year tenure and for recruiting Andy to the Company, enabling this seamless succession.”

“As the leading independent company in the fast-growing unified collaboration space, I believe Polycom is uniquely positioned to capture this significant market opportunity,” said Mr. Miller. “Polycom has unbelievable employee talent at all levels of the organization, an amazing customer base, and a strong array of strategic and channel partnerships. With the same passion, intensity, and efficiency that has already produced better than planned results, I look forward to leading Polycom to greater customer intimacy and a stronger profit model. I want to thank Bob for his many years of excellent leadership.”

“It has been an honor to have led such a talented group of directors, management members, and employees during my time at Polycom,” said Mr. Hagerty. “Andy is a perfect successor to lead Polycom through its next phase of growth. I am truly proud of what we have achieved thus far, and I believe Polycom has a tremendous opportunity in the exciting collaboration market.”

Mr. Miller has a 28-year proven track record in the video and networking industries. During his 11 years at Cisco, he held several senior leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, and Services. As CEO of Tandberg, another leading video solutions provider, he led the Company through a period of significant revenue and profit growth. Immediately prior to joining Polycom, he was global president of IPC Information Systems, a leading trading technology and network connectivity provider. Mr. Miller received his BS in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina. He is on the Board of Directors for BroadSoft, former chairperson for the Stanford Executive Education Program, and a former fellow at the Aspen Institute.

Mr. DeWalt joined the Polycom board of directors in November 2005 and is a technology industry veteran who currently serves as CEO and president of McAfee, Inc. Previously, Mr. DeWalt held various management positions at EMC, Oracle, and other leading software and technology companies.

Polycom will file a supplement to its proxy statement for its 2010 Annual Stockholders Meeting to reflect the above changes and that Mr. Hagerty is no longer a nominee for Polycom’s Board of Directors.

About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) is the global leader in telepresence, video, and voice solutions and a visionary in communications that empower people to connect and collaborate everywhere. Please visit www.polycom.com for more information.

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding future events and the future performance of the Company, including statements regarding the Company as being uniquely positioned to capture future market opportunity and growth, and our objectives of greater customer intimacy and a stronger profit model in the future. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, and in other reports filed by Polycom with the SEC. Polycom disclaims any intent or obligations to update these forward-looking statements.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• andrew m miller polycom

Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) today announced a portfolio of Unified Communications Professional Services delivered through Polycom Global Services, Polycom Open Collaboration Network partners, and certified Polycom partners designed to help customers successfully integrate Polycom voice and visual communications solutions into their unified communications (UC) environments.

The new services further the Polycom Open Collaboration Network strategy of providing open and interoperable collaboration solutions that give customers greater flexibility and investment protection for their UC environment. By working with leaders in unified communications and networking, such as Avaya, BroadSoft, HP, IBM, Juniper, Microsoft and Siemens, Polycom is able to deliver its productivity-enhancing and cost-saving telepresence, video and voice collaboration products as an integrated part of core UC environments, making the technologies easily accessible as part of the everyday workflow within a comprehensive solution that can be provisioned and centrally managed.

“Unified communications is critical to the overall productivity and success of our customers,” said Andrew Miller, executive vice president of global field operations, Polycom. “Polycom UC Professional Services provide the proper planning and deployment to help our customers maximize the benefits and value of their investments and deliver an accelerated return.”

In response to customer demand, the first available service focuses on integration of Polycom solutions within Microsoft UC environments. Polycom has teamed with Microsoft to provide a unified collaboration solution that integrates presence-based real-time IM, voice, video and data collaboration. Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2 provide IM and presence-enabled unified communications infrastructure. Polycom extends this user experience with one of the broadest portfolio of integrated voice and visual communication products for Microsoft environments, including optimized network-based IP phones; personal, room and immersive telepresence solutions; unified conferencing infrastructure; an integrated scheduling solution for Microsoft Outlook, and recording, streaming and digital signage solutions.

“By building on the integrated feature set in Office Communications Server, our industry partners provide customers with improved ways to stay connected and work together,” said Yancey Smith, director of product management for Office Communication Server at Microsoft. “Polycom has expanded the collaboration capabilities offered in Communications Server 2007 R2 to help customers realize higher productivity for their businesses.”

“Polycom Global Services helped us design and implement a highly reliable, distributed video network that will scale with our business needs and that lays the groundwork for seamless integration with our unified communications platform,” said Mary Genrich, director, Conferencing Services, Kimberly-Clark Corporation. “We are extremely pleased with the results and view Polycom as a valued business partner.”

The Polycom UC Professional Services include several stages to meet specific customer needs and support internal IT resources, including Solution Planning & Design, Pilot Solution Deployment, and Full Solution Deployment services. Service teams are balanced with qualified professionals to ensure success, including: experienced program managers to evaluate business needs and coordinate required vendors and service providers to deliver the solution; solution consultants to assess the integration benefits and evaluate existing and planned infrastructure components; network consultants to assess existing LAN and WAN services, define network requirements and develop upgrade plans as needed; deployment specialists to install and configure critical components and verify interoperability to support the enterprise IT team in understanding the new environment and developing appropriate operational processes.

“We are seeing increasing customer demand for UC solutions and services that include real-time voice and visual communications,” said Mike Brandofino EVP for Video and UC at AVI/SPL, a leading global integrator of audio and video systems and services. “Working with Polycom and leveraging our A/V and systems integration expertise, AVI/SPL is able to deliver best-in-class voice and video solutions seamlessly into Microsoft UC environments. We are able to help customers navigate through large and complex deployments that include UC platforms, local and wide area networks and IT management applications in order to create a fully integrated and truly unified communication and collaboration platform.”

Industry analyst firm Gartner forecasts the market for video conferencing services will reach nearly $3.9B in 2013, with a CAGR of 23.8% from 2008 – 2013.1

About the Polycom Open Collaboration Network
Leading unified communications and networking providers have joined the Polycom Open Collaboration Network to provide open and interoperable collaboration solutions that give customers greater flexibility and investment protection for their unified communications environment. The Polycom Open Collaboration Network enables Polycom to deliver its productivity-enhancing and cost-saving telepresence, video and voice collaboration products as an integrated part of core unified communication environments, making the technologies easily accessible as part of the everyday workflow within a comprehensive solution that is easy to deploy and manage.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communication solutions, today announced that its Polycom Architected Telepresence Experience™ (ATX) 300 customizable telepresence solution has been recognized by industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan with their North American Conferencing Equipment Customer Value Enhancement Award.

The Customer Value Enhancement Award is a prestigious recognition of Polycom’s accomplishments in the conferencing equipment market. This award acknowledges Polycom’s focus on enhancing the value that its customer receive, with its efforts to improve the return on investment for customers.

“As one of the leading vendors in the videoconferencing/telepresence industry, Polycom introduced the Polycom ATX 300 in 1H 2009 to provide a middle ground for customers who desire the key elements of the immersive telepresence experience but need customization for specific use cases and meeting room requirements,” said Krithi Rao, industry analyst at Frost and Sullivan. “The Polycom ATX 300 solution opens up telepresence to a much wider audience and offers flexibility without compromise on quality and performance. This leads to wider choice for customers, more opportunities for partners, and in turn better growth prospects for Polycom.”

The Polycom ATX 300 is a telepresence kit featuring technology components and software that is combined with planning, design, and implementation services from qualified AV integrator partners to create customized solutions for a broad range of industries and applications. The system can be used to create unique immersive telepresence environments customized with displays, furniture, lighting, acoustics, and décor. Even the touch panel controller can be customized with logos, languages, style and color scheme, and can control room elements such as lighting, window coverings, audio, and multimedia content to rooms displays.

“The ability for people to see each other clearly and share information and content instantly across distances can be applied to virtually any industry to enhance collaboration, improve productivity, and reduce costs,” said Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager, video communications, Polycom. “With the ability to customize telepresence for specific business needs, Polycom and its certified partners are helping customers create exciting new applications that are transforming how they operate and expanding what is possible in their businesses.”

The Polycom ATX 300 is part of a comprehensive portfolio of Polycom visual communication solutions that enable organizations to extend the productivity and cost-saving benefits of telepresence, video conferencing, desktop video collaboration, real-time video streaming, on-demand video content and digital signage across their operations.

Polycom visual communication solutions are based on established standards and open interoperability, so organizations can use them with the estimated two million standards-based video conferencing and telepresence systems in use today. Polycom solutions also support integration and interoperability with leading unified communications environments. The Polycom Open Collaboration Network is comprised of leading unified communications and network companies that share a vision around providing open and interoperable collaboration solutions that give customers greater flexibility and investment protection for their UC environment.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) today announced an expanded global agreement where Polycom’s complete portfolio of voice and video technologies, including joint go-to-market activity and future joint technology development, will be sold by HP.

Under the expanded agreement, Polycom video and voice solutions for unified communications and stand-alone operation will be sold and delivered through HP as part of the company’s Unified Communications and Collaboration Services portfolio. This will enable organizations to leverage HP’s global presence for evaluating, designing, implementing and supporting communications systems that deliver a consistent, high-quality experience between all locations to ensure maximum benefits and rapid return on investment. The companies will also deliver interoperability between Polycom’s line of standards-based telepresence and video conferencing solutions and HP Halo telepresence.

“Adoption of visual communications is growing rapidly and teaming with HP will increase the global market presence for Polycom’s standards-based solutions that combine market-leading performance with flexibility and investment protection,” said Bob Hagerty, CEO of Polycom. “We are excited to expand our relationship with HP and to leverage the synergies with other Polycom Open Collaboration Network partners to deliver seamlessly interoperable UC solutions and services to customers.”

The agreement furthers existing relationships between both companies and unified communications providers such as Avaya and Microsoft. Specifically, it includes Polycom’s integrated voice and video solutions for Avaya and Microsoft UC environments, as well as an expanded portfolio of Polycom VoIP phones for Microsoft Office Communications Server “Wave 14″ also announced today.

“To address the challenges of operating globally, organizations are looking to visual and unified communications solutions to help them be more efficient, productive and competitive,” said Mark Golden, vice president, Network Services, HP. “With the addition of Polycom technologies to our portfolio, HP can provide clients around the world with a complete range of open voice and visual communication solutions that simplify business communications while speeding collaboration with clients and key partners.”

According to industry analyst firm Gartner, total demand for visual communication solutions and services is projected to reach $8.6B, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.8% between 2008 and 2013.1

About the Polycom Open Collaboration Network
Polycom’s strategic relationship with HP supports Polycom’s Open Collaboration Network strategy, providing open and interoperable collaboration solutions that give customers greater flexibility and investment protection for their UC environment. By working with HP and other leaders in unified communications, Polycom is able to deliver its productivity-enhancing and cost-saving telepresence, video and voice collaboration products as an integrated part of core unified communication environments, making the technologies easily accessible as part of the everyday workflow within a comprehensive solution that is easy to deploy and manage.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

Siemens Enterprise Communications Group (SEN Group and Polycom, Inc. [Nasdaq: PLCM] today announced a strategic alliance and global resale agreement that will enable customers to leverage the productivity and cost-saving benefits of Polycom telepresence, high definition (HD) video conferencing solutions and desktop video collaboration applications through seamless integration with the OpenScape UC environment. By adopting a state-of-the-art UC environment, organizations can not only take advantage of innovative video solutions from Polycom, but they can increase collaboration and customer responsiveness while reducing conferencing costs and the need for employee travel.

“Video communication is becoming a key component of UC, and helps to dramatically improve the productivity of our customers,” said Mark Stone, chairman and chief executive officer, the SEN Group. “Working with Polycom enables us to deliver on our Open Communications commitment and enhance our leading OpenScape UC platform with a full range of UC-enabled video solutions.”

“Organizations across industries are adopting Polycom visual communication to drive efficiency and effectiveness among geographically dispersed teams and strengthen relationships with customers, partners and suppliers,” said Robert Hagerty, chairman and CEO of Polycom. “Teaming with SEN Group, we are able to deliver these powerful collaboration capabilities within the core communication tools that people use every day, and, as an integrated component of the OpenScape UC solution, give customers a scalable platform that is easy to manage and use. This supports Polycom’s Open Collaboration Network strategy and gives customers greater flexibility and investment protection for their UC environment.”

SEN Group is focused on helping customers achieve productivity and cost savings goals by helping to ease the adoption of video solutions that can help organizations collaborate more effectively as part of a complete, tightly integrated UC platform. Under the global resale agreement, SEN Group will offer Polycom’s portfolio of visual communication solutions, including award-winning personal, room and immersive telepresence solutions, video conferencing systems, and desktop video collaboration applications. This is supported by the industry’s most scalable and reliable visual communication infrastructure platform that delivers centralized management and provisioning; highly scalable multi-site, multi-network conferencing capabilities; network-aware firewall traversal; recording, streaming and video content management; and interoperability with other standards-based immersive telepresence systems and legacy video conferencing equipment.

Polycom RMX series conference bridges and HDX video endpoints integrate with the OpenScape Unified Communications Server, an innovative UC platform that takes advantage of industry standards such as SIP and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to help ease integration. By leveraging a data center approach, OpenScape voice and UC services can be over-laid in existing IT or telephony environments, eliminating traditional barriers between communications systems while providing unmatched scalability and flexibility when integrating with other popular enterprise-class solutions and devices. This allows organizations to extend the benefit of UC features such as one number service to the desktop via Polycom conference bridges and video endpoints.

The SEN Group will also offer customers Polycom visual communication solutions supported by its OpenScale Services, a comprehensive portfolio of professional and managed services and solutions. While many IT departments may lack the skill set or resources necessary to take on the integration of best-of-breed UC technologies, OpenScale Services are designed around proven best practices to help organizations quickly and cost-effectively integrate multi-vendor systems, delivering a UC environment. In addition, SEN Group can provide 24×7 network and device monitoring from its global Video Network Operations Center, and working with Polycom, will be able to expand this managed services offering with dedicated, 24×7 maintenance and technical.

About the Polycom Open Collaboration Network
Polycom’s integration efforts with SEN Group support Polycom’s Open Collaboration Network strategy, providing an open and interoperable collaboration solution that gives customers greater flexibility and investment protection for their UC environment. By working with SEN Group and other leading unified communications platform providers, Polycom is able to deliver its productivity-enhancing and cost-saving telepresence, video and voice collaboration products as an integrated part of core unified communication environments, making the technologies easily accessible as part of the everyday workflow within a comprehensive solution that is easy to deploy and manage.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• how to conference from polycom and siemens openscape

In conjunction with IBM Lotusphere taking place next week in Orlando, Fla., Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) announced an expansion of its integrated voice and visual communication solutions for customers deploying IBM Unified Communication and Collaboration (UC²) environments with support for Lotus Sametime and Lotus Notes. The combined solution is designed to give users “one-click” access to on-demand voice and video collaboration tools from within Lotus software applications that can enhance teamwork, reduce costs, and help accelerate enterprise decision making among colleagues, customers and business partners.

“People are most effective when the communication and collaboration tools they need are instantly available as part of the everyday workflow,” said Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager of video solutions, Polycom. “Polycom’s integration with the IBM UC² environment puts our powerful, productivity enhancing collaboration tools just one-click away within the applications that millions of people use every day to communicate with others. This allows customers to extend the value of their UC investment by adding scalable, standards-based telepresence, video and voice collaboration capabilities that can further enhance efficiency and reduce costs.”

The Polycom solution will allow users to “Click-to-Call” and “Click-to-Conference” telepresence, video, voice and unified (combined voice and video) conferencing from presence-enabled contacts within IBM Lotus Sametime and Lotus Notes. In addition, Lotus Sametime Web conferencing users will be able to launch Instant Meetings with voice and video conferences, or include a voice or video conference as part of scheduled web conference.

The Polycom integrated solution will provide organizations with a scalable, redundant, standards-based infrastructure platform for rich-media conferencing within IBM UC² environments. The solution will feature integration with the latest release of Sametime Release 8.5, IBM Lotus Sametime Server and IBM Lotus Domino Server, and provide seamless call routing between the Lotus applications and Polycom immersive, room and personal telepresence systems and desktop and conference room video conferencing systems for point-to-point video calls, and the Polycom RMX media conferencing platforms for multi-site voice, video or unified conferences. The standards-based solution allows users to leverage existing investments in visual communication systems for greater ROI and provides a broad ecosystem of nearly two-million standards-based telepresence and video conferencing systems in use today for extended collaboration.

This announcement expands existing integration that Polycom offers with IBM UC² and will complement the existing services offering between Polycom and IBM Global Technology Services to deliver scalable, security-enriched and highly-available unified communications solutions to enterprise clients around the globe. Polycom is a sponsor and exhibitor at Lotusphere 2010 (booth no. 611) and IBM is a Platinum sponsor at the upcoming Polycom partner conference and sales event taking place at the end of January.

Polycom’s integration efforts with IBM support Polycom’s Open Collaboration Network strategy, providing an open and interoperable collaboration solution that gives customers greater flexibility and investment protection for their UC environment. By working with IBM and other leading unified communications platform providers, Polycom is able to deliver its productivity-enhancing and cost-saving telepresence, video and voice collaboration products as an integrated part of core unified communication environments, making the technologies easily accessible as part of the everyday workflow within a comprehensive solution that is easy to deploy and manage.

Availability:
Polycom will deliver integration for IBM Sametime 8.5 in 2010, with the first phase planned for availability in the first half of the year.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• lotus sametime video conferencing
• lotus sometime uc2
• polycom integration to sametime

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recently deployed immersive telepresence solutions from Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) to improve operational efficiency, interagency collaboration and enhance its ability to support out of area operations.

“Information flow is vital to fulfilling our goals and mandates, as well as maximizing the productivity and efficiency of personnel and ensuring the success of operations,” said Malcolm Green, Chief of the NATO C3 Agency’s Capabilities Area Team 9 (CAT 9), Networked Information Infrastructure Communication Services. “Polycom telepresence addresses these challenges by enabling our teams to collaborate more effectively over distances.”

Deployed in six international locations, the Polycom immersive telepresence solutions join an existing large deployment of Polycom video conferencing systems in use today at NATO headquarters and in outposts around the world. The standards-based systems also interoperate securely and seamlessly with video conferencing systems in use by NATO allied partners.

The technology is used daily for central command communications, emergency management, critical needs assessment, crisis communications, intra/interagency collaboration, workgroup collaboration and project management.

“(Video conferencing) has certainly shortened the fuse on NATO’s ability to act in this dynamic environment,” says Brigadier General Gyorgy Lehel, Director of Operations at the NATO Communications and Information Systems Services Agency (NCSA) in Mons, Belgium.

The technology is also helping NATO reduce its need for travel, thereby saving money and improving productivity. The geographic disparity among locations that made it difficult to bring teams together to manage program issues such as budget requirements and technical concerns has been virtually eliminated through the use of immersive telepresence. For example, NATO recently replaced a series of quarterly in-person meetings with telepresence, resulting in an estimated cost savings of $51,000, over 500 hours of travel time and 21,000 kg of carbon emissions for one quarterly session.

Telepresence also helps reduce health and safety risks to operational theatre personnel imposed by travelling, as well as the burden placed on the hosting agency’s resources with managing visitors.

The deployment of Polycom immersive telepresence solutions was a joint project between the NCSA and the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A), which is responsible for the seamless provision of unbiased scientific support and common funded acquisition of Consultation, Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities. The collaborative effort marks the first permanent use of immersive telepresence technology within NATO.

Tasked with implementing technological solutions that will enable NATO to improve the efficiency of its operations, the NC3A initiated a project to provide Virtual Meeting Rooms (VMRs) to locations in Brussels, The Hague, ACT Norfolk, Virginia and the staffs at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). NC3A worked in close partnership with the NCSA, the operational support agency to NATO who fully supported the initiative and provided a system within their headquarters in Belgium.

After testing and evaluating internationally competitive solutions, NC3A chose the Polycom® Telepresence Experience™ (TPX™) 306M solution to create its collaborative and immersive network of VMRs. The VMRs are a part of an ongoing mission to expand the use of technology in order to serve the NATO Alliance. The entire VMR network currently runs over IP between The Hague, Brussels and SHAPE and more recently expanded to a sixth location in Norfolk, Virginia.

“Telepresence provides a natural and effective meeting environment that delivers a far superior collaboration experience over traditional conferencing,” said Green who led the acquisition for the Agency. “The Polycom telepresence systems also have an advantage for us because they interoperate with our existing video conferencing systems and the systems used by our allied partners.”

“Native interoperability with existing video conferencing systems was critical for NATO,” said Joseph Moeder, Deputy Director, NATO Operations, ManTech Global Services Corporation, a leading provider of technology and technical services solutions to federal government customers. “It ensures that when complex missions require a well-coordinated response among other government agencies and international organizations, NATO is able to connect and reach locations worldwide. In addition, NATO can maximize its previous investments in video conferencing technology throughout the Alliance.”

With life-size images and high-quality surround sound, the Polycom TPX 306M solutions allow participants to clearly see nuances in facial expressions and other non-verbal communications that lend to the feeling of being in the same room. In addition, each VMR was designed with the same paint, lighting and multipurpose, boardroom-style tables to further enhance the virtual “same room” meeting experience. The solutions include personal content monitors embedded within the table that allow users to easily share virtually any type of multimedia content as part of meeting, enhancing the interaction and facilitating teamwork.

When not being used for telepresence, the Polycom TPX systems support a multi-functional conference room, allowing users to maximize the utility of the room and leverage valuable office space for traditional meetings. The high-definition monitors can display content locally (from laptop, web conference, etc.) and the system can be used for high-quality audio conferencing.

Additional Information:

NATO Case Study (PDF)
http://www.polycom.com/global/documents/company/customer_success_stories/government/nato_telepresence.pdf

NATO Virtual Meeting Rooms (VMR)
http://www.ncsa.nato.int/news/2009/20090423_VTM.html

Polycom Telepresence
http://www.polycom.com/telepresence

Polycom Government Security Center – Security, Standards and Interoperability
http://www.polycom.com/govsecurity

About NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance of 28 countries from North America and Europe committed to fulfilling the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949. NATO provides a forum in which the United States, Canada and European countries can consult together on security issues of common concern and take joint action in addressing them.

About NC3A
The NATO C3 Agency’s mission is to enable NATO success through the comprehensive provision of unbiased Consultation, Command, Control, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities.  In 2008, the Agency procured some 300 million Euro worth of leading-edge capabilities for the Alliance; over 70 000 NATO forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, as well as  the Alliance’s top decision-makers, depend on systems capabilities delivered by the Agency.

About NCSA
“Connecting NATO!” This motto sums up the main task of the NATO Communication Information Systems Service Agency, its mission being to connect NATO headquarters and installations all over the world with telephone lines, computer networks and video teleconferences. NCSA is composed of a central headquarters collocated with SHAPE, Mons Belgium, ten NCSA Sectors that support their affiliated headquarters, two deployable NATO Signal Battalions and the NATO CIS School in Latina, Italy. Permanently stationed on four continents, with a civilian-military mixed staff of approximately 3.400 personnel from 22 nations it is today NATO’s largest agency.

About ManTech International Corporation
Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia with approximately 8,000 professionals, ManTech International Corporation is a leading provider of innovative technologies and solutions for mission-critical national security programs for the Intelligence Community; the departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security and Justice; the Space Community; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and other U.S. federal government customers. ManTech’s expertise includes systems engineering, systems integration, software development services, enterprise architecture, cyber security, information assurance, intelligence operations and analysis support, network and critical infrastructure protection, information operations and information warfare support, information technology, communications integration, global logistics and supply chain management, and service oriented architectures. The company supports the advanced telecommunications systems that are used in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in other parts of the world; has developed a secure, collaborative communications system for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and builds and maintains secure databases that track terrorists. The company operates in the United States and 40 countries. In 2008, BusinessWeek magazine chose ManTech for its ‘InfoTech 100′ listing representing the best performing tech companies in the world; Forbes.com named ManTech as one of the 400 Best Big Companies in the nation; and A-Space, a Web 2.0 enhanced collaboration tool that ManTech developed for the Intelligence Community was named one of the Top 50 Inventions of the Year by Time magazine. Also in 2008, GI Jobs magazine named ManTech a Top Ten Military Friendly Employer for the third year in a row. Additional information on ManTech can be found at www.mantech.com.

About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) is the global leader in telepresence, video, and voice solutions and a visionary in communications that empower people to connect and collaborate everywhere. Visit www.polycom.com for more information and follow us on Twitter @AllAboutPolycom.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• NC3A CAT 9
• telepresence security issues polycom

As the world braces for the coming winter flu season, health officials in Mexico expect to battle an anticipated rise in H1N1 flu cases with interactive visual communication systems from Polycom, (Nasdaq: PLCM), the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communication solutions.

During April and May, Mexico’s National Center for Health Technology Excellence (CENETEC) relied on Polycom and other video conferencing systems to help them stem the initial outbreak of H1N1. Experts at Mexico’s Secretariat of Health used Polycom systems to communicate face-to-face with some 1,500 health officials to help determine the source of the flu, where and how it was spreading, and effective treatments.

When the virus emerged in April, Mexican officials immediately recognized the need for clear, streamlined communication and collaboration to help contain the outbreak. So they turned to their video communication network outfitted with Polycom systems.

“Real-time communication and interaction was essential in responding to H1N1, and that made video a crucial element in our approach to managing the crisis,” said Adrian Pacheco, biomedical engineer and assistant director of telemedicine for Mexico’s Secretariat of Health. “Interactive video enables timely information to be distributed to the right people, because when you’re fighting an epidemic, there’s no time to lose.”

In the race to contain the virus, interactive visual communication saved time – and possibly lives. “Everyone was able to see expressions, ask questions more easily, and truly understand the information,” said Pacheco. “And the face-to-face connection gave health professionals the trust and confidence they needed to exchange very sensitive information.”

Mexico has earned praise for its rapid and effective response. Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, commended Mexican officials for slowing the initial spread of the virus, which in turn gave other countries time to prepare their own responses.i

“The Secretariat of Health drove the effort to use video conferencing to increase and simplify communication across all institutions,” said Pacheco. “It was invaluable in determining what different health professionals were seeing nationwide.”

Using Polycom systems installed at its headquarters, the Secretariat of Health established voice and video communications with health centers, hospitals and universities throughout Mexico. CENETEC operates a video communications network that includes a range of Polycom video conferencing systems located in Mexico City and in 12 different states. The network was installed by Grupo SIO, a regional Polycom channel partner with expertise in telemedicine applications.

Using Polycom conference infrastructure, CENETEC regularly conducted multipoint video conferences with 16 health centers, hospitals and universities. During the initial swine flu outbreak, health officials relied on the network to host a series of educational sessions covering H1N1 pathogeny, immunologic response, complications, outpatient education, and psychological reactions of caregivers. Experts also hosted round tables to discuss the flu outbreak.

The sessions have enabled direct communication with 1,500 health workers. CENETEC estimates another 1,500 have accessed recordings of the sessions via retransmission over the video communication network or as streaming content over the Web. Mexico’s health experts also anticipate the video communication network will prove invaluable this fall as the traditional winter flu season takes hold and more outbreaks may occur.

In Mexico, health officials regularly leverage the video conferencing network for a range of telemedicine and tele-education uses. For instance, to bring expert care to residents of Mexico’s impoverished Oaxaca state, CENETEC uses 15 mobile Polycom units that travel from location to location. The systems are set up in a location esplanade – typically a town dwelling – and health care workers see patients for four to five days. In a typical month, medical personnel will treat 200 patients. The field teams use a 512Kbps satellite link (384 Kbps is used for videoconferencing) to consult with experts in the cities of Mexico and Oaxaca.

“We’ve had outstanding performance from these Polycom solutions and with the installation and support services from Grupo SIO,” said Pacheco, who credits Polycom’s standard-based architecture for CENETEC’s ability to video conference with a wide range of systems. “Each session performed without any interruptions or disconnections, even though we conducted them over the Internet and were interacting with legacy systems and other vendors’ equipment.”

“CENETEC’s video conferencing network needs to be reliable and provide high quality, which is why we recommended the Polycom systems,” said Jorge Perafán, General Director, Grupo SIO. “The organization needs to be able to connect with other agencies and organizations in situations like the H1N1 crisis, and the Polycom systems allow them to easily connect with other standards-based systems regardless of manufacturer. The systems also provide a reliable call experience, even over the public Internet, which adds to the overall network reliability and ultimately to greater customer satisfaction.”

Polycom provides a range of telepresence, video and voice conferencing solutions that allow individuals and groups to meet naturally over distance, enabling more productive meetings and real-time decision making.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) announced a new high-definition (HD) telepresence solution for healthcare applications that enables medical professionals to provide patients access to care regardless of time or distance constraints.

The Polycom® Practitioner Cart^TM HDX series delivers the full range of HD resolutions, including 1080p and 720p at 30 frames per second (fps) and broadcast quality 720p at 60 fps, in a mobile, wireless-capable, integrated system featuring seamless interoperability with medical peripheral devices.

Polycom is demonstrating the new Polycom Practitioner Cart HDX, along with other voice, video and mobility solutions for medical and healthcare applications at the HIMSS09 Conference and Expo taking place April 4-8 at the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago (Polycom booth no. 412).

“Time to delivery of care is critically important, particularly in stroke and other emergent conditions where getting patients connected quickly to the right specialist can provide better outcomes and even save lives. Mobile solutions also play a key role in day-to-day clinical outpatient and inpatient settings, where maneuverable technology can enhance the quality of care within facilities by providing access to specialists that might otherwise not be available,” said Dr. Andrew Watson, medical director of the Center for Connected Medicine located at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center corporate headquarters. “The Polycom Practitioner Cart provides us with a mobile, flexible telehealth solution that can bring clinical expertise quickly to the point of care, including rural emergency rooms. The ability to connect medical devices and transmit sounds, images and video instantly with clarity helps our physicians to facilitate treatment remotely with confidence.”

“The ability to bring technology to the patient point of care is more important than ever in today’s dynamic healthcare environment. Polycom worked closely with our telehealth advisory council, comprised of leading industry experts, to develop a telehealth solution for real-world applications,” said Ron Emerson RN-BSN, global director of healthcare for Polycom, board member of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and chairman of the ATA industry council. “The Polycom Practitioner Cart is well suited for a broad range of applications such as emergency and trauma, stroke, psychiatry, cardiology, and dermatology, and can be used in a variety of environments from hospitals, emergency rooms, rural medical centers, skilled nursing facilities and even local, state and federal incarceration facilities.”

The Polycom Practitioner Cart enables medical professionals to connect with patients regardless of time or distance constraints, thereby improving access to quality care. Medical and non-medical peripheral devices can be easily connected to the telepresence system via an integrated switch box and connection panel, allowing real-time images to be shared in high resolution (e.g. images of a patient’s throat, ears or skin). The system interoperates with all standards-based medical peripheral devices and has the ability to run in-band stethoscopes, which provides unparalleled quality for listening to heart and lung sounds in real time, while still giving the clinician the ability to view the patient. Healthcare professionals can also use the system for broadcasting medical procedures for education or mentoring purposes.

The Polycom Practitioner Cart is specifically constructed to meet the needs of mobile telehealth applications. The cart’s small footprint is designed around a durable, enclosed cart frame that is easy to clean, protects internal electronic components from spills and fluids, and provides the ultimate in maneuverability and flexibility. The system features AES encryption for HIPAA com¬pliancy and the power system is UL 60601 compliant for use in patient care environments. It is provisioned for wireless with battery power and wireless antenna, and provides an enclosed compartment for a laptop to enable clinicians to access pertinent data or other network applications during care.

The Polycom Practitioner Cart HDX is an integrated part of the industry’s most advanced and flexible solution for broad-scale visual communication. In addition to video solutions for medical and healthcare environments, Polycom SpectraLink® Wireless Telephones have improved healthcare communications since the early 1990s. The open standards-based SpectraLink 8000 Series telephones will serve as the first and only mobile endpoints in the HIMSS09 Interoperability Showcase, which highlights the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise’s (IHE) common framework for delivering applications interoperability across local, regional, and national health information exchanges. (See press release dated April 2nd – Polycom Mobility Solutions to be Showcased at HIMSS09)

-end-

related link: Find a local, certified Polycom dealer

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• Polycom Practitioner Cart HDX
• polycom practitioner cart hdx battery
• Polycom Practitioner Cart HDX Unit
• practitioner cart

The Polycom VVX 1500 is the first of its kind business media phone combining advanced IP telephony with business-class video and the ability to integrate with key business applications

PLEASANTON, Calif. – Mar 09, 2009 : Polycom, Inc. [Nasdaq: PLCM], the global leader in telepresence, video, and voice communications solutions, has redefined desktop communications with the introduction of its first business media phone, the Polycom VVX^TM 1500.

The VVX 1500 is the first device of its kind – a business media phone that combines a personal video conferencing system with a fully featured voice over IP (VoIP) telephone with Polycom HD Voice^TM and an open application programming interface (API) and microbrowser for real-time delivery of personalized Web content as well as integration with key business applications. All of these features are seamlessly integrated with an intuitive color touch-screen interface to enhance personal productivity, simplify multimedia communications, improve team collaboration, and reduce travel costs.

“We anticipate that within five years, nearly 10 million business media phones will be shipped worldwide, generating more than U.S. $3 billion in annual revenue. They are a key to the future of the IP PBX business,” commented Keith Nissen, principal analyst at In-Stat. “With its rich heritage in voice and visual communications and content sharing, Polycom is well positioned to be a leader in this new world of communications. The company’s VVX 1500 is the first business media phone that enables customers to work more efficiently and effectively than ever before by tying together voice and visual communication with critical business processes.”

BroadSoft, a leading provider of VoIP applications and a long-standing partner of Polycom, has been integral in bringing the VVX 1500 to market. “There is growing demand from our service providers and customers to help them configure video within our BroadWorks call control platform,” said Mike Tessler, CEO of BroadSoft. “We have a long history of teaming with Polycom to deliver high quality hosted VoIP solutions, and the VVX 1500 is especially compelling because it goes far beyond the functionality of a traditional video phone by combining rich telephony, business-class video and an applications platform that is all deeply integrated with the BroadWorks platform, and it is extremely easy-to-use.”

Initiate voice and video calls with the simple touch of the screen

By combining voice and video into a single personal device with an intuitive touch-screen interface, the VVX 1500 simplifies communications while delivering a truly collaborative experience. With a large color LCD display and Polycom HD Voice technology, the VVX 1500 enables high-resolution, face-to-face collaboration without requiring travel, delivering a compelling return on investment.

Companies can reduce their carbon footprint and become more environmentally responsible by using Polycom’s voice and visual communication solutions and allowing their geographically dispersed workforce to meet virtually – anytime and from anywhere. In addition to the inherently green nature of video conferencing, the VVX 1500 was specifically designed for lower power consumption, using power over Ethernet (PoE), and requires less than half the power of similar competing products such as traditional video phones. The device’s smart-motion technology enables the screen to go into power-save mode when no one is in the office.

Access business information at-a-glance

The VVX 1500 features an open API and microbrowser that enable third-party application developers to integrate VVX 1500 with business applications such as unified communications, customer relationship management (CRM), and appointment management systems. The always-on, touch-screen user interface of the VVX 1500 includes a menu screen on which developers can place icons for users to locate and start their applications.

The VVX 1500 comes bundled with several applications including the Polycom Productivity Suite, which enables users to initiate and control audio conference calls right from the device’s screen as well as record calls locally using a flash drive in the phone’s USB port. The VVX 1500 also features a free Web service called My Info Portal through which customers can select to receive content such as local weather reports and other personalized information on the screen when the device is not in a voice or video call.

Broad interoperability with the leading VoIP Platforms

The VVX 1500 uses the same Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) software as incorporated in Polycom’s SoundPoint® IP and SoundStation® IP desktop and conference phone product lines to communicate with SIP based IP PBX and hosted call servers. The product is in the process of being SIP video-certified by Polycom’s ecosystem of more than 30 VIP and VoIP Field Verified call control partners, including BroadSoft, Deltapath, NEC Sphere, Objectworld, and Zultys.

“Our customers consistently seek better leverage of their communication systems to improve productivity and reduce costs. They also expect Polycom to continuously deliver innovative, intuitive products to market,” said Sunil Bhalla, senior vice president and general manager of Voice Communications Solutions at Polycom. “Our leadership and legacy in both voice and video communications enables us to develop a truly unique device. The VVX 1500 is the business media phone to combine a superior business-grade VoIP telephone that features our renowned HD Voice with one-touch video and access to key enterprise applications. We’re delighted propel collaborative communications to the next level with this ground-breaking device.”

VVX 1500 Video Overview (new window)

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• vvx 1500 features

Polycom introduced a new high-resolution, full-featured video conferencing system with a list price of $3,999. Optimized to deliver high-resolution, DVD-quality video at very low bandwidth, the Polycom QDX 6000™ delivers the best value in its class with a combination of quality, features and performance previously found only in more expensive, enterprise-class video solutions.

“You won’t find another video conferencing system in the market today near this price point that delivers the level of voice, video and content quality or the features and performance delivered by the Polycom QDX 6000,” said Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager of video solutions at Polycom.

“The Polycom QDX 6000 puts wide screen, high-resolution video conferencing within reach of small- and medium-sized organizations and teams, providing a rapid return on investment and helping save real, hard dollars by quickly reducing business travel expenses without sacrificing effectiveness or the ability to execute across distance. Many customers will realize full ROI for two Polycom QDX 6000s by offsetting travel for just two or three business meetings.”

The Polycom QDX 6000 video conferencing solution helps organizations work faster, smarter, and more effectively across distances by providing real-time, face-to-face interaction and the ability to share critical work including movies, spreadsheets, presentations, images, or physical items like barcodes, envelopes, and products through a variety of high-resolution peripherals (PC, DVD player, document camera, etc.). The unprecedented price and performance will enable new applications for small and medium businesses, K-12 educational institutions, healthcare organizations, law firms, consultants, etc., and allow them to increase productivity and work more effectively with colleagues, customers and partners in other locations. And, with high-resolution video calls starting at bandwidths as low as 256 kbps, teams don’t need large or expensive IP networks.

“Based on a recent IDC survey of SMBs, 23 percent of our respondents said that they are already using video conferencing solutions and 11 percent have plans to install video conferencing solutions,” said Nora Freedman, senior analyst, Unified Communications Infrastructure, IDC. “Economic uncertainty is driving SMBs to use video conferencing to save money on travel and increase collaboration between facilities. Therefore, solutions, like the QDX 6000, are well positioned for this segment of the market.”

The Polycom QDX 6000 is based on established video conferencing standards and will interoperate seamlessly with the more than 1.5 million standards-based video conferencing systems in use today, including DVD-quality, high-resolution video at 30 frames per second (4CIF or 480p), high-definition stereo audio, multimedia content-sharing capabilities (H.239) and AES encryption. The plug-and-play system is easy to install and use and delivers a great experience over low-bandwidth and public Internet connections, making high resolution video conferencing and collaboration a viable solution for more organizations than ever before. It features Polycom’s breakthrough Lost Packet Recovery™ (LPR™) technology that optimizes video quality over IP networks and helps ensure a great user experience even on networks prone to IP packet loss and congestion.

“The nature of our organization requires frequent interaction with countries around the globe and video communication helps us work effectively and efficiently across distances,” said Alan Laing, VC Analyst with DFID, the Department for International Development who lead the British Government’s fight against world poverty. “The fact that the Polycom QDX 6000 delivers high resolution video over low bandwidth and is simple to set up and use makes it well suited for many of our remote locations. We are pleased with the performance and are considering it as a way to expand our video reach.”

The standard Polycom QDX 6000 configuration includes a high resolution full-motion pan/tilt/zoom camera that features 12x zoom capabilities, supports DVD-quality, high-resolution video at 30 fps, and offers 99 presets that make it simple to instantly zoom in and out for various applications. It also includes content-sharing as a standard capability, allowing users to easily share multimedia content during a video call using their wired or wireless broadband connection. The included high-fidelity microphones support high-definition stereo audio and are immune to disruptive interference from mobile phones and other wireless devices (GSM interference). The Polycom QDX 6000 supports widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) format natively, but also works with standard televisions (4:3 aspect ratio). It supports dual monitors and can take input from up to five video sources (cameras, PC, document camera, DVD player), providing flexibility for powerful content collaboration.

“There is unmet need in the market today for a product like the Polycom QDX 6000,” said Rhonda Wingate, senior vice president, Video Sales America, BT Conferencing. “The Polycom QDX 6000 strikes the right balance of quality, performance, simplicity and affordability. It gives organizations that are new to video conferencing all of the performance and collaboration features they are looking for at bandwidths readily available today and at a price they can afford even in this tough economy.”

Polycom also offers optional remote or onsite installation services to help customers get up and running quickly. The installation support is ideal for organizations that don’t have in-house technical support or prefer not to install the systems themselves.

Additional Information:
Polycom QDX 6000 Product Page
http://www.polycom.com/products/telepresence_video/telepresence_solutions/video_conference_systems/room_systems/qdx6000.html

Whitepaper – Polycom Lost Packet Recovery Technology
http://www.polycom.com/common/documents/whitepapers/lost_packet_recovery_eval_report.pdf

Polycom ROI Calculator
http://www.polycom.com/ROI

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• POLYCOM QDX 6000
• polycom qdx6000
• polycom high resolution pictures
• qdx 6000 connections to be up and running
• qdx 6000 video
• comcast business gateway and qdx6000 setup
• qdx 6000 video resolution
• qdx6000 content sharing?
• smc comcast business gateway and polycom qdx 6000
• the qdx 6000 has a simple set up that requires how many connections up and running

Polycom announced that Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), a leader in global media, has deployed Polycom telepresence solutions worldwide to improve collaboration among the global network of TBS, Inc. brands.

Polycom immersive, room and personal telepresence solutions are used across business functions allowing TBS, Inc. employees to work together more effectively and efficiently across distances.

“Polycom telepresence is helping us foster better daily collaboration between our globally dispersed brands and improving communication between TBS, Inc. and other Time Warner operations,” said Dan Darling, CIO, TBS, Inc. “The ability for people to work together face-to-face regardless of location is having a profound impact on the way and the speed at which we operate.”

One example of improved collaboration is the company’s Emmy-winning Cartoon Network. High definition visual communication is helping the West Coast and East Coast creative centers work together more closely, collaborating face-to-face on a daily basis with immersive telepresence, instead of monthly in-person meetings.

In addition to seeing each other and interacting naturally, the California, New York and Atlanta-based teams are able to share animation, video clips and other multimedia content in real time using the Polycom systems.

“Telepresence is a strategic technology investment for our company that is being rapidly embraced by our employees,” said Darling. “We selected Polycom for the quality of its immersive telepresence experience, the breadth of its portfolio and because Polycom telepresence systems interoperate seamlessly with existing standards-based video conferencing systems. This allows us to leverage our existing investments in video conferencing and easily connect with video conferencing systems at other Time Warner companies.”

Headquartered in Atlanta, Turner Broadcasting has deployed Polycom RealPresence™ Experience (RPX™) immersive telepresence solutions initially in its Atlanta and New York locations, and Burbank, Calif. is on the horizon.

The company has also initially deployed more than 100 Polycom HDX room and personal visual communication solutions across its global locations, along with Polycom visual communication infrastructure solutions for multi-party conferencing and video network provisioning and management.

TBS, Inc. is also piloting Polycom’s highly-scalable, PC desktop video application, CMA Desktop™, to broaden access to visual communication and support corporate teleworking initiatives.

“The collaboration challenges TBS, Inc. faces as a globally dispersed organization are shared by companies of all sizes and across industries,” said Robert Hagerty, chairman and CEO, Polycom. “TBS, Inc. is very progressive in integrating and embracing Polycom visual communication across its business. As a result, the company is already realizing substantial gains in collaboration and productivity, while at the same time reducing costs. TBS is a model for how forward-looking companies can use visual communication to help solve some of the real-world challenges of operating globally.”

Advertisement:
Locate a local Polycom dealer in the Polycom dealer directory

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• Turner Broadcasting Polycom videos

Addressing growing demand for enterprise video and telepresence solutions and adding to the industry’s broadest visual communication portfolio, Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) announced the Polycom Converged Management Application™ (CMA™) designed to dramatically simplify the deployment and management of enterprise video networks and the use of desktop, group and telepresence solutions for users. A key component of the solution is CMA Desktop™, a tightly integrated enterprise desktop video application capable of supporting high definition (HD) video, voice and content while scaling to thousands of users across an organization.

Polycom CMA and CMA Desktop further the Polycom VC2 vision of video as a pervasive component of unified communication in the enterprise – enabling people to call anyone, anywhere, anytime from any device. The new solutions provide the foundation for future, enhanced integration with Polycom strategic unified communications partners, including Avaya, IBM, Microsoft and Nortel.

“Our customers are using video and telepresence more frequently and broadly to promote faster decision-making and improved knowledge transfer; streamline operations and improved organizational productivity; and to reduce costs and carbon emissions associated with travel,” said Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager of video solutions at Polycom. “Part of Polycom’s comprehensive solution for enterprise visual communication, the Polycom CMA and CMA Desktop will help our customers to confidently and cost-effectively extend the productivity-enhancing benefits of video and telepresence throughout their organizations while providing additional benefits and return on investment from previous installed Polycom products.”

Comprehensive Video Network Management
Polycom CMA is a comprehensive video network management solution that vastly improves a customer’s ability to simply and securely deploy, provision and manage extensive visual communication devices across their organization. Polycom CMA gives IT leaders control of all desktop, group and telepresence visual communication systems, as well as video call activity across their distributed enterprise network. CMA helps to streamline workflows through centralized management of conferences, devices and systems and provides gatekeeping, scheduling and directory management. IT administrators can automate software updates and establish policy-based provisioning of endpoint and infrastructure capabilities, as well as manage bandwidth based on network topology, business requirements and operational needs.

CMA supports hardware and software endpoints (desktop, group, telepresence) and infrastructure systems (bridges, recording and streaming servers, etc.) and is designed to seamlessly integrate with IT best practices, policies and existing directories. For example, CMA supports Active Directory and LDAP/H.350 directory services, offers integrated scheduling through Microsoft Outlook, IBM Lotus Notes or a web interface, and supports standards-based provisioning through XML and standards-based presence through XMPP. Secure conferencing is ensured through AES media encryption and TLS certificates for secure signaling.

To help simplify the use of video and telepresence solutions, Polycom CMA allows Polycom video devices to share presence information as a part of user contact lists (desktop, group and telepresence) either on their endpoint or within the CMA Desktop application. Users simply click on the name to launch a call. All call specifications are provisioned based on profiles previously defined by the IT administrator.

Scalable Desktop Video Collaboration
Polycom CMA Desktop is a highly scalable, PC-based desktop video software application that allows users to create contact lists from a corporate directory and then easily launch video calls by clicking on contacts. The application allows users to see presence details (i.e. online, offline, available, busy, etc.) for software and hardware video devices and then easily connect to other users, or other standards-based video conferencing systems, including personal, room and immersive telepresence solutions. It supports standards-based, high-quality visual communications previously unavailable in a desktop video application, including support for HD video, HD voice and multimedia content (H.239 content sharing) including presentations, videos and images in full, native resolution.

Because Polycom CMA Desktop is a tightly integrated component of the Polycom CMA management application, it gives administrators unprecedented control over desktop video on their network. Previously, desktop video applications were often deployed as individual software clients that operated with limited management control over activity or bandwidth usage. With Polycom CMA Desktop, IT administrators can use standard Microsoft Installer (MSI) file to deploy the client across their campus or can send out as a simple download. This allows IT administrators to apply policy-based provisioning for desktop video as part of a common, centralized management application just as they do for other video solutions.

“The ability to centrally monitor and manage systems installed throughout the world is a key part of a successful, high performance videoconferencing environment,” said Ira Weinstein, partner and analyst at Wainhouse Research. “Polycom’s CMA and CMA Desktop offerings provide the basic set of tools that IT managers need to scale their desktop, group, and telepresence-capable videoconferencing deployments cost-effectively and efficiently.”

Links to additional related information:
» Whitepaper – Scalable Infrastructure for Distributed Video

Pricing and Availability
Polycom CMA, which includes seat licenses that can be used for endpoints, infrastructure and CMA Desktop, is planned for availability in October with a starting MSRP of US$20,000. Polycom solutions are available through certified Polycom channel partners.

About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) is the global leader in telepresence, video, and voice solutions and a visionary in communications that empower people to connect and collaborate everywhere. Please visit www.polycom.com for more information.

Polycom reserves the right to modify future product plans at any time. Products and/or related specifications referenced in this press release are not guaranteed, and will be delivered on a when and if available basis.

Polycom and the Polycom logo are registered trademarks, and Converged Management Application and CMA are trademarks of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2008, Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• cma network
• polycom cma
• polycom cma 4000
• polycom logo
• CMA 4000
• polycom cma desktop pricing
• cma desktop msi
• picture of polycom cma 5000
• polycom® cma desktop download
• Polycom® RealPresenceâ„¢ client

Procter & Gamble (P&G) has won 2007 ‘Best on Campus’ Mobilizer Award by Mobile Enterprise Magazine. The Mobilizer Awards recognize companies for their achievements in deploying mobile solutions across the enterprise. Procter & Gamble uses Polycom SpectraLink Wireless Telephone System.

Mobile Enterprise magazine presents the annual Mobilizer Awards in recognition of the best mobile deployments across the enterprise in the categories of Field Service, CRM, Supply Chain, Mobile Campus and Pace Setting. Applicants are judged by the editors and editorial advisory board of Mobile Enterprise based on ease of deployment; innovation, and business improvement. Using their SpectraLink wireless telephone system Procter & Gamble improved communications among mobile employees and increased productivity.

“While we received many worthy nominations for our Mobilizer Awards, Procter & Gamble stood out for our panel of judges,” says Dorene VanHouten, publisher at Mobile Enterprise. “It demonstrates a creative mobile solution with a clear ROI that directly benefits employees across the corporate campus.”

P&G, in business since 1837 and world renowned as a manufacturer of consumer packaged goods, is using Polycom’s SpectraLink Wi-Fi handsets to enable managers and operators on its manufacturing floor to be much more responsive and productive. Managers can be reached whether at their desks or roaming the manufacturing floor. In addition, operators are now equipped with wireless VoIP handsets that are integrated with their manufacturing lines, enabling them to be across the plant floor and still be aware of what’s going on with their line to ensure operations run smoothly.

The highly durable SpectraLink handsets offer a unique push-to-talk functionality, which took the place of the more expensive walkie-talkie system they had been using and is easier to manage. The SpectraLink handsets offer flexible and secure communications integrated into one device with access to business phone functionality such as call forwarding and voicemail.

Another advantage of the SpectraLink system is its integration with plant machines. P&G is taking advantage of the SpectraLink OAI (Open Application Interface) to integrate handsets with Intech Studio’s product, PUMA, a manufacturing system that enables alerts to be sent to operators of problems on the manufacturing line. So for example, if a shrink-wrapping machine is about to run out of shrink wrap, an operator is alerted. In addition, when a machine goes down maintenance is alerted, lessening possible downtime and associated revenue and productivity hits. As a result of the wireless system, P&G realized a return on its technology investment in just three months.

Procter & Gamble received its award at a ceremony held last month in conjunction with the Second Annual Mobile Enterprise Executive Summit, which took place at the Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando, Fla.

About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. is the worldwide leader in unified collaborative communications (UCC) that maximize the efficiency and productivity of people and organizations by integrating the broadest array of high definition video, wired and wireless voice, and content solutions to deliver the ultimate collaborative experience. Polycom’s high quality, standards-based conferencing and collaboration solutions are easy to deploy and manage, as well as intuitive to use. Supported by an open architecture, they integrate seamlessly with leading telephony, workplace wireless telephony, and presence-based networks. With its market driving technologies, best-in-class products, alliance partnerships, and world-class service, Polycom is the smart choice for organizations seeking proven solutions and a competitive advantage from on-demand communications and collaboration. For additional information, call 800-POLYCOM or visit the Polycom web site at www.polycom.com.

Polycom, the Polycom logo and SpectraLink are registered trademarks of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2007, Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved.

If you like this post please support us by liking us or bookmarking us

Get the latest Telecom News at http://vartips.com

brought to you by PBX Phone Systems

• spectralink var