Video Collaboration Now Easier to Buy, Implement and Use

Video Collaboration Now Easier to Buy, Implement and Use with New Portfolio of Polycom Video Solutions

New virtualised and subscription-based collaboration solutions provide flexible options and breakthrough price points to fit business models, workflows and budgets for organisations of all sizes

News Highlights
• New flexible video delivery options with a simple, consistent user experience: New portfolio of software, services and hardware video delivery solutions support hybrid or on-premises environments
• Complete, virtualised video collaboration solutions now available via subscription, lowering entry costs for customers: New Polycom® RealPresence One™ is a single, comprehensive offering including RealPresence Platform virtualised software, video clients and services for video and content collaboration

Auckland, February 12, 2014 – With the goal of making it easier to buy, implement and use video collaboration technology, Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) today unveiled a new portfolio of video software, services and hardware solutions that provide organisations of all sizes more access than ever before to the benefits of enterprise-grade video collaboration. These new solutions, which focus on simplified video delivery and new or updated video environment options, are being showcased at TEAM Polycom 2014, the company’s largest partner event of the year.

Video Delivery Options that are Easy to Buy, Implement and Manage
Organisations can choose from new, flexible video delivery options, including hybrid and on-premises video, depending on the option that works best for their business models and budgets. All of the options include the same benefits for which Polycom is known: exceptional user experience and enterprise-grade levels of interoperability, scalability, reliability and security. New RealPresence Platform options include:
• Virtualised collaboration through a subscription: Polycom® RealPresence One™ is a new, comprehensive offering including RealPresence Platform software and services for video, voice and content collaboration, available on an annual subscription basis. This is an ideal solution for customers who want to implement voice, video and content collaboration solutions in their organisations for the first time.
• Virtual editions of individual RealPresence Platform components: Polycom® RealPresence® Platform, Virtual Editions: individual components of the award-winning RealPresence Platform are now available as virtualised software that runs on industry-standard servers in existing datacentres. Polycom RealPresence, Virtual Editions are ideal for organisations who want to optimise, streamline or expand their existing video networks, and will work alongside hardware appliances, for a seamless, hybrid network.
To help organisations get greater value from their video collaboration investments, Polycom now offers new, value-added services that provide system performance and utilisation analytics, new user adoption assistance to drive higher levels of video collaboration usage, and preferred access to expert technical support.

Video Devices, Apps and Systems for Organisations and Budgets of All Sizes
Whether employees are in the office or on the go, organisations can maximise productivity and improve human connections with video collaboration solutions that are easy to use and available in packages and configurations that are designed for almost any business model or budget.

• The New Polycom® RealPresence® Immersive Studio™ is the next-generation of immersive collaboration environments and makes an ideal think-tank for the meetings that matter the most, including creative brainstorms or crisis management sessions. The flexible configuration lets users see content on any of the large displays in the studio, and support for BYOD lets users share content from mobile devices like tablets and laptops. Support for the Polycom VisualBoard virtual whiteboard also lets users engage in interactive note taking on critical content such as business documents, CAD drawings, blueprints or maps. Watch the related video for more information.

• Laptop, desktop, tablet and smartphone video users gain more features and capabilities such as Polycom VisualBoard content sharing and document annotation from the iPad on Polycom® RealPresence® Mobile v3.1. Polycom® RealPresence® Desktop v3.1 now includes IM, presence Polycom SmartPairing™ for room system control and content sharing.

• Bringing the power of keyword search to video, Polycom RealPresence Media Manager v6.6 will integrate with technology from RAMP to make video content searchable, similar to the way that users are accustomed to looking for keywords in documents and on the Web (see the related press release). Polycom RealPresence Media Manager is an automated software solution that lets organisations capture, manage, deliver and access video content, like lectures and seminars, from any source to any device. Polycom developed the open integration approach for media analytics solutions and services through documented APIs in Polycom RealPresence Media Manager.

Supporting Quotes

“We needed to change the way the University of Tasmania competed in the market and specifically how our students and teachers collaborate, learn, and conduct research,” said Jeff Murray, CIO, IT Services, University of Tasmania. “We were very impressed by the highly innovative solutions proposed by Vantage Systems and Polycom. The broad Polycom portfolio integrated seamlessly with our UC platform to deliver a flexible collaborative environment to meet our needs, including fully immersive video studios, high-definition video walls, advanced content annotation, and other flexible learning environments.”

“We know that video collaboration makes organisations more successful and productive, and that it is a critical tool in getting work done together better and faster. Today’s solutions and offerings deliver the value of video to more people through the easiest and most accessible methods for buying, implementing and using video collaboration,” said A.E. Natarajan, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Engineering, Polycom. “Our focus has always been about meeting the needs of organisations and making our customers successful, and that’s why our innovation never stops.”

“The value of UC, and the benefits that voice, video and content collaboration solutions bring – including increased productivity and faster decision making – are well understood by organisations,” said Jim Lundy, CEO and Lead Analyst at Aragon Research Inc. “The new challenge for UC vendors is determining how to make it easy for an organisation of virtually any size to buy a collaboration solution, make it work with and fit seamlessly into existing environments, and drive user adoption to realise a faster return on the investment. Polycom is taking a bold step that addresses this challenge head on, offering multiple options for an organisation to procure, implement and launch enterprise-grade video in ways that best meet their needs.”

“Many people want to bring video collaboration into their organisations, but have put off doing so because of the cost of entry or limited configurations for setting it up,” said Pepper Fernandez, CEO of Solutionz. “Polycom gives us the most complete, flexible portfolio in the industry, making it easy for us to help more organisations design custom enterprise-grade video collaboration solutions that best fits their budget and business goals. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Availability
Polycom RealPresence One and Polycom RealPresence Platform, Virtual Editions, are available and shipping in select countries worldwide today. Polycom RealPresence Media Manager v6.6 will be available in February. Polycom® RealPresence® Immersive Studio™ is available and shipping in select countries worldwide today. Polycom RealPresence Mobile v3.1 software application for smartphones and tablets is available today as a free download from Apple iTunes™ and from Google Play. Polycom RealPresence Desktop v3.1 is available for download at www.polycom.asia.

About Polycom
Polycom helps organisations unleash the power of human collaboration. More than 400,000 companies and institutions worldwide defy distance with secure video, voice and content solutions from Polycom to increase productivity, speed time to market, provide better customer service, expand education and save lives. Polycom and its global partner ecosystem provide flexible collaboration solutions for any environment that deliver the best user experience, the broadest multi-vendor interoperability and unmatched investment protection. Visit www.polycom.asia or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to learn more.

ENDS

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