Polycom Progresses in Unified Communications
Polycom Progresses in Unified Communications by Robbie Pleasant
Several new announcements have recently come from Polycom, Inc., regarding Polycom's RealPresence Platform, a new software strategy, and its strategic relationship with Jive Software.
Polycom introduced the Polycom RealPresence Platform, a comprehensive software infrastructure for universal video collaboration. This software infrastructure powers Polycom's HD telepresence and video solutions, and ensures integration with hundreds of UC and social networking applications. The RealPresence Platform also integrates with core networking and security infrastructure, providing secure collaboration with groups of any size at a reduced bandwidth consumption, and provides security, reliability, management, and scalability.
In the next announcement, Polycom unveiled a software strategy, designed to accelerate the global adoption of HD video collaboration through open standards. By using a standards-based infrastructure that can be delivered on-premises, hosted, or with "video cloud"-based service providers, Polycom aims to redefine the UC market and accelerate the adoption of Polycom software, thus becoming the default choice of customers and partners for open UC and HD video collaboration solutions.
The software strategy spans four key initiatives: delivering a complete and interoperable software platform for universal HD video collaboration, expanding the partner ecosystem to bring HD video collaboration to mobile and social platforms, creating an open HD "video cloud" exchange with service providers, and setting the standards for HD video collaboration with software innovations.
Lastly, Polycom and Jive announced a strategic relationship, in which they will integrate Polycom HD video into Jive's social business platform. With this solution, Jive customers can conduct and record live video chats between individuals or groups. The HD video offerings are based on open standards, and will allow users to make point-to-point as well as multi-point group video calls, which can then be recorded and archived for later viewing.
According to Blair Pleasant, co-founder of UCStrategies, “Polycom’s announcement demonstrates the company’s commitment to unified communications, interoperability, a partner ecosystem, and even the growing importance of social software in the enterprise. Unified communications is all about integrating the various elements of a total solution, including from different vendors and providers. Polycom clearly gets this, and is working to make it easier for various UC elements to seamlessly work together in a multivendor environment. By working with industry leaders such as Microsoft, IBM, Avaya, Cisco, Siemens, and others, Polycom is making it easier for its customers to access UC and collaboration capabilities, including video, from a variety of environments.”
She adds,” Polycom’s competitors have been somewhat ahead in terms of software platforms for video, and now Polycom is focusing on a software-centric approach, which it needed to do.”
For more information, visit www.polycom.com.