AT&T’s Business Exchange Telepresence Now Includes Polycom

The Business Exchange platform of AT&T now includes Polycom’s various endpoints and software. So, on top of Cisco products that are already part of AT&T’s Business Exchange, companies running through AT&T’s telepresence platform can now use Polycom equipment.

With this alliance between the two companies, customers of AT&T’s telepresence can gain access to the RealPresence video services of Polycom, including personal systems and multipurpose rooms made available in 40 countries. In addition, customers can opt for a managed services bundle touted to lessen capital expenditures by offering, for a monthly fee, the video equipment alongside the managed service.

It can be said that AT&T’s decision to add Polycom to the back-end infrastructure of its Business Exchange platform is a wise one. For one, there’s the growing popularity of federation in the video conferencing industry, a trend where different kinds of platforms – both open and proprietary – are made interoperable with one another. And with Cisco and Polycom, they interoperate as well as work separately with the gears and software of other vendors. For instance, the fact that Polycom can be integrated with Microsoft Lync imparts more flexibility to companies using AT&T Business Exchange.

Zeus Kerravala, principal analyst at ZKResearch, lauded the partnership between AT&T and Polycom, saying that it would help move along video collaboration during a time when businesses tend to go for cloud-based options.

A similar sentiment was echoed by Jim Lundy, CEO and lead analyst at Aragon Research. He said that the partnership agreement between the two companies would speed up the shift to cloud-enabled video. He also described the “Pervasive Video Era of 2013,” when people seek instant access to other people regardless of the device or service they are currently using.

“Together with AT&T, we are reshaping and expanding the capabilities of cloud-delivered video communications, making it easier for businesses to connect and collaborate with each other,” said Andy Miller, President and CEO at Polycom.

“Our goal is to lead the innovation curve by introducing solutions and services that make communications easier, anytime, anywhere, on any device,” said Michael Bowling, Chief Marketing Officer of AT&T Business Solutions. “The work between AT&T and Polycom will bring customers new capabilities, help expand their reach and use of video collaboration and ultimately deliver lasting impacts by transforming how they get work done.” (KOM) Link. Link.