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

New virtualized and subscription-based collaboration solutions provide flexible options and breakthrough price points to fit business models, workflows and budgets for organizations 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, virtualized video collaboration solutions now available via subscription, lowering entry costs for customers: New Polycom® RealPresence One™ is a single, comprehensive offering including RealPresence Platform virtualized software, video clients and services for video and content collaboration

New immersive collaboration studio from Polycom makes an ideal think-tank for meetings, creative brainstorms or crisis management sessions. (Photo: Business Wire)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia & SAN JOSE, Calif.--()--TEAM Polycom 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 organizations 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, will be showcased at TEAM Polycom 2014, the company’s largest partner event of the year, which begins tonight.

Video Delivery Options that are Easy to Buy, Implement and Manage

Organizations 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:

  • Virtualized 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 organizations 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 virtualized software that runs on industry-standard servers in existing datacenters. Polycom RealPresence, Virtual Editions are ideal for organizations who want to optimize, streamline or expand their existing video networks, and will work alongside hardware appliances, for a seamless, hybrid network.

To help organizations get greater value from their video collaboration investments, Polycom now offers new, value-added services that provide system performance and utilization 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 Organizations and Budgets of All Sizes

Whether employees are in the office or on the go, organizations can maximize 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 organizations 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 organizations 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 organizations 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 organizations,” 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 organization of virtually any size to buy a collaboration solution, make it work with and fit seamlessly into existing environments, and drive user adoption to realize a faster return on the investment. Polycom is taking a bold step that addresses this challenge head on, offering multiple options for an organization to procure, implement and launch enterprise-grade video in ways that best meet their needs.”

“Many people want to bring video collaboration into their organizations, 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 organizations 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.com. For information, please visit www.polycom.com or call 1-800-POLYCOM.

About Polycom

Polycom helps organizations 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.com or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to learn more.

NOTE: The product plans, specifications, and descriptions herein are provided for information only and subject to change without notice, and are provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Polycom reserves the right to modify future product plans at any time. Products and related specifications referenced herein are not guaranteed and will be delivered on a when and if available basis.

© 2014 Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved. POLYCOM®, the Polycom logo, and the names and marks associated with Polycom’s products are trademarks and/or service marks of Polycom, Inc. and are registered and/or common law marks in the United States and various other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

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, including statements regarding product availability and anticipated ship date. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the impact of competition on our product sales and for our customers and partners; the impact of increased competition due to consolidation in our industry or competition from companies that are larger or that have greater resources than we do; our ability to bring our new products and offerings to market in a timely manner due to engineering, manufacturing or other delays; changing market demands; potential fluctuations in results and future growth rates; risks associated with general economic conditions and external market factors; the market acceptance of our products and changing market demands, including demands for differing technologies or product and services offerings; our ability to successfully integrate our acquisitions into our business; possible delays in the development, availability and shipment of new products; increasing costs and differing uses of capital; changes in key personnel that may cause disruption to the business; our inability to achieve the expected results from adjustments being made to our expense profile; the impact of restructuring actions; and the impact of global conflicts and changing laws that may adversely impact our business. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, and in other reports filed by Polycom with the SEC. Polycom disclaims any intent or obligations to update these forward-looking statements.

Contacts

Polycom, Inc.
Ryan Batty, +1 408-586-4667
ryan.batty@polycom.com

Release Summary

Polycom makes it easier than ever to buy, implement and use video collaboration. A new portfolio of video software, services and hardware solutions, gives flexibility to organizations of all sizes.

Contacts

Polycom, Inc.
Ryan Batty, +1 408-586-4667
ryan.batty@polycom.com