Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), the global leader in open standards-based unified communications and collaboration (UC&C), today announced general availability of a wave of breakthrough solutions unveiled on October 8 that are designed to accelerate widespread adoption of video collaboration.

The solutions available for purchase today deliver the industry’s best end-to-end solution and include: the first open standards-based SVC support through enhancements to the Polycom® RealPresence® Platform; Polycom® RealPresence® Collaboration Server 800s, Virtual Edition – the industry’s first multi-protocol, integrated software MCU that runs on industry-standard servers; new and updated video collaboration endpoints including Polycom® RealPresence® Desktop 2.0 software (for PCs and laptops), Polycom® RealPresence® Mobile 2.0 software, and Polycom® RealPresence Group® 300 and 500 solutions; and Polycom® RealPresence® Access Director™ technology. Polycom® RealPresence® Collaboration Server 800s, Virtual Edition, along with various new customized Platform offerings and next-generation Polycom® RealPresence® video endpoints, are part of a new mid-market portfolio.

The announcement furthers Polycom’s aggressive initiative to bring to market next-generation UC&C solutions refined over two years of intensive R&D. Delivered on schedule, Polycom’s new solutions offer the highest quality audio and video experience across an array of infrastructure components and user environments.

“In October, Polycom’s announcements of breakthrough solutions raised the bar on enabling people to collaborate face-to-face over video, securely and reliably, no matter where they are located or what device or platform they want to use,” said Sudhakar Ramakrishna, President of Products and Services, Polycom. “Now we’re delivering on the vision we set out just a few weeks ago by bringing to market UC&C solutions that are simple to use, built around open standards, designed for enterprises and mid-sized companies, and giving users the best video collaboration experience. Furthermore, for the first time in the industry, we are enabling mixed SVC and AVC video environments without a gateway, allowing customers to increase scalability and dramatically reduce TCO.”

SVC Support on RealPresence Platform

Polycom is helping to make quality video collaboration accessible and ubiquitous by incorporating support for the industry’s first implementation of open standards-based H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC) technology into the Polycom RealPresence Platform. Polycom’s native support for SVC on the RealPresence Platform delivers 3X HD multipoint capacity for greater scalability and dramatically lower TCO, higher quality video performance, and long-term investment protection by providing backwards- and forwards- compatibility and interoperability without the need for expensive gateways or hardware. Scalability is important to customers as they bring video collaboration to more employees and onto more devices, such as PCs and tablets.

“Every day, more of our employees discover that communicating and collaborating face-to-face over video helps them get more done sooner, and improves their work-life balance by reducing business travel,” said Dan Van Roekel, Telehealth Technology Manager at Sanford Health, the largest medical facility in the Fargo, North Dakota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota regions, dedicated to the work of healing. “Now we’re able to upgrade our Polycom RealPresence infrastructure to support SVC. This is huge, not only because it is interoperable with our current video investments and gives us much more capacity, but because it also allows us to deliver the best quality video experience across all our user environments, including desktops, mobile devices, and group video systems.”

The open standards-based SVC algorithm provides a multi-layered data structure that allows systems to adapt to networks to enhance the resolution, frame rate, and quality of video streams, and increase error resiliency, all without requiring excessive bandwidth or administrative intervention. This includes SVC enabling a video stream to be reduced in size automatically if there is a reduction in throughput (e.g., a connectivity bottleneck), allowing the viewer of a video meeting to keep the connection at a slightly lower resolution instead of getting a pause or a video freeze.

SVC support is available through software updates to components of the RealPresence Platform, including Polycom® RealPresence® Collaboration Server 7.8 (RMX), Polycom® RealPresence® Virtualization Manager 5.1 (DMA), and Polycom® RealPresence® Resource Manager 7.1 systems.

New Mid-Market Solutions

To address the unique needs of mid-sized organizations – including support for SVC and future protocols, and the ability to accommodate desktop and mobile environments – Polycom is delivering solutions configured and priced for organizations starting out with video, but still offering scalability to add users as companies grow.

• Polycom RealPresence Collaboration Server 800s, Virtual Edition. Polycom has delivered Polycom RealPresence Collaboration Server 800s, Virtual Edition – the industry’s first multi-protocol, integrated software MCU that runs on an industry-standard server, connecting video systems using the open standards-based SVC protocol with video systems using other protocols, such as AVC, to the same meeting without expensive gateways or extra licenses that add cost and induce risk. The open-standards based SVC solution is backwards- and forwards- compatible, and results in a 3X HD multipoint video capacity increase for greater scalability and dramatically lower TCO. The solution is ideal for mid-sized enterprises as well as larger organizations with branch offices and represents a significant step forward in delivering virtualized video collaboration from the datacenter for even greater flexibility and ROI.
• Support 100 Devices with RealPresence Resource Manager. The mid-market version of the Polycom RealPresence Resource Manager system allows smaller organizations to cost-effectively provision, monitor, and manage their video collaboration network.
• Support 50 Concurrent Calls with RealPresence Virtualization Manager. Organizations now can intelligently route up to 50 concurrent voice and video calls based on priority, bandwidth availability, and class of service in an affordable mid-market configuration of the Polycom RealPresence Virtualization Manager 5.1 (DMA) system.
• Polycom portfolio of mid-market solutions also includes various endpoints such as the new RealPresence Group 300 solution for huddle rooms; RealPresence Desktop 2.0 software for PCs and laptops, and RealPresence Mobile 2.0 software, delivering easy-to-use video solutions at affordable prices.

Polycom RealPresence Desktop 2.0, RealPresence Mobile 2.0, and RealPresence Group Series

Updated Polycom RealPresence Desktop 2.0 software for PCs and laptops and Polycom RealPresence Mobile 2.0 software for tablets and smartphones extend video beyond conference rooms, enabling organizations to deliver video collaboration to more users in more environments. The updated software applications feature the new Polycom user experience, Polycom UX™, the industry’s best user experience with more than 20 new user innovations and features, including a completely redesigned UI. Through the Polycom RealPresence Platform, the RealPresence Desktop and RealPresence Mobile solutions are SVC-enabled.

• Polycom RealPresence Desktop 2.0 is affordable, enterprise-quality video collaboration software application for PCs and laptops. The system includes features such as corporate directory search for other video users, the ability to select a specific application for content sharing, and far-end (remote) camera control.
• Polycom RealPresence Mobile 2.0 is Polycom’s award-winning software application that lets customers securely extend the use of video collaboration beyond the conference room to easily connect tablets and smartphones (iOS and Android devices) with other standards-based video systems. Now available for more than a dozen devices, the updated app includes the new patent-pending Polycom SmartPairing™ technology wirelessly connects Apple iPads to the RealPresence Group Series and enhanced HDX 3.1 series, letting users control video meetings with their tablets and transfer a live video call from their tablet to a big screen with the swipe of a finger (watch a related video). For iPad users, additional features include content sharing and far-end camera control (see video and related press release).

"Polycom's latest solutions really stand out. RealPresence Mobile 2.0 software is so easy to install and use, and it's integrated with Active Directory, and everyone on staff has an Active Directory account, so setting up a video call is no big deal," said Steve O’Brien, director of data center operations, Jefferson County (Jeffco) Public Schools. "In the past three days, 51 percent of the people who logged into a video conference were using the RealPresence Mobile 2.0 app on an iPad, and 49 percent were using RealPresence Desktop 2.0 solutions. Once people see how this makes their own lives better, more often than not, they're downloading the RealPresence Mobile app, asking for a software license for their PC, or wanting to use a room video system.”

(Read full customer press release)

Last month, Polycom made available the 300 and 500 models of the new Polycom RealPresence Group Series, designed for smaller environments such as “huddle” rooms, and medium-sized areas such as classrooms and conference rooms, respectively. The new RealPresence Group Series solutions also feature the new Polycom user experience, the Polycom UX, including the new UI, SmartPairing technology capabilities, and the industry’s best HD video (up to 1080p60 resolution), content sharing, and crystal-clear audio.

Polycom RealPresence Access Director

With the availability of the new Polycom RealPresence Access Director solution, Polycom makes it easier for users, inside or outside the firewall, to video conference safely with anyone in the organization, whether they are in a secure environment at the office or an unsecure environment at home or on the go. Integrated with the RealPresence Platform virtualization and resource management solutions, RealPresence Access Director brings cost-effective, highly scalable conferencing to applications such as B2B, B2C, and intra-company collaboration.

Availability

RealPresence Collaboration Suite 800s, Virtual Edition is now available. Polycom RealPresence Desktop software is available for PC users today and will be available for Mac users in 2013. Polycom RealPresence Mobile 2.0 software is available today as a free download from the Apple AppStore™ and Google Play; support for SmartPairing will be available on the iPad® 2 and the new iPad later this month. RealPresence Access Director is available in configurations that scale from medium office to large enterprise environments. RealPresence Group 300 and 500 solutions have been available since November. The midmarket versions of the RealPresence Resource Manager and the RealPresence Virtualization Manager systems are now available. Contact your local Polycom sales representative or channel partner for pricing information.

About Polycom

Polycom is the global leader in open standards-based unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) solutions for voice and video collaboration, trusted by more than 415,000 customers around the world. Polycom solutions are powered by the Polycom® RealPresence® Platform, comprehensive software infrastructure and rich APIs that interoperate with the broadest set of communication, business, mobile and cloud applications and devices to deliver secure face-to-face video collaboration in any environment. Polycom and its ecosystem of over 7,000 partners provide truly unified communications solutions that deliver the best user experience, highest multi-vendor interoperability, and lowest TCO. Visit www.polycom.com or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to learn how we’re pushing the greatness of human collaboration forward.

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.

© 2012 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 Polycom's new solutions transforming the video collaboration industry and accelerating widespread adoption of video and universal access. 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; continuing disruption to the business due to the realignment of the North America sales organization; 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, 2012, and in other reports filed by Polycom with the SEC. Polycom disclaims any intent or obligations to update these forward-looking statements.