NEW DELHI, INDIA: Polycom, Inc., a provider of telepresence, video and voice communication solutions, today announced that it has signed a multi-year, strategic global agreement with Microsoft Corp to deliver integrated end-to-end unified communications (UC) and to improve customers’ business productivity.

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Under the agreement, Polycom plans to develop and market standards-based UC solutions – encompassing software, hardware, networking and services – that span the enterprise, small-to-medium business, and government markets, said a press release. Polycom claimed that it will enable customers to improve business productivity and reduce travel, telecom and IT operating costs.

Polycom and Microsoft said that the strategic agreement is a major step towards streamlining communications across messaging, video and voice with connected applications and devices.

“Microsoft and Polycom solutions play a critical role within our current and future unified communications strategy,” said Martin Smale, IT director at NDS, a News Corp. company. “We’re already benefitting from improved collaboration, increased productivity, and significant ROI based on our existing UC network, and we’re looking forward to leveraging the expanded offerings from two of our most valued vendors in the UC space.”

According to Brent Kelly, senior analyst and partner at Wainhouse Research, nearly 70 per cent of the companies considering a unified communications solution are thinking of deploying Microsoft Office Communications Server.

“These enterprises need seamless integration and interoperability between Office Communicator on the desktop and personal, group, and telepresence video solutions like those offered by Polycom for executive offices, meeting suites, and conference rooms. By working together, Microsoft and Polycom are making it easier for organizations to have a true end-to-end unified communications environment, which includes high definition video,” he said.

As part of this long-term strategic agreement, each company is investing in product development, sales, and marketing.

“Microsoft and Polycom are committed to a roadmap that will deliver interoperable UC solutions with choice and innovation in video conferencing and customer devices that will help transform enterprise communications,” said Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate vice president of Unified Communication at Microsoft. “By integrating video, voice, instant messaging and conferencing solutions, Microsoft and Polycom give customers the ability to be present, anytime, anywhere.”

Andrew Miller, Polycom president and CEO, said that Polycom and Microsoft deliver a winning combination to our customers around the globe by delivering seamless, easy-to-use, high-definition communications at the click of a mouse.