Microsoft and Polycom expand alliance

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Polycom and Microsoft announced that the two companies are strengthening their strategic relationship to deliver voice and video solutions for unified communications and collaboration. Polycom has licensed the right to distribute Microsoft's RoundTable software.

The product, renamed as Polycom CX5000 Unified Conference Station, will be available through Polycom and its channel network.

Microsoft and Polycom are working together to help customers enhance team communication and collaboration with voice and video conferencing. The CX5000 adds to Polycom’s broad portfolio and enables it to address the video collaboration needs of organizations that rely on Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Live Meeting service.

The CX5000 is a plug-and-play device that connects to a PC through a USB connection and does not require any extra provisioning or configuration. When used with Office Live Meeting service, or as part of Office Communications Server 2007, the CX5000 combines content, a panoramic 360-degree view of the entire meeting room, and a separate view of the active speaker for a unique and engaging voice and video experience.

“Microsoft and Polycom share a long-standing, strategic relationship in the unified communications space, and we are confident in Polycom’s depth of experience and customer support in the conferencing market,” said Sanjay Manchanda, Director—Business Division, Microsoft India. “Our vision to make RoundTable available to more people in more countries has been realized with the introduction of the Polycom CX5000 Unified Conferencing Station, and shows further evidence of Microsoft’s commitment to a software platform that enables device innovation.”

“Our collaboration with Microsoft is a key component of Polycom’s vision to provide our customers with high quality unified communications endpoints that support the way people work today,” said Paul Newell, Director—Technical and Strategic Sales and Country Manager, Polycom India. “With our expertise in enterprise collaboration, and our broad distribution network, it makes perfect sense for us to incorporate the CX5000 into our family of devices optimized for Microsoft UC solutions. We look forward to our continued relationship with Microsoft and the benefits this will bring our joint customers.”