Furthering its commitment to open, standards-based unified communications (UC), Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), today unveiled plans to accelerate delivery of solutions for UC networks and help drive video communications market growth and innovation through new applications in emerging UC markets - mobile, small and medium business (SMB), and consumer.

To address the device, application and network requirements of mobile, SMB, and consumer networks, Polycom announced it is extending its industry-leading enterprise UC product portfolio by developing standards-based H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC) technology for current and future solutions and UC initiatives. SVC will be made available at no cost to strategic partners that support open and interoperable communications standards through industry forums such as the Unified Communications Interoperability Forum (UCIF). SVC technology is distinguished by its ability to deliver consistent, high-quality video and audio experiences at any bandwidth and over networks prone to packet loss and congestion, like the public internet and mobile broadband networks.

Further, by leveraging the computing power available in network elements, Polycom SVC solutions will result in superior economics for customers deploying UC solutions. Polycom’s end-to-end SVC solutions will encompass client and intelligent core elements and interoperate seamlessly with existing deployments, offering full investment protection to customers – this approach contrasts with competitive offerings by uniting the islands of communication and not requiring customers to rip-and-replace existing systems.

To help customers protect telepresence and video conferencing investments as new applications emerge, Polycom announced it will extend the Polycom UC Intelligent Core™ infrastructure platform by delivering “universal bridging” capabilities to connect existing and emerging video applications. Polycom will enhance its broad support for existing and new video technologies with support for emerging protocols such as H.264 SVC, Telepresence Interoperability Protocol (TIP), Jingle, and others over time. This will help customers protect existing UC investments, lower total cost of ownership and deliver a greater return on investment.

“Video communications is at a tipping point. As new applications emerge, open interoperability and backwards compatibility are key to achieving widespread adoption and delivering value for customers,” said Joseph Burton, chief technology and strategy officer, Polycom. “The UC Everywhere initiative by Polycom will drive broad video adoption within enterprise UC and emerging UC markets - SMB, mobile and consumer. Our new initiatives align with our focus on giving customers choice, flexibility and investment protection along with the quality, integration and interoperability they need in order to truly transform how they collaborate.”

Microsoft and Polycom extending video-enabled Unified Communications 

Microsoft is among the first companies to announce its intention to adopt Polycom’s H.264 SVC technology, furthering the recently announced strategic relationship between the two companies to deliver and market integrated UC solutions.

An initial area of focus is desktop video communications. The combination of Polycom’s H.264 SVC technology and Microsoft’s solutions can contribute to improve desktop video collaboration by delivering consistent, high-quality experiences across enterprise, SMB, home office and public network environments, and by providing interoperability with existing standards-based telepresence and video conferencing systems. Gartner predicts more than 200 million workers globally will use corporate-supplied desktop video conferencing by 20151.

“Microsoft and Polycom are committed to support open, interoperable UC solutions,” said Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president, Office Business Productivity Marketing Group, Microsoft. “Video collaboration can help improve customer productivity and lower costs. By integrating H.264 SVC technology within our broader solution offering, Microsoft and Polycom can make it easier for millions of people to leverage video communications within familiar Microsoft applications.”

About UC Everywhere by Polycom

Polycom’s vision and strategy is to enable Unified Communications Everywhere—allowing communication anywhere on any device. We’re opening up new and emerging markets to UC by developing cloud computing and mobility solutions that consumers, SMBs, and enterprises can leverage. We’re also teaming with the world’s leading service providers to deliver seamless UC around the globe so that our customers can communicate and collaborate regardless of time or distance.

About Polycom

Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) is a global leader in unified communications solutions with industry-leading telepresence, video, voice and infrastructure solutions built on open standards. Polycom powers smarter conversations, transforming lives and businesses worldwide. Please visit www.polycom.asia for more information or connect with Polycom on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.