Polycom enhances its telepresence support

Also from VoiceCon, news from Microsoft, Global IP Solutions and CommuniGate Systems

VoIP, unified messaging, products and services

Today, we'll continue with VoiceCon Orlando highlights with announcements from Global IP Solutions and CommuniGate Systems, along with news from Polycom and Microsoft. Global IP Solutions (GIPS) announced that CommuniGate Systems has embedded GIPS VoiceEngine to power voice communications in its Pronto! client unified communications framework. Polycom has enhanced its telepresence support and in a separate announcement, said it has licensed the right to distribute Microsoft's RoundTable.

CommuniGate Systems provides software and services to mobile and broadband network operators for unified communications SaaS delivery solutions. Today, CommuniGate Systems and its unified communications solutions CommuniGate Pro and Pronto! serve well over 12,000 customers with more than 130 million subscribers worldwide. GIPS' current customers include: AOL, Google, IBM, LG, Nortel, Oracle, Samsung, Tencent, WebEx, Yahoo, and others in the unified communications space. GIPS VoiceEngine powers enterprise applications with HD-voice capability and has been installed with more than 800 million downloads globally across various desktop PC platforms.

Polycom announced it is enhancing its telepresence solutions, RealPresence Experience and Polycom Telepresence Experience, with support for 1080p and broadcast-quality 720p (60 frames per second) high definition (HD) video quality. (Our note: 1080p offers Blu ray quality while 720p is the format used in most HDTV broadcasts.) Polycom delivers these capabilities end-to-end with existing support on its RMX 2000 telepresence infrastructure and on its HDX 8000 series of room telepresence solutions, which start at just $17,500 for 1080p.

In addition, Polycom and Microsoft announced they are deepening their strategic relationship for unified communications and collaboration. Specifically, Polycom has licensed the right to distribute Microsoft’s RoundTable system. The product will be renamed the Polycom® CX5000 Unified Conference Station, and it will be sold through Polycom sales channels. The system is designed for enterprises that use Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 or Office Communications Server 200; it offers a panoramic 360-degree view of the entire meeting room, and a separate view of the active speaker. 

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Today, we'll continue with VoiceCon Orlando highlights with announcements from Global IP Solutions and CommuniGate Systems, along with news from Polycom and Microsoft. Global IP Solutions (GIPS) announced that CommuniGate Systems has embedded GIPS VoiceEngine to power voice communications in its Pronto! client unified communications framework. Polycom has enhanced its telepresence support and in a separate announcement, said it has licensed the right to distribute Microsoft's RoundTable.

CommuniGate Systems provides software and services to mobile and broadband network operators for unified communications SaaS delivery solutions. Today, CommuniGate Systems and its unified communications solutions CommuniGate Pro and Pronto! serve well over 12,000 customers with more than 130 million subscribers worldwide. GIPS' current customers include: AOL, Google, IBM, LG, Nortel, Oracle, Samsung, Tencent, WebEx, Yahoo, and others in the unified communications space. GIPS VoiceEngine powers enterprise applications with HD-voice capability and has been installed with more than 800 million downloads globally across various desktop PC platforms.

Polycom announced it is enhancing its telepresence solutions, RealPresence Experience and Polycom Telepresence Experience, with support for 1080p and broadcast-quality 720p (60 frames per second) high definition (HD) video quality. (Our note: 1080p offers Blu ray quality while 720p is the format used in most HDTV broadcasts.) Polycom delivers these capabilities end-to-end with existing support on its RMX 2000 telepresence infrastructure and on its HDX 8000 series of room telepresence solutions, which start at just $17,500 for 1080p.

In addition, Polycom and Microsoft announced they are deepening their strategic relationship for unified communications and collaboration. Specifically, Polycom has licensed the right to distribute Microsoft’s RoundTable system. The product will be renamed the Polycom® CX5000 Unified Conference Station, and it will be sold through Polycom sales channels. The system is designed for enterprises that use Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 or Office Communications Server 200; it offers a panoramic 360-degree view of the entire meeting room, and a separate view of the active speaker. 

The Polycom CX5000 will be available beginning April 13 at a list price of $4,300. Once the Polycom CX5000 is available, RoundTable will no longer be sold by Microsoft, although the arrangement is not an exclusive licensing agreement. Microsoft will continue to support all RoundTable devices already sold, while Polycom will provide frontline support for CX5000 units sold beginning April13.

Next week: more news from CTIA, VoiceCon, and the NCTA Cable Show - all being held this week.

Read more about voip & convergence in Network World's VoIP & Convergence section.

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. Larry Hettick is a principal analyst at Current Analysis.