Polycom is planning to announce a slew of new products and enhancements at its Global Partner Conference in Phoenix this week, including improved integration with Microsoft Live Communication Server, a software update for its VSX endpoints, a new custom room system and a new recording appliance.
Chief among the releases is what Polycom is calling “Phase Four” of its integration strategy with Microsoft LCS. Beginning Monday, customers that have Polycom’s VSX video endpoints with the new Version 8.5 software update or the company’s IP phones will be able to display presence information gathered from LCS directly on the device. Put simply, users will see their buddy lists on their video endpoint or IP phone.
Previously, Polycom’s products could register and authenticate with LCS and customers using Office Communicator could launch into a video call using a menu option in the application. It’s the first time Polycom has integrated its IP phone offerings with LCS.
“[Presence is] about calling people that are available and not wasting time calling people who are not,” says Doug Ricketts, director of enterprise solutions marketing at Polycom.
VSX users that download the 8.5 software update will also get enhanced security features that go beyond simply encrypting calls. Video endpoints running Version 8.5 will be FIPS-140-2 compliant, a government standard that deals with the security of the device itself and is required of organizations that deal with the government. Version 8.5 also adds enhanced NAT/firewall support by eliminating the need for a separate appliance sitting between endpoint and firewall. The new software can communicate directly with Polycom’s V2IU border controller.
Other features in Version 8.5, which is free to those with maintenance contracts, include the ability to adjust the MTU packet size, support for the G.711.1 Annex C standard for 14kHz audio, improved SIP support and the ability to connect Cisco CallManager environments that run SCCP voice over IP protocol.
For customers looking for a high-end, custom video room complete with life-like video displays, the company is offering what it calls the Polycom RPX. A customer gives the company a room and Polycom will outfit it with custom audio and video gear, including 16 feet of displays. With RPX systems on both ends of a call, users in the custom rooms look face to face with each other as if they were in the same space. A single RPX room can range from $249,000 to $549,000.
HP is offering a similar experience with its recently announced Halo project and Cisco’s John Chambers recently talked about a telepresence initiative that could compete with RPX. Polycom has an OEM arrangement with Destiny Conferencing (formerly TeleSuite) to develop the RPX, according to Andrew Davis, principal analyst at Wainhouse Research in Brookline, Mass.
Davis also sees the RPX offerings as having some unintended consequences. “For the resellers that are A/V integrators whose competence is to provide highly integrated rooms with audio and video, this puts that capability in the hands of more resellers and the high-end resellers could see that as threat.”
Polycom partners will also get a look at the new RSS 2000, a recording/streaming appliance for videoconferences. The RSS 2000 can record calls to its 250GB hard drive for future playback or stream them live to 100 simultaneous Web users using Windows Media or RealPlayer. Both video and data area recorded by the device. Polycom VSX users can point their endpoint at the RSS 2000 to watch a recorded session.
The RSS 2000 is scheduled to ship in mid-August with a $15,000 price tag.
Overall, Davis says Polycom’s Microsoft strategy is “market leading”, but most of its other video-related announcements are catch-up-to-the-competition items, particularly when it comes to the Cisco integration and NAT/firewall traversal capabilities.
Finally, Polycom will show off new phone and a SIP software update to its partners:
SIP 2.0 – The new software release includes a number of bug fixes and added transport layer security features. It also adds the Microsoft LCS integration to display presence information on supported phones. It will be available in June.
VoiceStation 300 – A $299 conference featuring better microphone pickup and the ability to boost the volume of voices that are further away from the phone. Polycom says the VoiceStation 300 replaces the VoiceStaion 100. It will be available in June.
VoiceStation 500 – Similar to the VoiceStation 300 with added Bluetooth and applications port. Customers can link the VoiceStation 500 to a cellphone using Bluetooth and call out over a wireless connection. Also, the application port can be used in conjunction with a PC for calls over VoIP applications such as Skype. The VoiceStation 500 will be priced at $399 and is scheduled to ship in June.
SoundPoint IP 430 – A new IP-only phone that features LCS integration, a full-duplex speakerphone, Power over Ethernet and a built-in Ethernet port for offices with a single wired connection. Like the other phone products, the SoundPoint IP 430 is scheduled to ship in June and will be priced at $239.
