Polycom in big product push including Skype, LinkedIn and Facebook integration

Paul Milligan, October 9, 2012

Polycom has launched a suite of products with the aim of extending video conferencing to as large an audience as possible, regardless of end point. The new products include a free download and the ability to hold video calls with Facebook/LinkedIn/Skype contacts via a browser.

Polycom CloudAXIS

Polycom’s new suite of products includes:

A social media extension (RealPresence CloudAXIS) so customers can hold video calls with their Facebook/LinkedIn/Skype contacts via a browser, making it easy for users to call any of their contacts with just one click
A new and revamped user interface – following extensive user experience testing, the interface is easier than use than before and reduces the need for training on the system
Updated desktop video conferencing – available for the first time for free download – cutting costs for enterprises and supporting BYOD strategies as users can install themselves on their device of choice.

RealPresence CloudAXIS Suite lets Polycom customers extend video collaboration to users of Skype, Facebook, Google Talk, and other business video applications via a browser.

RealPresence CloudAXIS is a suite of software that runs on the Polycom RealPresence Platform in private enterprise clouds or public cloud deployments (available in both an enterprise and partner/service provider edition), and extends video and content collaboration outside the firewall to any business (B2B) and consumer (B2C) via a browser.

Polycom has also announced updates to the RealPresence Platform include support for the implementation of open standards-based Scalable Video Coding (SVC) technology. This implementation delivers 3X HD multipoint capacity and is backwards- and forwards-compatible.

Polycom also introduced RealPresence Collaboration Server 800s, Virtual Edition, a multi-protocol, integrated software MCU that runs on industry-standard servers.

The Collaboration Server 800s, Virtual Edition also delivers open standards-based SVC that results in 3X HD multipoint video capacity for mid-sized enterprises and larger organisations with branch offices.

The new Polycom UX has more than 20 new features, including a completely redesigned UI and up to 1080p60 resolution, patent-pending Polycom SmartPairing technology, and content sharing, and audio features.

The majority of products will be available by December 2012, with the remainder in the first half of 2013.