Polycom Extends BroadSoft Relationship with UC Cloud Solution to Drive Rapid Customer Adoption through Service Providers

By Kaspersky Lab

End-to-end cloud solution will lower cost and complexity of rapidly deploying unified communications for customers through service providers


Johannesburg, 10 November 2010 – To drive market growth through the rapid adoption of unified communications (UC), Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) have announced, through the extension of its relationship with BroadSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: BSFT), a BroadCloud™Video enabled UC cloud solution that will allow service providers to lower the cost and complexity of deploying and using business-to-business (B2B) telepresence and high-definition (HD) voice solutions for organisations around the globe.


The comprehensive solution gives customers end-to-end HD Voice™ and video communications capabilities, open interoperability with other standards-based UC systems, and B2B telepresence applications. The cloud offering is designed to help service providers cost-effectively extend their hosted telephony services to address the global, hyper-growth market for hosted UC services, which is projected to reach approximately $6 billion by 20141, according to Wainhouse Research.


The BroadSoft and Polycom solution combines the recently announced BroadSoft BroadCloud Video hosted service and award-winning, standards-based Polycom HDX®telepresence systems and Polycom VVX 1500 business media phones. This builds on an existing Polycom and BroadSoft hosted telephony solution that combines the BroadSoft BroadWorks® telephony platform and Polycom HD Voice™ desktop and conference phones. To further assist service providers in the transition to UC services, Polycom is also providing go-to-market support, sales enablement and demand-generation activities.


“Cloud-based services will play a key role in the UC Everywhere by Polycom strategy and in driving mainstream UC adoption. We are pleased to extend our strong relationship with BroadSoft to address this significant market demand,” said Andy Miller, president and CEO, Polycom. “We expect B2B services to be the next major wave of innovation in UC that will drive a network effect for customers. Many of our progressive customers are using B2B telepresence applications today to outmaneuver competitors by driving tighter alignment and collaboration with strategic partners, customers and suppliers.”


“By delivering a comprehensive UC cloud service to our joint service provider customers, BroadSoft and Polycom expect to deliver the collaboration, productivity and cost benefits of HD voice and video communications to the masses,” said Mike Tessler, president and CEO, BroadSoft. “We believe BroadCloud Video, combined with Polycom telepresence systems, eliminates the cost and complexity barriers of deploying high-quality collaboration solutions within and between businesses.”


Rapid ROI and Competitive Advantage for Customers
For customers, the cloud service provides low up-front costs and predictable monthly service costs, allowing a rapid return on investment through improved productivity and reduced travel expenses. The B2B telepresence capabilities can drive even greater return and competitive advantages by improving the quality and speed of collaboration between businesses and their customers and partners.


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.


Always-Available B2B Telepresence Services
BroadCloud Video is a high-definition, always-on, meet-me video conferencing service, which supports a wide range of room, desktop and soft client video-enabled devices. BroadSoft expects to join with Glowpoint (OTCBB: GLOW) to leverage its “Open Video” platform and Telepresence interExchange Network (TEN) to facilitate the delivery of video communications beyond a single enterprise. Combined with Polycom standards-based telepresence systems, the end-to-end solution will support open, interoperable, B2B video communications.


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.com for more information or connect with Polycom on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.


###

© 2010 Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved. POLYCOM®, the Polycom “Triangles” logo and the names and marks associated with Polycom's products are trademarks and/or service marks of Polycom, Inc. and are registered and/or common law marks in the United States and various other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.


About BroadSoft
BroadSoft provides software that enables fixed-line, mobile and cable service providers to deliver voice and multimedia services over their IP-based networks. The Company's software, BroadWorks®, enables service providers to provide enterprises and consumers with a range of cloud-based, or hosted, IP multimedia communications, such as hosted IP private branch exchanges, video calling, unified communications, collaboration and converged mobile and fixed-line services.


This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding future events, future trends, and future demand for Polycom solutions, including statements regarding the future proliferation of our comprehensive UC cloud service or the total market for hosted UC services, the key role that cloud-based services will play in driving mainstream UC adoption, B2B services as the next wave of innovation in UC and B2B telepresence capabilities as a driver of greater return and competitive advantages and the ability of the cloud offering to permit service providers to cost-effectively extend their hosted telephony services and lower the cost and complexity of deploying and using B2B telepresence and HD voice solutions. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the fact that service provider customers may not adopt the end-to-end Polycom cloud solution, the broadened relationship with BroadSoft may not yield the intended results or it may take longer than originally anticipated to achieve such results, the impact of competition on Polycom's product sales and for Polycom's customers and partners, the impact of increased competition due to consolidation in Polycom's industry or competition from companies that are larger or that have greater resources than we do, potential fluctuations in results and future growth rates, risks associated with general economic conditions and external market factors, the market acceptance of Polycom's products and changing market demands, including demands for differing technologies or product and services offerings, and possible delays in the development, availability and shipment of new products, increasing costs and differing uses of capital. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in Polycom's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, and in other reports filed by Polycom with the SEC. Polycom disclaims any intent or obligations to update these forward-looking statements.


1 - Wainhouse Research, “2010 Worldwide Hosted and Managed Unified Communications Forecast”


NOTE: The product plans, specifications and descriptions herein are provided for information only and subject to change without notice, and are provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied.