Polycom expands Microsoft Lync interoperability
Polycom Inc has announced broad interoperability for Microsoft Lync 2013 that includes new qualified Polycom voice solutions and a new software extension to the PolycomRealPresence Platform.
Polycom announced that the software extension would deliver interoperability between Lync 2013 and the full portfolio of Polycom standards-based video collaboration and content sharing solutions.
It said the two companies further expand their partnership based on Polycom’s portfolio of 40 video, voice and content sharing solutions that are interoperable or optimised to work with Lync 2010 now. Together, Microsoft and Polycom offer the most complete UC&C portfolio at the lowest total cost of ownership.
"With today’s announcement, Polycom will deliver the broadest interoperability for Lync 2013 in our industry,” said Andy Miller, President and CEO, Polycom.
“The majority of companies choose Polycom and Microsoft over other vendors for a complete UC&C solution today, and we will continue to ensure that our joint customers have a superior collaboration experience, unmatched interoperability and investment protection.”
Polycom also announced native integration and Lync Server 2013 qualification for Polycom VVX Business Media Phones (Polycom VVX 500 and Polycom VVX 600 models), with the Polycom VVX 300 and Polycom VVX 400 models expected to achieve qualification in Q2 2013.
In addition, the Polycom RealPresence Platform and the Polycom HDX Series and Polycom RealPresence Group Series of video collaboration endpoints are expected to be compatible with Lync Server 2013 in June.
New software extensions to the Polycom RealPresence Platform will include software updates to the Polycom RealPresence Collaboration Servers (RMX Series and Collaboration Server 800s) and Polycom RealPresence Virtualisation Manager (Polycom DMA), which will deliver Lync 2013 interoperability across Polycom’s full portfolio of video solutions, including the new Polycom RealPresence Group Series, executive desktop video systems, mobile video appsand other endpoints.
With these new software updates, Polycom and Microsoft customers will be able to use endpoints and infrastructure supporting open-standards based H.264 AVC or SVC (Scalable Video Coding) with Lync 2013.
The software extensions announced will also include Lync 2013 interoperability for the recently launched Polycom RealPresence Content Sharing Suite, a software application that allows Lync users to share content back and forth with standards-based video collaboration devices such as room-based video solutions (e.g., Polycom HDX systems) or mobile apps (e.g., Polycom RealPresence Mobile 2.2 app). Additionally, the software extensions will include a new cross-platform scheduling application that integrates with Lync 2013, Exchange and Polycom RealPresence solutions to allow combined Lync 2013 and traditional video endpoint meetings using existing Microsoft Outlook scheduling capabilities. This capability will enable customers to easily schedule video meetings with both participants and video endpoints, which makes setting up and managing video calls easier for endusers while freeing up IT support resources.
