Polycom announces co-development Initiative with IBM Research to deliver secure, next-generation innovations and accelerate cloud-delivery of video collaboration applications

Polycom, the global leader in open standards-based unified communications, UC, today announced an initiative with IBM Research to co-develop next-generation innovations that are designed to further accelerate cloud-delivered video collaboration applications to support key vertical and social uses. Under the initiative, Polycom will work with IBM Research to explore and develop technologies that leverage the Polycom RealPresence Platform and real-time video capabilities in the cloud, as businesses are increasingly evaluating Video-as-a-Service, VaaS, offerings through private, public and hybrid cloud models.  

Polycom and IBM Research are working to ensure Polycom RealPresence video solutions perform optimally in the most rigorous cloud environments to provide the highest levels of security, performance, and reliability, even when systems need to rapidly scale up and down. The companies plan to further develop interoperability between standard and non-standard video environments, including social video applications, to serve organisations requiring face-to-face video meetings regardless of network, platforms, devices, or protocols. This initiative will put special emphasis toward video-enabled mobile social collaboration. The two companies have already worked on a number of initiatives to integrate video, mobile, and social platforms. 

Leveraging their development efforts, Polycom and IBM Research plan to create industry solutions that focus on cloud-delivered Communications Enabling Business Processes, CEBP – business activities achieved more effectively through certain communications applications. The combination of leveraging rich presence as well as advanced routing and interoperability creates new possibilities in various industry segments such as insurance, call centers, surveillance, and more. This initiative is designed to broaden the use of RealPresence video solutions and is an important testimony to Polycom’s focus on driving video ubiquity. 

“At its heart, this collaboration with IBM is about laying the foundation for more RealPresence innovation in the cloud.  Working with IBM, we’re taking a world-class solution and co-developing technologies to help customers – who are increasingly looking to the cloud for video collaboration applications – better communicate, collaborate, and be more productive,” said Sudhakar Ramakrishna, President of Products and Services, Polycom.  “Customers who choose Polycom will always be at the forefront of the industry because we’re pushing the boundaries of collaboration forward to ensure our customers have the best solutions, both today and in the future. Our work with IBM is yet another step forward in achieving Polycom’s goal of connecting anyone across any environment on any device.” 

“Together with Polycom, we can help customers prepare for the future of this industry, whether they choose premises-based video solutions or private, public, or hybrid cloud delivery models,” said Ken King, vice president of business development for IBM Research. “Ultimately, it’s about helping Polycom develop new, innovative video products on a cloud computing platform that creates solutions across various industry verticals. By co-developing with Polycom, we can help customers collaborate and make decisions more quickly.” 

The co-developed solutions will be rolled-out in future Polycom RealPresence video collaboration solutions, including for enterprises interested in private or hybrid clouds or through service providers who will deliver VaaS offerings through public clouds to businesses of all sizes. 

Today’s announcement builds on the existing Polycom and IBM global partnership which includes product integrations as well as offerings that help customers to deliver, install, integrate, and maintain standards-based Polycom video solutions into unified communications environments.