GAITHERSBURG, Md. and PLEASANTON, Calif., Jan. 28, 2010 – BroadSoft®, the worldwide leader of VoIP application software, and Polycom®, Inc. [NASDAQ: PLCM], the leader in telepresence, video and voice communications solutions, today introduce a fully integrated voice and video solution delivered over one common infrastructure. V2Connect leverages Polycom’s Open Collaboration Network strategy with BroadSoft’s BroadWorks® VoIP application platform. Together, BroadSoft and Polycom enable service providers to deliver a unified voice and video solution as a hosted service.
“The hosted unified communications (UC) market is rapidly growing as part of the new era of communications,” said Brent Kelley, senior analyst and partner at Wainhouse Research. “Integrated IP-based voice and video are an important part of any UC network, and it’s crucial for vendors to offer a fully interoperable solution. BroadSoft and Polycom have the ability to deliver this to market today because V2Connect tackles the challenges of how enterprises deploy, manage, and use voice and video, critical components of a comprehensive UC solution.”
Enterprises typically operate a heterogeneous IT environment where voice and video operate independently over disparate networks. Until businesses move to all IP-based networks, end-to-end connectivity remains a challenge. Furthermore, integrating third-party systems such as instant messaging or presence is costly and complicated as two interfaces are required to connect to voice and video systems.
V2Connect – Seamless Delivery of Multi-party Conferencing for Voice, Video and Telepresence
V2Connect provides one common feature set for voice and video terminals, along with a single numbering plan accessible via private dialing. With V2Connect, a user can take a call from his/her mobile device, transfer it to a video call and then escalate it to a multi-party conference call. In addition to a reduction in travel costs, improved efficiency and more effective teleworking, key advantages for the enterprise include:
- Communications delivered in a single instance, removing the complexity and redundancy of multiple PBXs, thereby lowering CAPEX and delivery costs;
- Simplified management and administration of the service;
- Carrier-grade scalability, reliability and call quality;
- Standards-based applications programming interfaces (APIs) such as the Xtended Services Interface (XSI) that integrate V2Connect with Web 2.0 applications; and
- The extension of PBX features to mobile devices, independent of the network (BroadWorks Anywhere).
V2Connect consists of Polycom’s network infrastructure and endpoints, including the Polycom RMX 2000® real-time media conference platform, Polycom’s high definition HDX™ Series video system, the Polycom VVX 1500™ business media phone, and Polycom’s full suite of SoundStation® and SoundPoint® IP phones.
New Value Added Resellers and Systems Integrators Program
BroadSoft and Polycom are also introducing a new go-to-market program, which will be available in early Q2 2010, that enables Value Added Resellers (VARs) and Systems Integrators (SIs) to host and manage V2Connect on behalf of the enterprise. Partnering with service providers, SIs and VARs will be able to deliver V2Connect to mid-to-large size businesses and thereby sell voice and video customer premises equipment (CPE) packaged with network applications, thus becoming a Communications as a Service (CaaS) provider. The program will provide SIs and VARs the ability to increase revenue and profitability by selling, delivering, and supporting an integrated communications offering to enterprises directly, with minimal investment.
“We are excited to extend our partnership with Polycom to include a fully integrated voice and video communications solution. Our hosted service delivery model enables businesses to more efficiently collaborate using visual communications and eliminates the need to invest significantly in capital,” said Michael Tessler, president and CEO of BroadSoft. “BroadSoft and Polycom developed this joint solution to meet a growing market demand by both large enterprises and the vast and underserved small and mid-size business market.”
“With V2Connect, BroadSoft and Polycom are introducing an innovative business model,” said Robert C. Hagerty, Polycom chairman, president and CEO. “The V2Connect CaaS model, which highlights Polycom’s Open Collaboration Network strategy, benefits all parties in the value chain. End customers will experience multimedia UC in a new, innovative manner; VAR and SI partners can enhance their UC offerings, increase their margins and improve customer service; and service providers can deliver innovative services to their customers in a faster time to market.”
About BroadSoft
BroadSoft®, the world-wide leader of VoIP application software, enables the delivery of hosted telephony and multimedia services. BroadSoft’s family of carrier-class products, including its award-winning flagship BroadWorks®www.broadsoft.com. technology, empowers wireless, wireline and cable carriers to deliver next-generation voice and multimedia applications and advanced features that enable them to increase revenue, enhance competitive differentiation and increase customer satisfaction. BroadSoft products deliver the scale, open architecture and reliability that the world’s leading telecommunications companies demand to serve mission-critical enterprise and residential broadband customers. BroadSoft provides VoIP applications to 15 of the top 25 largest carriers worldwide, as measured by revenues for the fiscal year 2009, including KPN, Korea Telecom, Qwest, SingTel, Sprint, Swisscom, Telefonica de Espana, Telstra, T-Systems, and Verizon. For additional information, go to
Polycom’s Open Collaboration Network
Polycom’s integration efforts with BroadSoft support Polycom’s Open Collaboration Network strategy, providing an open and interoperable collaboration solution that gives customers greater flexibility and investment protection for their UC environment. By working with BroadSoft and other leading unified communications platform providers, Polycom is able to deliver its productivity-enhancing and cost-saving telepresence, video and voice collaboration products as an integrated part of core unified communication environments, making the technologies easily accessible as part of the everyday workflow within a comprehensive solution that is easy to deploy and manage.
About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) is the global leader in telepresence, video, and voice solutions and a visionary in communications that empower people to connect and collaborate everywhere. Visit www.polycom.com for more information and follow us on Twitter @AllAboutPolycom.
BroadSoft and BroadWorks are registered trademarks of BroadSoft, Inc. All other names are trademarks of their respective owners.
© 2009 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.
BroadSoft PR Contact:
Leslie Ferry
Vice President, Marketing
+1-240-364-9038
Polycom, Inc. PR Contact
Robin Raulf-Sager
+1 303.583.5342
robin.raulf-sager@polycom.com
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