Polycom and BT have announced a worldwide three-year agreement designed to accelerate the growth of audio and video conferencing within the corporate and the public sector industries.

BT and Polycom sign three-year partnership deal to drive videoconferencing use worldwide

Paul Milligan, 26 November 2009

Polycom and BT have announced a worldwide three-year agreement designed to accelerate the growth of audio and video conferencing within the corporate and public sector industries. Under this global agreement, the companies will combine Polycom's voice, video and telepresence products with BT's managed services and global MPLS network.

The products will include jointly developed systems to enable business-to-business collaboration for multinational companies, large organisations, and SMEs.

BT and Polycom have collaborated on software development that brings BT's Bridge Connect services to the scalable Polycom RMX conference infrastructure. This joint development on the Polycom RMX also allows BT to deliver VNOC services and intercompany B2B services, through BT's Global Video Exchange, in support of Polycom telepresence systems. Additionally, Polycom RMX has been chosen by BT in the company's initiative to upgrade existing video bridging infrastructure.

The first set of offerings is expected to be available by the end of 2009. The companies' unified conferencing products will be powered by BT's global multi-protocol label switching network, which is available in more than 120 countries worldwide. Both companies are continuing joint development on Polycom immersive platforms and will be releasing additional value-add services in the near future.

The agreement also includes plans to add Polycom-certified technical support to BT's global support operation, including its 24x7 "follow the sun" help desk services as well as utilise a global support programme that is also part of the agreement.