Ericsson and Polycom Announce Standards-Based, HD Visual Communications Solution
- Will enable telecom operators to deliver Video-as-a-Service (VaaS) offerings to enterprises
- Based on open video conferencing 3GPP standards, thereby ensuring interoperability and affordability
- Ericsson and Polycom will showcase the solution at Mobile World Congress 2012
At this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC), Polycom Inc., the global leader in standards-based unified communications (UC), and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), will launch an end-to-end solution that enables operators to offer affordable, interoperable HD Video-as-a-Service (VaaS) and unified communication services to businesses of all sizes. The solution will be demonstrated at Ericsson stand in Hall 6 and Polycom stand 2D01 in Hall 2. This solution will be jointly taken to market globally, with Ericsson serving as prime system integrator for all of the infrastructure components.
The new visual communication solution for service providers will leverage Ericsson's comprehensive video-enabled IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) offering, including HD-capable infrastructure, as well as Polycom® RealPresence(TM) video and voice endpoints and the RealPresence(TM) Platform- the most comprehensive software infrastructure for universal video collaboration.
The Ericsson IMS system provides significant synergies for operators by using the same IMS core for the Visual Communication solution as for Voice over LTE (VoLTE), Rich Communication Suite (RCS) and fixed network modernization. The new Ericsson Media Resource System will provide secure, high-quality HD video and full-band stereo audio conferencing to operators around the globe. Ericsson mobile media gateways are upgradeable to include the Media Resource System functions thereby securing operational savings for operators. In addition, the unique open-standards approach of the Polycom RealPresence Platform ensures interoperability with hundreds of UC, business, and social networking applications, bridging silos, and truly unifying communications across the enterprise.
The end-to-end cloud based offering will enable operators to enter or expand their operations with compelling new VaaS offerings across devices, with high reliability and scalability. It will also incorporate Ericsson's solution for unified communication, the Ericsson Business Communication Suite, ensuring that operators will be able to penetrate new markets, increase revenue per subscriber, and effectively compete. For affordable monthly rates, SMBs and enterprises will have access to secure, QoS-enabled HD video and conferencing services delivered to any environment, including smart phones and tablets for those on the go, at home or at work with laptop, desktop and room systems, conference rooms and immersive theaters.
"Today's announcement is another step toward our vision to make video collaboration ubiquitous. Following on the January announcement of our cloud strategy, Polycom is excited to collaborate with an IMS leader like Ericsson to deliver standards-based, interoperable solutions that will enable service providers to offer compelling and cost-effective Video-as-a-Service solutions to their customers," said Gary Testa, Vice President, Global Cloud & Service Provider Solutions, Polycom. "We're showcasing our joint solution at this year's Mobile World Congress so service providers can see first-hand how the technology can build their business, win new customers, create new revenue streams, and enable their customers to connect visually in high-definition through the cloud."
Magnus Furustam, Vice President and Head of Core and IMS at Ericsson, said: "We have worked collaboratively with Polycom since announcing our partnership at last year's show, and are now pleased to launch and showcase our joint video conferencing solution for business users. With our leading market presence in IMS and mobile networks we provide a smooth path to enable the networks for HD visual and audio communication. We believe our solution to be very attractive to business users and an industry first with a very compelling value proposition to operators."
Customer trials of the joint solution will commence mid-2012, with general availability at the end of 2012.
In addition, Ericsson and Polycom will participate in an HD video conferencing demonstration with leading operators and equipment vendors at this year's MWC. For the demonstration, a common set of capabilities based on existing industry standards has been selected to provide an open solution for HD video conferencing services. Seamless inter-operator HD video conferencing calls between Telefónica's booth at MWC in Barcelona, an Orange site in France, a Telecom Italia site in Italy and a Deutsche Telekom site in Germany will be showcased.
NOTES TO EDITORS
A group of Telco Industry leaders agree an open solution for standardized videoconference services
Our multimedia content is available at the broadcast room: www.ericsson.com/broadcast_room
About Ericsson
Ericsson is the world's leading provider of communications technology and services. We are enabling the Networked Society with efficient real-time solutions that allow us all to study, work and live our lives more freely, in sustainable societies around the world.
Our offering comprises services, software and infrastructure within Information and Communications Technology for telecom operators and other industries. Today more than 40 percent of the world's mobile traffic goes through Ericsson networks and we support customers' networks servicing more than 2 billion subscribers.
We operate in 180 countries and employ more than 100,000 people. Founded in 1876, Ericsson is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2011 the company had revenues of SEK 226,9 billion (USD 35,0 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ, New York stock exchanges.
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About Polycom
Polycom is the global leader in standards-based unified communications (UC) solutions for telepresence, video, and voice, powered by the Polycom® RealPresence(TM) Platform. The RealPresence Platform interoperates with the broadest range of business, mobile and social applications and devices. More than 400,000 organizations trust Polycom solutions to collaborate and meet face to face from any location for more productive and effective engagement with colleagues, partners, customers and prospects. Polycom, together with its broad partner ecosystem, provides customers with the best TCO, scalability, and security - on-premises, hosted or cloud delivered. Visit www.polycom.com or connect with Polycom on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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