Polycom Expands Telepresence Portfolio to Help Organizations Connect Their Entire Knowledge Network

Polycom Telepresence Experience solutions offer "just-like-being-there" experience enabling collaboration with knowledge workers at all levels and locations within an organization through interoperability with desktop and conference room video endpoints.

PLEASANTON, Calif. - Oct. 15, 2007 - Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM), the world's leading provider of unified collaborative communications solutions, today announced the Polycom Telepresence Experience High Definition (Polycom TPX HD 306M), a new telepresence solution that provides an extraordinarily life-like, high definition collaboration experience for people in different locations, enabling them to increase productivity, improve knowledge transfer and accelerate decision-making by working together as effectively as if they were in the same room.

Based on industry-leading, standards-based Polycom video collaboration technology, Polycom TPX HD works seamlessly with Polycom RealPresence™ Experience (RPX™), the only truly immersive telepresence solution in the market today, as well as the million-plus standards-based desktop and conference room video conferencing systems from Polycom and other manufacturers that are in use today around the world.  Unlike other proprietary telepresence offerings, Polycom offers the only portfolio of telepresence and immersive telepresence solutions that fully interoperate with and protect customers' investments in video conferencing systems.

To deliver a truly seamless and effortless telepresence experience Polycom offers with its certified partners, managed telepresence services that strip away any complexity associated with scheduling or initiating a call. Leveraging this service offering, a telepresence call is managed through a Video Network Operations Center (VNOC) resource, allowing participants to simply walk into meeting rooms to find the call is already up and running. This service includes connecting both telepresence rooms and video conferencing endpoints on desktops and in conference rooms to provide the most effective, widely accessible and high-quality experience possible.

"Telepresence and video collaboration have the potential to dramatically change how organizations work by minimizing the boundaries of distance. The overall value to customers is limited if the collaboration is not available in all locations and to all levels of knowledge workers," said Nora Freedman, senior analyst, enterprise networks, IDC. "A standards-based approach can help customers realize the full potential of telepresence and video collaboration by reducing and/or eliminating the challenges of implementation and integration with IT, as video communication is deployed throughout a customer's network."

"Polycom offers the deepest and broadest portfolio of telepresence, immersive telepresence and advanced video collaboration solutions in the market today, and we are making it all work together seamlessly to help customers reap the maximum benefits, value and competitive advantages," said Bob Hagerty, chairman and CEO of Polycom. "Polycom enables customers to connect their entire organization, not just the C-level meeting rooms, because information that drives decisions may be in a branch office, a home office, a factory floor, a hotel room, or at a customer or partner site. Opening possibilities to collaborate throughout as well as outside an organization increases the value of this technology exponentially for customers."

The Polycom Telepresence Experience offers a unique design that makes people feel like they are sitting across the table from coworkers, partners and customers residing in other locations; delivering the finest detail and nuance of expression in voice and video.  The stunning same-room experience is made possible through high definition video displayed in life-like proportions, crystal-clear high definition directional audio that allows participants to hear where remote participants are located within the room when they speak, and the industry's only high definition content-sharing capabilities that allow participants to share virtually any type of content simultaneously in a call. The Polycom TPX HD 306M solution features three, 60-inch HD plasma displays encased in a stylish video wall, which encompasses all of the video conferencing technology, cameras and high-fidelity stereo system. Components include a specially designed conference table that positions six people on camera, 360-degree ceiling microphones, three Polycom EagleEye™ HD cameras and an easy-to-use touch-screen control system.

Consistent with its overall strategy, Polycom is working closely with its strategic global partners including Nortel, IBM, and Avaya to align the Polycom Telepresence Experience offering and services with these core unified communications environments.

"Telepresence and other video conferencing systems are becoming essential tools for organizations looking to improve collaboration and effectiveness among teams while reducing their carbon footprint as they become more geographically dispersed and globally focused," said Dietmar Wendt, president, Global Services, Nortel. "Working with Polycom, Nortel is delivering interoperable telepresence and video conferencing solutions with managed multimedia services on a global basis. Nortel supplies everything from network design and installation to operation, management, scheduling, and utility-based pricing and service delivery. Nortel is helping customers get the most out of video conferencing and telepresence, which is transforming the way they do business and creating new growth opportunities by enabling them to work more effectively across distances."

The Polycom Telepresence Experience system extends Polycom's telepresence line which began with the Polycom Real Presence Experience (RPX) HD line: the only immersive telepresence solution on the market today offering a complete room-within-a-room environment in which all of the components (from furniture to lighting to chairs and acoustic wall treatments) are included and optimized to provide the quintessential realistic remote meeting experience. Polycom RPX HD solutions also differ from the Polycom TPX HD solution by offering seamless, cinematic eight or 16-foot rear-projection displays that show the entire room and include personal content displays built into the tables to enable participants to see minute details. Polycom RPX HD solutions also come in a variety of configurations supporting between four and 28 people on camera to accommodate different applications and room requirements.

The Polycom TPX HD solution is completely interoperable with Polycom RPX HD immersive telepresence solutions, enabling customers to deploy two, three and four-screen telepresence solutions to meet different business, application and capacity needs. Like the TPX, the RPX immersive telepresence solutions also fully support all standards-based desktop and conference room video conferencing systems, including HD systems, in both point-to-point and multi-point call scenarios.

Polycom TPX HD  and RPX HD solutions are designed as multipurpose rooms, allowing customers to maintain full use of the rooms as a meeting facility for both telepresence and non-telepresence meetings. The full table design and spacing allows for seating around the entire table when it is not being used for telepresence applications.

Polycom offers implementation, maintenance and managed services for its telepresence solutions through certified channel partners. Implementation services include pre-evaluation of the room environment and network as well as complete installation and set up. Maintenance services include 24x7 phone support, on-site support, next-day parts replacement for technology components, twice-a-year onsite preventative maintenance, and planning and implementation of qualified software upgrades.

Polycom Telepresence Solutions Managed Services includes a high-level support relationship that provides customers with a complete telepresence management solution to help them get the best possible experience and realize the maximum value from their investment in telepresence technology. The offering includes Video Network Operations Center (VNOC) services available 24x7 that greatly enhance the adoption and overall productivity of a customer's telepresence solution through managed call scheduling and initiation, remote monitoring, fault management and monthly reporting.

Pricing and Availability

The Polycom TPX HD 306M (three displays, six-person capacity) can be ordered today through certified Polycom channel partners with North America availability planned for November 2007.  North America list price is US$199,999.

About Polycom

Polycom, Inc. is the worldwide leader in unified collaborative communications (UCC) that maximize the efficiency and productivity of people and organizations by integrating the broadest array of high definition video, wired and wireless voice, and content solutions to deliver the ultimate collaborative experience.  Polycom's high quality, standards-based conferencing and collaboration solutions are easy to deploy and manage, as well as intuitive to use.  Supported by an open architecture, they integrate seamlessly with leading telephony, workplace wireless telephony, and presence-based networks.  With its market-driving technologies, best-in-class products, alliance partnerships, and world-class service, Polycom is the smart choice for organizations seeking proven solutions and a competitive advantage from on-demand communications and collaboration. For additional information, call 800-POLYCOM or visit the Polycom web site at www.polycom.com.

Polycom and the Polycom logo are registered trademarks, and RealPresence, RPX and EagleEye are trademarks of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  ©2007, Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved.