During my time at the UC EXPO conference for 2017 in London, I had the opportunity to interview some of the world leaders in communication and collaboration software. One of the connections I made was with Polycom’s Tim Stone, VP Marketing EMEA. We caught up at the Polycom stand to talk about some of the recent developments being made in the Polycom portfolio.
Polycom and the Workplace of the Future
Polycom’s Tim Stone was eager to talk about the incredible evolutions in the brand’s product portfolio, as we chatted among the chaos of the UX EXPO (a very busy atmosphere, it is Europe’s largest UC event). The first thing I wanted to talk to him about, was what big developments were currently happening for Polycom right now.
Stone outlined that one of the biggest areas Polycom were focusing their efforts, and investments on this year, was the development of something they were calling the “Workplace of the Future“. He noted that the future workplace for Polycom was all about designing a video collaboration solution that works in any workspace, or any environment, regardless of whether the customer was using mobile devices, tablets, or a personal computer.
“We’re delivering solutions that are designed to work in any environment, whether you need to connect to a meeting from a hotel lounge, or you want to create an in-depth huddle room with RealPresence Trio, conference phone, video, and sharing solutions.”
Stone commented that Polycom had recently launched “RealPresence Immersive Studio Flex“. In simple terms, the Immersive studio is a completely customisable meeting space that includes Ultra HD 4k displays, high-definition audio, as well as content sharing and Skype for Business functionality.
For Polycom, the new portfolio offering is about allowing people to connect on a more immersive level, turning video and audio conferences into something that feels like a real-life experience. “Within a couple of minutes in a room, you feel like you’re in the same place as the people on the other end.” RealPresence Immersive Studio Flex includes completely flexible deployment, and it’s available at a breakthrough price point that’s more affordable than anything that came before it. Soon, it will be compatible with Office 365 too.
Polycom and the Audio Market
Another significant area for Polycom is the voice/audio market. Stone commented that the big momentum in this area exists around the hosted telephony market ( /unified-communications/ucaas / Cloud PBX). The UK is growing in their desire for cloud communications, as well as their need to connect Skype for Business to the workforce, and Polycom are searching for ways to fill the gap.
I was keen to find out how Polycom felt about the overarching belief that desktop sets and IP phones were beginning to see decreases in revenue, considering the business had long been focused on physical phone creation.
“The overall market for handsets is in decline”, Tim Stone agreed, “However, within that slow decline, there are two markets growing rapidly – the handset market for Skype for Business, and the open SIP handset market.” In other words, Polycom have found themselves in a sweet spot for product development, by offering solutions for customers who aren’t willing deploy one-size-fits-all solutions.
Polycom phones are also compatible with the key players in the communication game right now – Skype for Business online and Office 365. The group series are also ready to connect, and the company are simply counting down the days until the new systems will be launched. Stone also drew attention to the Polycom Microsoft room system that would be launching soon. The Polycom MSR series of solutions includes a surface pro, a dock, and a range of different devices. For instance, the MSR 200 comes with a Trio and a camera, while the MSR 400 comes with a larger overall room solution.
Basically, the new Microsoft room offering comes with a combination of software from Microsoft, along with the surface pro, while Polycom provide the audio, hardware, camera, dock, and everything else.
The Next Big Things for Polycom
Another big thing for Polycom, is that they’ve put a video license solution within the Microsoft Azure cloud, which allows customers to connect any standard legacy video endpoint directly with Office 365, using Polycom embedded software. That means that customers can access the Polycom solutions that they need for video on a per-user-per-month basis. Basically, this new offering is similar to a VaaS type service.
Tim Stone also mentioned that there would be a new announcement emerging from Polycom in the coming weeks. “If you stay tuned over the next 3 or 4 weeks, there’s another market category that we’ll be announcing. However, if I tell you now, I’ll be shot, so stay tuned in the next month or so.”
What’s Next for Polycom?
Besides this mystery development, Polycom have continued to focus on giving people a constantly enhanced and improved experience. Their focus has, and always will be on giving a comprehensive room collaboration experience, from calendar and presence information, to seamless video and audio. Of course, amazing audio is something that customers have come to expect from Polycom over the years, it’s what the business has been known for over more than two decades.
Stone noted: “One of the biggest barriers to video adoption over the last decade has been ease-of-use, the market still isn’t quite there yet, but we’re trying to make it easier”.
Polycom’s dream is to keep developing and improving the communication space so that collaborating with professionals across a vast network becomes easier than ever. In a world that’s constantly adapting and changing to meet with remote lifestyles and other concerns, it’s safe to say that a business that focuses on simple and effective solutions for communication is sure to come out on top.
