Polycom and Microsoft recently announced that the two companies are strengthening their strategic relationship to deliver one of the broadest and most powerful sets of voice and video solutions for unified communications and collaboration. As part of Microsoft’s vision to broaden the availability of Microsoft RoundTable, Polycom has licensed the right to distribute RoundTable, effective immediately. The product, renamed as Polycom CX5000 Unified Conference Station, will be available through Polycom and its extensive channel network.

Known respectively for innovative collaboration solutions, Microsoft and Polycom are working together to help customers enhance team communication and collaboration with voice and video conferencing. As a leader in telepresence, video and voice communications solutions, Polycom continues to expand the market for visual communication with a range of new solutions that will put video conferencing and collaboration capabilities into general purpose, point-to-point, and multipoint environments. The CX5000 adds to Polycom’s broad portfolio and enables it to address the video collaboration needs of organizations that rely on Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Live Meeting service.

Originally launched by Microsoft in October 2007, the CX5000 is a plug-and-play device that connects to a PC through a USB connection and does not require any extra provisioning or configuration?the user can walk into a conference room, plug in a laptop, and start a meeting. The CX5000 is designed for enterprises that use Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 or Office Communications Server 2007 and want a simple way to add audio and visual communication to an Office Live Meeting or Office Communications Server 2007 session. When used with Office Live Meeting service, or as part of Office Communications Server 2007, the CX5000 combines content, a panoramic 360-degree view of the entire meeting room, and a separate view of the active speaker for a unique and engaging voice and video experience.