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.