VoIP systems provider Avaya Inc and videoconferencing specialist Polycom Inc will announce an expanded relationship today that draws together joint marketing, sales and product integration and development.
The goal is to make videoconferencing as easy as making a phone call, said Micky Tsui, VP and general manager at Avaya. The deal may also help the firms compete against companies who claim to offer the whole package, such as Cisco Systems Inc.
The first technological deliverable is an integrated client application. Polycom’s ViaVideo II and Avaya’s IP Softphone will be pulled together, allowing voice and video calls to be made via a single user interface.
The companies will then start integrating back-end technologies to help customers eliminate some of the technological and personnel duplication that can occur when deploying voice and video separately today.
The combined system should be able to work off a common user directory and on the same network, without the need for a separate LAN segment for video only, said Hans Schwarz, Polycom’s senior VP and chief systems architect.
Avaya’s Communication Manager, which hits version 2.0 this week, will be the common control platform for services such as presence, quality of service, security and scheduling, the companies said. The integrated products will start shipping some time next year.
Another part of the deal sees Avaya become a global reseller of Polycom’s products, whereas currently it only offers them in North America, as well as a systems integrator via Avaya Global Services. Joint resellers will also be signed up.
This article is based on material originally produced by ComputerWire.
