DALLAS and SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As organizations of all types look to accelerate the adoption of video-based communications and video-enabled business processes, AT&T* and Polycom, Inc., (Nasdaq: PLCM) announced today a strategic agreement to personalize, mobilize and virtualize video meetings.

Enabled by the industry-leading AT&T Business Exchange, MPLS, Internet and mobility networks and the Polycom® RealPresence® Platform, the agreement will create greater availability of cloud-delivered video communication capabilities – giving customers unmatched choice in when, how, and where they collaborate. The Polycom RealPresence Platform is a comprehensive software infrastructure for universal video, on-premises or in the cloud collaboration, interoperating with the broadest set of applications, devices and network protocols.

"AT&T and Polycom's announcement is a big win for customer choice and interoperability, and it will help accelerate video collaboration as businesses increasingly look to cloud-delivered options," said Zeus Kerravala, Principle Analyst, ZKResearch. "In addition, this agreement opens new revenue streams and business opportunities for AT&T, and demonstrates the momentum Polycom is having with service providers and in the video cloud market." 

"In the Pervasive Video Era of 2013, people want instant access to others, no matter what device or service they are using," said Jim Lundy, CEO, Lead Analyst, Aragon Research. "The alliance between Polycom and AT&T will help to accelerate the shift to pervasive, cloud enabled video."

The first wave of capabilities include:

• AT&T and the Polycom RealPresence Platform – AT&T will incorporate the highly interoperable Polycom RealPresence Platform as part of the AT&T Telepresence Solution video infrastructure in the AT&T Business Exchange. This will lead to:
  • New on-demand virtual meeting room capabilities that increase customer choice through expanded interoperability.
  • Flexible and easy-to-use video collaboration experiences that deliver a lower total cost of ownership.
  • New forms of collaboration with business customers, partners and suppliers on the AT&T Business Exchange.
• Fully Managed Service Bundles – AT&T Telepresence Solution customers will now have access to a range of Polycom® RealPresence® video solutions offered in 40 countries – including immersive and multipurpose rooms, and personal systems – as part of a managed service bundle. This approach helps customers reduce their capital expenditures by providing the video equipment as part of the managed service for a monthly fee, while also helping to reduce the burden on internal IT resources, leaving customers more time to focus on business-critical activities.
• VPN Services – Polycom has selected AT&T to become its preferred internal wide area network service provider utilizing the industry leading MPLS AT&T VPN service. The network will carry Polycom video, voice and data communications including access to the AT&T Business Exchange to and from over 80 locations around the globe including Polycom Customer Experience and Briefing Centers. 

"Together with AT&T, we are reshaping and expanding the capabilities of cloud-delivered video communications, making it easier for businesses to connect and collaborate with each other," said Andy Miller, President and CEO of Polycom. "With Polycom's commitment to openness, standards and interoperability, and AT&T's commitment to networks, applications and interconnectivity, we're creating video solutions for customers that are as simple, reliable and as universal as dial tone so they can collaborate without worrying about vendor, device or network-specific restrictions. It just works."

"Our goal is to lead the innovation curve by introducing solutions and services that make communications easier, anytime, anywhere, on any device," said Michael Bowling, Chief Marketing Officer, AT&T Business Solutions. "The work between AT&T and Polycom will bring customers new capabilities, help expand their reach and use of video collaboration and ultimately deliver lasting impacts by transforming how they get work done."

Both companies are board-level founders of the Open Visual Communications Consortium, an industry body whose mission is to develop and support a ubiquitous video marketplace.

For more information on AT&T Telepresence Solution visit http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=2820.  

For more information on Polycom RealPresence video solutions visit http://www.polycom.com/products-services.html.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse^® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/aboutus or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

© 2013 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. 4G not available everywhere. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

About Polycom

Polycom is the global leader in open standards-based unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) solutions for voice and video collaboration, trusted by more than 415,000 customers around the world. Polycom solutions are powered by the Polycom^® RealPresence^® Platform, comprehensive software infrastructure and rich APIs that interoperate with the broadest set of communication, business, mobile and cloud applications and devices to deliver secure face-to-face video collaboration in any environment. Polycom and its ecosystem of over 7,000 partners provide truly unified communications solutions that deliver the best user experience, highest multi-vendor interoperability, and lowest TCO. Visit www.polycom.com or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to learn how we're pushing the greatness of human collaboration forward.

© 2013 Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved. POLYCOM®, the Polycom logo, and the names and marks associated with Polycom's products are trademarks and/or service marks of Polycom, Inc. and are registered and/or common law marks in the United States and various other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.