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Polycom Ships Converged Management Application and Integrated Desktop Video Solution

Comprehensive Video Network Management Solution Simplifies Provisioning, Management and Ease of Use for Broad-Scale Visual Communication

VoiceCon -- Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM), the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communications solutions, today announced availability of the Polycom Converged Management Application(TM) (CMA(TM)), a comprehensive video network management solution that vastly simplifies the provisioning, management and ease of use for extensive desktop, group and telepresence deployments across organizations. A key component of the solution is CMA Desktop(TM), a tightly integrated, enterprise-quality desktop video application capable of scaling to thousands of users and supporting high definition (HD) video, voice and content.

Polycom will demonstrate the CMA and CMA Desktop solution at the VoiceCon Conference and Expo (Polycom booth no. 309) taking place Nov. 11-13, 2008 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Calif.

"Organizations across many industries are embracing visual communication as a competitive means to accelerate decision-making, improve organizational productivity and reduce the cost and carbon emissions associated with travel," said Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager of video solutions at Polycom. "Polycom CMA and CMA Desktop will help customers confidently and cost-effectively extend the productivity-enhancing benefits of video and telepresence throughout their organizations while providing additional benefits and return on investment from previously installed Polycom products. Customers are clearly recognizing the value of these innovative solutions as Polycom has already shipped more than 100 systems with nearly 45,000 licenses within only a week of being available."

Comprehensive Video Network Management

Polycom CMA offers IT administrators tight control of all desktop, group and telepresence visual communication systems, as well as video call activity across their distributed enterprise network. CMA helps to streamline workflows through centralized management of conferences, devices and systems and provides gatekeeping, scheduling and directory management. IT administrators can automate software updates and establish policy-based provisioning of endpoint and infrastructure capabilities, as well as manage bandwidth based on network topology, business requirements and operational needs.

CMA supports hardware and software endpoints (personal, group, telepresence) and infrastructure systems (conferencing platforms (MCUs), recording and streaming servers, etc.) and is designed to seamlessly integrate with IT best practices, policies and existing directories via strict adherence to accepted IT standards. For example, CMA supports Active Directory and LDAP/H.350 directory services, offers integrated scheduling through Microsoft Outlook, IBM Lotus Notes or a web interface, and supports standards-based provisioning through XML and standards-based presence through XMPP. Secure conferencing is ensured through AES media encryption and TLS certificates for secure signaling.

To help simplify the use of video and telepresence solutions, Polycom CMA allows Polycom video devices to share presence information as a part of user contact lists (personal, group and telepresence) either on their endpoint or within the CMA Desktop application. As easy and familiar as instant messaging, users simply click on the name to launch a call. All call specifications are provisioned based on profiles previously defined by the IT administrator.

Scalable Desktop Video Collaboration

Polycom CMA Desktop is a highly scalable, PC-based desktop video software application that allows users to create contact (buddy) lists from a corporate directory and then easily launch video calls by clicking on contacts (buddies). The application allows users to see presence details (i.e. online, offline, available, busy, etc.) for software and hardware video devices in their contact list and then easily connect to other users, or any standards-based video conferencing systems, including personal, room and immersive telepresence solutions. It supports standards-based, high-quality visual communication previously unavailable in a desktop video application, including the ability to receive HD video, HD voice and multimedia content (H.239 content sharing) including presentations, videos and images in full, native resolution.

Because Polycom CMA Desktop is a tightly integrated component of the Polycom CMA management application, it gives administrators unprecedented control over desktop video on their network. Previously, desktop video applications were often deployed as individual software clients that operated with limited management control over activity or bandwidth usage. With Polycom CMA Desktop, IT administrators can use a standard Microsoft Installer (MSI) file to deploy the client across their campus or can send out as a simple download. This allows IT administrators to apply policy-based provisioning for desktop video as part of a common, centralized management application just as they do for other video solutions.

Polycom CMA and CMA Desktop further the Polycom VC2 vision of video as a pervasive component of unified communication in the enterprise -- enabling groups of any size to communicate anywhere, anytime and from any device. Solutions under the Polycom VC2 vision provide the foundation for future, enhanced integration with Polycom strategic unified communications partners.

Additional Information:

Whitepaper - Scalable Infrastructure for Distributed Video

Pricing and Availability

Polycom CMA, which includes seat licenses that can be used for endpoints, infrastructure and CMA Desktop, is now available globally with a starting MSRP of US$21,000. Polycom solutions are available through certified Polycom channel partners.

About Polycom

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) is the global leader in telepresence, video, and voice solutions and a visionary in communications that empower people to connect and collaborate everywhere. Please visit for more information.

Polycom reserves the right to modify future product plans at any time. Products and/or related specifications referenced in this press release are not guaranteed, and will be delivered on a when and if available basis.

Polycom and the Polycom logo are registered trademarks, and Converged Management Application, CMA and CMA Desktop are trademarks of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Copyright ©2008, Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved.