Polycom Delivers Desktop Video Collaboration for Apple Computers

Polycom’s scalable CMA Desktop for Apple Mac OS X meets customer demand in education, healthcare and corporate markets

PLEASANTON, Calif. and TxDLA Conference HOUSTON - Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), a global leader in telepresence, video, and voice communications solutions, today announced its highly scalable Polycom CMA Desktop™ video collaboration application will now support Apple Mac OS® X. Polycom CMA Desktop for Mac OS X supports high quality video and voice communication and offers seamless interoperability with the existing Polycom CMA Desktop for Windows, as well as the estimated two million standards-based telepresence and video conferencing systems in use today. Polycom will demonstrate the new solution at the Texas Distance Learning Association (TxDLA) 2010 Conference taking place March 21-24 in Houston (booths no. 31 and 32).

“Polycom provides customers unrivaled flexibility and choice, allowing them to confidently standardize on Polycom solutions for end-to-end visual communications knowing they will support their unified communications needs, including multiple computing platforms,” said Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager of video solutions, Polycom. “Polycom CMA Desktop sets a new standard for flexibility, performance and interoperability for desktop video collaboration and we are happy to deliver on customer demand, particularly in the education, healthcare, creative services and entertainment markets, for Mac OS X support.”

Polycom CMA Desktop is tightly integrated within the Polycom Converged Management Application™ (CMA™), the only comprehensive and fully redundant video network management solution that also vastly simplifies the provisioning, management and ease of use for extensive personal, room and immersive telepresence deployments across organizations. A single Polycom CMA server can support both the Windows and Mac OS X versions of CMA Desktop simultaneously. This unique solution addresses key challenges organizations face when deploying desktop video, such as:

* Centralized Management and Control – By integrating the desktop video application within the management platform, Polycom gives IT administrators unprecedented provisioning, management and reporting capabilities for successfully deploying desktop video across organizations. Polycom CMA centrally controls user permissions through Active Directory credentials, manages endpoint software, monitors and reports on usage for detailed analysis of return on investment.
* Consistent Quality of Experience – Polycom CMA Desktop features Lost Packet Recovery™ technology, which ensures a consistent, high quality experience at the desktop, even when remote users are calling over less-than-perfect network environments such as the open Internet.
* Scalability – The Polycom CMA supports thousands of CMA Desktop users while simultaneously supporting personal, room and immersive telepresence deployments as well.
* Ease of Use – Users receive a pre-provisioned application that ensures proper settings and removes complexity. Users are able to easily add contacts from the corporate directory (Active Directory integration) and instantly launch video calls with the click of a name.
* Standards-Based Interoperability – Like all Polycom visual communication solutions, Polycom CMA Desktop is based on established video conferencing standards, native integration and open interoperability, allowing users to connect with other standards-based desktop and room video conferencing systems.

“The State of North Dakota uses Polycom video conferencing for many applications ranging from distance learning in K-12 schools, to continuity of operations programs for government agencies, to healthcare operations among the urban and rural health centers,” said Duane Schell, Director, Telecommunications Division, Information Technology Department, State of North Dakota. “By delivering a visual communication solution that supports multiple computing platforms, Polycom will allow us to provide a consistent, high-quality experience to our broad user base, whether it is a school using Apple Macintosh computers or a government agency using Windows-based PCs.”

Polycom CMA and CMA Desktop further the Polycom Open Collaboration Network strategy, as part of a complete visual communication solution for leading unified communications environments. Adding Mac OS X support, Polycom offers greater flexibility to support multiple computing platforms, a requirement for many large organizations.

Pricing and Availability
Polycom CMA Desktop for Mac OS X is planned for global availability in April 2010 and will be included within the Polycom CMA. Current Polycom CMA customers with a service contract can simply download the CMA Desktop for Max OS X for no additional charge through www.polycom.com. 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. Visit www.polycom.com for more information and follow us on Twitter @AllAboutPolycom.