Polycom and Microsoft have announced a strategic partnership that will bring a set of tools and services to Office Communications Server, creating a soup-to-nuts unified communications solution.
Both companies are investing in building the tools and technology to take advantage of the features of the next version of OCS, code-named “14," to “make highest quality unified communications product the market has ever seen," said Marc Roberts, vice president of Partner Marketing at Polycom.
At the heart of the initiative is Microsoft’s OCS “14," which, when released, will offer complete presence, instant messaging, conferencing and enterprise voice capabilities through a single, easy-to-use interface that is consistent across PC, browser and mobile device, according to Microsoft.
“We invested a lot in beefing up the user experience and making OCS more intuitive," said Ashima Singhal, group product management for UC partner marketing at Microsoft. “‘14’ will be a full enterprise voice solution."
Polycom will add to the mix a slew of IP phones, room-based video systems and interoperability solutions to integrate existing and future Polycom technology with OCS “14," enabling unified communications at every communications portal within a company, Roberts said.
“Conceptually we are developing the broadest base of solutions and integration from the perspective of the user," he said. “And our plan is to make it simple to deliver through the joint (Polycom’s and Microsoft’s) channel community."
Indeed, the channel will be an important element in the go-to-market strategy for the UC solution, Roberts said. “We have dedicated sales resources on both sides and are executing sales training programs for cross-training, so when we go to our joint channel community we are giving the same message.
Currently the solution will be made available only to Polycom channel partners that have achieved the company’s UC specialization criteria – which was announced earlier this year during sweeping changes of the company’s channel program – and to Microsoft partners in the company’s Voice Specialized Partner program. Both sets of channel partners would have to be educated on the other company’s products and services to be able to sell the UC solutions once they hit the market.
“For Polycom channel partners who want to get into UC space, there is an onboarding process for the Microsoft program," Roberts said. “Likewise, for the Microsoft guys looking at the Polycom side of the house, they must go through the Polycom process to become a UC specialist."
Both companies are currently doing the channel partner training and marketing. Polycom’s technology roadmap will be made available in three to six months, Roberts said. OCS “14," meanwhile, is slated to be released later this year, according to Microsoft.
