Japan Telecom and Polycom Announce Partnership to Deliver Video Conferencing to Small and Medium Sized Businesses
TOKYO, Japan and PLEASANTON, Calif. – Dec. 8, 2004 — Japan Telecom Co. Ltd., based in Chuo-ku, Tokyo (President and CEO, Hideki Kurashige) and Polycom®, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM), based in Pleasanton, Calif. with Asia-Pacific headquarters in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Country Manager, Tomomi Okuda) announced today that the two companies have formed a business partnership to provide small and medium sized businesses and home offices with high quality, affordable video conferencing solutions and services.
Japan Telecom’s video conferencing service, known as “Synchronet Managed Video Conferenceâ€, is a comprehensive service providing everything from the video conferencing and router equipment needed to establish either IP or ISDN video conferencing networks, to the installation and ongoing maintenance of the equipment. Business environments today face constant demand for reductions in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) expenditures, demand for increased operating efficiencies, faster delivery to market and improved risk management. Video conferencing is increasingly recognized as an important business communication tool that delivers competitive advantage through enhanced collaboration enabling cost reductions, increased productivity and faster time to decision. There is also a growing trend among users of Japan Telecom’s IP-VPN service, “Solteria,†to adopt video conferencing services.
Until now Japan Telecom has taken advantage of its position as a telecommunications carrier to pioneer the concept of packaged solution services within the telecoms industry, providing everything from video conferencing system networks to equipment maintenance and even rentals.
The new business partnership between the two companies will enable Japan Telecom’s video conferencing service to be the first in Japan to offer Polycom’s small and medium sized business video solution, the Polycom V500™. Japan Telecom will establish solution packages using rental equipment that cover every aspect from networks through to maintenance, making the systems easier to use by improving overall cost performance. Companies adopting this service will enjoy more efficient network operations, such as IP-VPN, and an increase in business communication. The adoption of the Polycom V500 as the system hardware will enable Japan Telecom to offer the service at an extremely competitive price.
The Polycom V500 uses the most advanced technology to provide near CD-quality audio and deliver superior picture quality. It has been possible to deliver this breakthrough product at an affordable price by selecting only the functions that are absolutely necessary for conferences with a small number of participants. The Polycom V500 was developed on the same software platform as the Polycom VSXâ„¢ series and it complies with the H.264 compression standard allowing it to maintain superior picture quality using only half of the bandwidth. The V500 offers 14KHz wideband audio using Siren 14â„¢, while other special features such as AES encryption ensure secure communication. The V500 can connect to another V500 system or to any of the other Polycom VSX family of video conferencing systems for seamless video, conferences of superior quality.
By offering the Polycom V500 as part of Japan Telecom’s solution service, it becomes possible to provide customers high levels of added value with all-in-one network management. Using an updated People+Content™ feature, available in Japan in December as part of the VSX software Version 7.5, Polycom’s VSX and V500 video systems as well as some ViewStation® systems, can now both receive and send data, enabling users to conduct a conference while sharing documents such as presentations and spreadsheets.
In recent years, with the trend toward lower prices for video conferencing systems and an increase in IP network infrastructure, it is now possible for companies of all sizes to enjoy the benefits of video conferencing. Now, with the Polycom partnership and the sale of the V500 and support services by Japan Telecom, the deployment and management of these systems has also been simplified for small and medium sized businesses. With the solution services offered by Japan Telecom, the initial investment and operating costs of video conferencing for these businesses is greatly reduced, end users enjoy video conferences of superior quality —all without a small company having to worry about employing full-time network administrators.
Both Polycom and Japan Telecom are committed to growing the video conferencing services market and contributing to the growth of their clients’ businesses by continuing to offer high quality solutions and services as well as integrating various network services and products.
About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. is the world’s technology leader of high-quality, easy-to-use video, voice, data and web conferencing and collaboration solutions. The Polycom Office™ is our continued commitment to make distance communications as natural and interactive as being there by providing best-in-class conferencing solutions that are interoperable, integrated and intuitive to the user. The Polycom Office is based on industry standards and supported by an open architecture that promotes interoperability in multi-vendor environments and complements leading network infrastructure platforms. For additional information, call 1-800-POLYCOM (765-9266) or +1-408-526-9000, or visit the Polycom web site at http://www.polycom.com/.
About Japan Telecom Co. Ltd.
Japan Telecom started operations in 1986 as a carrier providing long-distance telecommunications services throughout Japan. Through approximately 12,000 km of fiber-optic networks across the country, Japan Telecom provides a wide range of voice and data communications services tailored to suit all needs of corporate, small and medium size enterprises, along with individual customers. Japan Telecom is committed to promote and realize the revolution of lifestyle, work style and business model with its cutting-edge broadband technology. (http://www.japan-telecom.co.jp/)
Polycom, the Polycom logo and ViewStation are registered trademarks and Polycom Office, VSX, V500, Siren 14, and People+Content are trademarks of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2004, Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved.
