Programme Helps Organisations Optimise Networks, Implement and Track Video Usage vis-à-vis Carbon Reductions
5 June 2008 – In conjunction with United Nations World Environment Day, Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM), the leader in unified collaborative communications solutions, today announced the collaboration industry's first green services programme, Going Green with Polycom. Going Green with Polycom is a three-step programme offered through authorised Polycom channel partners that provides companies with Video Readiness, Green Rollout Planning and Implementation, and Tracking and Measurement programmes. The programme utilises a comprehensive methodology to help organisations reduce their carbon emissions through increased usage of video applications as an alternative to travel.
Perfect Storm of Economic, Environmental & Tech Conditions Build Video Demand
The unprecedented market growth for visual communications and its associated services including telepresence, is the natural outgrowth of the confluence of economic, environmental and technical factors. Globalisation has led to the rise of outsourcing, strategic partnering, and the mobile workforce, making timely communications among dispersed employees, customers, partners and vendors increasingly important. At the same time, economic uncertainty is high, travel is increasingly inconvenient and costly, and global warming is threatening the planet. Finally, technology has reduced the need for travel, thanks to bandwidth-rich IP networks that enable reliable, high definition video communications for desktops, conference rooms and telepresence suites. Companies using video to reduce travel benefit in multiple ways: from maximised productivity and faster time-to-market, to reduced operating expenses and carbon emissions.
Going Green with Polycom – Innovative New Programme Meets Demand
Polycom's innovative new Going Green with Polycom programme meets this growing demand by offering implementation and optimised video usage to reduce travel and improve the environment.
The comprehensive programme includes:
This service benchmarks service quality, operational efficiency in terms of capacity and resources, and the business benefits resulting from maximum user adoption and experience. This service also helps identify the applications and workflows within an organisation that are ideal for video, as well as how to optimise conferencing operations.
This service establishes a direct link between effective use of video conferencing and reductions in carbon emissions. The service first establishes the role and potential for video conferencing to support overall organisational environmental objectives. Consultants then proceed to examine the current utilisation of conferencing and travel patterns to develop effective programmes designed to increase the environmentally responsible use of video conferencing technology in existing and new applications.
An application called Video-Miles®, from Polycom ARENA partner The Visual Environment, can be licensed for each registered endpoint. The unique software monitors and measures every video conference by automatically and accurately calculating the number of travel miles, the amount of carbon saved, detailed ROI from travel cost savings, as well as the ability to target, drive, measure and monitor system utilisation. Results are tracked and available at the click of a mouse in a variety of on-demand reports.
The Visual Environment reports customers experience increased travel cost savings of more than 30 per cent, and carbon savings growing at 25 per cent per quarter using Video-Miles.
"Decision-making information about video is now available – instantly," said Calum Miller, co-founder and partner, The Visual Environment. "Our customers like the fact that, for the first time ever, our software lets them be in control of their video conferencing investment and they have the ability to drive what they now class as a valuable asset."
"Going Green with Polycom is a new addition to Polycom's suite of Professional Services offerings," said Geno Alissi, general manager and senior vice president of Polycom Global Services. "Polycom and its partners offer the broadest service and support programmes for collaboration and communication in the industry. No one knows more about how to implement collaborative communications solutions into a Unified Communications network than Polycom and its authorised channel partners."
A global customer using Polycom telepresence and video solutions to help reach carbon neutrality is Easynet - the international managed network and hosting division of BSkyB broadcasting and NDS Group, a global leader in digital television technology that is majority owned by News Corporation.
Links to addition information:
Polycom's Commitment to Global Sustainability
Polycom Global Services
The Visual Environment – Video-Miles
Pricing and Availability
The Going Green with Polycom portfolio of services is available today through Polycom authorised channels. They may be purchased individually or together. Pricing is dependent upon the number of endpoints and locations with prices ranging from an MSRP of US$20,000 to US$70,000.
About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. is the worldwide leader in unified collaborative communications (UCC) that maximise the efficiency and productivity of people and organisations. Polycom delivers the broadest array of high definition telepresence video, wired and wireless voice, and content solutions so people can enjoy the best communications, whether from a real-time collaborative interaction or on-demand streamed video experience. Spanning from the desktop to the industry's only immersive telepresence suite, Polycom's high quality collaboration and communications solutions are easy to deploy and manage, as well as intuitive to use. Based on open standards, they integrate seamlessly with leading telephony- and presence-based networks. With innovative market-driving technologies, a compelling vision for next generation visual communications, best-in-class products, alliance partnerships, and world-class service, Polycom is the smart choice for organisations to gain a competitive advantage with proven and trusted communication solutions. The NASDAQ-listed company is based in Pleasanton, California, USA, and has Asia Pacific offices in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. For additional information, visit the Polycom Asia Pacific site at www.polycomasia.com.
Polycom and the Polycom logo are registered trademarks of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2008, Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved.