Ericsson and Polycom will use Mobile World Congress 2012 as a launchpad for a jointly developed communications solution that will allow operators to deliver video-as-a-service offerings to enterprises.
The end-to-end solution will be demonstrated at the Ericsson stand in Hall 6 and the Polycom stand (2D01) in Hall 2. Both companies will take it to the global market, with Ericsson serving as prime system integrator for all of the infrastructure components
It will leverage Ericsson’s video-enabled IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) offering, including HD-capable infrastructure, as well as Polycom RealPresence video and voice endpoints and the Polycom RealPresence Platform.
The Ericsson IMS system uses the same IMS core for the Visual Communication solution as for Voice over LTE (VoLTE), Rich Communication Suite (RCS) and fixed network modernisation. The new Ericsson Media Resource System is designed to provide secure, high-quality HD video and full-band stereo audio conferencing to operators around the globe. Ericsson mobile media gateways are upgradeable to include the Media Resource System functions.
The end-to-end cloud-based offering will enable operators to provide VaaS offerings across devices. It will also incorporate Ericsson’s solution for unified communication, the Ericsson Business Communication Suite.
Monthly fees will allow SMBs and enterprises access to secure, QoS-enabled HD video and conferencing services delivered to any environment, including smart phones and tablets, laptop, desktop, and room systems; conference rooms; and immersive theaters.
"Following on the January announcement of our cloud strategy, Polycom is excited to collaborate with an IMS leader like Ericsson to deliver standards-based, interoperable solutions that will enable service providers to offer compelling and cost-effective Video-as-a-Service solutions to their customers," said Gary Testa, vice president, Global Cloud & Service Provider Solutions, Polycom.
"We’re showcasing our joint solution at this year’s Mobile World Congress so service providers can see first-hand how the technology can build their business, win new customers, create new revenue streams, and enable their customers to connect visually in high-definition through the cloud."
Magnus Furustam, vice president and head of Core and IMS at Ericsson, said, "We have worked collaboratively with Polycom since announcing our partnership at last year’s show, and are now pleased to launch and showcase our joint video conferencing solution for business users. With our leading market presence in IMS and mobile networks, we provide a smooth path to enabling the networks for HD visual and audio communication. We believe our solution to be very attractive to business users and an industry first with a very compelling value proposition to operators."
Customer trials of the joint solution should commence in mid-2012, with general availability expected by the end of 2012.