Polycom and HP announce broad strategic alliance

Polycom Acquires HP's Visual Collaboration Solutions Business and Becomes HP's Exclusive Partner for Telepresence and Other Unified Communications Video Solutions. This agreement will expand Polycom's exclusive strategic relationship with HP and expands the UC solutions that HP offers to its global customer base.

HP and Polycom announced this Wednesday that they have reached a definitive agreement under which Polycom will acquire the assets of HP's Visual Collaboration business., including Halo and Halo Managed Service Business products. In connection with this acquisition, HP and Polycom have agreed to establish a strategic relationship in which Polycom will serve as an exclusive partner to HP for telepresence solutions and certain unified communications video solutions., including resale and deployment of HP equipment. The two companies have also agreed to make Polycom video applications available for the HP WebOS platform.. Alliance expands Polycom's position in the unified communications and collaboration market thanks to the installed base of visual collaboration products and HP technology. This agreement expands the company's exclusive strategic relationship with HP and expands the UC solutions that HP offers to its global customer base. Under the terms of your agreements with HP, Polycom will provide expertise in UC infrastructure and software technology, covering the full range of integrated services and mobility insurance, desk, rooms and telepresence solutions. HP to provide expertise and leadership in go-to-market strategies for unified communications solutions and sell Polycom UC solutions, including: individual and collective UC devices, UC infrastructure, managed UC services and audio and video software. This alliance combines HP's global and networking expertise with Polycom's video conferencing expertise, to provide video solutions to global customers as well as unified communications solutions using Polycom infrastructure, and deployed on HP networks and systems. This allows customers to benefit from the critical importance of networks as the foundation for a superior video experience., as well as HP global services for turnkey communications solutions. Andrew Miller, president and CEO of Polycom, has pointed out that “This announcement is a truly innovative development in the UC industry.. Creates a path for Polycom and HP to offer customers an end-to-end unified communications solution, benefiting from an unprecedented user experience, interoperability, investment protection and ease of deployment. This operation, joins the strength of two industry leaders, Customer-centric organizations that deliver a seamless, high-quality UC experience, enterprise-grade telepresence solutions to millions of customers. Our expanded relationship with HP highlights Polycom's focus and commitment to bringing the most advanced and innovative UC solutions to market.”. For your part, Shane Robison, HP executive vice president and chief technology and strategy officer, has added that “customers will benefit from this agreement and alliance, because they will receive the attention of two world-class technology companies through greater services and new products,” Shane Robison said., HP executive vice president and chief technology and strategy officer. “This transaction and alliance allows us to focus on the execution of our cloud computing and connectivity strategy, while ensuring the long-term care of our clients and the development of our service business”.