New Video Conferencing Solution Combining Polycom Realpresence and Microsoft Lync Keeps Global Teams Connected

By Madhubanti Rudra TMCnet Contributor

John Laing, a UK-based investment company focused in and manager of infrastructure assets, with global operations, has implemented a combination of Microsoft Lync Server 2010 and Polycom (News - Alert) RealPresence video solutions in order to achieve enhance collaboration across its UK and overseas offices.

John Laing manages 76 privately financed infrastructure projects for the public sector. The company has a large employee-base housed in its 73 UK offices as well as six overseas offices. Teams, working from various global offices and often on-the-go, typically need to have video-conferencing in order to collaborate face-to-face securely in real-time, while managing the development risk, project financing, asset management and operations with its partners and project supply chain.

Naturally, the company was on the lookout for a collaboration solution that does not only offer high quality video experience, but also user-friendly and also required the solution to be interoperable with existing systems and applications, so that it can support a wide range of devices.

Polycom partner Wirebird, and technology automation specialists AMX, designed an advanced uified communication solution that meets all these criteria. For the company, Wireband and AMX designed and implemented video meeting rooms at its new London head office and six other conference rooms around the world.

The video conferencing rooms boast four Polycom RealPresence Room video solutions (including the Polycom HDX 8000), all of which are powered by the Polycom RealPresence Platform – one of the most interoperable and comprehensive UC&C software infrastructure for universal video collaboration.

Laing is also using Polycom RealPresence Mobile 2.0 (News - Alert) for consortium partners and employees using tablets or smartphones while on the move.

Polycom’s integration with Microsoft Lync desktop clients helped make video conferencing widespread within John Liang, which in turn helped enhance productivity and reduce travel costs. According to news statement, approximately half of the firm’s 1,000 employees collaborate via Polycom desktop-based or room-based video solutions securely, easily and intuitively from within familiar interfaces by simply clicking a name on their Lync contact list.

In other news Polycom announced that at the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) 2013 National Conference, it will demonstrate Polycom RealPresence video solutions in education environments, showing how schools are video-enabling classes, education applications and business models.

Edited by Ashley Caputo