Polycom Makes Federal Case With Microsoft Lync

Polycom continues to make strategic moves in the UC space, this time, with an eye on the Federal government. The UC vendor has?announced?that three key Polycom CX IP phones for Microsoft Corp.?s Lync have now been made?available?for Federal?government?agencies on the GSA Schedule.

The phone lineup is straightforward, covering the majority of use cases in governmental agencies.

The Polycom CX500 IP desktop phone, a basic phone for desks, hallways, lobbies, cubicles, common areas and more. This phone offers a device-only mode, which makes safe to use in more ?public? spaces.

The ?CX600 IP desktop phone, an extension of the CX300 is a more specialized option with an on-board client allowing for pairing with a PC to transfer contacts and contact information without requiring the PC to make calls. It also features an embedded dual port ethernet switch.

Lastly, Polycom boasts that the C3000 IP conference phone (pictured) ?is the only conference phone optimized to natively take advantage?of Microsoft Lync?s capabilities. It features a specialized PIN authentication ability and also includes the same PC pairing functionality.

This focus on Microsoft Lync is interesting,?particularly?amid a recent?acquisition?of Microsoft Gold Partner Sentri, which specializes in Lync UC and UC security. It?s likely Polycom is looking to?strengthen its portfolio with Microsoft technology in anticipation of ?the coming wave of Microsoft Office solutions and communication platforms. Cloud or on premise, phone hardware will still be needed in varying capacities and Lync optimization can become an is attractive option for both customers and solutions providers already knee-deep with Microsoft.

And while it may be true that Polycom ?s Federal focus is about?capitalizing?on Government infrastructure overhaul ? there won?t be abundant demand ?especially since?Gartner predicts government?spending is likely to decline by 2 percent over the 2013 year (and continue to do so) as government spending comes under scrutiny. Instead, Polycom?s efforts with this phone trio could be to capture the Federal vertical through Microsoft?s momentum.

Earlier in January,?Microsoft inked a 3-year deal with the US Department of Defense, set to blanket nearly 75 percent of the Pentagon?s 1.5 million computers and help with modernizing the infrastructure and improve ?cross -agency?collaboration.??It wouldn?t be surprising if ?Lync and Polycom ?showed up there, too.

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Source: http://channelnomics.com/2013/02/15/polycom-federal-case-lync-phones/

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