Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 17, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Polycom announces that Polycom CMA Desktop, its highly scalable desktop video-collaboration solution, will support Apple Mac OS X in future. Polycom CMA Desktop for Mac OS X enables high-quality video and voice communication and offers seamless interoperability with existing implementations of Polycom CMA Desktop for Windows, as well as with an estimated two million standards-based telepresence and video-conferencing systems currently in use.
Polycom CMA Desktop is tightly integrated with Polycom Converged Management Application (CMA), the only comprehensive and fully redundant video-network-management solution that also considerably simplifies the deployment, management and use of comprehensive personal, room and immersive telepresence implementations throughout an enterprise. A single Polycom CMA server can support CMA Desktop for Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously. The solution is aimed at companies that must overcome challenges including the following when implementing desktop video systems:
Central Management and Control
By integrating the desktop video application into the management platform, IT administrators have comprehensive deployment, management and reporting functions available for successfully implementing desktop video across the enterprise. Polycom CMA centrally controls user rights based on Active Directory entries, manages software at endpoints, monitors system use and creates reports for subsequent detailed ROI analysis.
Consistently High-Quality Experience
Polycom CMA Desktop is equipped with Lost Packet Recovery™ technology, which enables a consistently high-quality desktop experience even when remote users call over suboptimal network connections, such as the open internet.
Scalability
Polycom CMA serves hundreds of CMA Desktop users while simultaneously supporting personal, room and immersive telepresence implementations.
Ease of Use
Users receive a preconfigured application that facilitates flawless setup and removes complexity. Users can easily add contacts from the company’s directory service (Active Directory integration) and make video calls by clicking a name.
Standards-Based Interoperability
Like all Polycom visual-communication solutions, Polycom CMA Desktop is based on existing video-conferencing standards, native integration and open interoperability. Users can therefore communicate with other standards-based desktop and room video-conferencing systems.
Polycom CMA and CMA Desktop extend the Polycom Open Collaboration Network Strategy as part of a complete visual-communication solution for leading unified-communications environments. By supporting Mac OS X, Polycom meets the desire of many large companies and organisations for even greater flexibility in the use of heterogeneous computer platforms.
Availability and Pricing
Worldwide availability of Polycom CMA Desktop for Mac OS X is planned for April 2010, and it will be part of Polycom CMA. Existing Polycom CMA customers with maintenance agreements can download CMA Desktop for Max OS X at no additional cost from http://www.polycom.eu. Polycom solutions are available from certified Polycom distributors.
