

The Polycom partnership is worth expanding on, since the company has already announced a new series called Polycom RoundTable. These new products will be available for customers “in the Windows 10 timeframe” (translation: this summer or a bit later).


Microsoft’s partners Crestron, Polycom, and Smart will release a range of Skype Room Systems devices, which will be built on a platform based on Windows 10. Called Skype Room Systems, which all Lync Rooms Systems devices can upgrade to, the push will deliver the Skype for Business experience to the broader business market, which the company estimates at more than 50 million meeting spaces worldwide. Next up, Microsoft is also hoping to push “a rich portfolio” of meeting devices specifically built for, and integrated with, Skype for Business.

These companies will help deliver direct connections to Office 365 Skype for Business customers through Azure ExpressRoute for Office 365. Microsoft has partnered with AT&T, BT, Colt, Equinix, Level3 Communications, Orange Business Services, TATA Communications, Telstra, Verizon, and Vodafone. Cloud plus on-premises hybrid options will let enterprises rely on Microsoft’s cloud when they need it without having to give up what they already manage on-premises. In other words, Microsoft is looking to enhance its cloud offering with real-time communications Skype for Business will be available via Office 365 data centers in 37 countries. “The Office 365 Skype for Business voice and video services are based on an intelligent real time network, spanning Microsoft’s global data centers, to deliver secure, high quality voice and video traffic at the speed of light across the globe,” Microsoft explained. This currently is a limitation.Office 365 users will thus be able to leverage Skype for all their written, audio, and video conversations.
