NATO has selected Polycom as the primary provider of unified communications for the organisation’s Active Network Infrastructure (ANWI), located in its new headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
As part of NATO’s “new ways of working” business capability designed to modernise virtual collaboration across multiple networks, the Polycom RealPresence Platform will represent the first hybrid video collaboration, voice and data deployment by NATO. This implementation will extend NATO’s reach to employees, military commands and deployed units. Polycom is building a viable UC&C service for the ANWI project that can be widely used across the NATO organisation to support decision-making, collaboration, and coordination.
“We see Polycom as a great relationship,” said Steven Janis, project manager of the new NATO Headquarters. “There is a great importance to us in the way Polycom integrates smoothly with other communications platforms, such as Microsoft, and the ins-and-outs of the nucleus of our UC&C platforms which help take our communications into the next century.”
In addition to the RealPresence Platform being deployed throughout NATO’s networks, Polycom will also equip the facility with 2,500 of its VVX business media voice end points for use with Skype For Business. This new infrastructure and operations is all about return on investment, saving resources, expanding applications and maintaining advantages for NATO. While the initial deployment at NATO’s new headquarters will be focused on generalised services, the RealPresence Platform offers the scalability to increase to a more comprehensive UCC infrastructure that will help power the organisation’s “new ways of working” approach.
“Polycom is honoured to have been selected to partner with NATO to outfit its new headquarters in Brussels with industry-leading unified communications and collaboration technology,” said Sean Berg, VP, public sector at Polycom.
“Communications are integral to any organisation. However it plays an absolutely essential role in not only NATO’s initiatives, but the security and well-being of millions of citizens around the world. Polycom is proud to play a critical role in providing a superior user experience while ensuring NATO’s communication is never compromised.”
