Polycom (News - Alert), a company the manufacturers conference phones and other collaborative communications solutions, recently announced availability of its new real-time media conferencing platform, Polycom RMX 2000.   The platform is designed to simplify delivery and management multipoint video and unified conferencing, both within enterprises and through service provider IP networks.   RMX 2000 was created in response to growing demand for a high-performance video conferencing solution able to support both room video systems and deployments of desktop video collaboration, on-demand or instantaneous conferencing, and high-bandwidth applications like high definition video and telepresence.   Polycom based its new platform on Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (AdvancedTCA (News - Alert)) technology, optimizing the system for use on IP networks. The solution, which is based on open architecture and industry standards (SIP, H.232, IMS, Linux, XML, etc.), was designed from the ground up to be at the core of a unified communications network.   "Video collaboration is moving beyond the conference room, and the potential for emerging and future applications at the desktop, on mobile devices, and within workgroup applications is significant," said Frost & Sullivan analyst Roopam Jain, in a statement.   Jain continued: "However, these new applications and emerging technologies require a platform that can support both high-end applications like HD and telepresence and the potentially large number of simultaneous users in desktop and mobile environments. The Polycom RMX 2000 conferencing platform, designed to seamlessly fit enterprise or service provider IT ecosystems, addresses these requirements."   Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manage of network systems at Polycom, explained that the RMX 2000 removes distance as an obstacle to conferencing in today's geographically dispersed, global corporations.   "The RMX 2000 enables people with different devices on the road, at the desktop, in a conference room, or in a telepresence suite to collaborate instantaneously, thereby improving an organization's productivity, efficiency, and time to market," Sigrist said in a statement.   RMS 2000 can be deployed as a traditional conferencing resource, or within a distributed IMS network. The solution's modular design means it enables integration of video and unified conferencing into both IP telephony and presence-based collaboration environments.    "An IMS-architected conferencing platform gives enterprises greater flexibility in how IP-based conferencing and collaboration services are deployed and managed within their networks," noted Frost & Sullivan analyst Ronald Gruia, in a statement.   Gruia continued: "The Polycom RMX 2000 can be deployed as a consolidated conferencing resource, or as a conferencing optimized media server within a distributed IMS or hybrid fixed and mobile architectures. This flexibility enables conferencing to evolve in parallel with network requirements and supports the rapid and cost-effective delivery of new and more tightly integrated services as business needs change."   Already, the RMX 2000 is earning kudos from Polycom clients. Hiroyuki Tezuka, manager of Hitachi Cable's system engineering center, for example, praised the solution's reliability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.   "We frequently use video conferencing to collaborate with partners in different countries. The language barriers can make communication difficult, so we often rely on non-verbal communication like facial expressions," Tezuka said in a statement. "The RMX 2000 provides great audio and video quality for multipoint calls, making verbal and visual communication more effective and enabling our users to make decisions faster."   Polycom's RMX 2000 is available worldwide through qualified Polycom channel partners. The modular system starts at $53,000.