ANTenna Blog -- Networking & Communications

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” That ancient proverb is proving true in the network equipment market where Cisco combatants Juniper Network and Polycom have joined forces to integrate their network and video conferencing products.

The two companies are developing a new video conferencing and telepresence service solution that ties together Juniper network resource control platform and Polycom’s video call control system. The system, which is scheduled for release in the middle of 2010, is geared to telecommunications service providers but could have a major impact on small and medium businesses.

Citing data from Frost and Sullivan, Juniper and Polycom anticipate that global market for visual communication managed services will grow from $83 million to $940 million between 2008 and 2015, a 162% compounded annual rate. Much of that growth is coming from small and medium businesses who in the past have found deploying premises-based video conferencing and telepresense systems difficult and expensive. The emergence of cloud based service could overcome such problems and make these services more attractive to these companies.

Cisco moved aggressively to expand its video conferencing and telepresence product lines via its recent acquisition of Tandberg. Teaming up with Polycom provides Juniper with a viable alternative as it continues to try and chip away at Cisco’s dominant position in many network market segments. Polycom’s long term future has been uncertain since Cisco’s purchase. Increasingly, it seems like the company will be a favorite among other IT equipment providers in need of a video conferencing solution. In addition to Juniper, Siemens Enterprise Networks and IBM recently inked various joint development agreements with Polycom.

With recent advances in network bandwidth, storage, and computer hardware, video has become an important element in how companies conduct their business. Cisco has recognized this development and tried to ensure that it has a legitimate video story to tell customers. In response, competitors have also moved to sure up their product lines.