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Polycom Certifies Aruba Gear for Setting Up Remote Connections

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 09/02/10

Polycom, a company that sells collaboration tools for video and voice, has approved remote worker technology from Aruba Networks to work on its systems. Aruba's Virtual Branch Networking has gone through a certification process to make sure it works with Polycom's communication services. The goal is to simplify the setup of Polycom equipment and software in remote offices.

Intended to replace more traditional virtual private networks, Virtual Branch Networking is managed centrally through an Aruba Mobility Controller in the data center. Remote Access points, which start at $99 for each site, can be configured by users, according to the company. Agent software that's downloaded from Mobility Controller or pushed out from an existing software management program onto the user's Windows computer sets up the secure connection to the network.

"Aruba's solution addresses the unique remote networking needs to simplify unified communications for teleworkers," said Mark Roberts, Polycom's vice president of partner marketing. "In fact, Polycom uses the solution to provide remote video teleconferencing to our own employees at their home offices."

Polycom's unified communications products include systems for telepresence, video conferencing, voice-over-IP handsets, and voice conferencing systems.

"Aruba [Virtual Branch Networking] ... gives IT departments complete visibility into performance and hardware status," said Manav Khurana, Aruba's head of industry marketing.