Avaya adds video to IP telephony menu

Avaya today joined the increasing pool of vendors with an IP-based video telephony solution.

The Avaya Video Telephony Solution: Desktop Edition comes about as part of a partnership with Polycom and is focused on allowing customers to set-up video meeting as easily as phone calls. The solution, which will be sold direct from Avaya initially and expand to its channel partners including telcos later, integrates broadcast-quality video and much of the typical office phone functionality into a soft interface that sits on the users’ desktop or laptop.

Users initiate calls by dialing a number just like they would if making a regular voice call. If both parties happen to have video capability, the soft client will indicate it and the call can move into a video session.

"One of the things we see as a particular hurdle is how natural video calling is," said Greg Brophy, senior product manager with Avaya. "With this, we’re making it as easy as a phone call. You don’t have to know what that person’s IP address or what their video phone number is."

As part of the package, the two companies are providing Polycom’s ViaVideo camera. Though Avaya plans to introduce a soft phone with support for any Web cam next year, the company decided to package its solution with ViaVideo because of its ability to process images quickly with its on-board digital signal processors. Additionally, because most people will use the H.264 standard for video calls, using a traditional Web cam would take up significant processing resources from the PC, Brophy said.

"We also have a large intersection between Polycom and Avaya customer segments," he said.