In-Depth
GALLERY: Partners Unveil Fresh Crop of Lync Hardware
Enterprise interest in Lync is surging, and Microsoft's partners are taking advantage by freshening up their UC hardware offerings. Check out some of the highlights from this year's Lync Conference.
- By Redmond Channel Partner magazine staff
- April 16, 2014
Microsoft's unified communications platform is picking up steam with both users and Microsoft partners. No where was this more evident than in this year's Lync Conference, which took place in February and had roughly double the attendance of last year's confab. On the keynote stage, Microsoft's Skype-Lync demos took the spotlight, but the show floor also boasted an impressive array of new hardware offerings from Microsoft partners taking advantage of Lync's capabilities. Here are a few of the standouts:
Logitech CC3300e
Logitech made a splash at the Microsoft Lync Conference 2014 with a compact conference system at a workgroup price. Dubbed the Logitech CC3300e, the system includes 1080p HD video and audio that connects to a laptop for face-to-face communication for $1,000.
Polycom CX8000
At the Microsoft Lync Conference 2014, Polycom showed off a new room system for Microsoft Lync that began shipping in March. The CX8000 is a videoconferencing room system that brings HD audio, HD videoconferencing, virtual white boarding and touch display to Lync meetings. The package ships with the CX5000, the company's 360-degree panoramic 720p HD video collaboration system. The 1080p HD CX5100 will be an option, when that 360-degree camera completes qualification.
Kuando Busylight
The Busylight by Denmark-based Kuando is one of several products that use lights to indicate the user's status to officemates. Red is busy, yellow is away, green is available and purple is do not disturb.
SMART Room System for Microsoft Lync
SMART Technologies Inc. expanded its line of SMART Room System for Microsoft Lync products with new display sizes and a personal version. The new system can come with single (bottom) or dual (top) 55-inch displays, in addition to the previous 70-inch and 84-inch displays.
Jabra PRO 900
Jabra added two Lync-optimized devices to its Jabra PRO 900 Series. The devices are the Jabra PRO 925 for Bluetooth and desk phones, and the Jabra PRO 935 (pictured) for Bluetooth and UC softphones.
Sennheiser Speakerphone Series
Sennheiser is wading into the "hockey puck" speakerphone sector. The Sennheiser Speakerphone series consists of the SP 10 ML and the SP 20 ML. Both are optimized for use with Microsoft Lync and connect to a PC via a USB cable. The SP 20 ML can also connect to a phone or tablet through a 3.5 mm jack plug.