Polycom Maintains Regional Growth Strategy

Polycom Maintains Regional Growth Strategy Momentum and Strengthens Channel Commitment in New Zealand

• Datastor to become Polycom distributor in New Zealand, aligning with global channel strategy and responding to increasing demand for video solutions in unified communications environments
• Asnet Technologies appointed as Polycom’s inaugural Platinum reseller in New Zealand

[Sydney, 7 May 2010] Polycom Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM), the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communications solutions, has announced the appointment of Datastor (NZ) Limited (Datastor) as its distributor in the New Zealand market, effective 1 June 2010. The appointment is the first stage of Polycom’s 2010 plan to strengthen its presence in New Zealand, and is part of an ongoing regional expansion strategy.

The appointment of Datastor follows a sustained period of expansion by Polycom in Australia, and reflects Polycom’s commitment to developing new business with existing partners, and to attracting and enabling new partners, in the fast-growing unified communications (UC) market. The decision to appoint Datastor also supports the deepening of Polycom’s relationships with the leading UC vendors globally, as part of the Polycom Open Collaboration Network (POCN) strategy. Through the Polycom Open Collaboration Network, Polycom partners with the leaders in network infrastructure and unified communications, such as HP, IBM, Microsoft, Avaya, Juniper and Siemens, to provide customers open and interoperable collaboration solutions that enable full UC integration and protect existing IT investments.

Announcing the appointment prior to Datastor’s major end customer event in New Zealand, Datastor Forum 2010, Mr Michael Chetner, Polycom’s Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand, said, “High definition video solutions will proliferate across corporate and small to medium businesses within a few years, and New Zealanders have historically been early adopters of these technologies.”

Mr Chetner added: “The appointment of Datastor, with its strong background in Unified Communications, and its shared partnerships with members of the Polycom Open Collaboration Network, will help to drive Polycom’s continued growth in New Zealand. Importantly, Datastor actively supports Polycom’s open standards-based solutions approach that gives users easy access to powerful, productivity-enhancing UC tools, without having to ‘rip-and-replace’ their existing IT investments.”

Datastor is a wholly owned subsidiary of Westcon Group Inc. (Westcon). Westcon is also Polycom’s distributor in Australia, providing the ability to leverage competencies and logistics across the Tasman, allowing further responsiveness to resellers.

“This is an exciting development for Datastor, demonstrating our commitment and investment into the unified communications market in New Zealand,” said Mr Dave Rosenberg, Managing Director for Datastor. “The recent acquisition of Datastor by Westcon allows us to replicate the global success Westcon has had with Polycom, and integrate this into the traditional Datastor Value Add Model – resulting in a complete unified communications solution for our customers. As our vendor ecosystem continues to evolve, we see Polycom as critical to this evolutionary success,” he said.

Polycom’s former New Zealand distributor and major reseller, Asnet Technologies Ltd, a Polycom channel partner for more than 12 years, will become the first Polycom Platinum reseller in New Zealand from 1 July 2010.

“Appointing Asnet Technologies as Polycom’s Platinum reseller reinforces the visual communications expertise that has underpinned Polycom’s growth in New Zealand. The Asnet Technologies team has a wealth of industry knowledge, with an impressive team of CVE qualified engineers and certified sales staff, demonstrating a strong commitment to customers in New Zealand”, said Mr Chetner. “Having both Datastor and Asnet partnering with Polycom going forward, will enable us to continue extending our reach across all sectors of the New Zealand market, where we have witnessed a major year-on-year increase in demand for Polycom’s solutions.”

“For our part, we want to focus 100 per cent on working closely with our customers, and entrust the logistics to Datastor,” said Mr Chris Stewart, GM of Asnet Technologies. “We are proud to be Polycom’s first Platinum reseller, and will continue to strive for excellence in providing the best solutions to the New Zealand market.”

Polycom are proud sponsors of the Datastor Forum 2010 on 18 May in Wellington and 20 May in Auckland.

ENDS

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