News -

UPDATE: Polycom Telepresence Helps Manhattan Associates Deliver High-Touch Customer Service

Polycom Telepresence Systems and Infrastructure Puts Supply Chain Solutions Leader in Face-to-Face Communications With Customers and Colleagues Around the Word

March 29, 2010: 03:40 PM ET

Global supply chain optimization provider Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH) is strengthening relationships with its more than 1,200 customers via a global video communications network powered by Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM).

Manhattan Associates ensures its operations run smoothly and effectively by linking 2,000 employees working from 20 offices in 11 countries. A longtime Polycom voice and video solutions customer, Manhattan Associates recently outfitted its network with Polycom® HDX™ room telepresence solutions and Polycom video network infrastructure for multi-point conferencing, centralized management and security intercompany collaboration. "Now is a particularly good time to invest in updating our video infrastructure since the company is focused on increasing productivity," said John Drummond, director of Global Communication Systems for Manhattan Associates.

Though its legacy Polycom network, first rolled out in 2001, had served the company well, Drummond realized today's high-definition (HD) video communications solutions offered a significantly higher quality user experience and began evaluating new solutions.

"Whenever we look at deploying new technology, we always look at the breadth of offerings out there. But the one thing that keeps me coming back to Polycom is the support. Their account teams are on the ball and very responsive," said Drummond. "Their product development is first class."

The company's 25 Polycom HD video systems are located around the world at facilities in Atlanta, India, Indiana, London and Paris. At this point, 70 percent of the company's employees have either held their own video conferences or participated in a video call. This has resulted in a very active network that logs upwards of 300 calls per month.

"It's night and day between HD telepresence and legacy video conferencing," said Drummond. "I was on a two-hour video call with a colleague in Indiana and he looked like he was sitting in the next room, there was no jitter or latency like you used to see. His voice was clear, his movements were fluid."

Usage of the video network has increased since deploying the Polycom telepresence units, which are being used most frequently for interviews with remotely located candidates and distance learning within the company. "The systems seem to be in use constantly for interviews," he said. "Those are real time savers, with the HD-quality video, we are able to see facial expressions and body language, which tells a lot about how the candidate is reacting."

"It's a tool that is used all the way from the CEO's office to the R&D programmer and the business analyst," said Ken Rabun, chief information officer. "Polycom provides technology that users are really, really happy with, and that makes my job easier."

At the heart of Manhattan Associates' voice and video conferencing network is the Polycom RMX 2000® real-time media conferencing platform, which facilitates multipoint bridging and scheduling for Drummond and his team, while the Polycom Converged Management Application™ (CMA) simplifies the provisioning and management of visual communication solutions. In addition, legacy Polycom video systems have been replaced by the company's flagship Polycom HDX 8000 room telepresence solutions.

Meetings with clients have also ramped up following the HD deployment. This has been assisted by Polycom's Video Border Proxy™ (VBP) firewall traversal solution, which the company deployed both domestically and overseas to enable connections with external parties.

Getting Results

Drummond's long history with video conferencing gives him a unique perspective into the benefits the new HDX technology provides.

"The new HD technology from Polycom never makes you feel like you're talking to a television set. If you move a hand or get up from the table, the motion is fluid," he explains. "The goal has been to replicate what you see on TV, and now that it has been replicated with Polycom HD video, people want to participate in video calls."

Moreover, Polycom CMA has usage tracking built in, which allows Drummond to generate reports that can provide insight into anything from peak use times to most frequently used units to call speeds. "I can bring that ROI chart to the CFO to let him know how his investment is being used," says Drummond.

Employees, too, have been both receptive and impressed. "Our users can literally initiate calls to our customers with no intervention from IT," said Rabun.

Enabling the Desktop

To further enable video collaboration across the organization, the company is piloting and considering a limited roll-out of Polycom CMA Desktop, a scalable, cost-effective video collaboration application for PCs that works seamlessly with the other conference room systems.

"I think Polycom CMA Desktop is going to be very successful for us," says Drummond. "People like the ability to jump on a call right at their desks. Rather than scheduling a conference room and spending an hour on a call, they can stay at their desks and even multitask during that time."

For Rabun, Polycom represents a competitive advantage. "Polycom technology is extremely dependable," he said. "It's been a great time saver, a great cost saver for us. It's just been a perfect fit for Manhattan."

Additional information is available in a video and case study about Manhattan Associates.

About Manhattan Associates, Inc.

Manhattan Associates® continues to deliver on its 20-year heritage of providing global supply chain excellence to more than 1,200 customers worldwide that consider supply chain optimization core to their strategic market leadership. The company's supply chain innovations include: Manhattan SCOPE®, a portfolio of software solutions and technology that leverages a Supply Chain Process Platform to help organizations optimise their supply chains from planning through execution; Manhattan SCALE™, a portfolio of distribution management and transportation management solutions built on Microsoft® .NET technology; and Manhattan Carrier™, a suite of supply chain solutions specifically addressing the needs of the motor carrier industry. For more information, please visit www.manh.com.

About Polycom

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) is the global leader in telepresence, video, and voice solutions and a visionary in communications that empower people to connect and collaborate everywhere. Visit www.polycom.com for more information and follow us on Twitter @AllAboutPolycom.

© 2010 Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved. POLYCOM®, the Polycom "Triangles" logo and the names and marks associated with Polycom's products are trademarks and/or service marks of Polycom, Inc. and are registered and/or common law marks in the United States and various other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Corporate . Public Sector . Industry . Education . NHS . Leisure

Audio Visual and Video Conferencing Systems

Email us

VIDEO CONFERENCING HIRE