Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq:PLCM), today announced a new Global Partner Program for its collaboration solutions and services that is designed to support, recognize and reward the company’s top performing channel partners who innovate with Polycom and lead customer success. The new program is one of the strategic investments Polycom is making to support and evolve its channel partner ecosystem, capture market opportunity and achieve its vision of unleashing the power of human collaboration.

The program is designed to help partners build their business with Polycom and advance through the four program levels: Authorized, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Polycom partners who invest in advanced technical training, highly skilled specialists, and align business development efforts will benefit from the new program, which rewards partners who develop adjacent technologies and advanced services through Polycom services and practice specializations.

“Polycom’s channel partners represent a world-class standard of excellence that goes unmatched within our industry,” said Mark Arman, Polycom vice president of Worldwide Channel Sales. “At the very foundation, our partners bring Polycom’s strategy to life by integrating broader solutions that transform the way people collaborate and get work done. Our new program more directly links the investments our partners make in selling and servicing Polycom solutions to the recognition and rewards they deserve.”

Polycom is also introducing new minimum volume thresholds across all program levels to provide investment protection for top performing partners. Joint business planning and new program benchmarks, such as in-house certified presale or technical experts, will support tighter alignment in the field and accelerate sales cycles.

“Polycom’s program will help SPS continue to evolve by providing new ways to best serve our clients,” said Jim Maynard, executive vice president/general manager, SPS. “Our goal is to empower our clients with the latest voice, video and content collaboration innovations, supported through managed services, which allow our clients to realize ROI, maximize productivity and utilize their technology investments in diverse and compelling ways.”

Polycom previewed the new program in front an audience of more than 600 partners and industry analysts at TEAM Polycom 2015, Polycom’s annual partner conference. “I believe Polycom is committed to making strong improvements in how it works with and supports its channel partners. I felt that before, but my discussions about the new program with company executives at TEAM Polycom solidified my view in this area,” said Ira M. Weinstein, senior analyst and partner, Wainhouse Research.

Long-standing and new entrepreneurial partners will benefit from the program because it is simple, transparent and merit based. The new program goes into effect in North America today and will be rolled out across the globe throughout 2015 and early 2016.

About Polycom

Polycom helps organizations unleash the power of human collaboration. More than 415,000 companies and institutions worldwide defy distance with secure video, voice and content solutions from Polycom to increase productivity, speed time to market, provide better customer service, expand education and save lives. Polycom and its global partner ecosystem provide flexible collaboration solutions for any environment that deliver the best user experience, the broadest multi-vendor interoperability and unmatched investment protection. Visit www.polycom.com or connect with us on TwitterFacebook and LinkedIn to learn more.

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding future events, including statements regarding the expanded partnership and future product availability. These forward-looking statements reflect our current intentions and are identified by terminology such as “designed”, “will”, “planned” and other similar statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including future agreements; changes to our strategic areas of focus; and possible delays in the development, availability and shipment of new products due to engineering, manufacturing or other delays. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2014, and in other reports filed by Polycom with the SEC. Polycom disclaims any intent or obligations to update these forward-looking statements.

NOTE: The product plans, specifications, and descriptions herein are provided for information only and subject to change without notice, and are provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Polycom reserves the right to modify future product plans at any time. Products and related specifications referenced herein are not guaranteed and will be delivered on a when and if available basis.

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