Microsoft Partners With LifeSize Over Video Collaboration

LifeSize Communications has announced a partnership deal with Microsoft, that will see it bring its video collaboration capabilities to Redmond’s unified communications platform.

LifeSize officials announced that their high-definition video-conferencing products, including the 220 Series offerings and the more affordable LifeSize Passport collaboration system, will immediately interoperate with Microsoft’s Lync communications platform, with further qualifications for Lync later in the year.

In addition, the LifeSize offerings will be qualified this year to work with Microsoft’s Office Communications Server 2007 R2, according to Craig Malloy, LifeSize co-founder and CEO and senior vice president of parent company Logitech. It will make LifeSize among the first video conferencing vendors to qualify for interoperability with the Microsoft platform.

Collaboration Growth

“Our partnership with Microsoft is a key component in our vision to extend the highest quality collaboration capabilities to anyone, anywhere, giving customers true simplicity across existing UC platforms,” Malloy said in a statement.

The partnership is only the latest pairing of major technology companies and video collaboration specialists as both sides look to take advantage of a major trend in both the corporate and consumer markets. Cisco Systems, a strong proponent of video communications, expects video to be a key part of a larger collaboration space that should grow to $30 billion (£18.6 billion) a year.

Businesses see such technology as a key way of driving employee productivity while reducing such costs as travel expenses.

Most recently, Vidyo at the Lotusphere 2011 show earlier this month showed off a new plug-in that will let users of IBM’s Lotus Sametime UC (unified communications) platform to easily run and participate in HD video conferences.

According to LIfeSize officials, the interoperability of their technology with Microsoft’s UC platforms will be boon to businesses of all sizes, enabling them to connect over video between the LifeSize devices and desktops running the Microsoft offerings.

Control Point

It also will mean more manageable communications, they said. A number of communications avenues – from email and video to chat and the telephone – can be accessed and managed via a single user interface from myriad locations, such as conference rooms, a desktop or home office.

“The combination of LifeSize technology with Microsoft UC platforms will enable joint customers to extend their video conferencing ecosystems with service to both conference rooms and PCs,” Bill Verthein, principal group program manager for Lync Devices at Microsoft, said in a statement. “ Through our qualification process, LifeSize will become one of the first video conferencing vendors qualified to interoperate with Microsoft OCS.”

When LifeSize’s offerings are qualified to work with Office Communications Server, it will mean support for such featuers as authentication and encryption, firewall and other security measures from Microsoft Edge Services for secure communications outside organizations, auto-configuration and united presence status.