Polycom and Ekahau Deliver Real Time Location Services on Wi-Fi Phones
Polycom's SpectraLink 8000 Series handsets enable location detection of personnel and assets
NEW YORK, Oct. 23 / - Interop Booth No. 519 - Polycom, Inc., the world's leading provider of unified collaborative solutions, today announced it has teamed with Ekahau Inc., the recognized leader in location-enabling enterprise Wi-Fi networks, to offer Ekahau's Real Time Location System (RTLS) functionality on Polycom's SpectraLink 8000 Series Wireless Telephones. By supporting Ekahau's location protocol on its SpectraLink 8000 Series handsets, Polycom broadens the application support capabilities of its Wi-Fi handsets.
The RTLS-enabled SpectraLink 8000 Series Wi-Fi handsets work in tandem with the Ekahau Positioning Engine (EPE) server software, enabling enterprise users to determine the location of wireless telephones and employees at any given time. This capability is critical to any organization whether it is used to locate a salesperson on a retail floor to answer a customer question or a specialist in a medical facility. The EPE also enables users to receive and respond to work-flow messaging based on their location, further enhancing productivity across the wireless enterprise.
Frost & Sullivan estimates that the global RTLS market will grow to $1.26 billion in 2011 primarily from the healthcare and manufacturing industries.
"The increasing need for mobility is expected to result in convergence of RTLS technology with other wireless solutions," said Frost & Sullivan's Global RFID Program Manager Priyanka Gouthaman. "By combining RTLS with its Wi-Fi telephones, Polycom addresses a key customer need to effectively track both staff and assets in real time."
"By working with Ekahau, we've significantly enhanced our application support for our enterprise customers across a broad range of industries," said Ben Guderian, Polycom vice president of product management for wireless voice. "Ekahau's RTLS solution adds another dimension to Wi-Fi telephony to further improve mobility, productivity and responsiveness for critical employees."
"The combination of our high performance RTLS system and Polycom's world- class wireless handsets makes these wireless telephones a valuable asset to any enterprise," said Antti Korhonen, president and CEO of Ekahau. "Polycom's customers can now leverage accurate location tracking within enterprise campus for improved workflow, employee productivity and safety."
The Ekahau RTLS application enables Polycom handsets to be located over any brand or generation of standard 802.11 wireless networks. By utilizing the standards-based Ekahau technology, existing enterprise wireless networks can support the phones for a faster return on investment, and enable that infrastructure to seamlessly and simultaneously support new RLTS applications.
Pricing and Availability
Ekahau RTLS support will be a standard feature on all SpectraLink 8000 Series Wireless Telephones. For more information on the Ekahau Positioning Engine, visit www.ekahau.com.
About Ekahau Inc.
Ekahau Inc. is the industry leader in providing Wi-Fi based RTLS solutions. Ekahau's customers, including several Fortune 500 companies worldwide, are realizing the benefits of Wi-Fi based location services and innovative Wi-Fi network planning and optimization tools. Ekahau partners include wireless software developers, leading system integrators, and international OEM partners, who develop and market wireless enterprise applications. Ekahau is a U.S. based corporation, with offices in Saratoga, CA; Reston, VA; Helsinki, Finland; and Hong Kong, China. For more information about Ekahau, please visit at www.ekahau.com
About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. is the worldwide leader in unified collaborative communications (UCC) that maximize the efficiency and productivity of people and organizations by integrating the broadest array of high definition video, wired and wireless voice, and content solutions to deliver the ultimate collaborative experience. Polycom's high quality, standards-based conferencing and collaboration solutions are easy to deploy and manage, as well as intuitive to use. Supported by an open architecture, they integrate seamlessly with leading telephony, workplace wireless telephony, and presence-based networks. With its market driving technologies, best-in-class products, alliance partnerships, and world-class service, Polycom is the smart choice for organizations seeking proven solutions and a competitive advantage from on-demand communications and collaboration. For additional information, call 800-POLYCOM or visit the Polycom web site at www.polycom.com.
Source: Polycom, Inc.
CONTACT: Robin Raulf-Sager of Polycom, Inc., +1-303-725-5748, robin.raulf-sager@polycom.com; or Jason King of Lois Paul & Partners,
+1-781-782-5793, jason_king@lpp.com; or Gail Norris of Rocket Science
PR, 1-240-477-4554, gail@rocketscience.com, for Ekahau
Web site: www.polycom.com
