Polycom Strengthens Web Strategy with Acquisition of MeetU

Polycom Inc., a worldwide leader in the convergence of interactivevoice, video, data and web communications, today announced that it hasacquired MeetU Inc., a leading developer of web collaboration software.The purchase price was not disclosed. The acquisition strengthensPolycom's technology leadership in web collaboration, contributingdirectly to the power of The Polycom Office, the only integrated,end-to-end solution for converged voice, video, data and webcollaboration.

"The acquisition of MeetU is another proof point in our strategy ofmaking web collaboration a key component of The Polycom Office," saidBob Hagerty, chairman and CEO of Polycom. "We are already leveragingthe expertise of the MeetU team with our WebOffice solution and arerealizing strong synergies between the web collaboration software andour voice and video product lines. Polycom now offers a webcollaboration solution with the deepest integration of voice, video anddata, enabling our customers to choose from a variety of collaborationtools to work in the most effective manner for their specificsituation."

Polycom WebOffice provides a web-based virtual office, which enablesusers to conduct online meetings, or to share documents, applicationsor desktops in a secure, interactive environment using their webbrowser. From the same Polycom WebOffice, users can instantly launchvideo and voice conferences on Polycom's VoicePlus and MGC conferencingbridges, bringing real-time interaction to their web meetings.WebOffice provides a collaborative environment with seamlessfunctionality that is ideal for applications such as online salesefforts, where users can share information in an effective,cost-efficient way that can speed the decision-making process andreduce the sales cycle.

Polycom recently appointed John Nye as vice president and generalmanager of Mixed Media Collaboration to oversee the productdevelopment, marketing and sales efforts of its WebOffice and PolycomVoicePlus solutions. Nye will oversee the Israel-based MeetU team.Prior to joining Polycom, Nye was president and CEO of an early stagenetwork management systems company, and previously served as vicepresident and general manager of MultiLink, Inc., a subsidiary of theformer PictureTel Corp.

"For customers, WebOffice offers a web portal into The PolycomOffice," said Nye. "Web collaboration is an effective way to bringpeople together and serves as a natural entry point for voice and videocommunications. By acquiring MeetU, we have the resources and expertiseto further expand the capabilities of this solution and leverage ourcore strengths in voice, video and data communications to deliver atruly unique and seamless environment for real-time, rich-mediacollaboration."

Polycom WebOffice is easy to install, simple to use and works withfirewalls. WebOffice leverages the use of instant messaging andpresence detection to support ad hoc collaboration sessions. Userssimply set up their virtual web offices by creating a unique URL,similar to their e-mail address. Anyone can then meet in this virtualoffice by entering the "office URL" into their web-browser, whetherthey are inside or outside of the organization. They connect to theoffice as they would any web site. From the office they can also startvoice conferences and video conferences.

MeetU's product development teams will remain based in Israel andwill continue working with and supporting existing partners.