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NATO Transforms Its Collaboration as Polycom RealPresence Centro Takes Center Stage

Written by Jeff Owen | Feb 8, 2016 5:00:00 AM
  • NATO the first to deploy Polycom® RealPresence Centro™ solution to take collaboration to the next level
  • RealPresence Centro solution now officially certified and approved to operate with NATO’s highly secure Restricted Network
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Feb 04, 2016: Driving towards a more innovative approach to its virtual collaboration efforts while boosting current business capabilities, NATO has historically turned to Polycom to deliver next-generation best-in-class collaboration technology. Continuing to elevate NATO’s “new ways of working” program with advanced communication technology, Polycom announced today NATO has become the first organization to deploy a commercially available Polycom® RealPresence Centro, the industry’s first solution purpose-built to put people at the center of collaboration.
Following the announcement of the RealPresence Centro solution in October, and recognizing NATO’s emphasis on establishing a greater, more cohesive virtual collaboration program, Polycom provided NATO an opportunity to be the first to deploy the solution prior to general availability, which is targeted for late February.  Now fully operational on NATO’s Restricted Network, a highly protected and secure network within NATO’s infrastructure, the RealPresence Centro system is at the center of NATO’s most important communications. This center of the room solution serves as a collaboration focal point for command and control meetings, training and administrative sessions, international communication and operational mission collaboration. “Critical to the success of our missions at NATO is directly impacted by the collaboration technology we use,” said Gus Mommers, Branch head CMS, NCI Agency, NATO. “NATO relies on the advanced capabilities of Polycom’s collaboration solutions to instantaneously bring our teams and nations together to carry out highly secure, highly critical missions.” In an increasingly insecure and threatening environment, NATO must be meticulous in evaluating communications solutions. With highly confidential information being shared across its Restricted Network, heavy emphasis is placed on solutions that hold up against attempts to intercept information. The security assurance and experience presented with the RealPresence Centro system has allowed the solution to be tested, certified and approved by NATO for use. “The RealPresence Centro system provides the highly secure, highly interactive collaboration solution we’ve been seeking to help advance our new ways of working program even further,” said Catherine Galoppin, Section Head CMS NCI Agency. “For the Agency this means saving time, resources, working securely from almost anywhere and an exceptional user experience. You walk into the room and you will realize this is not a traditional VTC room – Polycom has created a unique environment that takes collaborating from a distance to the next level.” The RealPresence Centro solution is designed to create a more comfortable, intimate and natural means to collaborate and ideate.  Polycom’s 360-degree voice and video technology automatically tracks the speaker, while also showing the entire meeting space on the same screen. Four touch screens are strategically placed in the middle of the room to create a unique intimate experience that drives deeper collaboration and better outcomes. “We continued to be awe-inspired by the extremely difficult and important work NATO does daily to serve the Nations throughout the Alliance,” said Sean Berg, Vice President, Public Sector at Polycom. “We are also incredibly honored to help NATO achieve success in these mission critical programs by offering highly-secure audio, content, and video collaboration solutions like the RealPresence Centro.” RealPresence Centro systems will be available in select countries globally starting in February 2016. More at www.polycom.com or connect with us on  TwitterFacebook, and  LinkedIn to learn more.