The UAE’s integrated telecom service provider, du, has signed an agreement with FVC, a distributor for Polycom in the Mena region, to launch the Middle East’s first VNOC (video network operations centre), offering Managed Video Services.

The agreement includes providing du’s customers with a unified service that includes bandwidth, device management, commercial flexibility (Capex or Opex), bridging services and Polycom video conferencing systems available in a pay-as-you-go model. The VNOC service is powered by Polycom UC Intelligent Core infrastructure, and expertise from FVC in successfully delivering video conferencing and VNOC services.

“As one of the main proponents of rich media as a business tool, we are seeing digital and visual communications go mainstream. It is no longer a question of whether your business should use telepresence and video conferencing but when you should use it to not only save time and money but also reduce your carbon footprint,” said KS Parag, MD at FVC.

“This service offers the next-generation open video collaboration technology with flexible commercial models, enabling our enterprise customers to compete globally as well as locally more effectively and economically,” stated Farid Faraidooni, chief commercial officer of du.

“This is an important initiative for customers who wish to communicate globally via video conferencing,” added Alan Wiedmer, VP Emerging Markets at Polycom.

du demonstrated the Polycom RPX Immersive Telepresence solution at the recently concluded Gitex 2010.-TradeArabia News Service