8x8 Partners With Polycom

8x8, a provider of cloud communications and computing solutions, has signed a partnership agreement with Polycom, a provider of unified communications solutions, enabling it to offer Polycom's IP telephony and conferencing solutions to 8x8 Virtual Office hosted Voice over Internet Protocol subscribers.

8x8's initial offering features the Polycom SoundPoint IP 335 desk phone. The SoundPoint IP 335 is an entry-level SIP phone that integrates with 8x8's systems to deliver advanced telephony features such as auto attendant, voicemail, Caller ID, call forwarding, conference bridge and Polycom HD Voice. These phones also include a capability called Voice Quality Monitoring (VQMON), which gives 8x8 the ability to monitor in real-time the quality of a customer's call. 8x8 will be introducing additional SoundPoint IP desktop phones, SoundStation IP conference phones, and Polycom KIRK wireless phones and accessories in the coming weeks and months.

"8x8 is very pleased to be working with Polycom as we fulfill our separate, but common, commitment to deliver affordable, high quality voice solutions to businesses of all sizes," said 8x8 Chairman & CEO Bryan Martin. "Polycom's reliable, cutting edge offerings will be a valuable addition to our IP phone portfolio and a tremendous vehicle for enabling our Virtual Office customers to experience and benefit from technological advancements such as HD Voice."

"8x8 has established itself as an innovative and successful provider of hosted PBX and unified communications services and we look forward to working together to offer cost-effective, high-quality voice solutions," said Jim Kruger, Polycom vice president of solutions product marketing. "With more and more businesses gravitating toward cloud-based solutions, features like HD voice, integration with key business applications, and other powerful IP-enabled features have become an increasingly important component of any communications solution."