Unified communications (UC) firm Polycom has unveiled its RealPresence CloudAXIS Suite,which claimed to allow its customers to add someone from Skype, Facebook, Google Talk, and other business video apps to their video conferences from a browser.

RealPresence CloudAXIS is a software extension to Polycom RealPresence Platform for private and public cloud deployments and also extends enterprise-grade video and content collaboration outside the firewall to other businesses (B2B) and consumers (B2C).

With the new application, Polycom partners and service providers can expand from offering Video-as-a-Service (VaaS) to Video Collaboration-as-a-Service (VcaaS), creating enhanced customer value and new revenue streams.

It also offers additional value for large enterprises with the RealPresence Platform, enabling customers to create private enterprise clouds to extend video collaboration to other businesses and consumers for B2B and B2C connectivity.

RealPresence CloudAXIS Suite delivers a web interface that the company said will enable customers to safely and securely connect with partners, suppliers, job candidates, patients, students or anyone outside their organisation/firewall with a single click.

Polycom’s new software suite eliminates the security risks and administrative headaches posed by rogue video applications and unsupported third-party video clients, Polycom added.

It also enables enterprises to leverage their investment in existing standards-based Polycom video collaboration systems and the RealPresence Platform.

The new application fast-tracks partners and service providers that want to get to market quickly with new subscription-based revenue streams via both B2C and B2B VCaaS applications.

The RealPresence CloudAXIS Suite consists of a global directory presence engine, web client (supports HTML5-compatible browsers) and flexible resource broker that allocates and brokers vital variables such as bandwidth, databases, sessions, and media to ensure an optimal user experience.

Polycom CEO Andy Miller said: "Polycom RealPresence CloudAXIS solutions and our rich suite of open APIs give businesses and service providers the extended interoperability on which to build scalable cloud-based video collaboration services that we believe will deliver new value to customers and create significant new growth opportunities."