Webinar to Highlight How Face-to-Face Interaction Enables Agencies to Assess Rapidly Changing Situations and Make Informed Decisions in Real Time

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK and SHAWNEE MISSION, KS and PLEASANTON, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/17/09 -- In times of disaster or emergency, timely and effective communication often determines the success of first responders and ongoing recovery efforts. The crucial role visual communication increasingly plays in those efforts will be highlighted in a special webinar hosted Tuesday by Polycom (NASDAQ: PLCM), the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communication solutions, along with SKC Communications, a provider of communication and collaboration solutions, and representatives from the Oklahoma Army National Guard.

From hurricanes and floods to pandemics and terrorist attacks, an ever-expanding list of emergencies has prompted organizations to turn to visual communication technologies like telepresence and video conferencing to craft effective response plans and enable real-time decision making. Government and military agencies, health care organizations, and even corporations are relying on Polycom visual communication solutions to assess critical needs and make faster decisions through real-time interactions between central command and field personnel.

Polycom's visual communication solutions enable organizations to:

--  Achieve substantial cost savings with distributed training programs
    that enable responders to quickly hone knowledge and skills essential to
    improving readiness and emergency response capabilities.
--  Create engaged partnerships that improve information sharing and
    coordination across public-sector agencies, the private sector and non-
    government organizations prior to and during crisis situations
--  Rapidly and accurately assess situations and produce real-time common
    operational pictures, including the ability to see first responders and
    better understand their stress levels, environmental conditions and morale.
--  Improve operational effectiveness by enabling leaders at all levels to
    actively communicate, query and assess conditions within a rapidly changing
    environment.
--  Enable confident, trusted communications between incident commanders
    and responders, while engaging key leaders so they can remain in contact
    with their organization from secure locations.
    

From Hurricanes to Flu Outbreaks, Polycom Delivers

Several government agencies already realize these benefits. The Oklahoma Army National Guard operates a network of more than 130 Polycom systems that equip every National Guard facility in the state.