Huge important news for all telepresence and the associated's market for video conference vendors today. Putting it in terms of competition, based on recent innovations and partnerships there has been an interesting standoff between Cisco and HP (Hewlett-Packard). Cisco had previously supplied the HP with their very own video based tele conferencing products. However their reseller agreement was just severed some couple of months ago when it became bluntly clear that Cisco Systems was investing a lot more in data centers and server field based line od products, which has long been considered as Hewlett Packards field.

So who is stepping in to cover Cisco’s presence at Hewlett Packerd? Well one of the emergyin player in Video Conference, non other tha Polycom itself. Hewlett Packard is looking to the video conference and telepresence solutions provider to widely strengthen their communications and collaboration services. Polycom Technologies, a world wide leader in video conference solutions, software and hardware, also announced they are expanding their relationship with other companies like Microsoft, explaining that the two are likely to work together in developing a UC solutions portfolio, effectively combining Microsoft’s myriad servers and Polycom’s video conferencing abilities.

Change has long been a common ground in the video conferencing business, the markets are always moving and adapting quickly toward commercializing the space. Companies like CiscoSystems, who are big players in the enterprise conferencing game, are constantly trying to finding alternative ways in which to offer more economical conferencing solutions to the market. They also are constantly exploring other spaces in addition to getting some video conferencing acquisitions, Cisco is branching out into routers and switches.

Polycom is swooping in to make the most of the sea change, and partnering with HP will indeed do a lot for their market presence. There’s certainly more in store for video conferencing, and all of these companies in that regard, and we’re curious to see what other partnerships emerge in 2010 as video conferencing gets a makeover.