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Polycom acquires Obihai Technology

Started by Taoman, January 04, 2018, 01:58:25 PM

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drgeoff

The press release section of Polycom's site is now working again.  The link on various pages at obihai.com and obitalk.com is functional.

drgeoff

#21
Polycom branding* now at the top of the Dashboard pages.

(* I don't mean the "Polycom Announces Agreement ......." banner as at the top of these forum pages.)



Ostracus

I'm more concerned that the Obi line retains it's versatility (underused though it may be) compared to other products in the market. That's what originally drew me in. Google Voice was just a bonus.

SteveInWA

Quote from: Ostracus on May 03, 2018, 07:03:13 PM
I'm more concerned that the Obi line retains it's versatility (underused though it may be) compared to other products in the market. That's what originally drew me in. Google Voice was just a bonus.

Based on my conversations with the Polycom (former Obihai) execs, they aren't dropping any "legacy Obihai" features.  In other words, if you are referring to the various expert-mode settings, there is no plan to get rid of them.  I expect that you will see some "re-branded" products soon, meaning cosmetic changes to the logos and plastic casing colors, but the same or newer-revision-level hardware guts inside, using the same XML settings.

I posted this elsewhere, I think, but the names have changed like this:

Obihai --> Polycom
OBi products -->OBiTALK products

So, they are retiring the "Obihai" and "OBi" branding.

Pedro675

i just attempted to open the Obi web page and found Polycom has acquired it, then I see that Plantronics acquired Polycom??? . Polycom/Plantronics seems to be Microsoft, is this true?

SteveInWA

Quote from: Pedro675 on July 31, 2018, 06:42:07 PM
i just attempted to open the Obi web page and found Polycom has acquired it, then I see that Plantronics acquired Polycom??? . Polycom/Plantronics seems to be Microsoft, is this true?

Whuuuuuut?  What does Microsoft have to do with this? 

The three-company merger creates one company that can supply a complete business-class solution, that includes telephone hardware, conference hardware, headsets and remote device deployment and management.  There is very little overlap.

Pedro675

Whuuuuuut?  What does Microsoft have to do with this?

This ?
http://www.polycom.com/voice-conferencing-solutions/microsoft-phones.html

I get nervous when Microsoft gets involved with anything, Skype's never been the same.

Marc

 ::)

Just have to laugh at the direction this topic has turned.
OBi110 (stored in closet now,) OBi200 x 3, Polycom 200 x 1, OBi202 x 4, Polycom 202 x 2, OBi1032 x 3, OBi1062 x 5, OBi2182 x 3

Combination of GV (consumer,) CallCentric & voip.ms both direct and via Asterisk.

SteveInWA

Quote from: Marc on July 31, 2018, 07:05:57 PM
::)

Just have to laugh at the direction this topic has turned.

I know, sheesh.

None of these three companies were/are owned by, or have anything whatsoever to do with, Microsoft.

Pedro675

Quote from: SteveInWA on July 31, 2018, 07:10:12 PM
None of these three companies were/are owned by, or have anything whatsoever to do with, Microsoft.

Then that's good.

videobruce

Quote from: Pedro675 on July 31, 2018, 06:42:07 PM
i just attempted to open the Obi web page and found Polycom has acquired it, then I see that Plantronics acquired Polycom??? . Polycom/Plantronics seems to be Microsoft, is this true?
More capitalism at it's worse! Uncontrolled mega mergers.  >:(

I just found out about this now 11 months later when I logged into my OBi202. Nice if they would on informed their customers.  ::)
I'll take VoIP any day over cell phones !

videobruce

Quote from: Pedro675 on July 31, 2018, 07:00:41 PM
Whuuuuuut?  What does Microsoft have to do with this?
This ?
http://www.polycom.com/voice-conferencing-solutions/microsoft-phones.html
It's obviously referring to what I just stated in my previous post. Another mega merger!
I'll take VoIP any day over cell phones !

Marc

Quote from: videobruce on December 23, 2018, 10:58:15 AM
Quote from: Pedro675 on July 31, 2018, 07:00:41 PM
Whuuuuuut?  What does Microsoft have to do with this?
This ?
http://www.polycom.com/voice-conferencing-solutions/microsoft-phones.html
It's obviously referring to what I just stated in my previous post. Another mega merger!

Well then why not take the conspiracy theory to the next logical conclusion?

- Polycom phones can use Skype, owned by Microsoft
- Obi phones can use Google Voice, owned by Google
-- Polycom buys Obi  --> Clearly they are going to merge Skype and Google Voice into one service and to do that, they will have to buy both Google and Microsoft.

There's your next mega merger!

OR, and don't bother reading further if you can't accept rational thinking...
- Microsoft has a phone service called Skype.  Microsoft seeks out a hardware partner and finds Polycom interested.
- Google has a phone service called Google Voice.  Obihai partnered with Google, which appreciates having their service on a hardware platform.
- Polycom has commercial/business line of hardware and phones.  Polycom wants to strengthen their portfolio and expand into personal/residential hardware.  Instead of spending time and money on R&D, Polycom see's Obihai has quality products and services.  Polycom says, 'hey Obi, here's a boat load of stock & cash.'
-- Now Polycom could alienate a big swath of their current customers and tell Microsoft they have a partner with Google Voice and don't need them anymore.  Or Polycom could alienate a huge portion of the Obi customer base they just spent a boat load on, and tell Google they already partner with Microsoft, so they don't need them anymore.
--- OR Polycom could make good business decisions and maintain their partnerships, which are already separated by product lines.

But what fun would it be if we couldn't cry conspiracy and fight the corporate overlords.

OBi110 (stored in closet now,) OBi200 x 3, Polycom 200 x 1, OBi202 x 4, Polycom 202 x 2, OBi1032 x 3, OBi1062 x 5, OBi2182 x 3

Combination of GV (consumer,) CallCentric & voip.ms both direct and via Asterisk.

SteveInWA

...or, the non "fake news" explanation:

The present and future market for business telephony is as a cloud-based service, fully integrated with enterprise computing solutions that don't depend on any particular location or device.  Employees should be able to use a softphone on their laptop or desktop while sitting at a desk, or on a mobile device while elsewhere.  They should be able to use their corporate directory and corporate CRM, calendar and other applications to manage calls, keep track of conversations, conduct online chats and conference calls, and so on, all working seamlessly.

Microsoft's Skype For Business and Google Voice for Enterprise, as well as solutions from Cisco and Avaya, all need hardware partners that can deliver all of the pieces, not just a headset or a desk phone or an app.

Combining Plantronics, Polycom and Obihai, created one company that can competitively bid on all-inclusive telephony solutions for customers who use enterprise telephony solutions:  VoIP everywhere, with automated provisioning of phone numbers and deskphones, headsets and conference devices for the office and for mobile workers.

Is it politically-enabled?  No; this is a merger of complementary businesses with little overlap.  Any political administration, controlled by either party, would have approved this merger.

None of this has anything to do with the consumer market, which is not where the growth potential exists.

videobruce

Who said anything about a "conspiracy"?? Sure as hell I didn't.

You two keep feeding capitalism, since you obviously been brainwashed that way into believing mergers are always best.  ::)
I'll take VoIP any day over cell phones !

mariahcarey

Quote from: SteveInWA on January 04, 2018, 04:48:17 PMI exchanged emails with Obihai today.  They're all very happy about this, as it will enable the combined company to provide more products, better documentation and support, and greater market share for future company stability and growth.  It's bad news for their competition.  ;)

There is no impact to any of the current OBi products from an operational or warranty perspective.

Personally, I've used Polycom conference and speaker phones for decades, and they're outstanding products.  I see this as very good news for both companies.

It will be interesting to see how the acquisition unfolds and what new products and innovations may result from it.

danialmicik

Quote from: mariahcarey on April 24, 2023, 07:14:21 PM
Quote from: SteveInWA on January 04, 2018, 04:48:17 PMI exchanged emails with Obihai today.  They're all very happy about this, as it will enable the combined company to provide more products, better documentation and support, and greater market share for future company stability and growth.  It's bad news for their competition.  ;)

There is no impact to any of the current OBi products from an operational or warranty perspective.

Personally, I've used Polycom conference and speaker phones for decades, and they're outstanding products.  I see this as very good news for both companies.

It will be interesting to see how the acquisition unfolds and what new products and innovations may result from it.


Not sure if you noticed but this thread is over 5 years old  ;D There have been many interesting products released between 2018 and 2023.

drgeoff