In November 2023 began the transitioning of the old Poly part numbers to those of HP.

VideoCentric is now supporting both sets of SKUs in its ordering system. Depending upon how much stock is in the channel, the delivery paperwork and packaging you receive either of the two codes.

Below is a summary of those SKUs supported by VideoCentric together with a set of frequently asked questions.

FAQs

Q: When will ordering be exclusively with the HP SKUs?
A:  Although Poly and HP have announced that they will run both sets of codes in tandem from 1st November 2023 for 6 months. VideoCentric quotes use its own part codes and we will make the translation for you, as long as necessary.

Q: If I place an order with using a HP part code, is there a chance I will receive a Poly labelled product?
A: Yes, if stock in the channel still exists with Poly SKUs. We will fulfil your order as quickly as possible using either Poly or HP SKU.

Q: If I submit a return request for a Poly labelled product, could I receive a HP labelled product as a replacement?
A: Yes, once stocks of Poly SKUs are exhausted, there may be a mixture held in maintenance stock for the foreseeable future.

Q: What maintenance support should I be ordering with my products?
A: VideoCentric’s Gold and Platinum SLA services are unchanged as far as end customers are concerned. The back-up support VideoCentric receives from HP will use the new SKUs but these are invisible to customers who will continue to use VideoCentric codes.

Q: Will the branding on the products be changing?
A: No because Poly will remain as a brand within the HP portfolio. Therefore, all products and packaging will keep the Poly branding.

Q: Will Poly LENs change?
A: No, the LENS Management Portal remains under the Poly brand. However, it is possible that it will be merged with HP’s own portal after 30th April 2024. HP has yet to confirm.

Q: Will VideoCentric still offer Poly MTRs on Windows, based on Lenovo and Dell PC platforms?
A: No, VideoCentric has now removed all PC platforms other than HP. Not only for Microsoft Teams but also Zoom Rooms.

Q: Will HP still offer Android-based Poly video bars for platforms other than Teams and Zoom?
A: Yes, HP will continue to offer Poly Studio X series systems and G7500 for MS Teams Room, Zoom Rooms, Google Meet, SIP and H.323 via Poly’s Video App mode, hosting of 3^rd party apps such as BlueJeans, GoTo and RingCentral as well as BYOD & BYOM desktop applications via USB Device Mode. All will remain available through VideoCentric.

Q: Is VideoCentric already signed up as a certified HP partner?

A: Yes, VideoCentric was formally onboarded to the HP Business Partner Programme in October 2023 and has been assigned an HP Account Manager who we will introduce to you on a project-by-project basis where required. The VideoCentric/HP partnership offers you far more value than simple online sales. Talk to us about your complex project requirements and let us design, develop, implement, and support your solution for you, whether it be local, nationwide or global.

If you have specific questions that we haven’t answered please contact us!

Our aim is to work with you to understand your challenges and business goals, and design, develop, provide and support a solution that helps you achieve them. From recruitment agencies and solicitors to global retailers and utility companies, VideoCentric supplies and supports Video Collaboration solutions for businesses of all shapes, sizes and markets, and so has experience in solving many of the challenges that organisations come across in their business communications.

VideoCentric provide services and solutions for every stage of the cycle:

• Consultancy, Advice, Surveys and Assessments
• Solution & Network Design
• Demonstrations, trials, hire & proof-of-concept
• Installation and Integration
• Training and Adoption
• Finance & leasing
• Monitoring, reporting & statistics
• Maintenance & ongoing support programmes
• Trade-in’s, expansions, upgrades & refreshes

” I feel we have had a great deal from VideoCentric, and the solution is one of the best ones I have used. 20 years in IT, and I have to say this is definitely one of the best and most simple rollouts i’ve ever been involved in”

– Director of Group IT, Ligentia Freight & Supply Chain Management Provider

“From start to finish, the experience has been excellent. Every department has gone above and beyond expectations. From the beginning, our Account Manager, Ian Pickford, fully understood our requirements and his proposal was by far closest to the brief. He listened, was extremely inventive with his quote and has been helpful every step of the way.”

– M. Rishton, Technical Consultant, Doughty Street Chambers

“Just wanted to say we are pleased with the progress and everything working first time. Your Installer Andy, is knowledgeable, efficient, helpful and most pleasant to deal with. Thank you.”

– Gordon McCrorie,  I.T. Systems Analyst, W H Malcolm Ltd

Our experience lies within both the public and private sector, where we have provided solutions from individual Video Conferencing endpoints to full long-term proactive 24/7 support into mission critical organisations. Some of our most successful industries include:

• Healthcare and the NHS
• Construction and Architecture
• Manufacturing and Engineering
• Small and Medium Business
• Finance and Banking

We have communication specialists dedicated to individual marketplaces, and work with each manufacturer’s vertical teams to ensure every customer has access to the best team for their business. Our team works with you to bring the best people on board to help you achieve your business goals.

VideoCentric don’t aim to sell products – we provide solutions to you challenges, help you achieve your goals, and ensure every penny spent is an asset that saves you more than you spend, year-on-year.

Contact Us

For more information, please contact our Sales Team!

VideoCentric’s extensive range of products, most of which are integrated into complete solutions for Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, can be demonstrated at various locations across the UK, including London, Wokingham, Reading, Bracknell, Basingstoke, Leeds, and Edinburgh. Our in-house experts provide consultancy, installation and technical support to ensure you get the most out of your investment regardless of which market sector you operate in. Experience firsthand, the quality, technical innovation, quality & reliability that set our solutions apart with unique demonstrations crafted to suit your organisation and the specific needs of your meeting spaces.

Want to improve your communication platform but can’t find the funds? Video Conferencing is now, more than ever, a highly valuable business asset but sometimes it can be hard to justify the initial costs involved. However, with a variety of benefits such as; reduced travel, improved communication with colleagues and customers, removal of geographic boundaries and increased productivity, its definitely worth a deeper look.

The first and possibly most important benefit is the reduction of travel – its an efficient use of time since people aren’t wasting hours or days traveling and therefore allows staff to be more productive with their time at their desks. Plus, fewer hours in on road, commuting and staying the night away, allows for a better work-life balance and happier, healthier staff. It also comes with a big financial incentive – it saves money from the costs associated with travel like flights, hotels and dining. VC also reduces colleagues and customers risk of exposure to illness, a highly important factor in times such as these. There are also environmental benefits such as, using less fuel and emitting less greenhouse gases . This is something that be highlighted in your annual report under Corporate Social Responsibility.

Improving communication is a second key benefit. We are all used to picking up the phone and dialing a voice only call but with video you are able to pick up on facial cues and body language which are things you would otherwise miss, plus it encourages more honest and open communication. A lot of the platforms (Zoom, Teams, Lifesize etc.) have also built collaboration into the software – allowing for participants to share their screens, all add to the same virtual whiteboard or break out into smaller groups for a more in-depth discussion. Its proven that simple and easy communication and collaboration improves productivity and therefore, your bottom line.

A third major benefit of using video conferencing in your business is that it removes geographic boundaries thus allowing you to work with people all around the world in a quick and efficient manner. In the past, even if you could continue a relationship with an overseas customer or supplier over the phone, you usually would have to make the trip to meet them in person first to cement the deal. Video Conferencing will never make in-person meetings completely obsolete but it surely does reduce the frequency of them.

We now know the benefits of a Video Conferencing Solution, but what’s next? Why not start with consultancy? Consultancy is about providing the missing link in an organisation’s expertise. VideoCentric’s team of highly accredited and experienced individuals have a proven track record of assisting both the private and public sector in understanding their network, designing and planning video based solutions to achieve specific needs and outcomes, and offering the advice and expertise needed to successfully meet your business goals through Telecoms, Conferencing & Collaboration. Our aim is to help you implement the most efficient and cost-effective system for your business in the first instance, so that you wont need to make costly changes down the line.

Still not sure? Why not try before you buy? VideoCentric hold the UK’s largest stock of video conferencing equipment for you to hire for any of your meetings, events or longer term hire needs. We will spend some time consulting with you to assist in recommending the best systems and technology to hire for your needs and with hire systems available from all of the world’s leading video conferencing vendors including Cisco, Polycom, Lifesize and Yealink, and the availability of expert video engineers to help set up, install, administer and remove at the end of the hire period, you can be sure that everything will go smoothly and every participant in the room or remotely will feel fully immersed and part of your event.

This is all great, but we just don’t have the budget! This is where some clever accounting can come into play. There is no doubt that deploying Video Conferencing in your business will save you money in a variety of ways and therefore can be justified under IT, Travel or Telecomms budgets. Get in touch with us to find out how to pay monthly instead of parting with that much needed cash. Other than short term hire we also offer low-interest financing over 3 years. Learn how to spread the cost, spread the VAT and qualify for 19% Government refund as part of your Company’s annual tax returns.

The expansion in available hire equipment also provides for the growing number of organisations running one off major events or multi-day seminars, who do not need to purchase a system outright, and customers in the legal and consultancy sectors who wish to charge daily and weekly rates to specific jobs or customers without a large outlay for themselves.

“The growth of customers utilising cloud services has spurred on the need for available hire systems, and although we offer trials and try before you buy schemes for our customers, many organisations like to rent equipment for one off activities or for longer time periods, with the inclusion of services such as installation and on-site engineers for events. Large organisations are also making use of long term rental of systems such as SMART Skype for Business Room Systems to improve video collaboration within their meeting rooms without the large upfront costs. This major investment has been made by VideoCentric to ensure that all customers have access to the right video endpoints for their conferences and events, for whatever needs they may have,” commented Emily Shimell, Communications Manager at VideoCentric Ltd.

VideoCentric are already recognised as the largest stockist of video conferencing hire and rental equipment in the UK, with solutions including Cisco, Polycom and Lifesize endpoints, collaboration technologies such as the Barco Clickshare and accessories including PTZ cameras and audio devices.

NEWS: Coronavirus Travel Restrictions – We are currently hiring and renting out Video Conferencing equipment to businesses implementing new travel restrictions on employees due to Covid-19 Coronavirus. We have limited stock, and are able to arrange short and long term hire of equipment to assist your business. You may also be interested in VMR subscriptions to assist home workers or those required to self-isolate due to the virus. Get in touch ASAP on 0118 2142300 to discuss available options.

When purchasing a Lifesize room system (as with any other mainstream Video Conferencing system), you are required to purchase a level of maintenance to cover you for faults, support, software upgrades/bugs or hardware replacement. Following years, the maintenance plan is optional, however customers are encouraged as always to ensure their systems are covered throughout their lifetime for continued protection.

What’s Changed?

Since the 1st August 2016, a Lifesize Video Conferencing room system, such as the Lifesize Icon or 220 series, must also have an active maintenance plan for it to be paired to the Lifesize Cloud. An Icon or 220 series system will loose connectivity to the Cloud if it does not have a valid support service maintained. This is to ensure that the conferencing room system stays up to date with software, which is necessary to ensure the Cloud service can also work as expected, alongside ensuring that your organisation is entitled to helpdesk support from VideoCentric and Lifesize.

As mentioned above, in year 1, a full maintenance service must be purchased with your system. However for subsequent years, you now also have the option to maintain your system under a basic software only plan (Silver, that includes support, software maintenance and cloud pairing, but removes the hardware replacement feature. It must be noted however, that once moving to the software only plan, the plan can not be upgraded again to cover the hardware in the future.

So although maintenance is optional for the years following the first year of purchase, it has now become mandatory if you wish to keep your systems connected to the Lifesize Cloud, due to changes within Lifesize’s AMS policy.

What if my support contract expires?

Should your maintenance contract expire, you will no longer be eligible to receive any support services and will no longer be able to access the Lifesize Cloud from your system. It is then at Lifesize’s discretion as to whether a customer can purchase a maintenance contract after the expiry date, and if so, the customer may have to pay a fee and demonstrate the system is in proper working order, at their own cost. So it is now more important than ever to renew your contract before the expiry date – have a chat with your account manager at VideoCentric for more information about your expiry and how to ensure you don’t let this contract lapse.

Hardware not covered – what happens if it breaks?

If your solution is covered by the basic software only plan, or if you have let your maintenance contract expire, it will not be possible to return your Video Conferencing systems through an RMA if it goes faulty. You then have two options:

1. An out-of-warranty replacement programme
   Enables you to trade in your existing Video Conferencing system and purchase a refurbished system (contact us for more details)
2. Purchase a new Video Conferencing system

For more information on the above, or to discuss your Cloud & hardware contracts, please contact your VideoCentric account manager today.

VideoCentric’s Cloud Portfolio offers a range of professional services and solutions that provides you with everything you need to video enable your organisation, without the costs associated with video network infrastructure.

VideoCentric’s Cloud solutions provide scalable and interoperable solutions for business video collaboration, where one or many services can be brought together to build a cloud that exactly meets your needs. With a range of Virtual Meeting Rooms, Network, Management, Recording and Collaboration services at your fingertips, our cloud portfolio makes it easy to connect teams, enhance collaboration and accelerate your business.

VideoCentric’s Cloud offerings include:

• Secure, professional HD Virtual Meeting Rooms with any-device access.
• Lync/Skype for Business Gateways
• Firewall Traversal, ISDN Gateway & Protocol transcoding to ensure everyone can connect, wherever they may be.
• Datasharing, presentation & two-way collaboration services.
• Recording & Streaming Solutions for training, events & broadcasts.
• Professional features including encryption & network management by the UK’s most experienced support team

ANY NETWORK, ANY DEVICE

VideoCentric’s Cloud Portfolio is the UK’s most comprehensive portfolio of cloud based video conferencing solutions, offering a variety of services to meet any organisations network and access needs. By providing infrastructure for your organisation to access, you no longer need to purchase and manage you own, eliminating the costs & access issues often associated with on-premise solutions.

Designed, managed & integrated by the UK’s most experienced team where interoperability & connectivity remain at the heart of everything we do, VideoCentric’s Cloud solutions are affordable, scalable & flexible, whilst incorporating the best-in-class infrastructure to ensure the most reliable & secure solution for your business.

WHY VIDEOCENTRIC?

COMPREHENSIVE OFFERINGS – Many VMR’s & services to choose from – tailored to your requirements & stringently tested in the UK’s most comprehensive interoperability suites

EXPERIENCE – The UK’s most experienced integrator, and experts in both video hardware & cloud, with over 8 years in Video as a Service & 30 years in the Video Communications industry.

TECHNICAL TEAM – The most highly experienced technical team in the UK, accredited & fully trained. Single point of contact, dedicated, personal and in-house.

AWARD WINNING – Customer service & satisfaction is our highest priory – and we have the awards to show for it!

Why Cloud?

Whilst video conferencing has become a vital part of many organisations, there are numerous challenges faced with traditional on-premise solutions, that can be overcome by moving to the cloud.

• Connectivity with external organisations, remote workers, mobile workers and guests
• Unknown capacity & demand requirements, especially with the increase in mobile devices
• CapEx costs associated with upgrading & refreshing infrastructure
• Specialised & skilled staff required to support, manage and maintain equipment

VideoCentric’s Cloud portfolio is a range of services based upon years of knowledge & experience in both hosted & on-premise solutions. We understand the benefits & limitations of the cloud; if the we don’t think the cloud is right for you, we’’ll let you know.

Offerings & Services

VideoCloud 365 – VideoCentric’s VideoCloud 365 offers a simple & affordable virtual meeting space for any organisation to hold unlimited and reliable HD multipoint video conferences, accesible from any room system, desktop or mobile device, including Lync & WebRTC.

Designed, hosted & managed by VideoCentric in the UK’s most energy efficient data centre, VideoCloud 365:

• Provides crystal clear HD video, audio & data conferencing
• Includes all old, new & future protocols, including ISDN
• Enables fully customisable branding
• Provides 2-way Lync data sharing with any professional VC system
• Certified with ISO27001, ISO 22301, ISO 14001 & ISO 9001

Combining world leading technologies & award-winning services & support, the VideoCloud 365 service provides a highly secure, highly interoperable, resilient video service for your organisation. Options for pay-as-you-go room hire, pay-monthly & pay annually options with flexible port & overuse options available.

Vendor Virtual Meeting Room & Cloud Offerings – VideoCentric’s Cloud portfolio includes cloud based solutions from each of the worlds leading vendors, stringently tested in-house, so we can help choose the right solution for you.

Our Cloud portfolio includes:

• Polycom RealPresence Cloud & Lifesize Cloud
• Vidyo VaaS-T & UCi2i
• BlueJeans Network & EasyMeeting Services
• RingCentral Cloud-based PBX

VideoCloud Network Services – VideoCentric’s VideoCloud offers a number of cloud services that can provide the network backbone to your communications.

Designed & managed in-house, our network services include:

• Firewall Traversal
• SIP, H.323 & SVC Protocol Transcoding
• ISDN Gateway • Gatekeeper Neighbouring
• Recording & two-way Data Collaboration Services

Contact our sales team for more information.

Brochure can be downloaded here!