There?s no disputing what Logitech is best known for: KVM. Specifically, it?s the company that provides the world with wireless keyboards, mouse?s, Web cameras, computer speakers and remote controls.
But that?s the old, consumer-oriented Logitech. In business-focused Logitech, the name of the game will be unified communications.
What Logitech is attempting is nothing less than a Houdiniques transformation ? it wants to be associated not with keyboards, but enterprise applications such as those provided by Cisco, Avaya and Polycom.
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?No matter what the unified communications platform, we?ll be compatible and interoperable with those platforms,? says Eric Kintz, vice president and general manager of the new Logitech for Business unit. ?And you?ll only have to deal with just one vendor to support the platform.?
Logitech is partnering with Jabra, makers of wireless desktop and handset phones and accessories. Together, they will go to market with new headset and speakerphone products under the label ?Logitech powered by Jabra.?
Logitech?s strategy is compatibility with other unified communications platforms and services, such as Microsoft?s Lync, Avaya, Siemens Communications and Cisco Systems. Its phone and camera devices will act as the physical extension of the software and Web services enabling the unified communications. No matter what the partner sells as the driver of the communications stream, Logitech can be the last mile of the solution, Kintz explained.
This isn?t Logitech?s first venture into video conferencing and unified communications. Last year, it bought Life Size, a provider of high-definition video conferencing solutions for $405 million. The deal was transformative, since it gave Logitech enterprise capabilities in the growing video conferencing market. Today, Life Size ? with a 15 percent global market share ? is the world?s third largest video conferencing solution behind Cisco and Polycom.
?We want to be the first vendor to play on both sides of the table,? Kintz said.
Life Size already has 1,500 partners worldwide reselling and supporting its video conferencing products. Logitech aims to add 250 partners reselling Jabra-based products. Eventually, it looks to expand its total video conferencing channel to thousands of partners.
Logitech knows it has a tall order ahead in convincing channel partners to include its products in the bill of materials for unified communications solutions. It?s committed to the program and developing the market, as reflected by the creation of the Logitech for Business operating unit. The question is whether the channel and the end user market will see beyond the wireless keyboard and mouse packages and think of Logitech as a unified communication player?
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Lawrence M. Walsh is CEO and president of The 2112 Group, a technology business advisory service that specializes in optimizing indirect channels and partner relationships. He?s also the executive director of the Channel Vanguard Council. He is the former publisher of Channel Insider and editor of VARBusiness Magazine. You can reach him at lmwalsh@the2112group.com.
On Twitter:
Larry Walsh:@lmwalsh2112| Channelnomics: @channelnomics
Source: http://channelnomics.com/2011/06/27/logitech-morphs-keyboard-ucomm/
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