The H.323 protocol was developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) - an international standardization body based in Geneva, Switzerland - with video conferencing in mind, and most traditional video conferencing systems are based on H.323. However, the convergence of the voice, video, and data into what is often referred to as Unified Communications (UC) has a dramatic impact on how people use video, and presents a new set of requirements to solutions for the emerging visual communications market.

In order to meet these new requirements, Polycom is working on a seamless migration from H.323 to the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). This process will take long time, and H.323 and SIP will coexist in customer networks for years to come.