HEADSETS Must-have end points
With end user adoption of UC gathering momentum by the day, the opportunities for resellers to profit from headsets are really beginning to stack up as quality end points become a must-have within organisations wanting to improve productivity and unlock RoI potential.
H
eadsets are finally coming into fashion. Why? Because
UC enabled headsets are designed for the modern environment. As a minimum they will have very good audio isolation characteristics between the transmitted voice and the received voice, meaning that they reduce the likelihood of echo. Beyond that, however, headsets can be extended to include additional features like integration with the UC technology suite the client is using. For example, Plantronics’ SaviOffice headset comes supplied with software that allows control of call answer/end, volume and mute for a wide variety of UC systems. This is being further extended with products such as the latest VoyagerPro UC that will manage the status icon (or coloured jellybean) on the UC application. When users accept a call on their mobile phone, the VoyagerPro UC will update their status on the softphone application from ‘available’ to ‘busy’.
“The main trend creating growth in the headset market is the move to more flexible working practices, and to more dispersed collaboration with people no longer sitting together to have to work together,” observed Paul Clark, Plantronics, Director and General Manager, UK and Ireland. “The recession forced us all to question
the need to commute to our offices or to clients, and we saw the rise in people working at home or in transient hubs such as coffee houses. As we emerge from the recession we have seen a continued adoption of such practices, and many people now experience the Friday conference call bombardment all through the week.”
Dispersed culture One of the fastest growing areas of business for Plantronics has been in the sale of professional grade cordless headsets for people who now work from home, from their car and also from their offices. UC has provided an additional layer of enhancement and elegance to the dispersed working culture. “UC enabled headsets are of great value to resellers as quality headsets become critical to the end user experience in a UC environment,” noted Clark.
“For example, there really is no other way to sensibly talk through a PC in a softphone environment. I recently saw a 200-plus employee customer move from around five per cent headset adoption to more than 80 per cent adoption, all due to the move to a UC environment. At that level of adoption, a headset sale becomes very sizable. In an example like this the customer will purchase more than £7k of headsets, which offers attractive turnover for the reseller.”
Plantronics believes that the adoption of VoIP and UC will support new ways of working, which, in turn, will bring new challenges for business professionals. Plantronics is developing new products to help here. One example is the professional who now has to juggle between the mobile phone, the PC and home office line. “We believe that UC will continue to drive strong growth,” added Clark. “But even beyond that, look around an office most days of the week and you will see many empty seats. That is flexible working in action. With flexible working comes dispersed collaboration, and with that there is a growing need for people to talk, whether it be on a traditional phone, a smart phone, or through their PC. That’s driving headset adoption.”
According to Tom Maxwell, Dealer Sales Director at Nimans, as UC continues to gain momentum there’s one important area that shouldn’t be overlooked – headsets and end points. “They play a crucial role in maximising performance and business productivity,” he stated. “You can install the most sophisticated and expensive system in the world with lots of bells and whistles but if the quality of end points are not up to the job then everything is undermined and falls flat on its face. Customer complaints will undoubtedly follow causing resellers many headaches. That’s why UC enabled headsets are so essential in the overall UC mix.”
He says there are still resellers who traditionally sideline headsets thinking they do
not add value to a business. Maxwell added: “Some of the latest industry research from Jabra reveals why UC- optimised headsets are a vital tool for organisations wishing to reap the full benefits of UC and increase return on investment. The research demonstrates conclusively that the correct choice of headsets produce dramatic improvements in productivity, sound quality and user experience. Wideband call quality for example makes it easier for users to hear and be heard by customers as poor quality sound has a negative effect on customer relationships, leading to more repetition which prolongs call times.”
Proven gains
UC optimised headsets not only improve the user and customer experience but also produce measurable productivity gains, as has been proven. Maxwell commented: “Investment in quality headsets is a must for any organisation wanting to unlock the RoI potential of UC. Customers and internal staff will reap the rewards of a far more satisfying experience. All of the major manufacturers are extending their unified comms headset ranges and we expect these trends to continue. It is essential for resellers to have the right device for the right situation to deliver the best call clarity available. We’re only really at the start of a potential UC revolution.” n
www.comms-dealer.com
COMMS DEALER MARCH 2011 47
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