Jabra redefines collaboration for small spaces

Jabra, the professional audio brand, has launched the PanaCast 40 VBS, the only Android-powered video bar system (VBS) that captures an entire small meeting room with an 180° field-of-view (FoV). This innovation builds on the success of Jabra’s PanaCast 50 VBS, effectively bringing the same powerful performance to smaller spaces in a more compact and cost-effective package.

Small meeting spaces often pose unique challenges for video collaboration. Traditional solutions often struggle to capture all participants equally, particularly those seated closer to the screen, while some lack videoconferencing equipment altogether. In fact, less than 3% of huddle rooms are video enabled* globally, leaving millions of small meeting spaces underutilised.

The PanaCast 40 VBS bridges this gap with dual-camera systems that a wide FoV through advanced stitching technology. This ensures full room coverage, making every participant clearly visible on video.

The video capabilities are matched by the advanced audio performance, which stems from the GN Group's unique sound processing capabilities. The sound is powered by a single high-quality speaker and six adaptive beamforming microphones. Intelligent algorithms enhance sound clarity for exceptional voice pickup, so every word is heard clearly and accurately, fostering more natural interactions and ensuring remote participants feel fully included.

The PanaCast 40 VBS offers a straightforward installation process - from unboxing to mounting and on to the first meeting. Its intuitive setup ensures that even first-time customers can get their systems up and running in seconds.

New packaging enhances the deployment experience further by allowing provisioning without the need to remove the product from the box. The design also features easy cable routing, reducing installation time. It also ensures a consistent and seamless experience for meeting spaces by sharing many of the same accessories as its medium room counterpart, the PanaCast 50 VBS. This enables simplified operations for administrators and flexibility across different room sizes.

With its certified compatibility for Android environments, the  PanaCast 40 VBS offers flexibility with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and bring your own device (BYOD) deployment options. To enhance usability and longevity, the PanaCast 40 VBS includes optional accessories such as a touch controller and a detachable faceplate for easy cleaning. It can also be purchased as a bundle, with both the PanaCast 40 VBS and the touch controller included. 

Rayson Seow, Country Manager, Enterprise, Singapore for Jabra said: “The modern workplace is undergoing a transformation, with organisations reimagining how their spaces can drive productivity and collaboration. Small rooms, phone booths and huddle spaces are a cornerstone of this evolution, yet they’ve often been overlooked by traditional video solutions.

"With the PanaCast 40 VBS, we’re addressing this gap by delivering a flexible, intuitive, and future-proof Android solution that empowers teams to collaborate seamlessly, regardless of room size or platform preference.” 

Source: Jabra. The PanaCast 40 VBS turns huddle rooms into collaboration hubs.

Key features include:

- 180° FoV with dual cameras and 4x digital zoom. 

- One speaker and six microphones, enhanced by intelligent audio algorithms for crystal-clear sound and voice pickup. 

- Shared touch controller and stand with the PanaCast 50 VBS medium room solution for seamless integration across spaces. 

- Simplified cable routing and protection for easy, clean setup. 

- Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform-based, delivering strengthened security and enhanced meetings experiences.

- Supports personalisation and the setting of virtual meeting space boundaries.

Seamless integration with ecosystem partners ensures a future-proof investment, complemented by up-to-date manageability through Jabra+ software and the reassurance of Jabra Warranty+ services.

Details

The Jabra PanaCast 40 VBS bar has a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of S$2,206 while the Jabra PanaCast 40 VBS bar with touch controller has a MSRP of S$3,235.

*Frost and Sullivan, 2024.

Jabra introduces three new members of its Elite series

Jabra launches the Elite Active 65t (right), Elite 65e (left)
and Elite 45e (middle) in Singapore.

Jabra is launching the Elite Active 65t, Elite 65e and Elite 45e in Singapore. The three devices are part of the Elite family of headphones and earbuds, a series engineered for outstanding music quality and strong voice capability.

The Elite family includes true wireless, headband, neckband, and soft neckband variants, with the suffix letter ‘e’ signifying a earbud wearing style, and ‘t’ for true wireless. Key features of the family include Jabra's own microphone technology for calls and voice interactions, as well as one-touch access and support for all major voice virtual assistants.

Wayne Lee, APAC Lead for Product Management and Alliance, Jabra, said that the new products address a number of pain points for time-poor, active people who want to use headsets for both voice and music, such as blocking out ambient noise; effective voice communications, durability and comfort. Chat apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat are particularly popular, he noted. Some 200 million WhatsApp messages are sent daily, while 84.5% of all WeChat messages are voice-based.

"The Elite range has the biggest choice of wearing styles," he said.

With the Elite range, headphone users no longer have to make a choice between great music headphones or a headset designed for voice and calls. All three of the new products are inspired by the best-selling Jabra Elite Sport, true wireless sports earbuds which set the standard for the Elite product suite with advanced audio technology.

Music streaming is a popular activity.

Each new Elite product contains unique microphone configurations to ensure users will always be heard, whether users are speaking to voice assistants such as Alexa or humans, both indoors or outside. The Elite series also features a one-touch access to all major voice assistants, and support customisation through the companion Jabra Sound+ app*.

The new products also come with a two-year warranty against dust and water ingress (the two years for the Elite Active 65t also includes sweat ingress). 

At a glance:

Elite Active 65t

Engineered for active users who want a true wireless voice and music experience while working out. The Jabra Elite Active 65t is for those who want the features of the Elite 65t, while being able to use the earbuds in a sports or training setting. The earbuds have enhanced grip, through a special coating, an integrated accelerometer for tracking features and IP56 sweat, water and dust certification. The Elite Active 65t has five hours of listening time on one charge with two additional charges in the cradle.

Elite 65e

Designed for best-in-class wireless calls and music, and the top-of-the-line device for the Elite range. The Elite 65e provides two levels of noise cancellation, including Jabra’s leading active noise cancellation (ANC) solution. In addition, the Jabra Elite 65e offers premium conversation quality with three-microphone technology that creates a noise-blocking zone for added clarity.

Elite 45e

For the best all-round voice and music experience. The Elite 45e is for users who want the best combined voice and music experience in a headset with a discreet design and a great fit. This soft neckband headset has a lightweight form factor and a box microphone solution that delivers the clearest voice communication on any stereo wireless headphone. The neckband features memory wire.

Lee (right) shows how the companion app registers a connection with the Elite Active 65t, worn by a Jabra representative on the left, and allows personalisation of the experience.

“By introducing the Elite series, we have demonstrated to headphone users that we understand their needs and that we are fully committed to providing the best voice and music headphone solutions. Our new Elite series accommodates three levels of technology in sound, microphone and voice interaction capabilities, different endurance levels, and both True Wireless earbud and neckband solutions,” said René Svendsen-Tune, CEO at Jabra. “With the Elite family, we now offer headsets for every choice of wearing style, use case and price point.”

Details:

 The Elite 45e and Elite 65e are available now with authorised Jabra retailers, while the Active 65t will be available from July 2018.

- The Jabra Elite 45e (in Platinum Black) has a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of S$168.

- The Jabra Elite 65e (in Platinum Black) has a MSRP of S$328.

- The Jabra Elite Active 65t (in Navy Blue) will have a MSRP of S$298.

*Jabra app registration required

Jabra Evolve 75 is wireless, has active noise cancellation

- New Evolve wireless headset designed for bustling open office environments

- First headset to receive Microsoft Skype for Business’ Open Office and Outdoor certification

- First Evolve headset to feature both active noise cancellation and Bluetooth capability

Source: Jabra. The Evolve 75 in action in an open office.

Jabra has extended their Evolve range of headsets for modern office workers with the release of the wireless Evolve 75. For the first time in the Evolve line, Jabra has combined wireless capability and active noise cancellation (ANC)* into a portable, compact package.

Taking its cues from the popular Evolve 65 and Evolve 80, Jabra listened to feedback to fill the gap between the two - a wireless model without ANC, and a wired model with ANC. The Evolve 75 has integrated the best features of these two industry mainstays, and also improves on them by offering unparalleled sound quality, portability and noise isolation.

Jabra says the headset is ideal for concentration and collaboration by remote workers, desktop  workers, corridor warriors - the ones who need to make calls in the corridors to avoid distracting others - and flexible hub (coworking space) workers. Patrick Khor, Jabra Country Manager, noted that workplace trends are towards open offices, hot desking, and workers who are out in the field most of the time but who still require a private space at the office when they return. At the same time, companies are doing away with expensive physical phones, adopting voice over IP (VoIP) solutions like Skype for Business or 'soft phones' that work via software instead - but laptop audio can fall short compared to physical phones, Khor said. 

He shared research conducted by Jabra** which showed that 78% of office workers believe their productivity is negatively impacted by on-site noise, while as much as 24 minutes is lost each day due to workplace interruptions. "Concentration and collaboration are not suited for today's open office work spaces. The least productive workplace is the open office," Khor said. "People are struggling to be as productive as they used to be."

Jabra has designed the Evolve 75 to tackle the problems of today’s open offices, by giving users their own virtual private space at the flip of a switch, while still maintaining the collaborative potential that open offices offer. In demonstrations of the Evolve 75 at the media briefing, using the headset as opposed to using the phone alone showed a clear difference in sound quality - vehicle noise in the background could not be heard when the headset was in use. This writer personally tried the headset and with ANC on it sounds like there is a bubble of silence around you.

"The mobile call comes to the headset, the laptop call comes to the headset. (It's) crystal clear sound," Khor explained. "We're blocking noise around you in the office."

Wayne Lee, APAC Lead for Product Management and Alliance, Jabra, introduced the headset as "the best wireless headset for concentration in the open office". The headset shuts out ambient noise, offers a better sound experience for both callers and the called, and can be connected to two devices at the same time. "We think design is one of the things that makes our product unique," said Lee.

Khor gives the big picture on Jabra and why Jabra headsets.

Certified by most major unified communications platforms such as Skype for Business, Cisco WebEx, and Google Hangouts, the Evolve 75 is also compatible with Jabra Direct – Jabra’s cloud-based software for headset customisation.

The Evolve 75 is the only wireless ANC headset to boast Open Office and Outdoor certifications from Microsoft’s Skype for Business Certification Program. Due to the vast number of products endorsed for Skype for Business, the quality of these products ends up varying wildly. This has led Microsoft to introduce a new Skype for Business Certification Program, which brings with it more stringent requirements for certification.

The Evolve line - launched only in Q414 - has been very popular, Khor says, and grew 100% by volume from 2015 to 2016 with this year showing similar numbers to date. The Evolve 75 fits in between the Evolve 60, which is wireless but does not have ANC, and the high end Evolve 80, which has ANC but is wired.

Products seeking to get certified for Skype for Business must now pass two tests in the Open Office and Outdoor categories. To pass the Open Office test, a microphone must not pick up chatter from adjacent users, making it usable in crowded offices like call centres, where multiple people are speaking. Meanwhile, the Outdoor test pits products against several different noise profiles, ranging from a cafeteria to the inside of a car to a railway station. A certified headset should be able to effectively cancel out ambient noise and maintain audio clarity in all of the above situations. The

To achieve this, engineers at Jabra spent over four years developing a software solution that integrates both the boom microphone and ANC microphones to create a noise-free zone around the user, with the boom microphone as the centre point. All noise picked up by the ANC microphones in a 60-centimetre radius is recognised as background noise, and will be appropriately filtered out by the Evolve 75. The software can also recognise and transmit only when the user is speaking, ensuring optimal call quality.

Aside from offering superior noise cancellation, the Evolve 75’s 30m range for laptops (10 for smartphones) also allows for unmatched freedom of movement in the office. Offering dual Bluetooth connectivity, the Evolve 75 can connect to up to two devices simultaneously, letting users have one integrated communication solution for both their laptop and smartphone.

Jabra focuses on the growing unified communications space for enterprise headsets.Research predictions for unified communications include a US$37 billion market by 2018, and 86 million unified communications users by 2021. Khor said that the Singapore business is getting "this type of growth".

Open offices are unproductive. According to Jabra, 78% of open office worker respondents in a survey said that they are impacted by noise and disturbances, impacting productivity.

“The premise behind the open plan office is to foster collaboration and improve communication among employees. But despite their many benefits, they have become breeding grounds for unsatisfactory labour output,” commented Holger Reisinger, SVP, Jabra Business Solutions. “Interruptions from colleagues and the noise generated in these environments are negatively impacting workers and contributing to lacklustre performance. Increasingly, knowledge workers are being forced into isolation to do their jobs. The Jabra Evolve 75 provides businesses with an alternative solution to support an open office philosophy that’s conducive to better performance.”

Lee does a deep dive into the Evolve 75 headset.

Key features include:

• High-definition (HD) voice for crystal clear calls and music
• Superior active noise cancellation (ANC) 
• Integrated "busylight" clearly shows when the user is busy
• Wireless range of up to 30m away from the laptop and 10m from the smartphone
• Flexibility to connect two Bluetooth devices at the same time for calls and music – for example, to both a computer and a smartphone
• Integration with leading unified communications (UC) platforms including Skype for Business and Cisco certification
• Up to 15 hours of battery life
• All-day comfort leather feel ear cushions and an on-the-ear wearing style for all day comfort
• Discreet boom-arm: Boom-arm can be clipped into the headband when not on calls
• Listen-in: Easy to reach button on the ear cup allows users to hear announcements without removing the headset
• Optional charging stand

Jabra, part of the GN Group, is a leading developer and manufacturer of communications and sound solutions. The GN Group specialises in medical-grade hearing appliances, as well as audio devices for enterprise and consumer markets.

Interested?

The Jabra Evolve 75 is available at a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of S$512.53 (inclusive of charging stand), or S$434.42 excluding the stand.

*ANC refers to the ability to switch noise cancellation on and off, as opposed to passive noise cancellation, which is cannot be switched off.

**Jabra knowledge worker survey 2015. 

Jabra Halo Smart designed for both calls and music

• Fits the 79% of users who want one set of headphones for both calls and
music, but find the call-experience on most music devices inadequate*

• Built for calls first-and-foremost, Jabra Halo Smart uses high quality microphones with integrated wind noise protection

• Uncompromising sound-quality thanks to 10mm speakers and Jabra’s audio
capabilities

• Neck-band style for all-day use and seamless switching between calls, music and media

Source: Jabra. The new Jabra Halo Smart headphones.

Designed for those who want a great calling experience, music on-
the-go and the ability to switch easily between the two, the new Jabra Halo Smart wireless headphones have been developed with voice and call quality top-of-mind.

According to recent Jabra insights*, 79% of users would like to have one set of headphones for both calls and music, but believe the call experience on most headphones designed for music devices is poor. Jabra Halo Smart delivers a superior call experience thanks to high-quality microphones with integrated wind-noise protection, enhanced voice capabilities via a dedicated Google Now/Siri
button and immersive, full-spectrum sound through its 10mm speakers.

A 230mAh battery and optimised battery performance removes the hassle of having to constantly charge the 38g headset, and enables the Jabra Halo Smart to offer 17 hours of talk time, or 15 hours of music time. Android users can track battery usage on the Jabra Assist app, receive alerts when the battery is getting low and get notifications about when the next recharge is likely required, based on historical usage.

A subtle vibration in the neckband alerts you to incoming calls, whilst Android users can expect readouts of calendar notifications, emails, text messages and social media messages.

“We are all doing more with our smartphones than ever before, whether it’s making and taking calls, listening to music on-the-move or watching a movie clip during a break. So we wanted to develop a set of wireless headphones that delivers amazing sound whatever you’re doing whether taking calls or listening to music”, explains Calum MacDougall, SVP at Jabra.

Interested?

Jabra Halo Smart is available in three colours: Impact Red, Electric Blue and Classic Black. It is available both online and retail via gowireless.com.sg, Challenger, DigitalStyle, Harvey
Norman, Newstead Technologies, Stereo Electronics, and Apple Authorized Resellers from mid-July
onwards. The headphones have a recommended retail price of S$138.

Watch the associated video at www.apac.jabra.com/bluetooth-headsets/jabra-halo-smart
Jabra Halo SmartTM video: http://bit.ly/28N1UzP

* Jabra -commissioned survey by Lindberg Research with 1,000 participants (2015) as well as studies conducted by Jabra with registered users – 4,599 users in 2014 and 4,770 users in 2016.

posted from Bloggeroid

Jabra's SPEAK 810 tracks people speaking metres away

Fragment.in, a Swiss-based design interaction studio, put together a computer orchestra controlled by gestures. A Kinect recognises hand movements and in turn controls sound from a bank of computers. The sound is delivered through Jabra SPEAK 810 devices.

Audio and communications technology specialist Jabra's new SPEAK 810 conference speakerphone delivers flawless call experiences for improved meeting collaboration.

The US$599 Jabra SPEAK 810 is designed to eliminate the pain points of effective collaboration: technology challenges such as setup issues, connectivity to platforms and poor sound quality. Bringing a plug and play speakerphone experience with superior audio to large meeting and conference rooms for the first time, the Jabra SPEAK 810 complements the personal experience delivered by its smaller, portable SPEAK 410 and 510 products. With multiple connectivity options including USB and a 3.5mm jack, the Jabra SPEAK 810 integrates seamlessly with all communication platforms – eliminating the need for dial pad solutions and challenging the traditional hardware approach to conference calling.

Additional ease of use is delivered by integration with all communication platforms, removing the need for an IP endpoint. The USB charge-out port feature can even charge tablets or mobile devices during calls.

“Microsoft continues its working partnership with Jabra to ensure that their solutions are fully compatible with Microsoft Skype for Business,” said Giovanni Mezgec, Microsoft GM of Skype for Business. “The Jabra SPEAK 810 is an excellent example of this collaboration.”

Source: Jabra. A SPEAK 810 device can charge a phone while handling conference calls. 

Today, a third of conference calls are delayed due to setup issues with connections and speaker phones, 15% of meeting time is spent on ‘getting started’, and one of the most common frustrations is poor sound quality*. The Jabra SPEAK 810 rides on Jabra’s heritage in office audio solutions as well as ear-related diagnostics and hearing healthcare technology. It facilitates conference calls in meeting rooms of up to 100 sq m with 15 people or more in one room, delivering clear sound without unwanted background noise. The plug and play speakerphone features powerful loudspeakers and market-first technology from Jabra called ZoomTalk, an intelligent directional microphone that focuses on sound from human voices.

Holger Reisinger, Head of Business Solutions, Jabra, commented: “Businesses are becoming more focused on creating working environments and cultures that better enable them to compete. As a result, office environments are changing and becoming more dynamic, demanding and technology-enabled. New ways of working are adding flexibility to working spaces, practices and hours. Yet productivity must also remain a priority for business success and for this reason so should enabling effective collaboration and concentration.”

Mark Leigh, President Asia Pacific of Jabra said, “Jabra understands and is committed to enhancing the role of audio in enabling collaboration and concentration, and enabling productive meetings wherever people are.”

Interested?

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post on about what is impeding productivity at the office

*Research commissioned by Jabra

Jabra outlines the challenges of working productively in an office

Source: Jabra research report.

Audio and communications technology specialist Jabra says there are challenges in creating productive working environments when staff have to battle with distractions, poorly organised meetings and ineffective technology in the course of the typical working day.

In research report Productivity at the Office – Challenges 2015 Jabra notes that businesses are investing in time and tools for skilled office-based staff (knowledge workers) to effectively collaborate and concentrate. However, employees face distractions throughout the working day, attend unproductive meetings, and struggle to use technology that was originally intended to improve productivity.

Key findings:

 More than a third (36%) think office meetings diminish productivity
 Close to half (46%) think noise levels are the most distracting issue in the office
 Over a quarter (28%) are annoyed by too many emails, though 78% would rather send an email than make a call to resolve an issue

The Productivity at the Office report reveals that most workers question the productivity of collaborative workspaces that businesses have created to achieve efficiencies. Most are situated in open plan offices (34%), which is also thought of as the least productive environment (35% agree).

The report also reveals the failure of knowledge workers to achieve productive collaboration time. Over half (51%) agreed that meetings without direction or a clear agenda led to wasted meeting time, while 32% cited lack of decision-making. Three in 10 respondents (31%) cite lack of follow-up, 26% a lack of preparation and 25% the effect of latecomers.

In a conference call scenario, some of the most annoying issues are due to sound, whether it is not being able to hear people’s voices, irrelevant background noise, connection issues, overall audio quality, not knowing if speakerphones are working as intended or if other participants can hear the speaker. This presents a paradox: the majority of knowledge workers want to attend meetings despite these issues because of the perceived productivity gain to the organisation, even though 36% claim meetings diminish their personal productivity.

Productivity of time spent at their desk is also crucial: workers spend most of their time at their desks, over 66% of the working week (over six times more than in meetings), so it is where the most significant productivity gains can be made or lost. However, knowledge workers deal with up to 17 distractions during work, many of which are caused by other people.

The most common distractions are noise levels (46%), interruptions from colleagues (43%), and emails (28%). People also value environmental factors that could be better controlled, such as temperature, air quality, and lack of privacy. Re-thinking desk space for time spent concentrating could eliminate a host of issues that negatively impact productivity at work.

Holger Reisinger, SVP, Jabra, comments: “Productivity is critical to business success and remaining competitive. Every allocated resource should be used to its best advantage and to the most benefit to the organisation, with processes and tools in place to make sure this happens. Whilst many organisations have designed workspaces to facilitate better collaboration, and invested in technology to bring people together in meetings or on calls, this approach is not consistently delivering the intended benefits. Businesses need to re-evaluate their knowledge workers’ needs to ensure productivity throughout the working day if they are to meet commercial goals.”

The report also highlights how limited productivity at work affects a company’s ability to attract and retain staff, as distractions in the workplace significantly affect work-life balance. Today, a significant proportion of knowledge workers are struggling to complete their tasks during the working day. About a third (36%) are completing tasks outside of work hours and the office in order to make sure tasks are completed ahead of the next working day.

To facilitate meetings, technology such as smart boards, speakerphones, project management software, or mind-mapping or brainstorming software is often used. Yet, implementing these tools is often counterintuitive to productivity, for example when time has to be spent setting up conference calls. The time and investment wasted is significant: 25% of meetings are delayed due to technical and/or user issues, and on average 2.7 minutes of every meeting is lost as a result.

Depending on the number of attendees at the meeting, the cost to the business can escalate. Whilst 71% of meetings take place in one place, 29% are across multiple locations so collaborative technology is crucial. However, knowledge workers struggle to use it, causing significant frustrations that five in ten say are annoying.

Reisinger concluded: “Businesses have to facilitate a unique balance of collaboration and concentration. To date they have made great strides in enabling workers to achieve more through collaboration and they must do this whilst ensuring employees don’t lose time trying to use ineffective technology. Otherwise, organisations are wasting resources each time a worker fails to conduct a conference call or meeting. Whilst this remains a challenge, businesses also have to consider achieving productivity in employee’s concentration time. An adaptable workspace depending on the individual, task or job role is the new way of working businesses must accommodate.”

Interested?

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about Jabra's latest collaboration device

*About the Productivity at the Office report is a survey of over 2,449 workers aged 18 to 65 across US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, China, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, conducted in May 2015 as part of Jabra’s New Ways of Working initiative.

Educate and incentivise employees to ensure UC success: Jabra

Jabra, a manufacturer of intelligent audio solutions, has called on the industry to take greater responsibility to redefine the global success of unified communications (UC) deployments. 

Source: Jabra website.

Currently, UC adoption rates are at just 10% due to employee hesitancy to give up their current working patterns and tools. And whilst companies are spending thousands implementing new technologies, employees are still failing to understand how UC can benefit their productivity and efficiency levels on a daily basis.

Jabra believes that education and incentives are crucial but having a companywide adoption plan, with considered input and expertise from key functions of the business, will be the key to a successful implementation and ensure that organisations are seeing actual return on their investment quickly.

A new Jabra business brief published today on UC understanding and adoption says that UC vendors must work with their customers to help end-users understand and embrace the transition. Jabra believes that the key to driving up the successful adoption rates will be creating a planning and implementation team that involves company experts from multiple areas of the business including IT, marketing, corporate communications and human resources. By bringing representatives of these functional areas into the project from the beginning, soliciting their input and expertise throughout rollout and ensuring their support, businesses are more likely to see successful adoption, companywide.

Mark Leigh, ‎President, Asia Pacific at Jabra, commented around the findings within this recent business brief: “It’s our job as IT professionals to redefine success as that time when UC technologies are actively enabling new and better ways of communication, collaboration, conversation and concentration - and not just whether the deployment was launched on time or within budget.”

He continued: “UC is a key enabler in connecting today’s modern knowledge economies. At the same time, these new tools require entirely new behaviours. And, as it has always been the case when introducing new technologies, we need to find ways to ensure that end-users adopt these new tools on their own terms. No matter how beneficial your new technology may be, not everyone will share your passion for it. To generate acceptance you need demonstrate how it benefits people personally and gently steer them toward embracing it.”

In the present-day world of technology, UC deployment plans and associated tactics are starting to focus on changing end-user behaviours by incorporating new theories and methods from the world of behavioural economics to similarly overcome employee resistance to change. This usually involves using indirect suggestions and positive reinforcement to influence choices, instead of the traditional model of mandating behavior.

Jabra is working with its customers to provide real-life examples of some of these new methods, including creating competitions between workers to use UC; building online communities to share experiences, ask questions and get advice; and recognising and rewarding workers or departments for embracing new UC technologies.

Interested?

Learn more at Jabra’s New Way of Working page. 

Jabra launches Stealth UC Bluetooth mono headset

Jabra, a manufacturer of intelligent audio solutions, has launched the Jabra Stealth UC Bluetooth mono headset, a unified communication (UC) evolution of its original Jabra Stealth, to support mobile workers.

As the lightest headset in its class at 0.24 ounces (about 6.8 g), the Jabra Stealth UC is both discreet and extremely portable. The headset has Skype for Business certification, and is designed for everyday use with a smartphone, tablets or laptop by inserting the pre-connected USB dongle.

“We strive to help the mobile worker gain the full benefits from both their mobile devices and UC solutions. It is our experience that one of the most important factors for users embracing unified communication is the headset, which bridges the gap between the user and the promise of increased efficiency and flexibility. The Jabra Stealth UC is the perfect device to provide this bridge and allows the user to stay in their conversation zone all day - everywhere.” says Mark Leigh, President, Asia Pacific, CC&O of Jabra.

“Jabra is excited about the announcement of Skype for Business as it aligns with Jabra’s New Ways of Working Vision which advocates using Jabra technology to improve collaboration and productivity. With the transition from Microsoft Lync to Skype for Business, Jabra is also pleased to announce that our entire portfolio of audio devices are certified Skype for Business and set to support the collaboration needs of our joint customers and partners,” said Leigh.

“We are pleased to see Jabra deliver Jabra Stealth UC/Microsoft solutions for Skype for Business to extend the communications experience and connect people everywhere to achieve more, together," said Giovanni Mezgec, GM, Skype for Business Product Marketing at Microsoft. 

The headset is available through authorised Jabra Business Solutions partners. Key features include:

· Bluetooth Class 4.0 provides up to 100 feet (about 30.5m) wireless range

· Dual Noise Blackout 3.0 noise-cancelling microphones to block off ambient background noise and HD Voice for crystal clear sound at both ends of the call

· Up to six hours talk-time

· Custom fit for optimal all-day comfort - changeable ultimate comfort ear gels and ear-hooks in small and large sizes

· Intelligent volume control automatically adapts to the sound environment and adjusts the sound in the speaker throughout your conversation.

· Near field communications (NFC) for easy pairing

· Voice control button to allow for remote activation of Siri, Google Now and Microsoft Cortana

· Available in UC and Microsoft Skype for Business certified variants

Have laptop, Internet and headset, will travel

Jabra, a company which provides headsets, headphones, speakers and speakerphones, notes that employees working anywhere and anytime will be the norm in 2015.

According to Mark Leigh, President, Asia Pacific, Jabra, 35% of the workers today are mobile and this percentage is expected to shoot up to 75% by 2017. "The traditional office has been replaced with a laptop, Internet connection and headset, enabling the employee to work wherever they can get online," he said.

This technology has enabled employees to work easily whether they are on business travel or even make a lifestyle choice to be based in a different geographical location. "Employers have to provide a more flexible work environment for employees so they can be productive no matter what zone they’re in," Leigh said.

Even if the employee does not travel and goes to the office every day, globalisation has meant that workers may have conference calls at any time of the day, including taking calls from home. "By ensuring that the last 3 feet of communication is of top quality, knowledge workers can be assured that they can take their office anywhere they go," he added.