Ok, I just broke into a sweat writing that headline. What am I talking about? Plantronics is a headset company…isn’t it?
I think the Calisto 800 Series speakerphone system that was announced today helps tell the story that Plantronics is a lot more than a headset company.
According to Frost & Sullivan, the number one UC market driver is the increase and growth of virtual workers, which includes remote workers who operate from their homes all or some portion of the time (Frost & Sullivan 10/08). This product, in development for the past two years, was the result of a small innovation engine within Plantronics that was tasked with finding a solution to the pain points of today’s worker, especially those working from home.
We started with ethnographic research in countries with a high population of remote workers. We purposely didn’t choose Plantronics customers or even headset users. Through observation and interviews we tried to really understand how remote workers spent an average day working from home. And the pain points we uncovered were pretty consistent across the globe.
- 1. Workers are overwhelmed! They are juggling devices (landlines, mobile phones, PC, speakers and headsets) and collaboration tools (conference calls, webinars, IM, e-mail)
2. Workers are frustrated! Transitions between devices were difficult and it was hard to maintain professional audio quality
3. Workers want options! Some people, when given the choice, would prefer to use a speakerphone to be hands-free if it wasn’t for the inherent limitations (thus my provocative headline)
What are the “inherent limitations” of a speakerphone? One research participant called it the “squawk-box syndrome”. We’ve all been there right? You are on a speakerphone call and you are leaning into is as if the person you are talking to is physically crouching inside the device, and they are still complaining “can you please take me off speaker!?”
Three key tenets evolved for this product:
- 1. Help workers easily, quickly and with confidence manage communications across devices
2. Focus on a Killer User Experience (oh and make it look cool too!)
3. Provide hands-free options and superior audio performance according to personal workflow and preferences
The group slowly realized that the product that was beginning to take shape in the design sketches was not really taking the shape of a headset. It was starting to look a lot more like a killer hands-free audio solution aimed at empowering today’s remote worker. The Calisto 800 Series multi-device speakerphone system was born.
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