Westcon Imagine 2014 - Democratisation, decline, war... No, we’re not talking about the latest movie, but instead three mega trends shaping the unified communications market.

Soren Schoennemann, Managing Director, Jabra, Australia and New Zealand, says the democratisation of technology, decline of location and the war for talent are leading to increased demand for UC and highlighting the importance of Jabra’s field of expertise: audio devices.

He says the democratisation of technology, with both hardware and software better designed and available at lower costs, means small and medium sized businesses can now access technology once restricted to those with large budgets.

“The democratisation means companies can now access technology that allows them to compete with organisations of any size, located anywhere.

“Factoring in BYOD adds to the demand of employees. They are only too aware of the benefits technology brings to their lives and they demand their employers provide them the tools to make them more productive.

“From an audio device perspective, we see headsets that offer multi-connectivity, noise cancellation technology, NFC, increased battery life and a range of other features that make the technology easier to use and more functional.”

At the same time as technology is getting more affordable for the masses, Schoennamann says organisations are being required to do more with less resources - and less staff.

“Organisations are increasingly making use of technology to facilitate employee collaboration.

“The rise of working from home has resulted in an increasingly mobile work force, which means the traditional office has been replaced with a laptop, internet connection and headset, enabling the employee to work wherever they can get online.

“Our audio devices directly support organisations who are experiencing this decline of location, by enabling their employees to work where they want, be it from home, the coffee shop or in the office.”

He cites the example of the recently released Jabra Motion Office, which features triple connectivity, connecting a single headset to a traditional deskphone, smartphone and UC platform. The headset can work with the smartphone out of the office, and when paired with the base in the office enables connectivity with softphones and deskphones while supporting increasingly popular practices such as hotdesking.

Completing the trifecta of trends is the war for talent, where Schoennamann says the insatiable appetite for the best and brightest employees has ‘kicked off an arms race of sorts’.

“Organisations are investing more in key real estate such as headquarters and technology as they fight to be seen as a great way to work.

“Audio devices can help combat the war for talent by enabling companies to provide employees with best in class technology that enables them to work where they want, and how they want. This allows companies to position themselves importantly as a great place to work.”

For more information visit www.jabra.co.nz