SMARTER APPLICATIONS FROM LEADING SOFTWARE VENDORS STRENGTHEN PLANTRONICS POSITION AS MARKET LEADER
CeBIT – Today, Plantronics
Inc. (NYSE: PLT) is extending its lead in enterprise headset
innovation by announcing partnerships with three Independent Software
Vendors (ISVs), to enhance communications and collaboration for mobile
professionals.
Combining the premier audio technology, intuitive design excellence and
advanced intelligence of the Voyager™
PRO UC SmartSet and the Spokes™ software platform, together with
ISVs’ real-time communication applications, Plantronics is delivering on
the promise of context-enriched work experiences.
SMART SENSORS FOR SMARTER SOFTWARE APPS
The Voyager PRO UC is the first of a new generation of intelligent
headsets incorporating sensors that detect aspects of the user’s
physical world. By utilizing the Plantronics Spokes software developer
kit (SDK), application vendors can incorporate this contextual
intelligence into their applications to know when the headset is worn,
user proximity to their PC, mobile call state, and with whom the user is
talking. This new level of user awareness is a boon to application
developers who want to create user experiences that directly translate
to improved productivity and more effective business workflows.
“According to Gartner, the three technology forces of mobile, cloud,
and context are together shaping the future of our business and personal
lives. Plantronics has long invested in mobile with a portfolio of
intelligent products that support consumer and professional use. What’s
new today is the introduction of how business applications are
leveraging Plantronics contextual intelligence to deliver better
collaboration experiences and more reliable workflow routing”, said
Jeffrey Siegel, Vice President Strategy for Plantronics.
Five9, PGi and Sococo
are among the first software vendors to incorporate Plantronics
contextual intelligence into their communications platforms, creating
smarter applications that deliver better collaboration experiences and
optimize workflows to improve customer satisfaction.
PLANTRONICS SPOKES™ SOFTWARE - ADDING VALUE TO COMMUNICATIONS
Spokes™ is Plantronics’ PC-based software platform that provides
headset-enabled call control, real-time media management, and serves as
the contextual intelligence broker between the headset and ISV
applications. All three of the ISV applications described below utilize
Spokes™ to incorporate contextual intelligence into their functions.
Sococo will showcase the integration of Plantronics’ contextual
intelligence in Sococo Team Space, a disruptive social communications
service targeting businesses. Sococo’s virtual office interface allows
co-workers—across locations—to engage spontaneously through multichannel
communications, including voice, video, content sharing and instant
messaging. Team Space users who wear a Voyager PRO UC wireless headset
benefit not only from instant-on wideband audio/HD voice, but also a
‘smart’ presence indicator that automatically updates when they remove
the headset or leave their desk.
“Sococo unites work teams—to get work done faster and better—by
blurring the boundary between physical and online presence. Plantronics’
contextual intelligence provides a natural extension to our model of
social awareness, where co-workers can easily see who’s available to
communicate in real-time,” said Chris Wheeler, President of Sococo,
Inc.
Five9, the leading provider of cloud-based contact centre software has
integrated Plantronics’ Spokes™ software into its Automated Call
Distribution (ACD) call routing functionality. Now, customer calls are
more intelligently routed based on the contextual presence information
of each Subject Matter Expert, for an improved customer experience and
operational efficiency. For example, if an agent is responding to an
urgent customer request on their mobile phone, or moves away from their
station, the Plantronics headset will automatically set the Five9 agent
status to not ready, ensuring that all calls are routed to the best
available agent.
“Companies must work harder on a daily basis to improve customer
satisfaction as their customers demand more,” said Mike Burkland, CEO of
Five9. “As a leader in the contact centre space, Five9 delivers
unprecedented improvements in agent productivity, driven by the business
flexibility of our cloud-based platform. By leveraging our comprehensive
APIs to add automated contextual presence, including agent’s mobile
phones, we have achieved an industry first, and delivered even greater
productivity improvements, freeing up critical agent resources to focus
on building customer loyalty and trust.”
PGi, a global leader in virtual meetings, is using Plantronics Spokes™
software to enhance its innovative iMeet® cloud-based video conferencing
solution. With iMeet, PGi offers rich video meetings that are simple,
personal and mobile – allowing users to connect anywhere, anytime from
their desktop, tablet or mobile device. With the addition of contextual
intelligence provided by the Voyager PRO UC wireless headset, iMeet will
be able to instantly determine when a user can escalate an in-office
mobile phone call to a more engaging iMeet video meeting online – and
manage a frictionless transition when desired.
“With the upcoming Spokes integration, iMeet users will be able to
effortlessly upgrade an ad hoc mobile phone call to a richer, more
productive iMeet experience,” stated Sean O’Brien, EVP of Strategy &
Communications at PGi. “We believe this new integrated solution will
expand how knowledge workers use online collaboration tools, which today
are typically reserved for scheduled meetings.”
In addition to the award-winning Voyager® PRO UC, Plantronics Spokes™
software also supports many of Plantronics’ most popular products,
including the Savi® office series, and wired Blackwire® devices.
