The new line of Savi headsets from Plantronics can help companies deploying unified communications get rid of their employees' desk phones forever. The Savi Office wireless headset unifies voice communications by integrating a user's desk phone and PC audio. That lets employees move between a softphone and a desk phone for real-time collaboration, as well as listen to audio on a PC (for music, video and webinar events) and immediately take calls as they come in. Wideband technology sharpens PC audio and delivers rich, natural-sounding voice transmissions; the extended boom and noise-canceling microphone optimize communications in noisy office environments.But the real ground breaker here is the Savi Go Convertible for Microsoft Office Communicator 2007. The headset lets users switch between calls on a mobile phone and a PC, via OCS. It has the same high-quality audio capabilities as the company's other devices, and because it lets users move easily between a mobile device and a softphone, it could conceivably make it easier for companies to move their employees off desk phones as soon as they deploy UC.
I've long thought that UC requires a headset to make the telephony portion (i.e., the softphone) work in a business environment. No one is going to be satisfied with their PC's built-in speakers and microphone-quality aside, they don't exactly allow for privacy. When Microsoft launched OCS R2 last month, IT execs from one of their customers, RealPage, said they would recommend providing a headset to every mobile/traveling employee, and a USB Device for employees who work in the office/home.
If you're using OCS, Sametime, or another UC client on the desktop for voice, are you giving those employees headsets? I'd love to hear why or, or why not...
