EPOS. The company states it is “an audio and video solution company developing and selling devices for business professionals and the gaming community”, and that “based on leading and advanced technologies, the Danish-founded company delivers high-end audio and video solutions with design, technology and performance as paramount parameters”.
Based on its claim of pioneering audio technology, the company says it strives to unleash human potential by perfecting audio experiences and delivering innovative design and performance with all of our audio solutions”.
So, with the company’s commitment to audio clear as a bell, and a company that is presumably very good at listening, hearing about the audio brand’s latest report on quality audio certainly pricked up my ears.
The report found that “83% of business leaders say that audio equipment has become more important compared with two years ago.
“They now see audio as key to maintaining client, employee, and partner communication, and this has been exponentially increased as workforces continue to work remotely.
“Within this shift in prioritisation, sound quality has emerged as a non-negotiable enabler of business continuity, client and partnership management and internal communications”.
The report continue below, please read on! In the meantime, this video from EPOS from earlier this year is entitled: "EPOS Presents: Bad Audio is Bad Business" and goes for 2 minutes and 9 seconds:
EPOS says “Paying for quality makes business sense”
The company continues, stating: “As the benefits of remote working have become clear to business leaders and employees alike, virtual collaboration is here to stay for millions of us. Business leaders have embraced remote working and as part of this are now seeking to address traditional pain points like background noise, interference, and poor audio quality.
“This is because it is well established that effective call quality leads to better customer service, stronger employee engagement and greater collaboration”.
Of the decision makers surveyed:
- 56% say that high quality audio equipment is essential to their business, while
- A further 34% think it is desirable.
- 66% of those working in Healthcare and 64% in IT and Digital sectors say that high quality audio equipment is indispensable to their performance.
- Meanwhile, 42% of decision makers globally (and over half in APAC and Germany - 51%) have observed an increase in the importance of audio technology to their business, in helping to maintain client relationships.
- In fact, audio quality is becoming so important that 78% of decision makers are willing to pay extra for it
And this is especially true for those in the Sales and Marketing industries (56%) where audio quality is viewed as integral to maintaining client and partner communication, thus becoming inextricably linked with overall business performance.
EPOS points to large organisations taking the lead
The company tells us that “Most employers now recognise the need for individuals to have quality audio equipment as part of their standard working set-up”, and that:
- 95% of those surveyed will be continuing to periodically invest in new audio equipment for individual use with 50% citing they will be doing this every two to three years moving forward.
- Business leaders are embracing virtual collaboration tools, with 45% citing time savings and 41% naming cost savings as two of the most important reasons for using video meetings or calls over face-to-face
- 79% of decision makers say audio contact is important to their business and 95% will be investing in new audio equipment for individual use, while 78% are willing to pay more for audio quality
EPOS says: “While some might lag in the journey to fully realising the benefits of effective collaboration and quality audio in day-to-day working life, EPOS has found that larger organisations (more than 1,000 employees) are a step ahead.
“The more employees an organisation has, the more frequently money will be spent on new audio equipment, showing that even where significant spend is needed to equip thousands of individuals with the right audio technology, business recognise the value of investment in audio.
“EPOS also found that the decision to spend is being driven from the top, with C-suite level executives the most likely to push for annual investment. For 42% of organisations, there is widespread recognition that audio is critical to their success and key to maintaining client and partner communication”.
And spend on audio is already earmarked for greater investment, notes EPOS.
The company has found that:
- The majority (57%) of business leaders expect investments in audio equipment to increase over the next two years, and
- Organisations based in APAC, UK, US and Germany are set to take the lead with planned increases in spend.
- When it comes to the highest spending sectors for future audio investment, Telecoms and Utilities lead the way (73%),
- Followed by Hospitality (68%), Finance (68%), and IT/Digital (67%).
Future proofing for the future workforce
Here we see EPOS stating: “The current health landscape has accelerated the speed of response needed for organisations to avoid impact on business operations, and a surge in virtual meetings and calls replacing face-to-face interaction has been central to that.
“However, business leaders must also look beyond the pandemic toward future securing talent as Generation Z enters the workforce - remote or otherwise.”
“Generation Z’s representation in the global workforce is set to pass 1 billion by 2030, and with 29% of our respondents already citing younger employees needs as a key factor in the increasing importance of audio, organisations today need to understand this demographic’s motivations and ways of working.
“Organisations that can offer flexible experiences and well-connected technology solutions will find themselves positioned to attract and retain top talent”.
Jeppe Dalberg-Larsen, President at EPOS adds: “Younger users do have a greater awareness of communication endpoints. It is a good idea to involve your employees by providing them with the right tools that fit their way of working, acknowledging that everyone has different needs and there will be a different solution them.
“Getting the right audio equipment for the individual user and task is key to getting better results from your employees. Business leaders need to respond in line with this by harnessing new technologies to empower their workforces today, and importantly, to attract and retain the future talent still to come.
“In our latest research, half [49%] of the business leaders we surveyed said that an increase in hybrid working has elevated the importance of audio equipment and technology for their business. These decision makers are beginning to understand that a one size fits all approach will not cut it.
“They need to map out how they see their organisation working and the different communication endpoints their employees will need, back in the office or, more likely, as part of a new hybrid-model.
“Quality audio equipment and technology solutions will have a significant influence on defining and enabling what business success looks like today and ten years down the line,” Dalberg-Larsen concludes.
If you ask me, it’s no sonic boom to realise that increasing humanity’s ability to enjoy ever more sophisticated and advanced aural pleasures is a winning endeavour that should be music to virtually anyone’s ears.
To see the report for yourself, which is entitled: “Quality Audio: A Sound Investment”, you can freely download it after free registration at the report’s landing page here, or click on the image below.
EPOS and Genesys AppFoundry
The news follows the early November announcement that EPIS is "launching its entire product portfolio interoperable with all Genesys platforms on the Genesys AppFoundry, the industry’s largest dedicated marketplace focused on customer experience solutions.
"The AppFoundry allows Genesys customers from all market segments to discover and rapidly deploy a range of solutions that make it easier to interact with consumers, engage employees and optimise their workforce.
"The EPOS Connect integration will provide seamless remote call control functionality across the entire range of EPOS product lines. Via a server-side plugin that connects with the client application EPOS Connect on the user’s PC, the solution increases customer service representatives’ productivity, flexibility and ability to multitask.
"With this integration, EPOS offers a full product portfolio of headsets and speakerphones being interoperable with the entire suite of Genesys platforms thus offering high-quality audio solutions to all Genesys users".
More info about the specific features and benefits of EPOS at AppFoundry is here, with more on EPOS and Genesys here.
Research report methodology
The research methodology sees the "Quality Audio: A Sound Investment” research was “conducted by Sapio on behalf of EPOS, with the interview data "collected online in September 2020, using an email invitation and an online survey".
“The respondents consisted of 1859 business decision makers with responsibility for choosing audio equipment and technology for their organisation.
“The main target sample consisted of respondents from 7 regional areas: The US, the UK, Germany, France, Belgium and Netherlands, Denmark and APAC (Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore).”