66 www. t e c h n o l o g y r e c o r d . c om I NT E R V I EW Flexibility has always been at the core of audiovisual technology provider Jabra’s operations. During a period of significant storms in the UK in 2000, for example, the firm's staff were forced to evacuate its office due to knee-high flooding. “We were quickly able to begin working from home because we already had the technology in place,” says Nigel Dunn, managing director of EMEA North at Jabra. “Business functioned as usual, so we learned a big lesson in resilience.” Dunn attributes this agility to Jabra’s use of Microsoft technology. “Jabra is a Microsoft user through and through – from our enterprise resource planning system to our customer relationship management system and our office products,” he explains. “We've also been cloudbased since 2014.” Jabra leverages its close relationship with Microsoft and tight integration with its technology to provide equipment that helps people succeed in hybrid and flexible working environments. “Our Evolve2 range complies with open office standards from Microsoft – the headset features active-noise cancelling capabilities and a boom arm to improve microphone quality,” says Dunn. The firm has also been extending its solutions past the home office and conference room, to the frontline. The firm’s BlueParrott range – which is designed for heavy-duty, high-noise environments such as in warehouses – now includes a Microsoft Teams walkie-talkie feature. “This opens up a plethora of potential use cases, especially for those working in retail,” says Dunn. But retail is not the only industry that could see great benefits from this type of on-the-fly communication. Dunn foresees significant gains to be had in education and healthcare. During the pandemic, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital in the UK began using Jabra’s PanaCast video conferencing technology and speakerphones to connect healthcare workers in its designated Covid-19 red zones – where staff needed to shield using personal protective equipment – and green zones – where staff could safely treat non-Covid-19 patients. “Our solutions brought specialists together despite the physical barriers,” Dunn explains. Overcoming the separation created by working in disparate environments has been a challenge for many organisations and their employees over the last few years, but technology could be an easy way to maintain productivity in hybrid scenarios. Nigel Dunn of Jabra shares how high-quality audio-visual tools can improve productivity in hybrid working environments, while giving staff the flexibility they want The right technology is everything BY E L LY YAT E S - ROB E R T S “First impressions count, and the right technology will give you a good head start”
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