Innovative communications GN Netcom

INNOVATIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The world of communication technology is in a constant state of evolution, and Danish company GN Netcom is out in front. Industry Europe looks at the latest innovative communication solutions from the company.

GN Netcom supplies a range of headsets and other equipment solely under the Jabra brand. Based in Ballerup, about 20km from Copenhagen, its history goes back to 1869, when the Great Northern Telegraph Company was founded.

The company does not have its own manufacturing facilities, but works with a number of subcontractors in China, with which it has a very close relationship. Its biggest markets have traditionally been North America and western Europe, but new markets are emerging and growing rapidly, including China and Russia.

Customised sporting solutions

In June this year (2015) GN Netcom launched Jabra Sport Coach Wireless – the world’s first wireless headset with cross training coaching and music, thus extending the Sports Audio segment. The headset has been developed specifically for fitness offering both a built-in motion sensor and a simultaneous personalised audio cross training coach through its Jabra Sport Life app.

Jabra Sport Coach Wireless represents a cutting-edge headset developed to satisfy the previously unmet need of fitness fans of being able to listen to premium quality music while at the same time receiving customised real-time audio cross training coaching. Through these features, Jabra Sport Coach Wireless creates the best conditions for staying motived during workouts.

“For sports, we are committed to delivering innovative audio solutions designed to enhance the training experience for fitness enthusiasts,” said Jabra CEO René Svendsen-Tune says. “We started by

specifically targeting runners, and now we are taking the next step by delivering a solution optimised for cross trainers. We see clear possibilities for in-ear audio solutions combined with biometrics.”

Unified communications

Last year, GN Netcom launched its Jabra Evolve line. This series of five headset models offers a variety of features and benefits – but the significance of this launch was far greater than one or two new features. The Evolve range has been designed and built for the burgeoning Unified Communications sector, which GN Netcom has identified as a key focus area.

“The Evolve product is interesting in many ways but first of all it is really a solution to address the needs of the ‘knowledge worker’, so we can help people working in the office environment to boost their productivity, and drive the adoption of headsets in these areas,” says GN Netcom’s chief technology officer, Leo Larsen.

“A couple of years ago we started investigating various markets. The trend towards Unified Communications is a major trend and a big opportunity for a company like ours. UC says you leave behind the old phone system – the days where you had a piece of covered wire going from A to B are definitely gone. And UC isn’t only covering voice, but also messaging. It’s about integrating it all on one platform, one network. You move from terminal to PC-based phone – and then you need some tools for your phone system which is, hopefully, in most cases a headset or hands-free device.”

Identifying priorities

GN Netcom did a major study worldwide, asking some of its biggest customers what they needed for their ‘knowledge workers’ who were often working in open plan offices and sometimes at home.

Jabra Evolve was developed as a direct result of the research and is sold through Jabra Business Solutions partners. A key feature is advanced noise-cancellation technologies, designed to enhance productivity by offering a unique personal ‘concentration zone’ which effectively minimises disturbances in an open office. This, GN Netcom found, significantly improves concentration and productivity in

noisy work environments – 69 per cent of those questioned said that disturbances in the office had a negative effect on their performance.

Jabra Evolve is also designed to meet the increasing demand for music headsets in offices, by featuring Bluetooth or jack connections to deliver plug-and-play options for PCs or mobile devices, while still providing top quality for phone conversations. That also provides the option for users to tune into a training video, content on YouTube or promotion material while also taking phone calls.

In essence, the range is designed for the way we work today – flexibly, often in noisy open plan offices, maybe at home, and often doing more than one thing at a time. As well as the noise cancellation ear cushions, there is a ‘busy light’ built into the headphones, signalling whether the user is available to colleagues or not. And the range has been designed with mobility in mind – the Evolve headset can be hooked up to cell phone or PC, or disconnected and hooked another portable device as required.

Among other recent developments has been the Jabra Pulse, a Bluetooth headset with integrated pulse monitor – so the user can, for example, run, listen to music and measure their pulse at the same time. The pulse monitor can also work with the user’s smart phone via a special App.

Constant evolution

All of this adds up to constant challenges for GN Netcom’s development team. “Communication these days involves a lot of different technologies,” says Mr Larsen. “Where in the past you would have expected to call your hardware company to discuss a problem or solution, now we also call the software company. And products are typically a solution combining hardware and software. Software is definitely taking up more and more of our resources – that is where our investments are increasingly focused, as we have to support different platforms and develop Apps to support our products. This is a major shift in emphasis and expertise.”

The company has a ‘fairly aggressive’ growth strategy for the next few years, says Mr Larsen. “It is definitely our plan to grow; we do see substantial growth coming from these UC products but we also expect growth from other new products. We have done some investment in the music market and moving forward you will see further developments along the lines of the Jabra Pulse range. Our development team never stops; we are constantly adding new features and doing things better – driven, of course, by what is demanded by the market and what some rapidly developing technologies can offer us.” n