London, UK – 26th January 2011 – Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) today announced new additions to its Unified Communications portfolio that span communication devices, software, and services. Plantronics is delivering a vision of smarter, more intuitive communications and pioneering the next generation of mobile communications devices and technologies to help people stay connected regardless of location or device. Plantronics celebrates its 50 year milestone with a look to the future by offering the new Plantronics UC Toolkit the industry’s first complete set of tools, training and documentation for expanding the growth of unified communications solutions and two new flagship products for the UC market, Voyager™ PRO UC and Calisto® 825, also announced today.
The company’s celebration will be held at an event filled with customers, partners, industry influencers and employees at company headquarters in Santa Cruz, Calif. The guest of honour is world famous astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin who was wearing a Plantronics headset when he managed the Apollo mission that heralded the first moonwalk nearly 42 years ago. Aldrin will be joined on stage with Plantronics CEO Ken Kannappan to honour the heritage of the industry pioneer and celebrate continued innovation. The event will be streamed live online and replays can be seen here: http://www.plantronics.com/launch/
“This is a pivotal time in Plantronics history as we celebrate the half century mark and embark upon an exciting time of innovation and industry leadership. It’s an ideal time to introduce the world to our vision of Simply Smarter Communications™,” said Ken Kannappan, president and chief executive officer at Plantronics. “We want to end the pain-points that people experience when trying to stay connected at work or home. We think everyone – from consumers to mobile professionals to the business world– should be able to simply communicate regardless of device or location. We want to deliver innovative products with uncompromising quality, an ideal experience and extraordinary service so everyone can simply communicate.”
simply smarter communications™
Behind the vision
The “office” has transformed from four walls, a desk and a computer, to something much more fluid, mobile and familiar. No matter the location – home, airport, coffee shop or café – today’s distributed workforce requires instant access to information and people. People want solutions that save time, so they can conduct their business with more productivity and efficiency. Plantronics is uniquely positioned to understand the needs of this new world and create the “hub” for communications, whether users want to communicate via PC or mobile phones, deskphones or softphones.
industry supports the vision
Today’s event will be filled with Plantronics executives, customers, partners, industry influencers and employees. Industry leaders Avaya®, Cisco® and Microsoft® will be speaking on the importance of unified communications in the enterprise and how Plantronics and they are working together to offer customers solution to simply communicate.
plantronics uc toolkit
Available today, the new Plantronics UC Toolkit is a portfolio of IT best practices, guidelines, recommendations, and training tools that encompass the entire lifecycle of a unified communications implementation. The Plantronics UC Toolkit empowers IT organizations so they can have the best UC audio device experience and adoption rates – and ultimately optimize their companies UC investment.
“Now, more than ever, enterprises are embracing the move to unified communications, said Bill Loewenthal, vice president of unified communications at Plantronics. “We created the Plantronics UC Toolkit by leveraging best practices learned through helping our customers deploy UC solutions. The only resource of its kind, the UC Toolkit is designed to arm and empower IT professionals with the best information to meet the demands of today’s business world. With the introduction of the Plantronics UC Toolkit, we are extending our legacy of 50 years of innovation to help our customers embrace our vision of Simply Smarter Communications.”
Plantronics Expands Product Portfolio for Unified Communications
The next generation award-winning Voyager PRO UC Bluetooth headset, announced today, revolutionizes mobile phone and PC communications through smart sensor technology. It uses advanced hardware and software that seamlessly eliminate communication complexity by detecting presence, integrating with your PC applications, and dramatically enhancing the headset experience.
Please visit http://www.plantronics.com/voyagerprouc to learn more.
The Calisto 800 Series, also announced today, are the first speakerphones in Plantronics’ unified communications product portfolio that combine multi-device hands-free connectivity with intuitive visual call management. Optimized for use with Microsoft® Office Communicator and Lync™, these products were designed for private and home office workers who depend on multiple communication devices to collaborate effectively. The Calisto 800 Series also includes the Calisto 825, which manages calls between a PC and a mobile phone. The Calisto 825 features a unique wireless microphone that provides unparalleled speakerphone audio quality and freedom of movement.
