It’s safe to say that we have firmly entered a new era of hybrid work. Virtual collaboration, remote working, and on-the-go productivity aren’t going to disappear.
No fewer than 90% of executives surveyed by McKinsey expect their organizations to continue with at least some level of remote work in the future. Just as many decision-makers (90%) already provide their employees with – or at least sponsor – the equipment they need to effectively work from home.
This isn’t surprising. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that employees are no less productive away from the office. In fact, the opposite is often the case.
New Audio Devices Help Hybrid Workers...
Hybrid working can be great for employees. It lets them better manage work-life balance, gives them added flexibility, and helps them be more productive in any environment.
Fortunately, there are many devices on the market that empower hybrid working, letting employees work from anywhere, on their own terms. These range from desktop phones for a more traditional office-style experience, to headsets that are very much made with hybrid workers in mind and are designed for comfortable, all-day wear in practically any location.
...But Pose Challenges for IT Managers
Yet at the same time, the more fragmented device landscape makes managing employee devices remotely much more difficult. IT managers in the hybrid workplace face a whole raft of challenges, which are typically centered around deploying and configuring devices, monitoring device usage, rolling out firmware updates and maintaining robust security standards.
In these complex environments where people are working from different locations, IT managers must therefore find ways to monitor and manage multiple disparate devices and use cases. After all, the “new normal” of hybrid work is only feasible if everyone has the correct tools to do their jobs properly.
And since this new reality looks set to become a permanent feature of our working lives, there is now a pressing need for efficient and scalable software to make remote device management easier, regardless of where IT managers are physically located.
Closer Integration Between Software Solutions Is the Way Forward
EPOS Digital Solutions and AudioCodes have joined forces to confront these challenges head-on, radically enhancing the device management experience for IT professionals with the ultimate goal of making their daily work much more efficient and effective.
Our partnership has resulted in the synergistic pairing of the EPOS Manager with the AudioCodes One Voice Operations Center, allowing IT managers to easily pull valuable information on call performance, duration, and so on. It offers an unprecedented level of transparency into an organization’s overall level of audio equipment – all in a single dashboard.
The Two Sides of the Coin
A brief look at these two innovative solutions shows exactly why they are a perfect match for today’s busy IT professionals seeking a reliable remote device management application.
EPOS Manager
The EPOS Manager lets IT admins monitor and manage the entire EPOS portfolio of products, no matter where employees are based, including the following headsets:
- The EPOS ADAPT 600 Series with active noise cancellation for workers on the go.
- The EPOS IMPACT 5000 Series with noise cancelling microphones for home workers.
Any end client that has the EPOS Connect software installed can be centrally managed by EPOS Manager, allowing firmware to be updated, device usage to be monitored and device configurations to be changed.
The EPOS Manager does all this in a highly secure manner via encrypted communications, making sure no sensitive data risks being lost or stolen. The software is also compatible with all major operating systems and UC standards.
AudioCodes One Voice Operations Center
AudioCodes One Voice Operations Center (OVOC) is a holistic, centralized voice network management solution for voice network lifecycle management and quality assurance for VoIP deployments. Going way beyond the traditional concept of network management, it also allows IT professionals to effortlessly manage devices from multiple vendors from one intuitive application.
OVOC integrates seamlessly with the EPOS Manager to support important functions and data, including dashboard overview, firmware updates, device configurations, user and groups management, and a selection of reports for even deeper insights – all in a single pane of glass.
OVOC’s powerful analytical capabilities deliver quality assurance that you can trust, giving you the tools to identify and mitigate voice quality issues before they develop into service-affecting events.
Get Ahead of the Curve with AudioCodes and EPOS
Be ready to tackle the new challenges of hybrid working by equipping yourself with the right solutions from AudioCodes and EPOS.
To get started on your remote device management journey, get in touch today!
About the Author
Guest post by Anke Irgens of EPOS
Anke Irgens is responsible for Business Development for EPOS Digital Solutions, establishing new partnerships and collaboration with leading technology companies to drive the digital transformation in the UC device management space.
You can reach him through Email
