For employees with hearing loss, phone calls can be one of the hardest parts of the workday. And with approximately 1 in 6 working-age adults experiencing some degree of hearing loss, the need may be more widespread than many employers realize.

Bridge was created to make workplace communication fully accessible for people with hearing loss. The compact hardware device connects to VoIP phones and computer softphones to deliver real-time captions for every call, helping employees participate on equal footing without changing how the rest of the team works.

But accessibility is only part of the story. In practice, Bridge is seeing the benefits extend further than expected. Captions can improve comprehension and retention even for people without hearing loss, and they can make it easier for employees to follow fast-moving conversations in a non-native language.

In other words, the Bridge captioning device can be a valuable accessibility tool while also bringing broader productivity and inclusion benefits to the workplace.

In this article, we take a closer look at this clever device and why it’s worth considering for virtually any unified communications or business telephony deployment, regardless of whether hearing accessibility is the primary need.

Topics: Peripherals, Headsets, Productivity, Product Review, Unified Communications, Communication

Vendors of headsets, telephony devices, and collaboration systems typically highlight a range of features related to noise cancellation in their datasheets. You’ll often come across terms like “acoustic shield,” “active noise cancellation,” “AI noise cancellation,” and many others, all used to emphasize a device’s ability to deliver clear and intelligible audio.

With so much marketing jargon, the actual meaning of these terms can easily get lost. In this article, we break down the terminology and explain what each of these features really means in practical, easy-to-understand terms.

Topics: Yealink, Peripherals, Headsets, Conferencing, Collaboration, Communication

Product Review

More than ever before, connectivity tools of all types are fundamentally changing the way we work. Mobile workforces, collaboration tools, and online business platforms are just some of the innovations that are enabling greater employee efficiency, productivity, and flexibility, while at the same time supporting job satisfaction.

One of the approaches that is making a big difference is the bring your own device (BYOD) philosophy. In this article, we’ll see how Yealink has extended this BYOD approach into the videoconference room.

Topics: Yealink, Peripherals, Mobility (including remote work), Videoconferencing, Productivity, Product Review, Unified Communications, Microsoft, Collaboration, Zoom

Product Review

Facility management systems are becoming more sophisticated and more deeply integrated with other systems. Video surveillance, intercom and paging, as well as security and access services, are just some of the systems that can be converged into a single service to deliver more functionality and flexibility to any organization.

In order to more effectively and efficiently manage these interconnected systems, Grandstream offers a series of facility management products and services, which we examine in this article.

Topics: Grandstream, Peripherals, Software Integration, Surveillance, Facility Management

Now that many workers have had to adapt to working remotely since the pandemic, headsets have become increasingly popular because they free up users’ hands (and shoulders) for a more comfortable and flexible communications experience.

Yealink has developed numerous headsets with a wide range of features and functionalities to fit almost all communication requirements. Not only that, but Yealink has also introduced a full-line incentive program for its headsets, good through the end of 2021.

Topics: Yealink, Peripherals, Headsets, Productivity, Product Review

Product Review

This article completes our three-part series on Grandstream’s GUV line of personal collaboration endpoints by focusing on the new GUV3050 Bluetooth headset, which delivers both comfort and performance to remote and onsite workers alike.

Topics: Wireless, Grandstream, Peripherals, Mobility (including remote work), Headsets, Productivity, Product Review, Bluetooth, Unified Communications

Product Review

Effective communication requires the ability to see and hear each other clearly. With today’s distributed workforce trends, new technologies and devices are needed to deliver the high-quality audio and video that workers are accustomed to in their in-person meetings. Grandstream has made great strides in rolling out innovative endpoints to make remote communications not only of higher quality, but more comfortable, as well.

In this article, we review Grandstream’s exciting GUV3100 HD webcam, which is part of the GUV series of personal collaboration endpoints.

Topics: Grandstream, Peripherals, Trends, Mobility (including remote work), Videoconferencing, Productivity, Product Review, Unified Communications

Product Review

Whether you are in a busy office environment or working remotely, having the proper gear is important for ensuring that you do your job effectively and comfortably. That is why Grandstream’s GUV series of USB headsets are a great addition to a worker’s arsenal, especially for those spending a lot of time in voice communications with colleagues, partners or customers.

Topics: Grandstream, Peripherals, Mobility (including remote work), Headsets, Product Review

Within the context of a global pandemic and the uncertainty that comes with it, even the most basic necessity of receiving medical attention when you need it is not that straightforward anymore. New and innovative technologies are needed to ensure that everyone has access to medical services.

Topics: Peripherals, Trends, Mobility (including remote work), Videoconferencing, Product Review, Unified Communications, Konftel

As widespread as IP telephony and unified communications are, it is often assumed that all analog technologies leveraging telephony systems have advanced sufficiently to use VoIP. However, this is not the case. There are several useful and, for some businesses, vital applications that continue to operate in analog form. In this article, we’ll look at fax machines specifically, and how to integrate them into your VoIP network.

Topics: VoIP, Peripherals, Gateway, FoIP