SITUATION

Successful management consultancy starts with the first contact. Since personal contact is irreplaceable, members of staff place high demands on their phones in regard to quality, integration and usability. At the same time, system complexity increases with the growing amount of participants, locations and different regions. As a leading management and technology consultant with 3500 employees in 26 locations worldwide, BearingPoint GmbH advises European customers from the industry, trade, finance, and insurance sector as well as from the public administration. Thereby, flexible and customised solutions are at the center of the results-oriented approach.

In 2013, BearingPoint decided to introduce Microsoft Lync throughout the company. “For quite some time, Bearing- Point had been looking for a solution to equip their mobile employees with a reliable UC system”, says Anke Riesner IT Director at BearingPoint explaining the reasons for migrating to Microsoft Lync from a conventional PBX.

SOLUTION

In the scope of the migration to Microsoft Lync, Bearing- Point GmbH also significantly reduced the amount of traditional desk phones: previously, every working space had its phone. Today, merely one seventh of that amount remains and can still be found mainly in conference rooms and those areas where employees can communicate undisturbed. The members of staff now almost exclusively use their headsets, no matter whether in the office or on the go: “A change from handset to headset literally lends itself to Microsoft Lync”, Anke Riesner says and continues: “After all, with their headsets employees can make their phone calls flexibly and regardless of their location via their PC or laptop and they no longer have to pin the hand- set between ear and shoulder. Since all Lync headsets can be easily connected with USB via plug-and-play installation there are no technical problems when in use. This is an important point and our team member service desk is thankful for that.”

HEADSET INSTEAD OF HANDSET

In order to draw on the full potential of their Microsoft Lync solution, BearingPoint now uses professional Jabra headsets. The personal and direct contact to the producer, quality and price were decisive criteria for the choice. In all aspects, BearingPoint opted for the headset expert from Denmark. And rightly so, as Anke Riesner points out: “Our aim was to get good quality for good value – and that is what we achieved. Up until now we have only had positive experiences with Jabra headsets! We especially appreciate the professional working relation.”

BENEFITS

Jabra headsets are particularly optimised for Microsoft Lync. In this way, Jabra completes the UC application at BearingPoint in regard to better acoustics, improved availability, more productive teamwork and faster ROI. The Jabra UC Voice 550 supports the extended frequency range up to 6800 hertz and authentically and accurately transmits PC telephony, conference calls, live presentations or also multi-media applications in wideband quality (HD quality). A noise-cancelling microphone is integrated in the headset in order to block out disturbing ambient noise and to ensure that the important information reaches the recipient without loss. Thanks to its USB interface the Jabra UC Voice 550 can be seamlessly integrated into the Microsoft Lync infrastructure. No driver or additional software is required.

FIXED WORKSTATION OR MOBILE WORKER – JABRA HEADSETS FOR ALL USER SCENARIOS

Employees in the field pose additional challenges for professional headsets. These mobile workers work in their office and on the go and want to be productive no matter where they work from. So as to meet the needs of their employees BearingPoint opted for the Jabra Supreme UC: The Bluetooth headset connects to Bluetooth compatible devices such as mobile phones, smart phones or tablet PCs and can be connected to the USB interface of PCs or Laptops with the supplied Bluetooth Nano adapter Jabra LINK 360 – no installation required. In connection with Microsoft Lync, BearingPoint employees can make calls from their PC and mobile phone, switch smoothly between both devices and hold both their calls.

For spontaneous conference calls in the office and on the go, BearingPoint employees use the Jabra Speak 410 USB speakerphone. Thanks to plug-and-play, the model can be easily connected to the USB port and it can be used immediately in combination with all common UC clients on PCs or laptops. In this way, several participants can participate in conference calls using the same device.

THE UC SOLUTION’S HIGH LEVEL OF USER ADOPTION

Better audio quality, more efficient workflows and mobile availability are not the only advantageous of the Jabra solution. “The headsets facilitate the use of the Microsoft Lync application for our staff members”, Anke Riesner explains. Since the staff members have intuitively operated devices at their disposal and can make calls using their hands ergonomically they accept the migration to Unified Communication more readily, use the technology more regularly and thereby contribute to a faster ROI.

Also in the future, BearingPoint will rely on the smooth interaction of the professional Jabra headsets. “We are planning further investments in Jabra headsets with the implementation of Microsoft Lync Enterprise”, Anke Riesner already suggests. “Thereby, wireless Jabra solutions will receive increased attention”. In this way, the BearingPoint consultants can remain faithful to their high goals and convey to their clients a high degree of professionalism – right from the start.