The Engage franchise, available in models which connect to two and five devices respectively, and in mono, stereo and lightweight convertible models, is designed for dense contact centre environments, and allows for connection of three times as many wireless headsets with no loss of quality.
The Jabra Engage 75 Stereo
Headset maker Jabra has launched its Engage franchise, a new class of DECT wireless headsets designed specifically for dense contact centre environments, and engineered to handle the wireless issues that can occur in those environments.
“Engage is a whole new franchise, which is more than just a family of products,” said Steve Boyle, Jabra’s North American Product Portfolio Manager. “It is designed for a specific use case customer – contact centre professionals – who spend a majority of the day speaking on the phone.”
Boyle emphasized that the technology here is a first for the industry, and was specifically designed to respond to issues faced by all parties involved in the contact centre.
“Large contact centres are part of the target market, but it’s not a one trick pony,” Boyle said. “Density is a key differentiator, but it is not the only thing. When we started working on this project, we talked with customers, users and admins, and interviewed over 4000 contact centre professionals and 600 end users. The users told us they were concerned about complexity, that calls tend to be too long, and callers get frustrated. The professionals told us that they needed to be mobile, and not tied to a cubicle. IT admins added they need to connect with multiple phones. As workspaces become more dense, that creates wireless issues, and interference as they step on each other. Security is also growing in importance with concerns over the risk of electronic eavesdropping, and we wanted to try and address that as well.”
The result, Jabra Engage, is a new class of DECT protocol headsets that reflect more than 115,000 hours of development by Jabra engineers.
“With Engage, we have a proprietary chipset that allows us to connect three times as many headsets in the same sized area with no loss of connection quality,” Boyle stated. “It allows everyone in a dense environment to be on wireless, while still having range up to 150 metres. We still use the DECT wireless protocol, but are just more efficient with it.”
The microphone features advanced noise-cancelling technology and advanced speakers.
“Microsoft introduced the Open Office Standard for voice transmission a year ago, and until now, there has been one headset in the industry, made by us, which met that higher standard,” Boyle said. “Now both the Engage Mono and Stereo models meet this standard as well.”
With the security enhancements, the encryption level has been raised from 64-bit to 256-bit.
“Would-be eavesdroppers are locked out,” Boyle indicated. In addition, ‘physical assisted pairing’ creates a secure link-key between the headset and docking base unit.
The system has both long battery life and a rapid charging option.
“It was designed for all day uses, with up to 13 hours talk time on single charge,” Boyle said. “The docking station gives a 40 per cent charge in half an hour.”
Another feature is an integrated busylight that acts as a ‘do-not-disturb’ sign, to reduce interruptions.
The portfolio is made up of two headsets, the Engage 65 and Engage 75. The Engage 75 connects to up to five devices simultaneously to increase availability, including a desk phone, softphone, analog phone and two Bluetooth devices. The Engage 65 – the more economical version – connects only two devices, a deskphone and a softphone.
The Engage 65 still has the exact same level of density, security and other features as the Engage 75,” Boyle pointed out. “Only the numbers of devices it connects to is different.”
Both the Engage 65 and Engage 75 are available in stereo, mono and convertible models.
The Jabra Engage 75 Convertible
“The convertible model uses an earhook and is the lightest weight DECT headset in the industry,” Boyle said. “Weight isn’t a big deal if you have a headset on for half an hour, but over a long day, the lighter weight means long term comfort.”
The MSRP – Jabra only sells through its channel, which in North America is over 3500 partners – is very similar to the present Pro 9400, which the Engage Line will replace. The MSRP ranges from a low of $USD 348 for the Engage 65 Mono, to $440 for the Engage 75 Convertible and Stereo.
“Engage will be the flagship for our contact center going forward, and will replace the Jabra Pro 9400 line, which will be end-of-lifed by the end of this year,” Boyle said. “Wireless technology isn’t for everyone, and we will continue to serve those cases where a less expensive corded headset, or Bluetooth, would be preferred. However, Engage will be the product for the serious contact centre environment with high-value conversations.”
