IBM Sametime Plugs Into Plantronics

Proponents of the speakerphone, listen up. Headset manufacturer Plantronics is reducing your dependence on that annoying piece of office equipment by making its products compatible with IBM’s Sametime technology. That means Sametime users are now free to pace their office while on a call and not have to rely on their speakerphones.

Instead, users can strap on a Plantronics unified communications product and pace to their heart’s content.

The two companies have developed a plug-in that makes the Plantronics UC products compatible with IBM’s Lotus Sametime and Sametime unified telephony products. The Plantronics Sametime plug-in enables users to have the same call control functionality they would have with a standard desktop phone or computer, including remote answer/end, mute and volume control. Users of certain Plantronics wireless products such as the Savi Office system or the Voyager PRO UC also will be able to switch conversations between the computer, desk phone and mobile phone from the audio device.

Such a plug-in may not seem like a huge breakthrough in the UC space, but both companies stress its importance in furthering the user experience of unified communications in general and Sametime technology in particular.

“The agility that comes from being wirelessly connected to Sametime and controlling all audio functions through a single Plantronics device makes the experience, and the value, that much richer,” said Jeffrey Siegel, vice president of Business Development at Plantronics, in a release announcing the plug-in.

For resellers, such a plug-in also enhances the attractiveness of UC and provides a natural upsell path for headsets and other UC peripherals. Survey after survey shows UC is hot; add-ons  such as the Plantronics Sametime plug-in only help increase its value as a must-have technology.

Sign up for The VAR Guy’s Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center; and via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter and VARtweet.