The News: EPOS, a manufacturer of high-end audio solutions, announced the release of their new headset series, the IMPACT 1000. These headsets are designed with machine learning technology to help reduce brain fatigue caused by excessive noise in open office workplaces. Read more from EPOS.
EPOS Announces Release of the IMPACT 1000, a New Headset Designed to Reduce Brain Fatigue
Analyst Take: At Enterprise Connect held last week in Orlando, my colleagues and I had the opportunity to meet with the EPOS team and learn more about their business model and explore some of their product offerings.
The EPOS — Sennheiser Communications Back Story
While EPOS might not yet be a household name, any audiophiles out there will no doubt recognize the name Sennheiser. Sennheiser Communications was born in 2003 as the result of a joint venture between Sennheiser, an audio brand, and Demant, a 115-year-old Denmark-based hearing healthcare and audio technology group rapidly growing its suite of intelligent audio solutions — and its focus on hearing health plays a significant role in the success of EPOS.
In 2020, Sennheiser and Demant decided to end their joint venture, which resulted in the evolution of Sennheiser Communications into two separate business units: Sennheiser and EPOS, each focused on different business segments. EPOS focuses on the Enterprise Solutions and Gaming segments and the Mobile Music business segment that was a part of Sennheiser Communications evolved to become part of the Sennheiser Consumer business.
EPOS is fully owned by the Demant Group, with offices and partners in some 60+ countries. EPOS has close ties with and collaborates with the other companies within the Demant group — here’s a look at the deep immersion Demant has in the hearing health field and its many subsidiaries.
Reducing Brain Fatigue, Improving Performance
Now that you’ve got the back story, let’s tackle the topic of brain fatigue. As part of the Demant Group, EPOS has the benefit of decades of research about hearing health, how the brain receives and processes sound, and the impact of sound on the brain, including listening fatigue.
In today’s hybrid work environment, often featuring open offices and hot-desking, and environments perhaps best personified as filled with constant distractions and interruptions, brain fatigue is a very real thing. That’s what the team at EPOS set out to address with its EPOS BrainAdapt offering, which is a technology solution that endeavors to provide the best “conditions” for the brain, leveraging machine learning tech and acoustics designed to help increase focus, reduce fatigue, and fuel better performance overall. The EPOS BrainAdapt offering benefits from the vast R&D done by companies within the Demant Group on brain performance and optimal hearing and processing conditions, which I see as a significant part of the company’s value proposition.
The EPOS IMPACT 1000 Headset Series, a New Addition to the EPOS IMPACT Line
That brings me to the EPOS IMPACT 1000 headset, a new addition to the EPOS IMPACT line, which EPOS shared was designed for what they call “talk-centric” pros, like contact center agents for example, who are working all day every day in noisy environments. EPOS says the IMPACT 1000 headset series minimizes the impact of background noise on cognitive processes and ensures that all parties involved in a call can remain focused and engaged, reducing the brain energy needed to process essential information.
The IMPACT 1000 headset series includes features like ActiveGard Technology, which protects users from acoustic shock and sudden loud noises that can cause hearing damage. The IMPACT 1000 also features a noise-canceling microphone that reduces background noise and allows clear communication even in noisy environments. In addition, IMPACT 1000’s machine learning technology uses algorithms to analyze audio data and adapt to the user’s listening patterns. EPOS claims this will reduce brain fatigue by optimizing sound delivery and reducing the need for the user to strain to hear or understand speech.
Other features of the IMPACT 1000 designed to deliver on the user experience front include:
- Triple Bluetooth connectivity: This enhanced Bluetooth connectivity means that users can stay connected to three devices simultaneously.
- TalkThrough feature: The TalkThrough feature enables users to communicate with colleagues without removing the headset.
- 360 Busylight: The 360 Busylight might be one of my favorite features because it signals when you’re on a call so that someone won’t unknowingly interrupt.
- Comfortable design: The lightweight design of the headset, with headband padding, soft cushions, a Super Wideband for natural sound all wrapped into a lightweight design means its comfortable to wear all day.
What’s Ahead for EPOS? Marketing, Marketing and More Marketing
I enjoyed meeting the EPOS team and learning about their evolution from Sennheiser Communication to their current brand identity. The company’s passion for reducing brain fatigue, minimizing distraction and disruptive sounds, and providing safer, more productive hearing solutions for the hybrid workplace is well-timed. That said, this is a crowded space and there’s much competition on the device front from other very well-entrenched, very well-known players.
While the EPOS story is a compelling one, now they’ll need to leverage that story. I believe this includes capitalizing on Demant’s deep roots in the hearing health R&D space and its decades of research on hearing health, how the brain receives and processes sound, and the impact of sound on the brain, including listening fatigue — and how all of that translates to both employee wellness as well delivering for the bottom line from a productivity standpoint.
That means savvy marketing campaigns designed to get the attention of both potential end users and device procurement teams, as well as enabling channel partners to take that message to market. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of inroads EPOS is able to make in the coming months.
Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum Research as a whole.
Other insights from Futurum Research:
Zoom Announces Expansion of Zoom IQ, a Smart Companion, at Enterprise Connect 2023
Adobe Summit 2023: Adobe’s Content Supply Chain Solution is Worth Being Very Excited About
Image Credit: EPOS
Author Information
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years' experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging development, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly's coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”
