The global contact center and office headset market is on the cusp of rapid growth, driven by the expansion of software-based communications clients, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan.
The research firm expects adoption to continue as organizations realize the role of headsets in driving productivity. As the proliferation and adoption of business desktop communications clients drives the purchase of professional headsets, personal PC-enabled headsets will also see increasing use by users of unified communications (UC).
Frost & Sullivan also found that the market earned revenues of $1.20 billion in 2014 and projects this to more than double to $2.60 billion by 2021. Cordless headsets will represent 31.2 percent of total shipments and 58.2 percent of total headset revenue by 2021. UC-enabled headset revenue is expected to reach $1.51 billion at the end of the forecast period, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 19.4 percent through 2021.
"In new work environments characterized by proliferating user devices, the need for mobility and the desire to eliminate noise, such professional headsets can foster smarter collaboration and enhance worker productivity," said Frost & Sullivan Unified Communications & Collaboration Research Analyst Alaa Saayed. "Providing integration with several devices and applications, as well as extending UC features and contextual intelligence capabilities are added productivity benefits that underline the importance of business headsets."
Despite these opportunities, headset demand will be affected by tough global macroeconomic conditions that often force businesses to shy away from investing in new communication technologies. Additionally, price-sensitive companies prefer low-cost endpoints rather than upper-range devices, the research found.
The consumerization of information technology and PC-based communications will drive the use of consumer headsets in the enterprise setting and result in a drop of enterprise-grade headset purchase volumes. To gain market share, professional headset vendors need to integrate new models with popular offerings, including UC. Headset suppliers must also build an efficient and ever-evolving channel ecosystem, Sayeed suggested.
"Analyzing different business groups for behavior and endpoint usage patterns will help equipment manufacturers efficiently tailor solutions to end-user requirements," Saayed said. "Incorporating software intelligence within headset devices will be another differentiator that will allow vendors to offer significant value to customers in the global headset market."