EPOS is establishing its position in the video collaboration space through a strategic investment in Solaborate, who has developed an all-in-one video and audio communication and collaboration device platform.
Sennheiser Communications A/S, the joint venture between Demant A/S and Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG, has previously announced that it will evolve in new set-ups. During 2020, the joint venture will end, and the business segments of Enterprise Solutions and Gaming headsets will evolve as a new independent company, EPOS, under the global audio and hearing technology group Demant. Going forward, EPOS will manufacture and sell the existing Sennheiser Communications portfolio for Enterprises and Gaming co-branded as EPOS I SENNHEISER products, while also introducing a new EPOS branded portfolio.
The EPOS branded portfolio will be further strengthened by EPOS now entering the video collaboration market.
Jeppe Dalberg-Larsen, President, EPOS, says: “The establishment of EPOS marks the start of a new independent company specialising in audio solutions with a premium sound experience combined with a strategic focus on video collaboration solutions in order to offer highly specialised audio/video collaboration technologies to the market. The strategic investment in Solaborate is ideal as it brings together the company’s expertise in an all-in-one video collaboration platform with our strong distribution set-up and deep audio knowledge and experience.”
The video conferencing market is predicted to grow from an estimated €1.6bn to more than €2.5bn by 2022 - a highly attractive growth opportunity and natural territory for the newly formed business. EPOS’ focus on video collaboration will enable the company to deliver integrated audio/video solutions to the platforms of current strategic partners such as Microsoft, as well as collaborating effectively with newly acquired strategic partners that sit in the video conferencing space, such as Zoom.
Key drivers for the rapid market growth of video conferencing and collaboration are widely believed to be influenced by significant changes in workplaces and ways of working over recent years. The demand for more flexible and remote working styles means that meetings are becoming more and more virtual.
Changes in workspaces such as the rise of open-plan have created a strong demand for small meeting rooms or ‘huddle spaces’ where workers can meet in a disruption-free setting – the ideal set-up for virtual collaboration/video conferencing. Technology advancements such as internet speed, clarity, stability and user experience have also been key drivers in the rapid adoption rate of video conferencing tools.