Bang & Olufsen Joins Cisco To Create The Ultimate Headset For Hybrid Workers

Here’s an unusual pairing that brings the iconic Danish audio brand Bang & Olufsen together with Cisco, probably the world’s number one name in enterprise networking, to launch a luxury business headset.

The explosion in hybrid working has heralded a need for high-quality multifunctional headsets for remote workers to use at home. This new breed of worker needs a headset that can reduce background noise from remote workspaces as well as having something to listen to music while they are working away, often alone in an isolated setting.

Today, Bang & Olufsen and Cisco have announced the Bang & Olufsen Cisco 980, a luxury business headset that brings Bang & Olufsen’s knack for timeless design, superb craftsmanship and superb audio with Cisco’s integrated meeting controls, Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation, plus frictionless IT management capabilities for secure communications.

The new Bang & Olufsen Cisco 980 includes enhanced capabilities for business users with Bluetooth 5.1, Webex integrations, voice prompts and convenient on-ear call controls that enable users to easily mute, answer or end phone calls. The new headset also offers industry-leading connectivity and functionality.

Phone calls, meetings, video chat and music on the Bang & Olufsen Cisco 980 are all reproduced with premium audio quality that you’d expect from Bang & Olufsen. The headset also includes beamforming microphone arrays that create a virtual boom arm and help to power Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation for a more immersive listening experience. The audio helps users feel as if they are attending a meeting in person while the noise canceling function enables them to focus on tasks more easily.

The new headset has been designed to provide unrivaled comfort thanks to its lightweight structure that has been engineered with high-end materials that ensure a stable and enduring fit that can be worn all day, if necessary. 

For corporate customers, the Bang & Olufsen Cisco 980 has features for easy deployment by IT administrators as well as tools for managing and viewing real-time analytics from a single platform. The Bang & Olufsen Cisco 980 also provides enterprise-grade hardware and software protection so business calls and conversations can be kept secure.

Jeetu Patel is the executive vice president and general manager at Cisco Security and Collaboration. Patel says: “Clear and seamless audio is essential for the hybrid work environment. We’re thrilled to work with the leaders in luxury audio solutions, Bang & Olufsen, to bring to market the highest quality audio device for business – combining high-end aesthetic, complete functionality and fantastic quality.”  

Meanwhile, Kristian Teär, CEO Bang & Olufsen, added: “We are excited to join forces with Cisco and build on the strengths of both brands. Today, customers want a product they can use at home, at work or in transition – and look and feel good when using it. We’re integrating Cisco’s industry-leading technologies with our renowned capabilities within sound, design, and craftsmanship to create the ultimate audio product for the hybrid world.”

This is an unusual pairing between two blue-chip companies that normally operate in totally different sectors. Bang & Olufsen is very much the high-end consumer audio while Cisco is a blue-chip corporate to its very soul. It’s interesting to see these two strange bedfellows finding synergy with one another in a different approach to marketing.

This move could be a sign of more unusual pairings to come, bringing technological advances from the consumer sector to the business world that’s embracing the hybrid way of working where enterprise products aren’t always the answer.

Pricing & Availability: The Bang & Olufsen Cisco 980 will be available to order starting early 2022 at the Cisco suggested resale price of $549.

More info: webex.com