With four-fifths (78%) of UK workers joining virtual calls on a weekly basis, the tech we use to collaborate and communicate needs to be fit for purpose. However, new research from semiconductor company XMOS shows that this is not the case.
In fact, Brits experience issues with conferencing products six times a month – on average, that’s more than once a week. Furthermore, almost one third (31%) experience issues on a monthly basis and more than one in ten (13%) – equivalent to 4.29m of the working population – are battling daily issues.
Audio is at the heart of these problems, with over half (57%) of Brits stating that clear audio is the most important aspect of any conferencing call. Despite this importance, 80% of Brits have experienced poor sound quality on conference calls; 28% have missed out on content entirely, while 23% have been distracted by invasive background noise.
Commenting on the findings, Aneet Chopra, EVP Marketing and Product Management at XMOS, said: “The pandemic inspired many businesses to adopt a more hybrid approach to work – and Brits have embraced this freedom. It’s now something that workers demand, rather than being seen as a unique benefit.
“That’s why it’s so surprising to see the sheer number of issues workers experience with the devices they need to connect remotely. The technology at their disposal has not necessary kept up with their requirements.
“When high performance, reliable audio is so crucial both to individuals, and organisations, it’s incumbent upon product manufacturers in the collaboration space to combat user frustrations, delivering fit-for-purpose solutions rather than letting these complaints fall on deaf ears.”
At XMOS, we believe that that the answer to these audio challenges lies in equipping manufacturers, engineers, and designers with the components to insert high quality audio into their conferencing applications without compromising on performance or time-to-market. The XVF3800 four-microphone voice processor has been designed specifically for this purpose, excelling in speakerphones, video bars, conferencing devices, and more.
