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Jabra (News - Alert), internationally renowned headset manufacturer, and Voice Assist have revealed an important partnership between them that will enable all employees at Salesforce to use the messaging system Chatter, email, talk on the phone, and update Salesforce records, all hands-free.

Jabra's customers can utilize Voice Assist's voice-to-text service that will increase productivity over both large and small companies. To get more of an understanding as to how this partnership will bring higher levels of productivity to companies, I spoke with Mogens Elsberg, CEO of Jabra, and Michael Metcalf, CEO of Voice Assist. See the full exchange below:

JK: How will Jabra’s and Salesforce’s partnership benefit existing customers?

ME: The Jabra EXTREME provides an easy-to-use hands-free solution for the mobile sales force.  Our partnership with Voice Assist will provide access to salesforce.com CRM through Chatter, helping to maximize productivity across mobile workforces.  This end-to-end solution also mitigates corporate risk from mobile drivers during their busy day. 

Busy salespeople hate to stop and type, and since it is in their nature to communicate verbally, this is a fast and easy solution that will help increase adoption and usage and works on any phone or device, such as iPhone (News - Alert), Blackberry, tablet or PC.

JK: Is this new partnership part of a forward-looking sales movement for 2011?

ME: Absolutely, although we feel that it is more of a tidal wave than a forward movement because there are thousands of large enterprise clients are they are all looking for 2 things - a safe driving solution and increased staff productivity. 

Dissemination of information within organizations happens at the speed of communication.  The Chatter platform really changes the way companies communicate internally - connecting, collaborating, listening and transacting.  Jabra’s partnership with Voice Assist extends the social network to encrypted communication and ensures that mobile salespeople are always complying with hands-free driving laws. 

JK: How long has this partnership been in the works?

ME and MM: Jabra and Voice Assist have been collaborating since the beginning of 2010 and this collaboration has also been an integrated part of the salesforce mobile strategy.

JK: Is there a target customer for this new release?

ME: Yes.  The target customer for this release is every busy salesperson who spends extended periods of the time out of the office and needs to stay on top of their accounts.  Many of these salespeople also spend long amount of time in the car and this provides them with a hands-free solution to allow them to keep their hands on the wheel while still being able to get work done.

At the end of the day it comes down to increased safety plus productivity equals the need for real time collaboration. 

JK: What market trends have led to this development?

ME: There are many trends that have led to this development including the passing of hands-free driving laws in 30 states, increased mobility of sales forces, and the increased use of texting and social networking.  We are offering an enterprise solution to the issue of distracted driving while still allowing salespeople to be productive on the road.

MM: In addition, speech technology has evolved to the point where there is no voice user training needed.  Users now have instant access to info that is already there, and data becomes the conversation.