Page 32 - binfo105_flip

This is a SEO version of binfo105_flip. Click here to view full version

« Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page »
www.binfo.co.uk
magazine
32
Digital Dictation
At the recent launch of the Olympus
Directrec range of dictation
microphones (see right),
Business
Info
quizzed Christian Salza, Head
of Business Unit Audio, about the
challenges and opportunities in today’s
dictation market.
Although the industry remains
dependent on its traditional customer base
in the legal, medical and property/surveyor
markets, Salza says he is confdent
of continued growth for Olympus
Professional Dictation Systems.
“If you look at GfK fgures, the digital
dictation market inWestern Europe is
growing at a unit rate of almost 10%.
There’s still a lot of analogue devices in
the market: we believe more than 50%
of users are still using analogue and my
estimate is that 75% of units out there are
analogue, so there is still growth potential
in the switch from analogue to digital,”
he said.
“The other reason why digital dictation
has a future is speech recognition, which
enables users to save time and be more
effcient. If employees with big salaries
– lawyers, for example – can have their
dictation transcribed by software, their
productivity increases tremendously.”
In addition to these general market
trends, Salza said that Olympus would
continue to strengthen its offering in
specifc sectors, e.g. dictation microphones,
which would enable it to increase
its market share at the expense of
competitors.
“Olympus is leading the consumer
market in Europe, with a market share of
45-50% by unit. Our professional dictation
market share is lower because you have
to differentiate between portables where
we have a 35-40% share and USB mikes
like the new Directrec, where our market
share is much lower but where we believe
we can make big inroads because the new
product is really strong.”
Olympus Christian Salza is confdent of
continued growth in the digital dictation
market as more people switch from
analogue to digital devices.
For the record
One cloud on the horizon is the
threat posed by smartphones, which
can be used to record and submit
dictation while on the move.With a
DragonNaturallySpeaking app, it is
also possible to convert speech into
documents, email and text messages
on the smartphone itself. A new Dragon
Remote Mic app even lets users of Dragon
NaturallySpeaking 11.5 Premium use an
iPhone, iPod touch or iPad as a wireless
microphone for dictating to or controlling
a PC over aWi-Fi connection.
Salza concedes that digital dictation
devices are in competition with
smartphones, but argues that the
latter don’t have the sorts of features
demanded by professional users.
“For example, there isn’t a slide switch
on a smartphone: that’s a differentiator,”
he said. “Another is the microphone
technology. On a smartphone, this has to
make the voice clear and transport it in
a very compressed way, whereas we can
optimise the microphone for automatic
voice recognition, not cellphones. Our
new generation of microphones are
designed in such a way that they are
optimised both for transcription by a
human and electronic voice recognition.”
Over and above this specifc threat,
Salza points to the need to extend
dictation’s appeal. “The challenge we have
is that people are not used to dictating
any more.We have to get people to
learn how to dictate. Dictation feels very
old school, but really it’s about speed,
effciency and cost savings,” he said.
And in that context, digital
dictation has arguably never been
more relevant to the needs of
business than it is today.
Straight talking
The new Olympus Directrec dictation
microphones combine improved ergonomics
and a robust design, making them the devices
of choice for professional users who regularly
record dictation at a PC or Mac.
There are four models in the range, the
DR-1200, DR-2100, DR-2200 and DR-2300.
All have an integrated USB cable, which
ensures that the microphone and cable don’t
become separated in shared-use environments.
Historically the junction of the cable and
microphone has been a major weakness of
dictation microphones, but Olympus’ new models
have been specially designed to withstand the
rigours of day-to-day use.
In addition to one-handed operation of
dictation functions by slide switch or push button
(on the DR-1200), all models bar the DR-2100,
feature a large stainless steel trackball and click
buttons for one-thumb PC navigation and control.
The microphones have a symmetrical design
making them suitable for right- or left-handed
use and boast a number of
ergonomic features to make
operation easier. These include
multi-colour LEDs, built-in
volume control (plus built-in
speakers) and fve programmable
buttons giving short-cuts to user
preferences.
Recording quality is optimised
with a directional microphone
that cuts out background noise
and voice processing technology
optimised for both human and
software-based transcription.
A software developers kit
(SDK) for Olympus Directrec
devices allows them to be
integrated with third party
applications. In addition, the
DR-2300 can be used with an
add-on barcode scanner that
allows automatic allocation of
voice fles to client/case/
patient records.
www.olympus.
co.uk
DR-2200