Bose takes a silent lead in India via sound masking

Bose Corporation, the $1.7-billion global audio technology major, is happy at the high decibel levels in India.

In this chaos and noise, Bose sees a business opportunity, as it is the only audio company in the country today that is offering sound masking solutions.

So the next time you do not get distracted in your call centre job from something that your colleague next door is mouthing, thank the US-based Bose Corporation's solutions. The company sees India as a major market in the coming years because of the sheer numbers of BPOs and ITeS centres that have mushroomed in the country today.

"At the call centres, where is there is constant talk going on, the voice of a person sitting in the next cubicle also is a cause of disturbance. We have, therefore, come out with sound masking solutions so that the external sounds that ultimately reach a person are just garbled voices and one can therefore concentrate only on the sounds emerging from the head-phone," according to Ratish Pandey, general manager of Bose Corporation India Private Limited.

Sound masking is basically done by generating a uniform background sound through speakers in the false ceiling, which overrides the existing sound. This also helps in providing speech privacy at the centres.

Bose's only client in Hyderabad is Deloitte, which means that other BPOs in the city do not yet use sound-masking solutions at all.

"In other parts of the country, we have provided these solutions to companies like GE, HSBC and Reliance Infocomm among others," Pandey said, adding that now they have around 10 clients in the country using this service, and that demand is yet to peak, though the company has been offering the very same solutions for the last six years in the country.

"The cost of such sound masking solutions depends on the area, the kind of noise and the degree of sound masking required among other factors. But on an average, the cost ranges from $1.5 to $2 ($1= Rs 46) per square feet area, of the place where sound masking is being provided," Pandey said.

"Cities like Hyderabad have great untapped potential in this sector because it has become a hub for BPOs. The sound masking solutions, therefore fit the needs of this city well," Pandey said, on the sidelines of a press conference organised to announce the launch of its retail operations in the city.

The retail outlet, occupying an area of about 1,000 square feet is the eighth such store in the country. The store will showcase the entire range of Bose home products like the Bose lifestyle systems, wave systems, speaker systems, headphones and multimedia offerings. The products are priced between Rs 7,900 and Rs 2,29,000.

So far, Hyderabad only had a professional systems store of Bose that focused on the needs of public places like offices, hotels, auditoriums and retail places.