An Oxfordshire company that makes wireless voice headsets and call systems so shop and hospitality staff can talk to each other hands-free.
VoCoVo makes wireless headsets, smart devices and call points that let staff in shops and other busy workplaces talk to each other and to the systems around them without holding anything. Retail staff can call for help at a till, respond to a self-checkout problem, hear a message from head office or be alerted to an incident, all through a lightweight headset. The idea is that the equipment frees people's hands and attention so they can look after customers. The company has also been extending its products into other sectors such as hospitality.
VoCoVo is led by founder Rob Gamlin, a former electronics and software engineer who has worked for himself since the age of 22. He came up with the original idea in 2003, and the company's parent business is called Strongbyte. In a Deloitte profile he described VoCoVo as a listening business that also innovates, aiming to make voice communication much better than it was. He also said that an early decision to design the equipment for future integration with other systems has helped it connect to many kinds of retail technology. These are the founder's own words, as reported by Deloitte.
The company is based in the Cotswolds of West Oxfordshire, with a listed address in Shipton-under-Wychwood, near Chipping Norton. Its headsets are used by large UK retailers; Deloitte named customers including Tesco, Primark, Asda, Wickes and Halfords across its two profiles. By 2020 it reported customers in 21 countries, mostly in Europe, and was talking to large retailers in North America. It was a winner in the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 in both 2019 and 2020, in the South West and Wales region, which recognises fast-growing technology companies.
The company has described a fast-growing Cotswolds team. At the time of the 2019 profile it employed about 40 people, and the founder describes an entrepreneurial, can-do culture designed to help people reach their potential. The 2020 profile treated its rural base as both a source of team identity and a challenge for hiring, and explained that remote working during the pandemic showed that it could recruit from anywhere. These are the company's own claims. It was also moving from selling hardware outright to a subscription model.
Roles in a hardware and software business like this include electronics and radio engineers, embedded software developers, product designers, testing and quality staff, installation and support engineers who set equipment up in stores, and sales, marketing and customer success teams who work with retailers. Anyone curious about how technology helps people work in busy shops and cafes, and who likes hands-on products, can look at the range of functions involved.
Website: vocovo.com
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