The candles are being placed on the cake, balloons hung all around and presents arranged on the side table. If it sounds like a birthday party, you’re right – Plantronics (News - Alert) is celebrating its 50^th anniversary.

According to this piece in The Inquirer, the firm is commemorating the celebration with additions to its unified communications product portfolio. The two fresh releases and a toolkit for customers working with communications gear have been added to Plantronics range of products.

The Voyager Pro UC Bluetooth headset and Calisto 825 speakerphone make up the new product offerings. The Voyager Pro UC uses presence software to connect itself to a PC and is expected to dramatically enhance the headset experience.

The Calisto speakerphone is designed to work with either landlines or mobile devices and should be able to hook up nicely into Microsoft Office Communicator and Lync, according to Plantronics officials.

Ken Kannappan (News - Alert), president and CEO of Plantronics, stepped away from the celebration long enough to share with The Inquirer regarding the releases. "We want to end the pain-points that people experience when trying to stay connected at work or home," he said. "We think everyone - from consumers to mobile professionals to the business world- should be able to simply communicate regardless of device or location."

While speakerphones and headsets will meet significant market demand, some may prefer the UCS toolkit. Plantronics promotes the toolkit as bringing together best practices, guidelines, recommendations and training tools that should help to act as a warm, friendly hand for anyone seeking to roll out a unified communications system.

According to said Bill Loewenthal, VP of unified communications at Plantronics, enterprises are embracing the move to unified communications more than ever. The UC Toolkit is promoted as the only resource of its kind designed to arm and empower IT professionals with the best information to meet the demands of today’s business world.

In other Plantronics news, TMCnet recently reported on a Plantronics wireless UC headset, the Savi 730, which can manage calls whether they are conducted on a PC, a desk phone or a mobile phone.

The company also offers an updated version of the Voyager Pro UC, which allows users to switch between calls received on the PC and those taken on a mobile phone. The latest innovations in UC headsets can easily be switched between desk phones, computers and even cell phones.