ANNUAL REPORT 2008/09 - Sonova

Given the unchanged megatrends, Sonova expects the market
to grow at an average rate of around 4 – 7% p.a. in
units in the long term. To exploit this potential as a market
leader and further expand its market share, Sonova will
continue to rely on product innovation as a key driver of
its commercial success.
High innovation potential
The greatest potential for innovation still lies in optimizing
speech intelligibility. The biggest challenge is still how
to achieve maximum clarity of hearing in a noisy environment.
In such situations, many people would like to
have an even more powerful solution. Sonova is continuously
working directly alongside hearing specialists
and end users to improve the functionality of its hearing
systems so as to deliver better speech intelligibility.
“SoundRecover”, a new algorithm developed by Phonak, is
one of the most important and successful hearing system
features in this area.
The Sonova Group is also working on other challenges,
such as improving subjective hearing performance to come
as close as possible to “natural hearing”. This is particularly
important for people with mild to moderate hearing
loss. Our developments have become a benchmark for
the market. One example is “SoundFlow”, which ensures
that the hearing system automatically adapts to any
acoustic situation.
Cosmetic aspects, user comfort and design also play
an important role in the acceptance of a product. The most
important decision criteria here are size and visibility.
Devices need to be small, discreet and virtually invisible.
Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing systems are gradually increasing
their share of the overall market, partly as a result
of cosmetic improvements and also due to the
miniatur ization of the devices. The modern design of
hearing systems means that devices can have novel
forms which are signifi cantly diff erent from traditional
hearing instruments.
Ease of use and connectivity are also becoming more
and more important for wearers of hearing systems. One of
the greatest challenges for users of hearing solutions
today is their comfortable interaction with modern communication
devices or entertaining systems. Digital
wireless technology improves usability signifi cantly by
providing a wireless link to modern communication equipment
such as mobile phones, televisions, computers
and MP3 players. All products based on the new CORE
(Communication Optimized Real-audio Engine) platform
use this technology. The success of Audéo YES, the world’s
smallest wireless hearing system launched by Phonak
in January 2009, once again underscores the increasing
importance of this area of innovaton. This technology also
enables wireless communication between two devices in
the case of a binaural solution, providing the potential
to further develop functionalities to signifi cantly improve
speech intellegibility.
Sonova: leader in innovation
During the 2008/09 fi nancial year, Sonova once again
achieved one of the highest innovation rates in the industry.
This highlights Sonova’s technological leadership.
62% of hearing system sales were achieved with products
which are less than two years old.
38%
28%
34%
Launched one year ago
Launched two years ago
Launched more than two years ago
INNOVATION
15