Whether it’s at home or work, the modern office is more collaborative and innovative than ever before, and you should be prepared to adapt your space to keep up-to-date with the current trends and new ways of working. The growth of technology has revolutionised working practices, meaning that a lot of businesses cannot survive without adapting their working environments to suit. Office designers such as Maris are constantly searching for new ways to implement technology into office design, helping to future-proof your work environment, no matter the industry you belong to.
Here we show you 5 ways technology can and should be implemented into your office redesign:
Tablets
More and more companies are providing networked tablets to their employees, meaning that staff can work from anywhere – in their home office, at their work desk, or even on the move. Think of a tablet as having the same on-the-go functionality as your smartphone, but with a bigger screen, more capabilities for download, and generally more storage space. Tablets also mean that you have a connected communication stream if you work with others, as you can share documents, resources, and applications with ease. When redesigning your office, invest in a tablet stand which can be attached to your desk for maximum accessibility.
Smart thermostat
Who says your office technology should be solely business-focussed? Thermal comfort is essential to productivity. Whether you’re at home or in work, settling on the right office temperature can be difficult, distracting, and time-consuming. Smart thermostats improve your workspace’s energy efficiency and automatically adjust the room’s temperature based on the specific time of day, weather, and season.
Intelligent personal assistant
An intelligent personal assistant is software designed to assist people with basic tasks, so why not make the most of this for your office? Products like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google’s Assistant can benefit your workflow by taking over mundane tasks. Using only your voice, you can add events to your calendar, control your smart devices, make phone calls, check facts, schedule meetings, play media, set reminders, and automate your customer service.
Smart locks
Whether you’re working from home or at your company headquarters, security is essential. Smart locks can help to secure your office by introducing new functionality. At work, they can track opening times, employee entry and exit times, and pinpoint any abnormal activity. Some locks can even provide temporary access credentials for visitors and clients. At home, a virtual key provides maximum security for your sensitive work materials and prevents disruption. As a company like maris.co.uk will design your workspace depending on your preference, either at home or at the company’s headquarters.
Integrated technology
With more devices than ever before, integrated chargers and power points are essential to any office. When redesigning your space, consider powered furniture with multimedia capabilities. Employees and clients being able to use your furniture in new and innovative ways have become a significant trend within office redesign, so equip your chairs, sofas, and desks with discreet power points to meet the demand.
Chat apps
According to a survey conducted in 2016 by consultancy Deloitte, it shows that chat apps are now bringing people together and team-based is becoming real. Let’s say, it is on a weekend, and you need to have an impromptu meeting. What will you do? Use chat apps. The chat apps can also be used by staff to share information between other teams or departments. Some apps allow you to share a document in any Microsoft’s office applications so you’ll be sure if you have an urgent memo you can share.
Video conferencing
Suppose you have a big company, and your workers are doing remote work. How will you know your employees are doing their work? Video conferencing will help. Some staffs might be so cunning, by pretending they are doing work whereas they are not. Video conferencing helps you constantly check on your employee by holding a video call. This will increase the productivity of your company since they know you can call any time. When doing the call, you can have a face to face meeting with just a video call away. There are quite several apps that they can be used such as Cisco’s Spark Board.
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
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