To understand the concept of the acceleration of the office into a digitized environment, three experts explain how companies should integrate IT infrastructure, design and innovation in the office of today.
Although it sounds like a well-worn chorus, it’s clear that the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. Work as we knew it ceased to exist and from this point onwards, a new approach to our daily lives occurred more as an option than an obligation, especially for those who had to travel to their offices to do their job. This was the theme of the 2021 Panduit Summit, an event organized to discuss strategic and critical issues that go beyond the infrastructure management environment and information technology.
What will the 2.0 offices be like?
Choosing to go to work implies important changes that start in the very conception of the physical work space, which implies the infrastructure of the work setting and extends beyond the basics that we understand as an office, with a chair, a desk, lighting and connectivity, to cover other issues, such as quality of life, comfort, flexibility and multifunctionality of spaces, among other factors that are summarized not in what the offices will be like, but what they will be used for.
What are the key elements of this new reality to take into account when starting a project to upgrade your IT infrastructure to facilitate the concept of a more connected and collaborative office?
Juan Pablo Borray, Business Development Manager for Latin America, Panduit, said: “The pandemic and biosafety protocols make the offices designs and workspaces revolve around the well-being of employees and visitors. In this context, Office 2.0 and the need for collaboration require taking into account concepts of connectivity, collaboration, monitoring of environmental conditions and variables, as well as security.
“All these components have something in common and it is technology. Through the various tools that exist today, trends such as IoT can be applied in these spaces as well.”
In this regard, Martha Gallo, Architect and Founding Partner, AEI Spaces, one of the panelists at the Panduit Office 2.0 and Collaboration event, explained how they articulate technology for connectivity and for audiovisual, face-to-face and virtual scenarios in their office projects for this new reality.
“Today, more than ever, technology is playing a transcendental role. Without it, the pandemic would have been very different. Imagining this situation 10 years ago would have been chaos,” said Gallo.
“In recent years we have talked about specialized software for space occupation, room reservations and connectivity. Now is the time for all of these elements to be truly implemented. I believe that the office today is more technology than space. For this reason, when thinking about a comprehensive design, technology must be top as a participant in the process.”
On the subject of workspace automation, João Olivera, Director of Digital Solutions for Latin America, Johnson Controls, said: “I believe that the concept of offices of the future or offices 2.0 does not exist without having truly digital buildings. The automation concept was very focused only on BMS systems, with static control logics and on security with CCTV and Standard Access Control, all on-premises.”
“But now, in addition to all the architecture and layout, the spaces must be prepared with a more robust network infrastructure, which allows data traffic from all sources of the so-called sensorization, that is, a much more intense network with IoT sensors, air quality sensors, occupancy sensors, cameras with facial recognition, analytics in the cloud and Phone Apps.”
“These new spaces should provide a feeling of more security, well-being and also better experiences for the occupants, motivating them to return and interact not only with each other, but also to interact more with the spaces themselves.”
Decision-making infrastructure
Oliveira proposes an offer that makes the workspaces and offices of the new reality more efficient and intelligent.
“It all starts with a conversation with the company’s stakeholders to better understand their use cases, challenges and day-to-day business. In the case of offices, the themes will probably be focused on improving air quality (due to well-being), a feeling of safety, comfort and good experiences for the occupants and, of course, reducing operating costs accompanied by sustainability,” he said.
Having a good network infrastructure, which allows the installation of efficient HVAC systems, automation systems, different types of sensors (occupancy and air quality), security systems and telephony applications, in order to integrate users with these systems, and actually interacting with spaces, is fundamental.
This is what will motivate people to return to the offices, feel satisfied, relate, be creative, productive, generating more income for companies.
“At Johnson Controls we have branches distributed in practically every country in Latin America, in the main cities of each country. Based on this understanding of what is important and challenging for the customer, we return home to develop solutions that can impact these four main pillars that I mentioned: being safer, healthier, more sustainable and providing better experiences for space occupants,” concluded Oliveira.
Latin America wants smart offices
According to Borray, companies in the region need to focus their investments in IT infrastructure to improve the connectivity of their employees, taking into account teleworking and new office concepts.
“It is first necessary to define what the strategy will be. In several studies carried out over the last year, it was found that it is very likely to adopt a hybrid model, where some days you go to the office and others work remotely,” he said.
“The challenge of teleworking is to enable all the necessary tools so that collaborators can do their tasks and ensure connectivity that allows them to be in communication with the least possible interruption.”
For him, many companies have worked on this since the pandemic began.
“To return to the office, it is necessary to ensure that it is a safe space (biosafety measures) and that people want to be in it (well-being). In both cases, the infrastructure of the pre-COVID companies must be rethought and modified,” said Borray.
In addition to the spatial and technological adaptation of the offices of the future, there is the cultural challenge that all these changes entail.
On this subject, Martha Gallo said: “Cultural change seeks to deepen different working models to improve one to one interaction, in teams and groups. Collaborative spaces are intended to be places that promote these environments and well-being. This facilitates access to healthy architectural resources that drive these changes.
“This applies to any company that needs to redesign space interactions to create high-level, strategic organizational development foundations. Improving the relationship between employees provides a greater sense of well-being, with consequent greater productivity, a sense of belonging and security for the entire work team.”
Finally, the economic issue is essential to understand. Faced the approach that investments in technology should take, Borray from Panduit clarified: “The challenge of teleworking is to provide all the necessary tools for employees to carry out their tasks and ensure the connectivity that allows them to be in communication with the least possible interruption.”
