Flexibility is the new normal. Collaborative spaces, dedicated private offices and a wider range of offices and workspaces to choose from are now standard for many companies.
The demand for fully digitalised buildings and spaces is also growing exponentially, as property owners and occupiers seek to better understand their buildings and spaces, and the people who use them.
The acceleration of technology adoption across our built environment, in part responding to societal shifts in working patterns, has created buildings that have become increasingly complex. Adding layers of new and innovative technology might appear to have the desired effect – rooms become easily bookable, heat and light sensors respond to changing environmental factors – but having multiple disparate technology solutions leads to complex in-building networks and siloed data.
While having access to different types of technology is a good thing, that is only one part of the puzzle on the journey to digital maturity. Technology must be simple to use, allow access to actionable data and be impactful. Just because you have access to streams of data on how your workspace operates doesn’t necessarily provide the intelligence required to enable positive change in your company.
Data should be leveraged across different networks and operating systems, portfolio wide, and packaged up in an easily accessible and useable way. The goal should be that anyone can use this data to enable networks to deliver on-demand digital services – so it is not just data for data’s sake.
Automating some tasks creates a valuable commodity for any business: time. Time to be more creative and effective, and to focus on the work that will add the most value to your organisation.
Zooming out for a moment and considering the longer-term view, actionable data from multiple sources, that speak to each other and can then be used to effect change in real time, can also help shape the future of design.
The motivations for redesigning and refurbishing offices are threefold: encouraging people back into offices with spaces that better suit new modern ways of working, creating spaces that promote employee wellbeing and lowering carbon footprints.
However, a redesign that doesn’t result in alignment with how occupiers want to use their office space can be a costly mistake and a powerful disincentive for employees to come into the office.
Sustainability agenda
Sustainability has also rightly risen up the corporate agenda, with pressure on businesses from a range of stakeholders including shareholders, investors and employees. Refits and refurbishments are becoming more frequent as businesses consider the environmental impact of new-build premises and the associated embodied carbon, as well as reaching net zero by 2050, if not sooner.
By using data to lead design decisions, businesses can ensure that their space is being used efficiently and the resources that go into the process of a redesign will deliver the results employers are ultimately seeking to achieve – a better-functioning workspace that fosters inclusivity and promotes wellbeing, productivity and collaboration.
Having the ability to act on data makes digitally enabled buildings integral to responding to future working habits and industry trends. An holistic and integrated approach to technology can support the delivery of services, the productive use of space, create offices fit for purpose and not only measure but influence the social and environmental impact of buildings.
As organisations look to create a future-ready workspace, there is a need to truly understand, learn about and then adapt buildings and spaces.
Leaning on data to make informed decisions is more powerful than second-guessing what might be effective. Being able to then effect change simply and instantly is what makes connecting the physical and digital game-changing.
James Shannon is chief product and technology officer at essensys
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