MARKET REPORT Smart Offices
A workplace revolution
The Covid-19 crisis has transformed how we work, with swathes of people working from home rather than making
the daily commute. Comms Business assesses how smart technology is shaping the new world of business
Work has become what
you do, not where
you go. At the same
time, we are entering
a ‘coronavirus crossroads’, with
the fear of an even more deadly
second spike. Could technology
provide some powerful
protection?
Nick Sacke, head of IoT
and products at Comms365,
said, “Employees need
streamlined communication
and collaboration systems
to perform their roles to an
optimum level. A shared digital
collaborative space where users
can assign tasks, participate in
discussions and provide updates
is the catalyst for productivity,
especially in the absence of a
shared oce environment.
“ese elements are essential
in the current circumstances
but will also be an integral
part of the future business
environment. As lockdown
measures start to be lifted,
businesses will not immediately
shift back to the working
practices of before. e future
workforce will expect businesses
to embrace remote working
as an integral part of business
operations.”
Nigel Dunn, managing
director, Jabra EMEA North,
feels exible collaboration
and remote working are the
biggest trends of 2020 which
will continue well past this
year. He said, “Predominately
driven by Covid, UK workers
have been forced into a new
way of working. Work is now
the job you do rather than a
place you go. Indeed, many feel
just as connected to their team
now than when oce-based.
Mass acceleration of team apps
and software and hardware
technology have successfully
facilitated remote working and
a sense of community. We will
also see further trust put in
workers at all levels.”
Dan Waters, UK country
manager for Arrow’s enterprise
computing solutions business,
pointed out that, as people to
go back to workplaces when
they cannot work from home,
technology will play a critical
role in keeping people safe. He
said, “Technology will help to
optimise productivity while
ensuring employee health. e
current circumstances have
put this under the lens but,
for a number of years, due to
increased employee mobility
and remote interaction,
building owners have been
seeking to better manage these
spaces.”
Paul Dunne, EMEA Channel
director at Poly said we’ll see
company oces become places
for human-rst connections,
with a choice of spaces for
employees to collaborate,
think, create or simply check
in with others. “We are already
seeing the rise of AI in video
conferencing solutions, bringing
richer ways to collaborate and
share. For example, cameras
with automatic speaker tracking
and split screen functionality
ensure participants both in
and out of the oce are fully
immersed in the meeting.
“For the home, we’ll see
new enterprise-grade market
solutions with the prosumer
buyer in mind. ese will
enable individuals to choose
professional yet stylish
technology solutions that
guarantee high-quality audio
and video, minimal set-up and
the utmost security with simple,
intuitive device management.”
Adaptable and flexible
One interesting concept is from
start-up company ROOM.
It has expanded its product
portfolio with a suite of new
modular architectural solutions
designed to meet demand for
adaptability and exibility in
the oce.
With the rise of virtual and
remote work, ecient videoconferencing
is a necessity.
To accommodate new hybrid
ways of working, and extend
collaboration beyond the four
walls of the oce, its meeting
room solutions feature an
integrated Jabra PanaCast
180-degree video conferencing
camera, oering a full view of
24 | Comms Business Magazine | October 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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