INSIGHT Nick Sacke - Comms365
“There is an expectation in place that facilities and building management firms will adapt to meet employee
expectations; if not, then they will fall behind.” Nick Sacke, Head of IoT and Products, Comms365
Building an Intelligent Workplace
Nick Sacke, Head of IoT and Products at Comms365, explains to Comms Business Magazine his view on how
intelligent buildings are becoming more dynamic and why he believes this is an area of opportunity for MSPs
Today, smart buildings are
becoming more dynamic
and tailored to individual
requirements, specically
within the oce space. And
with Gartner predicting
that the greatest source of
competitive advantage for 30%
of organisations over the next
few years will be their ability
to creatively exploit the digital
workplace, the pressure is on for
businesses and building owners
alike to invest in the latest
technologies and techniques
to provide even better user
experiences.
Employers need to keep
up with the rapidly changing
demands of employees in
order to stay competitive when
attracting and retaining talent.
To achieve this, workspaces
are now becoming more ‘aware’
through an ecosystem that
allows buildings to dynamically
adjust to the requirements of
users through the convergence
of IT and Operational
Technology (OT) such as
building management systems,
energy and space management.
ere is an expectation in place
that facilities and building
management rms will adapt to
meet employee expectations; if
not, then they will fall behind.
Collaboration and Productivity
Many companies are leading
the way with shared oce
facilities and hot desks on
a part-time or multi-lease
basis. With desk layouts
developed by algorithms,
companies are responding to
the demand for mobility and
exible consumption in the
modern digital workspace.
By conguring open and
closed spaces through noiseabsorbing
fabrics and glass
doors, buildings are providing
Nick Sacke, Head of IoT and Products at Comms365
the privacy of individual oces
within an open plan setup.
Furthermore, data can be
collected about user movements,
machinery condition, energy
usage and other activities within
the building that can be used
to optimise the user experience
and enhance collaborative
processes further. For example,
mobile phone controlled AV
screens, wafer-thin sensors
that can detect occupancy and
trigger the air conditioning
system, ongoing measurement
of internal environmental
conditions including
temperature, humidity and
CO2, and indoor mapping and
navigation platforms.
Sacke says that with 72 per
cent of oce workers revealing
that a sustainable environment
is important to them,
embracing this new movement
has become a competitive
necessity. rough clever
environmental design which
optimises space, consumption
and resources, smart oces
can reduce the overall
environmental impact and save
money and resources along the
way. From autonomous energy
systems that shut o heating
and lighting when rooms are
vacant to systems that monitor
and optimise the use of water
and electricity, these oces can
identify their most wasteful
aspects and also lessen the
pressure on the national grid.
Smart buildings in
themselves are opening up
new revenue streams. But the
cost of IoT implementation
may be perceived as a
barrier to its adoption and
development. Many smart
oces are built from scratch
so existing workplaces need to
be retrotted with technology.
And although there is an
upfront investment or cost to
retrot an existing building,
once installed, additions such as
optimised lighting make these
spaces much more cost-eective.
The Role of the MSP
Managed Service Providers
have a valuable potential role
to play beyond providing
Digital Communications and
collaborative infrastructure
including high speed internet
lines, Wi-Fi and cloud based
collaboration technology such
as Teams. e MSP can work
with an emerging ecosystem
of expert IoT infrastructure,
device and applications
companies to deploy IoT sensor
devices, capture and ow data
to cloud based applications for
insight and action. e MSP
can become the agent of new
eciency gains for buildings
and their users, generating new
income streams and increasing
user satisfaction.
ED SAYS…
People are the largest investment of an organisation, and as new technologies evolve
to make their lives easier and safer, it is important to look at which technologies,
strategies and approaches will create the most positive, productive and efficient
impact for your office and users.
An ecosystem of expert IoT companies working with incumbent MSPs can be an
effective design, deployment and management mechanism for tapping into the
intelligent workspace opportunity.
56 | Comms Business Magazine | February 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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