What is so Smart About the Smart Office?

Thin Mints – if I eat them, will they make me thinner?

Smart Water – if I drink it, will it make me smarter?

And if so, will a Smart Office do my work for me?

Obviously the above are examples of marketing genius! But sadly no, thin mints will definitely not make you thinner and Smart Water will unfortunately not make you smarter, but the Smart Office can provide you with technology to make you work more productively and efficiently.

So, what exactly is the Smart Office?

Remember in the cartoon, “The Jetson’s” when George arrives at work, his spacecraft closes into a briefcase, then he takes a conveyer into his office, right to his desk? Throughout the show, several robots and smart appliances assist him, pouring his coffee, taking his coat — and then he has a video conference with his boss. Is that what the smart office means?

That show was certainly ahead of its time, and although we may not have “Smart Assistants” pouring our coffee for us in the morning, we have a lot of that technology at our fingertips today. We have analytics and connected technology to ensure the workplace is equipped for the specific needs of employees at any given time. 

Smart office tools can include video conferencing, meeting rooms that enable better space utilization, and data analytics to provide insight into how different office spaces are being used.  It also can include voice activated multifunction printers, enabled with an Amazon Alexa.  Smart office technology can be used in a variety of ways to help employees do their best work, including:

Smarter Meeting Rooms to improve collaboration and productivity.

Smarter Signage to engage employees, customers and visitors.

Smarter Document Workflows including mobile apps and voice activated MFPs to simplify print, copy and scan.

Smarter Reception for a safer, simpler visitor experience.

Smarter Collaboration to accelerate communications between hybrid office workers during impromptu and scheduled meetings.

Smarter Work from home Technology to work securely from anywhere, because now the “office” is everywhere.
 

What’s in it for me?

Well, if the smart office doesn’t do the work for me, what is in it for me? You’ve heard the term “Work smarter. Not harder.” What does that mean, exactly?  That we can slack off because technology will do the work for us, like George Jetson? Not exactly, but it can make our lives easier.

Businesses today require more work in less time with fewer resources.  But fortunately, with smart office technology employees can work smarter and more productively, and not cut into valuable family time.  Smart offices are an opportunity to improve production, employee morale and provide a competitive edge for your business.  Certain benefits are as follows:

• Boosted productivity – One of the most popular reasons for implementing a smart office is to improve the productivity of the organization.  Less time and frustration is spent on tedious tasks when using the right technology.
   
• Better use of meetings – Time is money.  Did you know that more than 50% of meetings do not start on time due to technology challenges?  That is a lot of wasted time that can be spent doing other important tasks. With smart solutions that take the guess work out starting and ending meetings, such as Synappx Meeting, you can focus on what is really important – the content.
   
• Improved collaboration - The most valuable piece of technology needed in each meeting area is a video conferencing system for those employees who are physically present and for those who may be remote.  Collaboration displays, such as the Windows collaboration display (WCD) from Sharp, enable better space utilization and more productive collaboration across teams working from remote locations to the office. The WCD helps collaboration in hybrid office situations where some employees may be in a meeting rooms while others are virtual.  As the WCD is supported by Microsoft Teams, enhanced collaboration is enabled anywhere.

So, what have we learned?  Drinking that bottle of Smart Water will most likely not improve your intelligence. Eating that box of Thin Mints in one sitting will probably not make you thinner, but if you want to be more productive and efficient in your daily tasks, a Smart Office can certainly help you work smarter.