With the idea of having a "Smart Home" becoming ever more popular, many businesses are looking to modernise their offices into "Smart Offices". The level of convenience at home that is created by products such as Google Home and Amazon's Alexa makes many wish for a more automated and up to date working environment. In a 2016 Study by Dell more than 50% of employees questioned said that they expect to be working in a smart office in the next five years. 82% of millennials questioned in the same study said that the level of workplace tech influences the chance that they'll take the job. So what is a Smart Office and how does it have such an effect?

Modernisation

Currently there are hundreds, if not thousands, of specialised roles that could fall under the "I.T." umbrella. There are even more jobs that rely on an office based workspace. Many companies still use older versions of modern software, such as Windows. This is fine so long as that operating system is still updated and supported. The problem comes when new employees that are trained exclusively in modern software cannot be at their full potential when working with old software. A very efficient employee may have come from a high-tech computing education, only to be slowed down when using older software. Modern hardware could also improve the efficiency of an employee. Devices such as tablets or smartphones could be valuable for workers that move around a lot. 

Organisation, Automation and Convenience

The main aims of a smart office would be to have a maximum amount of organisation between workers, high efficiency of automation and the best convenience for new and current workers. In a modern and competitive working world, there is a major focus for businesses to acquire and retain new talent. To make sure that their business retains talented new employees, many offices are created with the aim of flexibility. Modern cloud services provide users the ability to go anywhere with their files. Automated phone services redirect important calls to the correct people faster and personal assistants such as Microsoft's Cortana or Apple's Siri help search the web with greater speed and convenience. If a new employee has these tools provided to them to work at their highest level, they will likely stay with the business longer than somewhere with older tech.

For the Worker

With an emphasis on customisation and flexibility, smart offices can be tailored to the needs of individuals. With the latest software and hardware, users will have all the options to make the way they work the most efficient. By having the options for the latest hardware and software available workers will be able to decide what works for them personally. The greater level of individuality allows workers to act at peak performance before consolidating all work together as a team.

If you'd like more details on how to make your office more modern then don't be afraid to call us!

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