A smart office? Only smart when it delivers!
Digitally – that’s how we live and work today. It’s not just for our smartphones or our living rooms that we want the latest apps and gadgets, but for the office too, where we’re looking for the latest technology to work with. Smart offices are the future. Innovative workplaces that make employees more efficient, improve their well-being and health. Workplaces that bring considerable added value for employers too.
Digitally – that’s how we live and work today. It’s not just for our smartphones or our living rooms that we want the latest apps and gadgets, but for the office too, where we’re looking for the latest technology to work with. Smart offices are the future. Innovative workplaces that make employees more efficient, improve their well-being and health. Workplaces that bring considerable added value for employers too.
‘76 per cent of European employees want to work remotely, even if only partially’ (McKinsey)
One thing is crystal clear – in today's world of work, we want to work flexibly. We no longer want to be tied to a single location. What's more, we despise workplaces that lack connectivity, comfort and ultimate functionality.
A workplace needs to offer more than just a desk and a computer. Businesses need to provide workplaces that meet various individual expectations from employees. And there’s more to it than that – it will be the key to recruitment, retention and operational efficiency. With a smart office, you can ultimately reap the financial rewards as a business.
During the last Gumption Café, experts discussed smart offices' rise and benefits, which revealed quite a few interesting trends and insights.
Smart office market trends in 2022
Generally speaking, there are two significant trends in the office market today.
- Traditional office buildings are increasingly becoming multifunctional buildings.
- We are moving from a traditional office to a smart office.
"Once, offices were 7 am to 7 pm buildings. Today, they are operational almost 24/7. On top of office spaces, they contain co-working spaces, areas designed for co-living and event hotels, restaurants and sports facilities", says Pierre Van Durme of Soulbricks.
Working from home caught on during the corona pandemic and has been here ever since. However, not everyone has the opportunity to work from home. Moreover, people find it important to have the same facilities at the office as at home.
What are the benefits of a smart office? It gives you an edge in the war of talent. And investing in smart offices is undoubtedly a way of preventing absenteeism and long-term absence by making the office as pleasant as possible.
‘76 per cent of European employees want to work remotely, even if only partially’ (McKinsey)
One thing is crystal clear – in today's world of work, we want to work flexibly. We no longer want to be tied to a single location. What's more, we despise workplaces that lack connectivity, comfort and ultimate functionality.
A workplace needs to offer more than just a desk and a computer. Businesses need to provide workplaces that meet various individual expectations from employees. And there’s more to it than that – it will be the key to recruitment, retention and operational efficiency. With a smart office, you can ultimately reap the financial rewards as a business.
During the last Gumption Café, experts discussed smart offices' rise and benefits, which revealed quite a few interesting trends and insights.
Smart office market trends in 2022
Generally speaking, there are two significant trends in the office market today.
- Traditional office buildings are increasingly becoming multifunctional buildings.
- We are moving from a traditional office to a smart office.
"Once, offices were 7 am to 7 pm buildings. Today, they are operational almost 24/7. On top of office spaces, they contain co-working spaces, areas designed for co-living and event hotels, restaurants and sports facilities", says Pierre Van Durme of Soulbricks.
Working from home caught on during the corona pandemic and has been here ever since. However, not everyone has the opportunity to work from home. Moreover, people find it important to have the same facilities at the office as at home.
What are the benefits of a smart office? It gives you an edge in the war of talent. And investing in smart offices is undoubtedly a way of preventing absenteeism and long-term absence by making the office as pleasant as possible.
In addition, a smart office can also capitalise on the new gold – data. After all, knowledge is power. What is the best workplace? How long will it be used? With this information, you can optimise and personalise a working environment. Finally, a smart office is also good for the environment.
What is a smart office?
Smart offices are the future, but what exactly is a smart office? There is no generic or single definition of a smart office. Most importantly, each company should look for itself what is smart to do without focusing on the number of bits & bytes.
Simply copying trends makes very little sense. The most important thing is a comprehensive check: which technology could make your office smarter and makes sense for your business?
"Explorers get shot, settlers get rich. Being out in front and diving right into something often means absorbing the greatest risks. If you come along just a little later, you can enjoy far more benefits", adds Pieter Hermans of DNCS.
What makes a business as efficient as possible? Maximum communication and connection, coordinating everything and doing it all energy-efficiently. Digital collaboration is the goal. How do we hold meetings today? Solely face-to-face is a thing of the past. Online sessions are now well established. You can even join in from your car if you need to. Digital collaboration has become the norm. The challenge for many businesses is securely bringing all that online information together and documenting what needs to be done afterwards.
"Fygital businesses are beginning to appear, where the physical and digital worlds come together. The challenge is aligning those offices to that", Pieter Hermans summarises.
There is no such thing as the office
The interesting point is that you will not only find offices in buildings intended as office space. The office no longer exists. Even residential buildings now have co-working spaces. People working from home don't necessarily want to be isolated at their desks or living rooms.
And it's not just offices that are becoming smarter, but also warehouse and storage spaces. Smart devices are one thing, but you have to make them communicate with one another, AND you have to do something with the data that you collect. That means you need a connection everywhere, throughout the company and with everyone in it.
Connecting people when scattered in different locations also means you need more and better data security, particularly when you have smart applications that work with biometric data. You have to be especially careful there because of GDPR rules.
In addition, a smart office can also capitalise on the new gold – data. After all, knowledge is power. What is the best workplace? How long will it be used? With this information, you can optimise and personalise a working environment. Finally, a smart office is also good for the environment.
What is a smart office?
Smart offices are the future, but what exactly is a smart office? There is no generic or single definition of a smart office. Most importantly, each company should look for itself what is smart to do without focusing on the number of bits & bytes.
Simply copying trends makes very little sense. The most important thing is a comprehensive check: which technology could make your office smarter and makes sense for your business?
"Explorers get shot, settlers get rich. Being out in front and diving right into something often means absorbing the greatest risks. If you come along just a little later, you can enjoy far more benefits", adds Pieter Hermans of DNCS.
What makes a business as efficient as possible? Maximum communication and connection, coordinating everything and doing it all energy-efficiently. Digital collaboration is the goal. How do we hold meetings today? Solely face-to-face is a thing of the past. Online sessions are now well established. You can even join in from your car if you need to. Digital collaboration has become the norm. The challenge for many businesses is securely bringing all that online information together and documenting what needs to be done afterwards.
"Fygital businesses are beginning to appear, where the physical and digital worlds come together. The challenge is aligning those offices to that", Pieter Hermans summarises.
There is no such thing as the office
The interesting point is that you will not only find offices in buildings intended as office space. The office no longer exists. Even residential buildings now have co-working spaces. People working from home don't necessarily want to be isolated at their desks or living rooms.
And it's not just offices that are becoming smarter, but also warehouse and storage spaces. Smart devices are one thing, but you have to make them communicate with one another, AND you have to do something with the data that you collect. That means you need a connection everywhere, throughout the company and with everyone in it.
Connecting people when scattered in different locations also means you need more and better data security, particularly when you have smart applications that work with biometric data. You have to be especially careful there because of GDPR rules.
What makes an office a smart office?
How can digital technology contribute to smarter offices? It may seem obvious, but it isn't. A well-considered action plan is the first step. How do you organise technology? How can it help to advance your business?
Not all applications and smart solutions today are mature enough to be implemented. If you install something that adds nothing in terms of value, it will become too expensive.
"Technology is only smart if it is efficient and delivers something", says Tomas Van Look of HomeInvest.
What does a smart office deliver?
A smart office should not be a cost but an investment. The difference between a cost and an investment is return. A smart office becomes an investment if it yields something. In other words, a smart office is not smart if it fails to deliver.
Separate the wheat from the chaff. Know what's available. But also make sure that your business can fall back on empirical data so that you can apply smart solutions to your organisation.
A toolbox full of tools that everyone can be excited about is good. But the message is to find the magic formula that allows you to extract the resources that work for your business and your customers, and pay off.
Want to learn more about smart offices?
Download the checklist and discover the possibilities of smart tech for your office building!
What makes an office a smart office?
How can digital technology contribute to smarter offices? It may seem obvious, but it isn't. A well-considered action plan is the first step. How do you organise technology? How can it help to advance your business?
Not all applications and smart solutions today are mature enough to be implemented. If you install something that adds nothing in terms of value, it will become too expensive.
"Technology is only smart if it is efficient and delivers something", says Tomas Van Look of HomeInvest.
What does a smart office deliver?
A smart office should not be a cost but an investment. The difference between a cost and an investment is return. A smart office becomes an investment if it yields something. In other words, a smart office is not smart if it fails to deliver.
Separate the wheat from the chaff. Know what's available. But also make sure that your business can fall back on empirical data so that you can apply smart solutions to your organisation.
A toolbox full of tools that everyone can be excited about is good. But the message is to find the magic formula that allows you to extract the resources that work for your business and your customers, and pay off.
Want to learn more about smart offices?
Download the checklist and discover the possibilities of smart tech for your office building!