By Dylan McCrory, SVP of Solutions, Principal at SiteREADY‍

Whether you’re a team of 10 or 10,000, relocating an office is a large undertaking—particularly if you’re the one coordinating the move. With the number of financial and logistical decisions involved, the types of technology you’ll want to integrate into your new space are probably not top of mind—but they should be.

To be clear, we’re not here to add one more thing to your list. We actually want to take the technology line items off your list and manage them for you. Engaging a technology consultant as early in the process as possible will not only save you time and headache, but also help ensure your new space is everything you want it to be—and can do everything you need it to do.

‍Waiting Too Long Can Limit the Options Later

‍Technology is evolving rapidly, and workplace design is evolving just as fast. Too often, we see companies “over-scoping” the technology for their new space because they feel the need to “keep up with the Joneses.” This investment locks them into niche solutions that limit their ability to implement the tools they really need. Conversely, we also see organizations get five years into their lease wanting to integrate a technology that their space just isn’t able to accommodate due to infrastructure constraints. The last thing we want is for you to miss out on a capability or functionality because your space wasn’t future-proofed for it from the start.

‍Ideally, a technology consultant should enter the process at the same stage as your architect, right around the time your “test fits” are complete.

‍This enables us to help you formulate ideas around what kinds of technologies will work best for your employees, customers and other relevant stakeholders, while allowing for future growth. Plus, making these decisions early on helps you to factor in your technology costs upfront.

‍Smart Technology Calls for Smart Planning

‍Interfaceless conference rooms, interactive displays, wireless mobility—the modern office can be a technological playground. One of the more exciting things about moving workspaces is the opportunity to bring your systems up to date, and to dabble in some of those smart-office technologies your previous space may not have been equipped to support.

While something like a digital room scheduler may seem like a superfluous accessory, when we talk about designing your space for what you want it to do, it is a great example of the kind of tools to which we’re referring. Seemingly small gadgets are saving companies considerably in increased productivity, and the data they yield on space utilization enables you to modify the space to be more conducive to the needs of your staff.

In order to work properly—that is, to connect, communicate and save information back to the cloud—smart technologies should be as much a part of the early planning process as deciding whether to move uptown or downtown.

‍Maximize Office Security

‍Similar to the number of smart office technologies on the market, there are a multitude of state-of-the-art security options available to secure and monitor your space. Advanced functionalities like biometric access control, frictionless security turnstiles, and emergency alert call buttons are some of the most common examples we’re seeing. However, even traditional devices like surveillance cameras require a significant amount of networking, in this case to store security footage.

‍Streamline the Implementation

‍It used to be the case that IT comprised a field of highly specialized experts, each with a specific area of focus. As technology becomes more integrated, these subject matter experts still exist, but their complementary skillsets are much more effective as part of a cohesive team.

The term, “IT” is inherently a bit of a catch-all, as it can conceivably refer to anything from network infrastructure to audio visual solutions. At SiteREADY, we see workplace build-out projects as a single, integrated implementation, which we refer to as technology systems design. Leveraging the multidisciplinary experience of our teams, we deliver a cohesive approach to workplace technology.

Whether your commercial lease is about expire or you’ve suddenly realized you have more people than desks, let’s start the conversation.