May the cubicle rest in peace. Workplaces are being reimagined to inspire collaboration and innovation, with more space devoted to socialization as well as heads-down, individual work. High-performance workspaces are being designed for collaborative tasks—conference calls, video sessions, and lively working sessions—balanced with private meeting rooms and workspaces designed for collaboration.
Aruba's new Portland, Oregon office is a showcase for the new high-performance workspace. The 23,000-square-foot office is located in the heart of downtown, with easy access to both public transit and legendary coffee. The building is clad with reclaimed wood from an old rail yard and the floors are made with recycled materials. The office also has LED lighting that helps reduce power consumption by 36%.
Image Source: Portland Business Journal. Click to view more.
Our Portland office is an all-wireless workplace. No phones on desks. No tangles of wires under the desks. No Ethernet cable snaking through the walls. We designed the space to showcase how businesses can free themselves from wires. It's a living test bed for our customers and for us to explore the practicalities of a high-performance, all-wireless workplace. People move among collaborative and private spaces as it suits their needs. Employees use Skype for Business (formerly Microsoft Lync) for phone calls and collaboration. We can book conference rooms using a mobile app.
Image Source: Portland Business Journal. Click to view more.
Our development team can easily test new products and software without impacting other departments. Customers can experience the potential of the all-wireless workplace, as they see our employees in action. Our whole workspace is a living, breathing executive briefing center.
Are you ready for the all-wireless workplace?
Experiencing the possibilities of the all-wireless workplace is critical for organizations of all types and all sizes. Millennials are flooding into the workplace, and in a scant five years, they will make up almost half of the workforce. They like to work in teams and to collaborate. And they're tech-savvy, of course. They expect an all-wireless workplace, and nothing less.
Businesses have been exploring work from home and hoteling to provide employees a more flexible environment and save on real estate costs. But they've discovered that being virtual all the time can make it difficult for people to truly connect and collaborate. A number of high-profile tech companies discourage working from home since it inhibits the ability to build that sense of connectedness that leads to innovation.
At Aruba, we think the all-wireless workplace is essential to making the workplace someplace that people want to go, not have to go. Building a workplace that allows people to chose where and how they want to work is critical for employees of all ages. It's critical for creating a culture of innovation and resilience. The all-wireless workspace gives companies the flexibility to provide communal spaces for socializing, effective places for collaboration, and private spaces for concentration—and to change those as the business demands.
Building for our future
Our Portland office is also a prototype for our new headquarters campus in Silicon Valley. We recently leased more than 240,000 square feet in two buildings in Santa Clara, which will allow us to consolidate five older buildings—and give us room to grow and expand. We will continue to innovate, enabled by an all-wireless workspace.
