Smart technology and the resilient office of the future

2020 so far has been a very difficult experience for all of us, where we’ve had to adjust to a new norm that is still being shaped. The working environment is a case in point, where design and culture have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and where smart technology has responded to help drive business continuity.

I’ll be discussing how the digital workspace can be an enabler of your sustainable strategy at the SIDO event in Lyon on September 3rd.

At the event, I will be sharing the lessons we at Orange Business have learned during this crisis. I’ll demonstrate how a smart office can bring resilience and longevity by adapting the working environment to its larger context and by efficiently leveraging the resources available.

Many existing solutions for smart offices can cater to the new needs stemming from the crisis. It’s just a matter of adjusting parameters to this new normal. These solutions can help to quickly mitigate extraordinary situations and make an office space more flexible and adaptable to changes of habits, or to legal or health and safety requirements. Space is better utilized and, therefore, less is needed, which contributes to improving the bottom line by helping reduce real estate costs. This technology will help ensure that office space is an asset rather than a liability during a crisis.

The financial advantages are obvious, as is the value of the increased resilience across the company. Everyone from general services, human resources, finance, sales and customer service will see the benefits.

We carried out a survey of Orange Business customers and found that employee safety and well-being is now the number one priority. This confirms the trend established by recent certifications, such as Well 22, which have created new standards and offer reassurance in these unique circumstances.

Another topic that is closely linked to managing the working environment in a more flexible way is energy management. Indeed, since offices are now being used only partially and combined with rapidly changing sanitary protocols and directives, companies need to be able to adjust their energy consumption in a much more granular way. This reinforces the focus on sustainability, where we try to reduce our carbon footprint through better energy efficiency. At the event, I’ll also discuss that topic and talk about solutions we’re working on that will provide detailed data and valuable insight into energy consumption, building occupancy and occupant comfort.

I hope you can join us at SIDO, but if not, stay tuned, because I’ll publish a post-event roundup here on my blog for you after the show.

Find out more about Orange Business and Smart Offices.

Lorraine Chin
Lorraine Chin

Lorraine has been evolving in the Orange group for many years in diverse positions and geographies. Personal interest recently prompted her to conduct studies in urban development and sustainability, which she has been putting to good use within the Orange Business Smart City team.