1.
ELEMENTSof the
SMART
OFFICE

2.
THE SMART OFFICE
Over the last few years, the term “smart”
has been used more and more frequently
to describe the technology that has
become integrated into our daily lives.
Now, smartphones and smartwatches are
practically ubiquitous, smart cars are
starting to hit the pavement and smart
homes are becoming the norm.
The “smart” trend is becoming equally as
present in our workplaces as well. Smart
technology is making the transition from
our personal lives to our workplace, and
in doing so, this technology is reshaping
the modern office. It is not only changing
the way we meet, present and
collaborate, it is changing the physical
environment in which we work as well.
And because of this rapid infiltration of
smart technology, it is important to be up
to date on this rapidly evolving technology
— a seemingly daunting task. But don’t
fear! PGi is here to present you with the
elements that are beginning to integrate
together to build one incredibly smart
office of the future.

3.
SMART FURNITURE
Let’s start with the physical environment.
Today’s office has been reshaped many times
over the last few decades. Once built with
closed-off offices and conference rooms,
today’s workspace typically consists of open
spaces built for collaboration. Cubicles walls
have been torn down and replaced with shared
desks or unassigned seating areas.
And while the physical setup of these
environments has changed, so has the furniture
we use on a daily basis. Cue ambient
intelligence technology (AmI), a paradigm built
on pervasive computing and human-centric
interaction design. Together, these
characteristics create an abstract network of
devices that can anticipate and change in
response to your behavioral patterns; recognize
you and your situational context; and are
integrated into the environment.
And while this technology has been apparent in
smart homes for years, its place in the
workplace is becoming more popular than ever.
Companies are utilizing this technology to help
confirm your presence in conference rooms
and to indicate your presence at your desk and
in the office.

4.
Not only has this type of tech helped with
understanding employee behavior inside the
workspace (like which conference rooms are
actually being used during the day), but it has
given companies an opportunity to save on
energy consumption — a $38 billion a year bill.
SMART FURNITURE
Moreover, other examples of AmI are just here
to make our office a little more comfortable.
Like standing desks that remember your
particular adjustment settings, or chairs that
can register your heart rate and can cue music
to relieve your stress. In the future, it is not
hard to believe that furniture in our offices will
have the ability to communicate from one room
to another, adapting to employee’s specific
needs and requirements as they walk around
their office.
1

5.
SMART MEETINGS
Everyone has a love/hate relationship with
meetings. At times they’re inherently important
for project completion, and at other times
they're so pointless and inefficient it is mind-
numbing. But what if the guesswork of
scheduling meetings, taking notes and following
up was taken out of the equation? Wouldn’t that
make meetings that much more pleasant and
efficient?
Smart meetings are a new paradigm of
meetings that aim to act as productivity tools in
their own right – instead of being productivity
antagonists. These types of meetings will take
on the meticulous and often tedious tasks of
daily meetings.
Before your meeting even begins, artificial
intelligence tools could take over scheduling
requirements. These scheduling tools work like
a personal assistant, scanning each member’s
calendar to find the right time and place for
everyone to meet, ultimately saving you the
average seven emails it takes to set up a
meeting.
During the call, the most obvious manual
processes to be displaced is the taking and
distributing of notes or minutes. This type of
service will evolve from mere transcription to
providing breakdowns of deliverables to due
dates and notifications, all automatically sent to
respective meeting attendees.
2

6.
SMART MEETINGS
Notes and recordings of a smart meeting would be
immediately available within a shared workspace.
Additionally, automated tagging could make it
easier to find said notes at a later date — putting
an end to email chains titled, “What Did I Miss in the
Meeting?”
Smart meetings are all about efficiencies — all
about avoiding the estimated $37 billion lost each
year due to inefficient meetings. As the pivotal
tools that make up smart meetings continue to
evolve, our perceptions of meetings will continue to
evolve as well, creating a better, more
interconnected process rather than the busywork-
generating clutter on our calendars.
3

7.
SMART PRESENTATIONS
Gone are the days of flipping through slide decks
of boring, two-toned colored graphs and terrible
word art. The future of presentations has taken
on a more engaging and collaborative feel,
especially over the last few years. It’s no secret
that virtual reality (VR) has steadily become one of
the most sought after pieces of consumer
technology. But VR isn’t far off from becoming a
cornerstone in changing the way we host
conference calls, present information and
collaborate together.
One company, WorldViz, is already trying to
change the way we present information with their
virtual reality platform, Skofield, which is in alpha
testing. The tool utilizes VR’s inherent ability to
provide user “presence” within a virtual
environment to bring people together in a virtual
meeting setting.
This type of technology could be especially
important for the manufacturing sector;
disparate teams will be able to better
collaborate on the design of products, leading
to increased output and reduced cost.

8.
SMART PRESENTATIONS
Skofield represents just one example of how VR
might reinvent the global workplace and
collaboration. VR technology has the power to
improve collaboration and productivity while
facilitating increased concentration through VR’s
immersive environments.
While VR might seem like a long way off, the
widescale adoption of virtual reality technology
might arrive sooner than expected. Goldman Sachs
has predicted that VR hardware will be an $80
billion industry within the next 10 years. And
though VR might appear to be an expensive
endeavor at this point in time, as VR technology
improves and becomes more available, it will also
become more affordable.4

9.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about the
different technologies
becoming prevalent in
workplace of the future,
check out our newest
free eBook, 2017 Future of
Business Collaboration
and visit our blog at
pgi.com/blog.

10.
REFERENCES
1. “R&D 100: Smart Sensors Mean Energy Savings,” Energy.gov, July 23, 2013,
https://www.energy.gov/articles/rd-100-smart-sensors-mean-energy-savings.
2. “The Software Secretaries,” The Economist, September 12, 2015,
http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21664071-technology-firms-are-competing-
become-consumers-personal-secretaries-big-implications.
3. Drake Baer, “$37 Billion Is Lost Every Year On These 12 Meeting Mistakes,” Business Insider, April 9,
2014, http://www.businessinsider.com/37-billion-is-lost-every-year-on-these-meeting-mistakes-2014-4
4. Sena, “How The Growth Of Mixed Reality Will Change Communication, Collaboration And The
Future Of The Workplace.”