In an period the place information drives each strategic choice, bodily workplaces must help information. Cisco acknowledged its personal must construct a data-driven, future-proofed office in Austin, TX. This fall, Cisco unveils its newest new workplace, chooseimizing productiveness, well-being, and sustainability, all powered by real-time insights and Cisco technology. It demonstrates how designing for information can revolutionize company actual property and set a brand new normal for clever, future-proofed workplaces. Right here’s how we did it.
The racecar: A blueprint for the fashionable workplace
This fall, F1 racing fanatics from around the globe will descend upon Austin, TX to observe their favourite crew’s Components 1 vehicles compete on the racetrack within the 2025 US Grand Prix. These automobiles function symbols of absolute optimization – each part engineered for the sake of effectivity.
On the circuit, Cisco helps energy McLaren, arming their automobiles with entry to the best information and expertise in the marketplace. However eleven miles away from the Grand Prix, within the coronary heart of Austin, Cisco has its personal new form of machine, each inch thoughtfully designed and geared up with Cisco expertise to hold the enterprise to victory in a special race: The AI race. Engineered to perfection, Cisco’s latest future-proofed office debuts this fall: Austin 15.
Constructed from a sensible constructing blueprint that began with PENN 1, this scalable mannequin has been deployed in main cities worldwide — enabling fast rollout and constant experiences for workers and prospects throughout our complete actual property footprint.
Out of alignment: Why our Austin office wanted a tune-up
For Cisco, our workplaces in Austin had been due for a refresh. They didn’t mirror our progressive tradition — designed with the wants of the previous in thoughts, not the wants of in the present day and tomorrow. These workplace designs suffered a number of key challenges:
- Suboptimal worker experiences: Outdated expertise and environments created friction for customers, hindering satisfaction and productiveness. Getting older collaboration expertise, restricted assembly room availability, and subpar general consolation made it tough for places of work to offer a compelling motive for workers to come back into the workplace.
- Lack of actionable information insights: With out granular information on area utilization and worker preferences, it was tough to strategically optimize workplace area for collaboration, productiveness, and effectivity.
- Poor area utilization and capital expenditure waste: Below-utilized areas contributed to pointless capital expenditures and actual property spend.
- Sustainability challenges: Guide controls for lighting, blinds, and HVAC programs had been inefficient, resulting in increased vitality consumption and prices, and failing to satisfy company sustainability targets.
After years of constructing do, it grew to become clear: we wanted to reallocate sources and redesign the workplace in a approach that would meet the wants of our staff for decades to come back. In Spring 2024, we signed a lease on a 24,000 sq. foot facility that may turn into Cisco’s crown jewel in Austin: Austin 15.
Precision engineering: Crafting a office that wins
Just like the Components 1 automobile, our pit crew is well-versed in deploying in numerous places around the globe. Having already manufactured a recognized and repeatable course of for sensible places of work in New York, Atlanta, Washington DC, San Jose, London, Paris, and extra, the crew is aware of find out how to ship fashionable workplaces rapidly and effectively. This crew consists of our Office Assets (WPR) and IT groups. Taking inspiration from the racecar, they wished to design for information in Austin, making data-generating sensors simply as a lot of a necessity as tables and chairs. By taking a platform method, the crew constructed an agile and resilient office that units a brand new normal for business actual property optimization.
However after we discuss this optimization, what does it truly appear to be?
Below the hood: The nuts and bolts that carry us to victory
Austin 15 is a showcase of what’s doable with the Cisco portfolio, delivering future-proofed workplaces designed for information. This designing for information method unlocks outcomes for organizations:
- Revolutionized insights for actual property administration: When each Cisco Collaboration machine is a sensor, it turns into straightforward to trace room utilization, air high quality, temperature, humidity, noise, and extra. Cisco Areas turns that information into insights, revolutionizing actual property administration within the course of. This degree of knowledge intelligence allows strategic decision-making, like optimizing our furnishings, room layouts, workspace distribution, and HVAC programs for what most closely fits our staff, turning each area into a sensible area. All of that is enabled by Cisco’s Catalyst 9500 and Catalyst 9300X Switches — a high-performance, safe community basis that powers all the office.
- Frictionless worker experiences and enhanced productiveness: Cisco Collaboration gadgets ship distinctive experiences for our staff and prospects alike. Cisco Desk Sequence and Cisco Board Professional gadgets make connections really feel seamless, attaining “distance zero” conferences, and supporting all of the methods folks work. On all these gadgets, Cisco’s AI Assistant allows extra clever and knowledgeable decision-making, serving to customers work sooner, smarter, and extra securely. Cisco Wi-fi entry factors ship quick and safe Wi-Fi 7, providing staff resilient connectivity and enabling Bluetooth Low Power (BLE) and Extremely Wideband (UWB) to help in-office navigation and different seamless functions.
- Sooner deployment and better operational effectivity: As soon as the bodily community setup befell in Austin, we provisioned and configured each machine on the community in 8 minutes — a course of that used to take many hours — utilizing the plug and play performance of Cisco Catalyst Heart. Even higher, we did it remotely, so our IT consultants didn’t even should be onsite. With each machine on the community related by way of 90W Energy over Ethernet (PoE), each machine solely wants one wire — streamlining set up and reducing prices.
- Enhanced sustainability, value financial savings, and safety: We achieved each LEED and WELL certifications in Austin, validating our dedication to vitality effectivity, sustainability, and worker wellness. By leveraging sensible workplace expertise throughout digital and bodily environments, we get visibility into our vitality and water utilization, finally reducing our working and upkeep prices.
- Complete safety defending staff in all places: Throughout digital and bodily environments, Cisco’s strong, safe networking basis is bolstered by Common ZTNA and Cisco Id Companies Engine, defending each consumer and machine. This complete safety structure ensures that Cisco safeguards staff within the workplace or wherever they work.
By leveraging the total breadth of Cisco’s built-in portfolio, we unify networking with collaboration and safety to energy future-proofed workplaces. Our structure isn’t simply constructed for in the present day’s wants — it’s constructed to adapt and scale, guaranteeing our office is prepared for tomorrow’s expertise and workforce tendencies.
Into the quick lane: Accelerating office efficiency
For actual property leaders, each choice will be vital to the enterprise. Stresses mount, and questions come up: How can our actual property portfolio be agile and adaptable to attenuate danger? What sorts of areas will earn the commute of my staff?
With the real-time utilization information and actionable insights we get from our personal Cisco portfolio, our CIO and actual property leaders can see how they’ll optimize portfolio prices, drive sustainability, and improve worker expertise — all from a single pane of glass. In Austin, the information has already helped our actual property leaders present a office that feels extra dynamic and user-centric than something they’ve ever felt earlier than.
With the breadth of our portfolio, we’ve revolutionized the best way we plan, function, keep, and develop our workplace area. From staff, to prospects, to IT, and even the planet, everybody advantages from the office efficiency this portfolio delivers. Because the AI race continues to unfold, we’ve constructed a racecar to take us to victory. All powered by Cisco.
Learn extra about our journey from our CMO:
“Cisco Bets on Austin: Celebrating Our New Downtown Workplace”
See extra:
Case research:
