Smart Office Tools and Technology to Drive Innovation in 2023

With each new year comes exciting new office tools and technology. Implementing new technology is essential for remaining competitive in the ever-evolving landscape of the modern workplace. This goes beyond remaining competitive in your industry to streamlining operations and ensuring a desirable culture for your team.

Your team wants cutting-edge technology and relies on you to identify the most valuable options for your organization.

By understanding the trends, benefits, and challenges involved with the implementation of new technology, you can narrow down your options. Feel free to get your team involved in beta testing and selecting your new tools and technologies.

Challenges to Implementing Smart Office Technology

Before we dive into your top options, let’s discuss the challenges you are likely to face. While the potential of smart office technology for improved efficiency, productivity, and cost-reduction is high—it is essential to comprehend the challenges associated with implementation.

Challenges vary but may include:

• Narrowing down top technology options.
• Integrating new technology with existing systems.
• Securely transferring data to new software systems.
• Ensuring a smooth transition to the new technology.
• Training and scaling staff to proficiency.
• Managing on-site, off-site, and cloud data security.

These challenges require a comprehensive strategy, a solid implementation roadmap, and continuous monitoring to ensure successful implementation. This process can be optimized and streamlined by working with a technology and implementation specialist.

Now, let’s dive into a few options to consider upgrading to, or evolving, in 2023.

#1 Smart Conference Rooms

As the pandemic eased in 2022, business travel picked back up to about 75% of what it was pre-pandemic. It had been a year or more since clients, partners, and stakeholders could meet face to face. Although the face time was welcome, by fall, business travel began to dwindle.

Our people and partnerships are one of our most valuable resources, but travel requires two other valuable resources—time and money. Even more so with the global economic slowdown. Organizations are balancing their priorities by upgrading their conference rooms to facilitate interactive virtual and hybrid meetings.

Smart conference rooms allow for secure conferencing with remote teams, remote clients, and hybrid teams. The technology integrates with Zoom, Google Meets, Microsoft Teams, and other video conferencing software in a manner that allows attendees to stream in through strategically placed cameras throughout the conference room. Smart conferencing is more efficient and collaborative than having everyone log in via their individual device. It’s also time and cost-efficient, as it supports your objective of hiring without borders and minimizing the need for travel.

Global co-working spaces also provide smart conferencing solutions for your remote team to deliver their presentations.

#2 Smart Presentations Systems

Smart presentation systems are utilized during live, hybrid, and remote meetings and events. These systems are a curated combination of software and devices that allow for stunning visual and audio presentations.

This method of presentation:

• Connects and engages viewers
• Visualizes charts, data, and content
• Increases viewer buy-in rates
• Increases retention rates
• Streamlines and simplifies presentations
• Bring your innovations to life
• And more.

Smart presentations can be curated and managed by the primary presenter or by an external meeting host or facilitator.

#3 Meeting and Event Host or Facilitator

With the steady rise in remote and hybrid meetings and events comes the need for on-site and remote event planners, hosts, and facilitators. Just like hiring an event planner can optimize your live events, the same is true for your digital meetings and events.

Each host or facilitator you partner with provides a range of services, including any combination of

• Curating your content
• Optimizing existing content
• Creating an event agenda
• Introducing presenters
• Managing breakout sessions
• Ensuring time equity
• Meeting feedback
• And more

#4 Environmental Office Technology

Environmental office technology provides a variety of benefits. From improved health and hygiene to safety, energy efficiency, improved focus, decreased stress, and providing an environment that is conducive to innovation.

These technologies are often automated per your specs but can also be managed remotely. They will alert your maintenance and tech team if there are any system malfunctions.

This includes:

• Temperature sensors
• Humidity sensors
• Air quality sensors
• Ambient noise systems
• Sound masking technologies
• Motion sensor lighting
• Touch-free technology
• Wireless charging
• Smart access controls
• Smart office furniture
• Environmental analytics
• And more

#5 AI and Hyperautomation

Digital transformation isn’t a one-and-done solution. As your business grows and technology evolves—you need to measure your system for efficiency. Even if you are pleased with your current automation, there may be a few new areas of opportunity.

Further optimizing your current digital transformation is referred to as hyper automation. In addition to automation, you may be able to implement or better leverage artificial intelligence.

When digital transformation is combined with AI, you can rapidly:

• Eliminate operational redundancies
• Improve training
• Maximize labor hours
• Increase throughput and productivity
• Reduce operational costs
• Streamline processes
• Improve the customer experience
• Improve the employee experience
• Gather in-depth data and insights
• Make faster and more informed decisions
• Remain competitive in your industry
• Accelerate your innovation program
• And more

#6 Innovation Platform

In addition to reviewing the recent upgrades in industry-specific and standard business software, consider optimizing your innovation program with a dedicated innovation platform such as IdeaScale

IdeaScale is at your side every step of the way. We work with your team to configure your community and campaigns to suit your needs. Once set up, we provide ongoing platform support and add-on services to better harness your ideation.

Our platform and services include:

• Custom ROI strategy to scale your innovation program.
• Setting up communities, campaigns, and campaign branding.
• Campaign design, configuration, and launch.
• Third-party app integrations.
• Training your team on innovation workflows and campaigns.
• Custom reports and performance analytics.

Conclusion

The New Year is the ideal time to explore your technology options. There is no need to go it alone, as external tech experts can advise on what software, smart gadgets, and technology to consider.

If optimizing your innovation program is on your 2023 agenda, we invite you to reach out to IdeaScale to discuss our innovation solutions!