Advancements in technology aren't always reserved for personal handheld devices or living room gadgets. As most of us spend our lives enclosed within our office cubicles, manufactures and developers are trying hard to make it easier for us. Software and hardware developments increase efficiency, reduce costs and benefit the organisation as a whole.
Always on support
HP announced the industry's first IT support services architected for multivendor, converged and cloud environments, in early March. These services help enterprises address problems before they occur, realise 95 per cent first-time resolution rates and resolve unplanned downtime issues up to 66 per cent faster. In simpler terms, the new Always On Support Services integrate the HP Converged Infrastructure with innovative services to deliver support in today's IT environments.
Broadband-Testing, an independent European network-testing facility and consultancy for broadband and network infrastructure products, stated in a test report that unplanned downtime can cost the average enterprise up to $10 million (about Dh36.7 million) per hour. As a result, today's enterprises need a new outlook regarding support. Always On Support Services from HP provides ‘direct to expert' communication with a professional who already knows the client, the details of the client's environment and what the client's system is experiencing prior to the first call. "Enterprises need to be built on a technology foundation that helps IT shift time and resources from problem resolution to innovation," says Ryan D'souza, Technology Services Director, HP Middle East. "The traditional reactive IT support model is no longer effective — the industry needs to change the way it delivers support to offer proactive solutions and customised service offerings — and HP is leading that change."
Cisco recently unveiled a new IT system — the Virtualization Experience Infrastructure (VXI). This helps organisations create next-generation workspaces by allowing users to collaborate directly from their handheld devices and to incorporate voice and video into their virtual workspace.
Along with VXI, Cisco also unveiled the next generation of Cisco WebEx. This allows interaction via high definition (HD) video and enhanced mobile capabilities. Marketed to change the meeting experience, Cisco is extending cloud conferencing to more people, with a new free basic edition of WebEx designed for three people or less. Another interesting addition is the Cisco Jabber, a unified communications application for PC, Mac and handheld devices. This application can be deployed either on-premise or via cloud-based unified communication servers. Integrated with Microsoft Office, Jabber makes collaborating among employees easier. The application's web plug-in enables companies and developers to take web browsers on internet-connected devices and embed Cisco UC capabilities. These new technologies are steadily changing how the traditional office will operate in the future. Employees will now have the freedom to operate from any device, anywhere.
"We've listened to our customers and [have] significantly advanced Jabber and WebEx to enable seamless experiences on a range of devices and platforms, whether on premises or in the cloud. This approach further accelerates our strategic goal of enabling ‘any-to-any' collaboration while also making it easier than ever to collaborate with people inside or outside of an organisation. In a post-PC era, businesses need ways to extend mobile, social, video and virtual collaboration on any mobile phone, virtual desktop, tablet or internet-connected device. We are bringing that to life today," says Wael Abdulal, Collaboration Manager, Cisco UAE.
Latest hardware
Regarding the latest hardware available, Siddharth Ariel Percy, Category-In-Charge within the Telecom Sales and Marketing Department at Panasonic Mena, says, "We have various products in our office automation department right now. We have the Panaboard, and we have multi-communication centres that can fax, scan and print. Then we have PBX items, which has one board connection that integrates various different lines." New technology to be introduced to commercial office telephones includes something called link-to-cell. "Link-to-cell connects itself to GSM technology, this allows mobile and landline phones to connect and ensures that the frequency works suitably," he says. Looking ahead, Percy admits that the future of office automation lies in a touch-based interface. "Products such as Panaboard help Panasonic work more closely with touch-screen technology."
Along with Panasonic, HP is also contributing towards the future office environment, launching its new all-in-one Z1 workstation last month. The display of the HP Z1 snaps open so users can easily swap parts and make upgrades without the help of any tools. The HP Z1 features an Intel Xeon processor, NVIDIA Quadro graphics and supports more than one billion colours. Salim Ziade, General Manager, HP Personal Systems Group, Middle East, says, "We are excited to bring the world's first all-in-one workstation to the Middle East. We've been visiting customers around the region representing the automotive, audio and video sectors among others, and the response is overwhelmingly positive with comments such as it's ‘insanely cool' and ‘just the right size'. Customers say they're impressed with the combination of accelerated performance and design that's not available on any other product in the market today."
Improved interiors
Besides the latest software and hardware that will soon be a necessity in the office, advancements are also being made in the office's infrastructure. David Katz, Director, Business Development-Technology, DORMA, the global manufacturer of premium access solutions and services that enable better buildings, says, "Traditional architectural hardware and electronic access control industries are going through a period of convergence, where we will begin to see new concepts in intelligent access control and specifically how spaces such as offices will be managed and secured."
Katz goes on to explain that by creating ‘intelligent' openings, various aspects of an office such as temperature, lighting, computer access, etc can all be customised according to the number of people in the room. In addition, the use of latest technologies such as Near Field Communication, wireless communication, cloud-based services and mechatronics will allow the complexity of such openings to be completely hidden from the user, both physically and operationally.
The latest office-related technology helps us stay connected and efficient, the flip side is that it helps us stay connected all the time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
