Office equipment trends include multi-tasking and flexibility

Reduce, combine, innovate, virtualize. As businesses seek to reduce costs and improve productivity, using the same equipment for multiple functions and having the flexibility to reconfigure or downsize work spaces have become critical trends.

“We're seeing a lot more demand for all-in-one devices that can print, fax, copy, scan and email documents,” said Jim Koch, vice president of sales at Erb's Technology Solutions in Cedar Rapids. “All-in-one devices and the features they offer have been around for a while, but they're getting much better. Scanning to email has become very popular in many businesses.”

Tablet computers, such as the Hewlett-Packard Slate or Apple iPad, also are attracting attention in the workplace for their multiple functions as well as smaller size and weight, he added.

“Tablet PCs are lightweight and popular with people who work in the field,” Koch said. “They can be hooked up to a standard keyboard when they're used in an office. They also include many of the functions like digital cameras that traditionally have involved carrying multiple devices.”

Koch said desktop virtualization, which involves creating virtual computers within a server to run multiple applications, is a new trend that can reduce equipment costs.

“In the server world, every time there was a need for a new application, it would be placed on a dedicated physical server,” Koch said. “That's all that the server would do because if you put multiple applications on a physical server, they tend not to work well together. Often, that server was only being used between 5 percent and 10 percent of the time.

“Virtualization software allows you to create multiple virtual servers, each with its own application running on a separate operating system. One application could be running on Microsoft Windows, another could be running on Mac OS and a third might be running on Linux.

“By creating these multiple virtual servers on a single physical server, you are able to eliminate the cost of additional servers.”

In Eastern Iowa, disaster recovery systems have taken on new urgency since the June 2008 flood, Koch said. He said many Corridor companies are looking at off-site backup of files and applications as well as using virtualization on servers at different sites to assure that data continues to be accessible.

“You can move data back and forth between off-site servers without any interruption to end users,” Koch said. “Servers have continued to shrink in size with more horsepower. They don't require the rack space that they did at one time.

“Data center consolidation has been a big focus in recent years. Businesses want to reduce the size of the space needed to store and operate their computer servers and related equipment.”

Reducing physical space needs also has been a focus of office furniture designers and manufacturers such as Kimball and Steelcase Inc., according to Philip Wasta, president of Pioneer Workspace Solutions in Cedar Rapids.

“Occupancy expense is a phenomenal expense for companies,” Wasta said. “The more space that a company needs, the higher its expenses are for mortgage debt service, lighting, cleaning, insurance and taxes.

“Companies are looking to do more in less space, and concepts like benching are becoming attractive alternatives.”

Benching involves multiple work spaces at a single table, similar to artisan tables of the past. The space required is far less than the typical desk or cubicle.

Michigan-based Steelcase research found four profiles of users for benching based on a worker's level of mobility and need for collaboration. The profiles include:

Employees who do individually focused work that is standardized and process-driven, such as customer service or call center workers.

• Functional groups who do focused work primarily at their work space and need to collaborate frequently, such as design teams or investment traders.

• Nomads who are highly mobile, need a place to touch down, get work done and connect with colleagues.

• Project teams who are highly collaborative, mobile and shifting constantly from individual to group work.

“With the advent of flat-panel monitors and technology requiring less space, they can be integrated into almost any work space,” Wasta said. “When you had the old CRT monitors, it required enough depth to have space for your keyboard and your mouse.

“Now, with flat-panel monitors, you can reduce the depth of the work space.”

When a business is considering buying new office furniture, flexibility is a key consideration, Wasta said.

“What you're buying today may be sufficient to meet your existing needs,” he said. However, he continued, “Is it flexible enough to accommodate what your company will be doing three or five years from now?

“I've had many companies tell me that they're not going to change over the next five years, and they're back here in three years needing to reconfigure their office.

“Change is a constant and flexibility is essential for employees to collaborate and innovate. Innovation requires doing things differently, and having the flexibility to accommodate new ways of doing things is critical.”