Internet of Things within companies

According to Gartner Inc., in 2016 we shall use 6.4 billion “Things” connected to the internet, 30% more than in 2015. If the foregoing predictions are true, in 2020 there will be 20.8 billion devices in the IoT. The “Internet of Things” is becoming the “Internet of Everything”, and according to the foregoing data, companies are responsible for 2.3 billion devices connected to the internet.

The connection of objects to the internet enables, above all, to compile information that otherwise would be unthinkable to obtain, and depending upon the areas in respect of which the data is obtained, the adoption of decisions related to said information may be drastically improved. The work environment is one of the areas with the highest potential for change over upcoming years, as the monitoring of the use of the office and even of the performance of staff shall be possible. However, when considering how to integrate said technology within companies, there are still a number of sceptics that do not consider that sufficient returns are obtained from such a considerable investment with only a few years of implementation and without significant data that verifies the efficacy thereof.

According to the annual study “Voice of the Enterprise: Internet of Things” carried out by the consultancy firm 451 Research, 46% of large worldwide companies already have initiatives implemented within their business plan related to the Internet of Things. In turn, 21% of international SMEs hope to integrate said initiatives this year.

This high degree of connectivity of everything in real time is going to have a significant impact in the transformation of work spaces as we know them. It is unquestionable that we are witnessing the beginning of a new generation of “smart offices” that, in the not too distant future, shall enable us to save time and resources in a range of simple actions such as the control of lighting, air-conditioning, safety, the use of spaces and the monitoring of the activities carried out within the office.

But, does this transformation really imply an improvement of efficiency and productivity?

According to the 451 Research study, companies that have already integrated strategies related to the IoT have reduced errors in their business decisions by 66% and have optimised their decision-making processes by 63%.

Returning to the Gartner Inc. study, the true source of value throughout the world of the IoT are the services associated to said devices, and the focus is now on new companies and users that develop the potential of this new industry. 

Why Ergon Desk

We are currently immersed in a profound transformation of our way of living, which implies a continually faster pace of life that affects us more and more directly. New technologies and the incorporation of the millennial generation within the labour market have not only changed the way in which we interact, but also how we work.

In many companies and institutions, work spaces reflect this transformation and we can see hybrid environments with concentration zones and rest or meeting areas in which new portable work tools, efficiency in the management of human resources and, increasingly, the health and safety of workers, are of fundamental importance.

In light of the foregoing transformation, we present “ERGON DESK”: the first collaborative smart desk, designed to enhance productivity in the office.

Our hallmark: collaboration

Our aim is to create products that help us to be better, and in the office this means being more productive. Numerous studies, such as the following study of the McKinsey Global Institute, emphasise that collaboration is the main factor for the enhancement of productivity within work environments, which may be enhanced by up to 25%. With the ERGON DESK we have developed a product in the area of the Internet of Things (IoT) that enhances collaboration through direct eye contact among co-workers, the integrated mobile App with agile meetings tools such as the “Agile Meetings” mode and an ergonomic design that promotes continuous collaboration. In the new highly competitive markets, companies must adopt measures for the efficient use of their resources. Curiously, people are the most valuable resource of a company, and the enhancement of the relationships and the efficiency of communication among them is the most beneficial measure that companies can adopt. We define continuous collaboration as the “work dynamics in which individual tasks and team meetings are combined in an agile manner and at the workers’ workstations”, which notably increases the interaction among co-workers and saves time in going to meeting rooms.

Our design

From the very beginning we have conceptualised the creation of this product with the user at the centre. We have reconsidered the concept of the office desk and we have started from scratch in order to provide an experience in which the work carried out is completely efficient, the spaces of the table are adapted to work with mobile devices and in which team collaboration is enhanced with direct eye contact among users. Until now it has always been the user that had to adapt to the desk, and for the first time the furniture is designed as an active product that responds to the conditions of the user and enables the user to carry out several activities at once.

Our technology

We have only been able to achieve a totally personalised product by incorporating technology to an efficient design, and by providing the product with intelligence in order to understand the needs of the user and to be able to provide the user with an active working day. Our technology is based upon an Artificial Intelligence algorithm that analyses the patterns of behaviour of the user, taking into account the amount of time that the user is seated or standing. Accordingly, it is capable of learning the user’s habits in order to provide personalised recommendations for changes of posture and rest periods that are best adapted to his or her way of working.

The desk connects through Bluetooth 4.0 with the mobile application of Ergon Desk, from which the user can update his or her profile and control the height and inclination of the desk, as well as the statistics of use.

ERGON DESK is a smart and ergonomic desk designed to optimise productivity by means of the control of the health of the user and through the promotion of team collaboration.

What are the benefits for the company?

• With the “Agile meeting” mode the desk enables quick “stand-up” meetings of up to 15 minutes. It has been proven that this is a way to maximise the level of collaboration.
• The design saves 38% of space in comparison to 6 traditional workstations.
• Reduces absenteeism by combating the health problems related to sedentarism.
• The provision of the Ergon Desk to the whole group enables individual work to be combined with team meetings, thereby enhancing continuous collaboration and saving time.
• Its innovative design is attractive for new generations, and 72% of our users declare that they prefer the Ergon Desk to their previous work desk.
• The side wings promote the interaction among co-workers.

And for the worker?

• Reduces the risk of suffering problems related to sedentarism such as diabetes, spinal problems or cancer by 87%.
• With the tiltable “adaptive surface”, it is the first desk on the market that enables the screen of the laptop to the adjusted to the height of the user’s vision.
• Different tasks can be worked on by using 88% of the area of the desk.
• Enables the working height to be adapted to the physical conditions of the user, and the monitoring of the calories burned and the postures of the user through the integrated app.

Digital transformation in the office

It seems incredible, but we are already living in the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, where artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, 3D printing, robotics and nanotechnology are the spearhead of an industry undergoing a complete transformation. In less than a month the EmTech 2016 forum shall be held at the MIT Media Lab in Boston, which is the largest annual technology event throughout the world. This year, the conversation topics include “The Robot among us” and “Virtual Reality: Augmented Life”. Each year this forum reviews the progress of each one of the different disciplines that comprise the Technological Revolution, however far from this innovative ambit, in our offices, we are already beginning to witness the effects of said technological revolution.

The “New Ways of Working” are progressively forming part of the business world, which are principally promoted by the introduction of technology within work spaces. The promotion thereof enables us to avoid routine tasks, to democratise the production of ideas in order to discover new business approaches until now unknown and to create an environment within the office that helps us to balance work and personal life.

The Intel IT Center, in its study “Workplace Transformation”, identifies technology as the main aspect that is responsible for said transformation, in relation to three different areas:

• Advanced collaboration, that enables workers in different locations to work together in the resolution of problems with very few barriers thanks to the conference and distance working systems.
• Enhancement of productivity, which is achieved through the simplification of work flows and the removal of the limitations of office systems through cloud computing.
• Intelligent spaces, that provide for zone bookings, organisation of meetings or events in digital spaces, thereby streamlining work and enhancing collaboration.

Far from the maturity of said transformation, the study suggests that the future pillars of the digitalisation of work spaces shall include biometric security, thereby using the human body for personal identification, wireless spaces, where the connectivity is obtained through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and rechargeable batteries, and the digital assistant, that shall help us with more automatable tasks, the assistant prototypes of which are already in use, such as Siri.

In conjunction with the foregoing digitalisation of work spaces, the activities of the Human Resources departments are fundamental, the function of which shall comprise the transfer of the culture and values of the company and the support for the correct adoption of said new tools among staff, in order to ensure the sustained success of the initiatives for said digital transformation.

In many cases, the cultural and processes transformation is equally or even more important than the digital transformation, and in all cases it is absolutely necessary in order to ensure returns for the significant investment that said changes require.

What do you think? Are we already adapted to new digital environments?