The OfficeAugust 19, 2008

Overview

• The traditional office as we know it will be around for several more years– An office implies “work” but attitudes between

“work” and “personal time” are becoming increasingly blurred

• An alternate form known as the virtual office has started to take hold– Originally outside of the traditional office

environment but starting to take hold within the traditional office

• Case Study: Intel

• Roadmap implications– Continue developing for the traditional office– Start to develop for the virtual office

The Story

• Something Old– Traditional Office

• Something New– Virtual Office

• Something Borrowed– Alternate Office Environments: Home, Travel,

Out-and-About– Moving to the traditional

• Something to Pursue– Dual Roadmap for the next several years

Something Old: Traditional Office• Definition: Business location that is outside the home

and is used as a place from which to conduct daily business. (SHOPA)

• Relatively stable workforce predicted through 2020 (US Dept Labor and European Commission/NIDI)– Slight growth in size and slightly older average age– Stable gender composition– Increase in minority representation: US– Increased net immigration into national workforces: EU member

countries

• Increasing shift toward service sector– Services shifting to health care, education, leisure/hospitality

• $18-$20 billion office accessory market globally– $9 billion US– Available to Kensington– Market expands and contracts with business cycles

Traditional Office: Perspective

early adopters

early mainstream

mature

smart simple

Smart made

simple!

Kensington focus

time

mar

ket

size

Much longer in the Office environment than in the others

Something New: Virtual Office

• Definition: Transforming the immediate surroundings to better represent a traditional office environment– Looks like “The Office” but is temporary and

transitory

• Originally technology driven– Allowed users to complete tasks that would

otherwise require them to be present in their employer’s place of business

• Increasingly workforce driven– Increased commuting expense driving trends

toward telecommuting and shorter work weeks– Aging of workforce implying subtle but definite

changes to the definition of work

Aging Workforce: Cohort Shift

• Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) starting to retire– Doesn’t mean they will stop working– Requesting flextime and reduced hours

• Gen-X (born 1964-1980) starting to dominate upper management– First generation requesting to work outside the office– Bring work home (single parents, two-worker parents)

• Millennials (born 1980-2000) starting to settle on careers– Technology natives: communicate and collaborate– Increased blurring of work/home/personal boundaries– Their parents brought work home: they bring home

to work

Something Borrowed: Alternate Environments

• Travel: Original Virtual Office– Sales reps, Executives

• Home: First Extension of the Virtual Office– Telecommuting– SOHO: Consultants, Designers, Professionals

• Out and About: Latest Incarnation of the Virtual Office– Internet Cafes: Wi-fi– Fed-ex Kinkos– Libraries

• Insight: Workers are starting to take these behaviors and bring them back into the traditional office

Changes to the Traditional Office• Blurred attitudes toward work and personal

time encourage a more home-like feel to the workspace

• More public areas– Communal spaces like cafeterias and lobbies– Space for open and closed collaboration– Extended hours access

• Shared sanctuary space– Small rooms for temporary privacy– Small and large conference rooms– More use of the “hotel-style” cube

• Large common space implies smaller personal space– Personal cubes and offices get smaller– Some enterprises are experimenting with no personal

cubes: employee has a personal locker for storage

Putting it All Together: Intel Case Study• Traditionally Intel has been a traditional

bare-bones workspace that emphasized discipline and shunned frivolity.– “Even as the company's technology raced ahead,

its office furniture remained stuck in the '80s”

• New college grads preferred to work at Amazon or Google instead of Intel.

• Recently they have been experimenting with looser office plans and more informal policies– Make the space more collaborative and people-

friendly

• Hillsboro, OR; Arizona; Santa Clara, CA

Insight: The Future is Now!

Intel Oregon

“Small conference rooms offer privacy for small meetings and conference calls. White noise machines discreetly muffle noise so meetings don't disturb those meeting outside “

“New common areas create what design firm Gensler calls a "Starbucks zone" for informal communication.”

Places to work with light and comfort. Solo or one-on-one interaction. Note the horrible ergonomics.

Source: Oregonian May 11, 2008

Perceptual Mapping

T Pe em rp mo ar na er ny t

Social

Sanctuary

T Pe em rp mo ar na er ny t

Social

Sanctuary

Kensington Opportunities

Collaborative Input

Acoustic Control

Headphones

Footrests

Traditional Input, Ergo, Connectivity

Innovative use of new devices such as Smart Phones, speaker phones,

video conferencing

Projector Connectivity

Power

Carry It Solutions

Security

Laptop Supports

Summary

• The traditional office will be around for a long while

• However, it is changing

• Roadmap Implications– Continue to offer traditional products– Start developing products for the emerging

environment

+ =

Appendix

• Kensington opportunities by product line

• Comparison of Traditional and Virtual Offices

Something to Pursue: Kensington Opportunity

• Secure It– Open floor plans imply increased need for security– Equipment, Employees, Data

• Connect It– Projector connectivity– File sharing opportunities– Instant connection from personal work station to

shared terminals and back again– Wi-fi amplification and improvement

• Control It– Shared mice and keyboards– New input methods for collaborative working

Something to Pursue: Kensington Opportunity

• Carry It– The carrying case may become the future

employees only personal space– Is a bag over the shoulder the way to carry a

laptop (that is already turned on) and all work materials?

• Power It– Adequate power– Convenient power (where you need it)

• Play It– Music and “white noise” become the new divider

between personal work stations– Headphones create personal private space within

open configurations

Something to Pursue: Kensington Opportunity

• Ergo– What does a smaller workstation imply for

personal comfort and productivity?– How do you enhance ergonomics within shared

spaces?

• New Categories– Light and sound: Improving sight lines tends to

ruin acoustics and vice versa– Climate control: How do you make it comfortable

for all if personal fans and space heaters are eliminated?

Now vs. the Future

Traditional Office Office of the Future

Real (Permanent) Virtual (Temporary)

Dedicated Place Wherever You Are

Dedicated Space Found Space

Single Use (i.e. work) Multiple Use

Controllable Environment Uncontrollable Environment

Stationary:

Leave everything and return

Portable:

Carry it all with you

These distinctions are becoming increasingly blurred.