INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS
The 201 Spear Street building features a great location near transportation , restaurants and water-front views . To enhance the building ’ s appeal , KBS found video conferencing and collaborative technology to be necessary features for the type of companies who would frequent the space . They implemented a national video conferencing program in common meeting spaces for tenants to conference face-to-face with potential investors , remote workers , and potential new talent .
The conference rooms and lobbies encourage larger group collaboration , but deciding what type of conferencing system to use was a challenge for KBS . Given the neighbourhood filled with tech-savvy potential tenants , the conferencing program required the latest technologies to stand against the competition but also ease-of-use . A system that wasn ’ t easy to use wouldn ’ t achieve the conferencing program ’ s goal , working for rotating tenants or during tours and demos for new clientele .
When designing the spaces , infoRev MEDIA president David Liu handpicked the InFocus Mondopad for the conference rooms and lobby . The Mondopad is an all-in-one digital whiteboard featuring both video conferencing and touchscreen capabilities with Windows 10 , allowing users to walk right up to it and draw
‘ When installing new technology , businesses have to consider the future .’ directly on shared documents and other content . The touch screen feature was a key element in the choice , because it ’ s intuitive and with capacitive touch technology , doesn ’ t require prior training for special pens or a separate computer system .
Alongside the video conferencing capabilities , the huddle rooms doubled as a presentation venue , where tenants could use wireless display technology to cast their content directly onto the touchscreen . In a venue with rotating groups of users , the ease of use and ability for anyone to connect was a key consideration . The conferencing and presentation systems of old weren ’ t intelligent , and required training and some fiddling before they would work properly . A single company can get used to the quirks of its conferencing system , but in large commercial spaces hosting many businesses , a smarter , easy-to-use system is the intelligent option .
When installing new technology , businesses have to consider the future . As tech giants battle for smartphone monopoly , it ’ s not up to businesses to predict a winner . Systems should be interoperable and able to work with any type of device , in the case of any future technological domination . Working with the standards of each – Apple Airplay , Microsoft tenants . Commercial real estate is incredibly competitive , especially in San Francisco , where tech companies and startups are looking for new , bigger , and state-of-the-art spaces for their own work and to find new talent . However , tenants aren ’ t focused on energy savings ; they ’ re looking for technologies that will make their lives easier . Real estate company KBS acted on this technology implementation to differentiate themselves from other buildings in San Francisco who were attempting to woo local companies with snack bars . When analysing the needs of their clients , KBS found that video conferencing and collaboration were the top factors driving interest .
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