Inside Cisco’s ‘Smart Office,’ Where 5,000 Data Points Are Constantly Collected | WSJ Open Office

Cisco’s redesigned New York office is both a showcase of the company’s technology and an example of how it sees the workplace evolving. WSJ takes a tour to learn how its harvesting data and facilitating hybrid work.

Photo Illustration: John McColgan

Open Office
Offices are as unique as the companies they house. This WSJ series takes viewers inside standout spaces to show the amenities–and quirks–that separate them from the rest, as designers and company executives explain the reason behind it all.

#Cisco #Tech #WSJ

[FinancialShinanigan]

Future HR conversations: "Brian, you took 30 seconds longer than normal to walk from the door to your desk, what's going on?"

[omarinfon]

WSJ praising technology surveillance at workplace while writing about China vilifying tech surveillance. Consistency please.

[kkk]

This is management’s dream system while employee’s worst nightmare.

I can already see it being used for the wrong reason. Which’ll be the only reason most companies will use it for

[lawrencekevin]

Cisco has a huge split between Employees and Contractors (Red badges). This is a commercial for technology (WiFi, IOT) that Cisco sells.

[flyingzeppo]

"Is there any space in this office that doesn't have a camera?"
"No there isn't."
Lesson: Don't ever use the restroom in a Cisco office.

[hervymarquezgarcia]

The positives are very positive. The concept of digital equality and a hybrid workflow instead of only wfh or in office. People are more productive when not being told what to do at all times and when given a certain amount of choice. However, the tracking can easily be used in a more negative way. What stops an employer from tracking performance? Restroom breaks, attendance to the millisecond. Sure, a hybrid workflow that transitions smoothly from digital to in person is a noble goal, but the possibility of the misuse of this technology shouldn't be understated

[franciscovarela]

"I think this is a new era..." Yep, the surveillance state.

[halfwaytobedlam]

this sounds insanely dystopian and depressing

[graphenebusinesslaw]

Very interesting, with legal implications galore!

[CannabisTechLife]

I just don't see the point. Cost is probably high / additional to standard construction. You get to know where people are in the building...cool...why does that matter?

All of this seems like more over engineering to try and justify getting people into the office when they don't need to be in the office.

[benjamindover]

Making everyone into an Amazon warehouse employee 🌈 Get you pee-bottles ready!

[lexqqy]

Hmm a bit creepy, did the employees sign something to be tracked in this manner? Also, what is exactly being done with that data?

[JuniorExecutive]

I’d turn down a job offer if the office was anything like this

[akshayviswanath]

They could have started an Open Office episode with inside the Wall Street Journal

[markmedley]

I love to be tracked and micromanaged. This is a dream space for me.

[glennalexon]

It stands out that they use ugly paper labels to ID their routers, common galv gangboxes to hang their cameras, and don't put any effort into making their hardware fit esthetically into the environment.

[SCL]

Nice design and very beneficial to people who are remoting digitally but I don't want to be tracked or identified. That said, if I work there, I will still come into the office 60-70% of the time. My ADHD brain rarely focuses well at home where I lack structure.

[witness]

And zero percent productivity generated

[hectormanuel]

WSJ has been having great tech docs on YouTube lately

[chrisr]

No f'n way I'd ever be in that office. 50 individual workspaces, more than half for executives/upper management it looks like. Don't workers want to be seen as an individual and not just a collective whole in the cog of cisco? Also - they make an absolute compelling case for never being in that office. "People are coming into the office to collaborate. Something they can't do when they're working from home." - soo, why did they spend all that money and design with remote participants/workers at forefront? This is old-think pandering to workers.