Planning an Office Move? Don’t Leave Technology Until the End

Interview with John Spinner, Real Estate Technology Manager, R&R Realty Technology Services 

Choosing a commercial space involves plenty of visible decisions: office layouts, meeting rooms, collaboration areas, and finishes. Some of the decisions that can have the biggest impact on move-in day, however, are much easier to overlook. Internet service, data cabling, card access, video surveillance, audio/video systems and even sound masking all take planning. John Spinner works with customers on those decisions, and his advice is straightforward: start the conversation early, ask the right questions and make sure the technology fits the way your business actually works. 

We talked with John about what prospective customers should consider before moving into a new space and why the newest or biggest technology solution isn't necessarily the best one. 

Q: What technology are businesses paying more attention to today?

John Spinner: Security is a big one. People have always cared about security, but access control has become more cost effective and affordable. Sometimes we'll mention the capabilities to a prospective customer and find they either didn't know they were available or assumed they would be very expensive. 

Connectivity is another area where we have a lot of conversations. Many customers aren't IT-focused, so they may not know the differences between their options. Fiber, for example, can provide greater speed and reliability than a traditional copper ethernet extension when we're connecting a customer's IT closet back to the internet provider's equipment in the building. 

Audio and video have also come a long way. Teams and Zoom meetings became much more prevalent, and the equipment has improved with them. Today's systems can make it much simpler to connect cameras, speakers, and microphones and get a meeting running. 

Q: When should a prospective tenant start thinking about technology for a new space? 

John Spinner: Typically, as early as we can get involved, the better. The people initially working on a space aren't always the IT people, so one of the most important things is getting connected with the right person on the customer's side. For a smaller business, that might be an outsourced IT provider rather than an internal team. 

There are a lot of layers to think about: data cabling, internet service, audio/video, security, sound masking, and the IT closet itself. If we don't start those conversations until the customer is nearly ready to move in, sometimes we're scrambling and it can make it pretty difficult.  

Q: What's one technology decision that can cause an unexpected delay? 

John Spinner: The internet service provider is probably number one. That process can sometimes take several months to get locked down and set up. We maintain information about which providers are available in each building and can give customers contact information so they can start those conversations. 

For the technology to work on our end, having around two months before a customer wants to be up and running gives us time to get things moving. Some items can be handled fairly quickly, but internet service is something you don't want to have to figure out at the last minute. 

Q: Why would a business choose card access instead of traditional keys?

John Spinner: One of the biggest differences when choosing between card access and traditional keys is information and control. With physical keys, you don't necessarily know who entered the space or when. With access control, you can see when cards are being used and run reports. If somebody leaves the organization, you can also make sure that person's card has been turned off immediately.  

With the system we're using, customers on that system can manage their own doors and cards and access that information themselves in real time. Traditional keys are still completely fine for customers who prefer that simplicity. The point isn't that everybody needs the same solution. It's understanding what level of security and reporting makes the most sense for the organization. 

Q: Sound masking is something many people haven't experienced. What does it actually do? 

John Spinner: One common misconception of sound masking is that it's going to drown out everything in the office. That's not really the goal. 

It can be very effective in open areas with workstations or cubicles because it makes conversations farther away less noticeable. Instead of constantly picking up voices from across the office, people can concentrate on what's in front of them. However, where you put it really matters. We typically don't put sound masking in conference rooms because you've got speakerphones or Teams meetings and don't want to interfere with the audio. Offices or cubicle spaces are the preference.  It's interesting when somebody experiences it for the first time. Once it's turned on, they often realize how much background conversation they had been hearing before. 

Q: With so many workplace technologies available, how do you decide what a customer actually needs? 

John Spinner: I start by asking questions. What do you have now? What would you like to have? Have you seen something in another office that you liked? 

A lot of times, people don't know exactly what they want or need, and I don't want to walk in and tell them. My job is to understand how they work and then make suggestions based on what we've seen work in other spaces. Not everything works for everybody. We can take pieces of what we've done elsewhere and put together something that fits that customer, and one of the best parts about technology is that you can always add things later. 

Q: Can good technology planning actually save a business money? 

John Spinner: Absolutely. We had a large customer moving into a recently renovated building that was working with an outside company for wireless access points. The proposed plan was developed remotely and was based largely on the square footage of the space. We were handling cabling, and when I saw how many access points were on the plan, it didn't look right based on what we'd seen in other spaces. Too many access points can actually create problems because they can start interfering with each other. 

I talked with the customer about it and suggested reducing the number significantly. They ultimately worked with another vendor, and the final layout was pretty close to what I had suggested. If I remember correctly, the change saved them close to $50,000. 

That's really what we're trying to do. If we see something that doesn't look or sound right, we'll say something. The customer can always make the final decision, but we're there to help. 

Q: With technology changing so quickly, how should businesses plan for the future? 

John Spinner: Start by thinking about how you want to use the space. Do you want open areas? Collaboration areas? Meeting spaces?  Technology will keep changing, and businesses don't necessarily have to buy the latest thing every time. Sometimes technology that's been around for a few years can be more cost effective and still do exactly what you need. AI is obviously something organizations need to stay in tune with and understand how it might help their operations. But at the end of the day, the basics still matter. People need to be able to come in, plug in their computer, turn it on, and do their job. That's what we're trying to make sure happens on the first-day of a customer move-in. 

Interested in Learning More? Behind every successful office move is a team working proactively to plan the details that keep operations running smoothly. If you're considering a new space and want to think through your technology needs early, explore how R&R Realty Group can help here.