The End of the Company Office – A Microsoft Study

With the increasing popularity of mobile technology, social networking and most importantly, the impact that the recession has had on most of us, the undisputed run of the ‘company office’ is rapidly coming to an end. In a study conducted by Microsoft, a public sector think-tank and the Institute of Directors, IT departments the world over will be impacted greatly by these important changes to the way we work.

Whether it is the ability to work from home, on the move or to operate from shared offices, IT departments are increasingly being requested to support staff that falls into any of these three categories.

With more and more staff utilizing these three options, the concept of using fixed office space is rapidly diminishing in importance as it saves amount of money spent on purchasing office space, of which 45% is left unused at any given point of time.

Not only will this cut expenditure by a large amount, the approach of using shared bureaus will help employees share ideas with people from other companies, creating a win-win situation for both organizations sharing the space. The only thing that remains from the ‘office’ will be the presence of coffee, light, power and the proverbial water-cooler conversations that might not necessarily have anything to do with gossip.
Finally, the study also elicits advantages that social networking sites and collaboration tools can do for businesses and public sector organizations that can benefit from them, rather than blocking their use completely.