Think Beyond the Technology

In 2021 and 2022, I became obsessed with organizing my home. I focused on the kitchen and bathroom. I felt those were the most “visible.” Next was the closet. Not highly visible, but an important room for me. Less of a priority were the basement and garage.

I threw out things I did not use often, or perhaps were just too weathered. I fixed some items that needed some tweaking. I even started looking at expiration/best by dates more closely. Everything has a date. I bought different styles/types of organization boxes depending on the space.

Plastic was my choice for the kitchen. I went more decorative for the bathroom. My choice for the closet was a blend of linen for clothes and plastic for shoes. And that label maker got a workout. As time passed, I found myself using things I hadn’t in years, wearing clothes I couldn’t find before, and not buying duplicates because I forgot what I had.

You may be asking yourself, “Am I on the right blog?” Well, here is what I discovered that triggered the connection. What I was doing at home is no different than what AVI-SPL does with customers every day…creating standards based on priority and need. This process includes understanding today’s usage and goals for tomorrow, selecting products that accomplished the objective, with all the caveats intact, and proving the ROI.

Bringing it all together

This all sounds basic. As I mentioned, AVI-SPL does this every day with you. The reason I was able to do it alone is because I only have so many things. I could complete all the tasks related to the kitchen in a weekend because I only have one kitchen.

But here is where it gets complicated. When you think about your organization, the locations, the buildings, the rooms, the spaces, and the assets that go into those rooms and spaces, that can be daunting. How do you know all the items you have, across a campus or the globe?

How do you know what is working, what could work with some tweaking, and what is simply outdated? How do you build standards to accommodate the different use cases and people? And how do you know if your decisions were successful or need some modifications?

That is where Symphony comes in. Symphony provides six main values:

• Asset Capture: Knowing what you have where, works in progress, and budgetary data
• Cloud Migration: Merging of traditional technologies with cloud technologies
• Centralized Monitoring: Enabling 24×7 proactive communication with technology with auto-ticket creation
• Incident Management: Configuring triggers, priorities, auto-clear and auto-close procedures
• Workplace Management: Triangulating data related to technology, space, and people to automate common activities and make changes based on data
• Success Metrics: Proving ROI, space utilization, downtime, health, resource allocation, and more in digestible interactive visuals

Think beyond the technology

When we think about the standards, the investments, and the ROI, we often think about the technology spend. However, how do your simple assets also play a role in your decisions? Simple assets, by default, are not monitored. They have no proactive data to provide. But they are just as important in your decisions as the technology.

Symphony now enables the inclusion of simple assets into your onboarding. Simple assets such as executive chairs vs. office chairs, official conferencing tables vs. standard tables or modular tables, hosting items, and peripherals such as remote controls and cables. All of these items will impact your standards, your investments, and getting a truer sense of utilization and ROI.

In terms of standards, creating executive offices, standard offices, conferencing spaces, local brainstorming spaces, and the like can all mean something in Symphony and enhance those standards. You know what furniture is required based on the space type you are creating.

That leads to the investments you make. Here are some things to think about:

• What are the simple and technology assets you need in the room?
• Are their requirements for them, i.e. glass vs. traditional whiteboard, desk vs. stand-up desk?
• Does technology have requirements, i.e., do you need to purchase brackets or create new electrical outlets?
• Do you need to report on utilization and ROI?
• Will simple assets help with that understanding, i.e., what are the reasons one room is chosen over another? Is it the technology or the “perks” of the room?
• What is the total cost of the space created?

When you can marry simple assets with technology assets, you can get at the heart of utilization and cost. That data aids in proving ROI and making more data-driven decisions moving forward.

Request a Symphony demo and let us help you visualize your standards and investment and prove ROI. Contact AVI-SPL to get started  today.