The next-generation working environment

Rampa Manoonsin, managing director of Sun Microsystems, Thailand

But imagine some day in the near future when organisations will be able to improve their employees' productivity by allowing them to work flexibly, no matter where they are: around the office, at home, in a coffee shop - even at the airport.

Instead of investing money to build individual office spaces with provision for an added collaborative space, Sun envisions that the next-generation workplace will offer employees mobility, team collaboration and organisational flexibility. It will have more group spaces with break areas and drop-in seats for informal gatherings so employees can rearrange the space to fit their needs.

Sun believes this new working concept will play an important role in years to come. Originally, Sun designed its Open Work concept particularly for sales representatives and other highly mobile workers. But later, the idea was extended to bring engineers and other groups of employees into the mix, rather than focusing only on mobile workers.

Currently, the pilot site of the next-generation workplace is under construction at Sun's office in Menlo Park, California, and it's specifically designed for engineer workforces. It aims to create a more dynamic and open studio environment to promote connecting and collaborating with other employees on a community basis.

For Sun, the concept of the new workplace was shaped when the technology had already evolved. In the past, technology didn't exist to allow employees to do their work over the Internet. But now, just by having a laptop, office workers can perform their jobs from anywhere, through either wired or wireless networks. At the same time, the latest telecommunication technology ensures that they will never miss even one phone call.

With the latest private branch exchange (PBX) technology, for instance, employees will have an access-line layer on their desk telephones featuring the so-called "follow-me" service - a personalised mobile telephony that allows users to have their calls follow them wherever they may be. This technology will bring a new communication evolution to enhance the new style of working environment.

Meanwhile, development and improvement of online tools for collaboration, as well as video connectivity, will bring reality to the next-generation workplace.