Smart Workspaces

Creating repeatable designs and methodologies

One Braham, like all new and refurbished BT workplaces, is built on a comprehensive suite of Cisco solutions. This is tied together through an engagement with Cisco Customer Experience (CX).

“CX is instrumental in helping us get the most out of the Cisco components,” Bannon explains, “whether that is lifecycle management, user adoption, or network design.”

The Cisco solution addresses each element of the BT brief: Cisco Catalyst Center and Cisco Spaces serve to define the physical space; Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) simplifies network access; versatile Cisco Catalyst switches and Cisco access points provide connectivity options across every corner of every building; Cisco Umbrella strengthens network security, and Cisco ThousandEyes delivers analytics and insights beyond the border perimeter. Together, BT and Cisco have developed network templates for each site.

“It is the heart and intelligence of the building,” says Bannon. “The engagement with Cisco creates repeatable designs and methodologies.”

Workplace mobility within a dynamic environment

For the 3500 employees using One Braham as a base, there is complete workplace mobility. Teams can work from anywhere within the building; meeting rooms or hot desks are booked in advance. An app enables visitors to see which colleagues are in the building and where they are sat.

“A brilliant user experience is key to building trust and, as a service business, trust is supremely important,” says Bannon.

For the building managers, the current approach involves trialing Kontact IO sensors with Cisco Spaces for Smart Buildings, aiming to deliver granular details on how the space is being used. Areas can be reconfigured to host events or closed off if unused. BT can map trends on busy days of the week, which meeting rooms are most popular, or how often to schedule cleaning and maintenance timetables.

Cisco Catalyst Center offers more than just reducing power consumption during quiet periods. Alongside this capability, Cisco Catalyst Center utilizes automation and AI to optimize various network functions, including intelligent provisioning, comprehensive network management, policy enforcement, and enhanced security measures. This multifaceted platform empowers BT to streamline operations and maximize the efficiency of its network infrastructure. This has an obvious impact on energy usage, but also ties in with the business' desire to be smart and sustainable. Where actions are repeatable, automation steps in.

The Cisco approach enables BT to take each building, each floor, each workday, as a distinct entity. Bannon says the process of learning about and fine-tuning the management of all 30 regional hubs is ongoing. This process will arm BT with a wealth of direct experience as it conducts smart building conversations with enterprise customers.

“What we wanted was a persona-based design rather than a set of custom configurations," says Bannon. "The Cisco approach establishes finely grained access control, linked to an identity, with a security wrap. We are using Umbrella and ThousandEyes to create a near digital twin for each employee. It means we're able to constantly health check the network, so when users come into the building it's fully fit and ready to go.”

Encouraging adoption and simplifying the use of technology

The Cisco network delivers benefits today and promises to impact the BT business long into the future. Bannon says it is an example of how BT wants to approach technology: maximum use of a product's features, pragmatism rather than complexity, and the widest possible user adoption.

“The priority has been, particularly after the disruption of COVID-19, to create a welcoming space where people can unlock their creativity,” Bannon says. “We have a role to play in attracting employees back to the office. People have missed that experience.”

What's exciting, he continues, is that the new BT hubs can function as testing grounds for new workspace ideas. Innovation is constant. For example, building managers at One Braham are looking at automatically altering lighting and heating as the sun moves around the building, reducing energy costs. There are discussions around facial recognition, how this might extend to regular visitors, and what this could mean for network access.

"This is a journey without an end,” Bannon says. “The finish line keeps moving forward. We're in lockstep with Cisco on that journey. We want to continue to grow and innovate together.”