The Integrated Office: Creating the Office of the Future

In 1884, the Swiss Army Knife got its start. It was the ultimate in utility, developed for, you guessed it, the Swiss Army. The original had just four tools, but it was a breakthrough in flexibility that even MacGyver would have been proud of. This simple tool became so revolutionary we reference it anytime we think of something or someone that can “do it all.” 

Well, in the office of today, and the especially the office of the future, there is no Swiss Army Knife for the modern tech stack. Tools and technologies vary widely in application and specialty. And really it is better that way!

The modern office is evolving at a pace we have never before seen, in large part because of the ecosystem in which we operate. The tech world continues to evolve to create tools that work with singular focus to solve specific issues. Additionally, because of that focus, tools continue to develop and innovate at breakneck speeds. With this in mind, it is no wonder that a monolithic tech stack that solves for all office challenges, as appealing as it may seem, would become quickly irrelevant. It just couldn’t keep up with best practices and innovations.

How to Stay Ahead in the Modern Workplace

Given the speed of development, the vast array of tools and solutions and rapidly evolving workplace, what can organizations do to keep up? The answer is simple—integrate. To have a best-in-class office you’ll need best-in-class solutions, which means individual tools built and finely tuned to solve for specific challenges. But this offers its own challenges—the array of tools can create data and operational silos.

The creation of these silos is one of the largest challenges faced by organizations that are trying to stay ahead of the curve with new and relevant technologies. But by selecting tools that allow you to integrate technologies and datasets, organizations can leverage the power of the modern tech stack.

Creating Your Tech Stack

On a recent webinar, Brian Bond, Teem’s CMO, identified three focus areas to ensure that your team capitalizes on the opportunities presented by new and emerging technologies. [watch full webinar on-demand at link above]

1. Identify friction points that are ripe for automation, then prioritize by impact and feasibility.
2. Vet tools with a focus on integrations and innovation.
3. Select tools with an excellent track record of support, security, and collaboration around product development.

The Teem Integrations Framework

At Teem we understand the importance of integrating your people, places and technologies to ensure that you’re removing friction from the workplace (nobody comes to work to fight over a conference room or spend half the day booking meetings). That is why we have built tools and technology on a powerful integration framework that provides Teem users with ultimate flexibility.

We see our integrations in three basic categories:

1. Core/Native Integrations
2. APIs and Webhooks
3. Workflow Integrations

Core and native integrations built by Teem offer flexibility but little customization. Our core integrations include your calendar and user management tools such as Google Apps, Google SSO, Microsoft Outlook 365, Microsoft Outlook SSO, and Microsoft Exchange. Some of our native integrations include popular tools like Slack, Box, Dropbox, Jira and more.

APIs and Webhooks are an open door into the Teem platform and with your development resources. They make it possible for you team to build tools, access data and pull information to meet your needs.

Workflow Integrations connect Teem technologies to industry-leading tools like Zapier. With over 750 tools that connect to the Zapier platform, the possibilities for integrating your digital workplace become endless. And best of all, workflow integrations provide maximum customization and no development resources.

Creating Your Integration Philosophy

The hard truth is that 59% of millennials expect a best-in-class tech stack in the workplace, and 56% said they would supplement with their own technologies if the organization did not provide it. So for your organization to stay relevant, to win the recruiting/retention battle and to win in your everyday operations, you must implement a best-in-class tech stack. In order to do that effectively, you need to pick technology partners that align with your integration philosophies and are willing to support and grow with your evolving workplace.

Learn more about the Teem integration philosophy or check out a recent on-demand webinar with Brian Bond.