business
‘‘
TALKING
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Tech Hub - the first of its kind in the MENA
region. We have been so impressed by the
innovative community of companies and
people there that we decided to relocate our
Middle East and Africa regional office across
the city to DSO, including our 40-strong
team of consultants (while adding a new
innovation showroom of smart city and
other solutions).
Our collaboration with the Accelerator has
been amplified and accelerated by the fact
that we are now in close proximity to the
start-ups on the programme and have easy
access to allow us to provide mentoring, and
even undertake Proof of Concept for one
of the start-up companies in our own new
regional hub.
It also means that our team has direct
access to a pure start-up environment and
genuine entrepreneurs, and the stimulating
and inspiring effect this has. Even with the
best collaboration tools, this would not have
happened so quickly or effectively.
Collaboration helps enterprises innovate
much faster and more efficiently. At the
42
INTELLIGENTCIO
“
DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
IS A FACT OF LIFE
BUT IT’S REALLY
ALL ABOUT
PEOPLE.
same time, it makes them more agile and
adaptable to change which is vital in this age
of rapid transformation. A collaboration hub,
such as the Accelerator, enables the ‘people
effect’ that is vital to innovation.
Of course, once people are working in
relatively close proximity, then they need to
work effectively and productively, in the right
kind of space conducive to collaboration.
Workspace design is vital, of course, and
is key to enabling people. As collaboration
becomes more commonplace and as workers
become more comfortable interacting
digitally, they’ll also want to spend more
time face-to-face with team members from
around the office.
Designing spaces for collaboration means
creating a variety of appealing and flexible
‘collaboration spaces’ where people can
get together with a collective sense of
energy and with collaboration tools such as
interactive, connected smartboards, stand-up
meeting rooms, informal lounge/café spaces
and dedicated telepresence rooms.
Digital technology has disrupted the
workplace which has changed beyond
recognition over the last decade. The new
work environment today is virtual and
people want to work more flexibly and on
their own terms, so IT needs to make it
as simple as possible for them to engage
anytime, anywhere and using any device, to
get all the benefits – including the creativity
and innovation – that comes with the
‘people effect’. n
www.intelligentcio.com