It’s not because they don’t care. Usually, it’s because they haven’t stopped to fully understand the bigger picture: how people actually work, what their day to day challenges are, and how technology can support—not complicate—their daily routines.
Here are the top 8 pitfalls I’ve seen again and again, and some advice on how to avoid them.
Too often, companies rely on IT, HR or Facility alone to decide what technology should be implemented. The problem? IT doesn’t always see the day-to-day challenges employees face. Not saying that every IT Department fails :-)
The smartest companies take a step back: they walk the floor, observe how people work, and involve HR, management, facility and even sales, project teams in the discussion. Better yet, they ask employees directly what they’re missing, maybe do a survey and ask open questions. When you define your needs clearly, you avoid overspending on the wrong solutions—or buying tech that ends up creating new problems.
Every company is different. What works well in one office may fail completely in another. Yet many companies jump into a big investment without first testing how real users experience the technology.
Do small-scale trials with two or three vendors. Test their video conferencing solutions, booking systems, desk solutions, displays, or sensors & softwares with your people. Real-world feedback often surprises you—and saves you from making costly, large-scale mistakes.
Here’s a common scenario: the office is already designed, the electricians have done their part, and only then does the company call in an AV/IT integrator. At that point, your flexibility is gone.
Integrators should be part of the project group early, working side-by-side with interior designers and facility teams. That way, the technology is seamlessly integrated into the office—not patched in afterwards.
There are many great salespeople in the AV world, but can they actually deliver? That’s the real question.
Always check references. Visit other client sites. Talk to other end-users about their experience before, under and after implementation. The difference between a smooth-running solution and years of frustration often comes down to whether your partner had the expertise (and attention to detail and ability) to deliver what they promised.
It’s tempting to save costs by buying “tried and tested” technology—but that often means buying outdated systems that don’t integrate with anything else.
One quick validation question: Does it have an open API? If not, you’re locking yourself into a closed ecosystem. With an open API, your technology can integrate with future systems and provide valuable data insights. Without it, you’ll be stuck replacing your investment sooner than you think.
There’s a saying: you can have it cheap, you can have it good, you can have it fast—pick two.
If you want it good and fast it wont be cheap.
Office technology is something your employees will use every single day. When it doesn’t work, frustration grows fast. A “cheap” solution usually costs far more in lost productivity and employee dissatisfaction than a slightly higher upfront investment would have.
This one is huge. Most companies will renovate, resize, or rethink their offices every 5–7 years. Yet very few have the data to support their decisions.
Technology today—video conferencing platforms, sensors, booking systems—provides real usage data: which rooms are used most, how often spaces sit empty, even environmental data like air quality. Without this, decisions about space and tech investments are based on guesses.
Remember: the two biggest costs in any company usually are people and square meters. Data helps you optimize both. It also supports ESG reporting, since a big part of global emissions come from buildings/offices/sqm. No one wants to sit on 5,000 sqm of unused or underused space. It makes you look bad.
Sometimes, companies “live with” solutions that don’t really work. But consider this: what if poor technology reduces productivity by just 0.5%? If your company has €200M in revenue, that’s €1M lost every year. imagine what a try calculate what 2 or 3% loss of productivity costs.
Suddenly, doing it right the first time doesn’t seem so expensive.
Again this is just food for thought And I want to be clear: not all AV or workplace technology projects fall into these traps. There are plenty of integrators and companies that really understand the broader needs.
But if you’re about to invest in office technology, remember this:
Do this, and you’ll save yourself money, frustration, and wasted square meters—while creating an office people actually want to work in.
Feel free to reach out to discuss further
Patrick Edwards
Board Member
Occulights
#WorkplaceTech #SmartOffice #AVIntegration #OfficeTechnology #SpaceUtilization #ESG #EmployeeExperience