Lifting Hybrid Working to New Heights: Custom Enterprise Mobile App Goes Live at SkyCenter One
The Client
Six miles west of downtown Tampa resides its international airport. A facility serving 6,734 flights per month, or 1 flight every 7 minutes. The Tampa International Airport recently finished constructing a state-of-the-art headquarters building at the facility’s core. It is the new nerve center for all the Airport’s operations and the home of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which runs the Tampa International Airport (TPA).
The Challenge
The aviation authority is just one of the tenants in the Airport’s new SkyCenter One office building, so one of its primary initiatives is to provide a sustainable workspace management solution for the evolving needs of its own and its tenants’ hybrid workforces: easy-to-use tools for streamlining space booking, wayfinding through the new office, and workplace visibility.
The solution would also require flexibility in onboarding new tenants into the building’s digital ecosystem. The approach was to seek a unified, customized native mobile app to deliver on these requirements, and the authority partnered with workplace communications provider 22Miles.
The Solution
22Miles worked with the aviation authority to develop a customized mobile app that would enable any staff member with a corporate iPhone to access the office building’s digital workplace interactive experience, whether working in-person or remotely. The solution created an enterprise application for workspace wayfinding and integrated real-time booking. After completion, our solution for the TPA won the Most Innovative App title from the 2023 SCN Installation Product Awards.
The Results
Simplified Hybrid Workspace Management
One major demand was a straightforward way to manage the dynamic landscape of a flex work environment. Today’s hybrid office spaces are being used more for collaboration and less for individual work. 22Miles streamlined an all-in-one mobile app, named Sky Reserve by the TPA, as a tech-forward solution to get the most out of the SkyCenter One new operations building and to elevate the tenant experience as they come back to work.
While some hybrid models have workers in an office five days of a week, other teams might need to work in an office for two weeks at a time for a project, then remotely for several weeks. Regardless of the configuration, the Sky Reserve app gives users the freedom to reserve spaces, find colleagues, and 3D navigate the new office floor plans without losing a step.
Conquering Complex Space Demands
The airport authority offices at SkyCenter One include 280 meeting rooms and desk space locations. As employees embrace returning to work, they need a quick, simple, and seamless way to access a workspace. Reservations need to be updated instantly and clearly to keep the whole team on the same page.
The Sky Reserve app enables hoteling for staff to reserve a room for the day, week, or more. When not performing asynchronous work in a team, individuals can choose from an interactive map displaying open and sanitized workstations. Reserving spaces efficiently to an integration with Microsoft Office 365 allows everyone invited to a meeting to be updated in real-time.
“Our industry-leading 3D wayfinding provides staff with interactive turn-by-turn directions to meeting spaces or booked hotdesks throughout the facility. With this technology, no one gets lost or panics when looking for an available room because they can check the app. And they can book an open room directly in the app without having to walk around aimlessly. After a couple of quick taps, staff can access what they need stress-free.” Said Tomer Mann CRO with 22Miles.
The building’s digital ecosystem integrates Embrava desk booking smart sensors. These sensors display which workspaces are available or booked with LED and on-screen information. All to empower staff with a more connected in-person experience to unify their space management experience. This combined mobile app and sensor workplace system use a single sign-on with an active directory integration, for better authentication and access automation, for all staff securely.
Data-Driven Safety Decisions
Hybrid workers present several challenges for managers. The new work model empowers employees with more freedom, but it is ineffective unless it also brings them together. To keep the workforce engaged, productive and effective, managers request direct visibility into the experiences and needs of their staff.
Each of the smart building’s components records use and tracking information. Data insights from the Sky Reserve app help administrative teams identify average meeting durations, total bookings, and space usage frequencies to create space-saving opportunities. Managers are provided with detailed analytics on hotdesking and hoteling, giving them a clear perspective for managing future schedules, in-room technology maintenance, and sanitation routines for their huddle rooms. Connecting tracking data to individual employees equips leaders with an efficient way to see what they need most and how they work best.
When safety is a concern, facility managers can respond quickly. If an employee tests positive for COVID-19, managers can disable and enable desks and meeting rooms on demand. They can also rapidly identify which workspaces were used by that employee and which colleagues they may have been in close proximity with.
The technologies in the SkyCenter One ecosystem play a pivotal role in managing the facility for hybrid workers. And they elevate safety even more as public health and safety issues continue. The mobile app designed for the TPA gives managers easy-to-use tools for promoting safety, connectivity, and communication across entire organizations without extensive programming.
Evolving Needs of Workspaces
Employees’ needs continually impact the operation of the workplace goals. More tenants will move in, new talent will join the team, and new issues will arise. If building utilization at SkyCenter One remains flexible, it must also be adaptable.
The Sky Reserve app by 22Miles helps minimize the effects of future expansion with its flexibility. Onboarding new tenants into the building’s digital ecosystem is easy for admins. Within minutes, new tenants and staff can take full advantage of all the high-tech, user-friendly equipment within the facility or put simple support tickets for maintenance through the app. During these new hybrid meetings, there will never need to be a broken projector or conference room issue.
AVI-SPL operated as the system integrator for the TPA office spaces. They were the total solution provider of the audio and visual components and brought 22Miles and Embrava to assist with this intuitive application. TPA and AVI-SPL knew that an integrated app could be leveraged for all the smart building equipment to streamline connections in this agile work environment. The powerful scheduling tools in the Sky Reserve app offer unlimited capabilities and digital connectivity so that tenants and staff always stay engaged, collaborative, and effective in the modern work environment.
