IT PRO: Blogs: Moshe Zeidman: Large Offices, Glass, Chrome, and Furniture from Star Trek

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Large Offices, Glass, Chrome, and Furniture from Star Trek

Posted in IT strategy, business goals on May 8, 2008 at 9:14 am

This week I attended a meeting within the offices of one of the UK’s largest software houses. Having never been there before I was struck with how impressive the building appears as you approach by road. It is an imposing and formidable structure, very angular and much glass. This feat of modern architecture is in stark contrast to the barren “wasteland” that surrounds it.

Even before entering the building, everything about the construction speaks size. The large car park is supported by an overflow car park of equal proportion. On entering the reception, you are immediately struck by the expansiveness of the atrium, flooded with sunlight from the glass roof within the centre.

As befitting a modern high-tech environment, Sky News is projected onto a number of screens hovering midair they seem, around the waiting area. What is striking however, is the austerity of the surroundings. There is no colour in any of the decor -save for the obligatory bright orange and the garish green furniture in the waiting area. (I’m sure Mr Spok would have felt at home). The glass, chrome, and wide-open spaces, give the impression of “bigness”, of “we are corporate!”, but I struggled to see in this environment what would aid creativity, collaboration, and inspiration - the very stuff of cutting-edge software innovation.

I was directed towards the meeting room - an equally stark office amongst several. Okay, I was not exposed to the massive throngs of help-desk support staff, development teams, and admin personnel, but I did wonder whether their offices could be so radically different.

I have never been inside Google’s offices. What I am told about them though is in radical contrast to what I saw this week. Whatever one thinks of the US company, you must agree that it engenders a spirit of excitement and creativity in its employees. Okay, so the ‘hippy-geek’ card may be somewhat overstated in the harsh world of corporate profits and shareholder satisfaction, but as a software company, the only real differentiator between you and your competitor is your pool of developer talent.

High salaries and perks are one thing, but software and hardware creativity needs feeding through varied channels. One thing is for certain, New Age Star Trek reception furniture will not produce the Star Ship Enterprise!