Smaller Workspace for Better Productivity

Yes you read the title correctly : "Smaller Workspace for Better Productivity".

In this era, everything is shrunk to achieve better efficiency. For example :

• modern computer is smaller, faster and consume less energy compared to the older generation of computer
• modern TV is also thinner, lighter, and wider compared to the older ones...

Workspace in modern office today also much smaller compared to old design.

Usually, if an office has a 50 employee, then there will be at least 50 desks/cubical in that office to enable all employees work at the same time. Now, its enough that the office has only 25 cubical or less during office peak hour (when all employee busy working at the same time).

This situation made possible by implementing "virtual office". Everyone could work everywhere they want (office, hot spots, home, garden, hotel, airport, moving car, train, etc.). Place is no longer an issue. Technology enables everyone to interconnect as if they are sitting in the same office.

One real example is working at Cisco Systems.

Cisco Systems Indonesia today has around 70 employees, but the office space is small and only less than half of employees could come and sit comfortably at the same time in the office. Cisco implemented virtual office since the beginning (in case of Cisco Systems Indonesia, it's started at 1995).

The actual problem is not on the technical side.

Employee behavior, maturity, and education level plays more important role than the technical.

However, the company could implement strict policy, and intelligent network foundation will enforce the company policy. At the end of the day, what we thought as an issue will no longer be issue...

In term of technical, we need to consider to implement the following (parts of SONA framework) :

• Full blown security - ensure no attack what-so-ever to the network
  
• Mobility - to enable working anytime, anywhere
• Storage - avoid disaster when something happen to the employee's pc or corporate data
• Unified Communication - enable communication anytime, anywhere using any media (mobile phone, desk phone, ip phone, virtual phone, handy talkie, messenger, email, etc.)
• Identity - one time login to access any resource

My experience in Cisco, virtual office increase employee productivity (I could work while in a taxi or airport or anyplace), reduce company expense (smaller space, etc.), and higher employee satisfaction (more freedom).

With the Jakarta traffic becoming worse and broadband access becoming widely available and more affordable, may be you also need to consider Virtual Office.

Some tips selecting the broadband access :

• the higher the bandwidth, the more satisfying it is
• if possible choose the flat rate with no limit (be careful when using payload based, the end of month bill could make big hole on your wallet)
  

SONA and SAFE

SAFE (Secure Architecture for Enterprise) is a blueprint that provides best practice information for anyone who want to design and implementing a secure network. SAFE has been widely implemented in most major enterprise companies.

SAFE use modular approach of security, so a failure in one area will be isolated and will not affect other module.

SAFE and SONA
SAFE focuses only on security, while SONA focuses on network services, with security is one of the service offered by SONA.

If a company already implemented SAFE, then it is easy to add other services (i.e. unified communication) by adopting SONA framework.

If a company want to build a network from scratch using SONA, then the company has flexibility to prioritize which service is more important. If security is one of them, then the end result of SONA network will be similar to SAFE.

So, we can think that SONA = SAFE + other services (mobility, storage, UC, etc.)

The Cisco SONA (Service Oriented Network Architecture)

SONA is a complex architecture framework. I have been involved with many large customers (banking, government, mobile operators, etc.) and SONA framework always very useful to create a multi-year network expansion planning that support the company growth.

I have created one diagram that shows SONA and its components below (click to enlarge the picture) that could be used by anyone who is interested with this framework. I admit that the diagram is not perfect, but it already cover almost all things about SONA.


I welcome any feedback on this diagram or SONA.

Vacation with Olympus

Below are some photos taken during my vacation to Australia last month (October-November 2007). All photos were taken using my Olympus E510.

I did some simple & quick editing using GIMP (ver. 2.4.0 rc3).

Melbourne public library 3rd floor (Swanston Street, Melbourne)

Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Victoria