The future office

At the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) this month Intel announced a number of new innovations that we hope will revolutionise the business environment over the coming years.

Intel continues to drive PC innovation across exciting new form factors and experiences by offering new levels of processor performance on a wide assortment of operating systems. The number and variation of vPro mobility devices that are now available to developers, and in turn the business, make it a very exciting and vibrant market.

However at IDF, it wasn’t just the range of form factors and performance levels that had the developers excited. It was the potential of Intel’s other innovations, on show, namely, wireless charging, WiDi, WiGig and RealSense 3D technology - a list of technologies that have the ability to transform the workplace forever.

Let's start with the promise of a wireless office environment.

Imagine it; every employee has his or her own personal vPro secured device, they bring it to work each day and place it on their desk. It instantly begins charging through the desktop, no wires. They can even place their smartphone or wearable device on the desk to charge at the same time. These stations are in every room, breakout area or cafeteria in the office.

During the workday a meeting is held which requires a presentation to be shared with the room. Thanks to Intel’s wireless display technology, WiDi Pro, whatever is on the employee's device can be securely shared on the large HD screen in the room, no wires.

Intel's WiGig technology will give connectivity speeds and a bandwidth three times that of current WiFi rates, again with no wires. It will enable the sharing of high bandwidth content around devices, from screens to storage. A WiGig docking station wirelessly connects to hard drives, speakers, printers, dual HD monitors, and other peripherals.

The employee has spent what we would all consider a normal workday, constantly connected, fully charged and collaborating in a far more efficient, creative (thanks to the ability to work from wherever works best for them) and wireless environment. It is a technology-driven workday we all dream of, one that supports our work needs rather than restricts them.

The workplace innovation doesn’t stop there. Intel RealSense 3D technology has the ability to totally change a business security process we all go through everyday – entering our passwords. While the primary aim of RealSense is to make computing more natural, intuitive and immersive, it has the ability to recognize a user thanks to his/her biometric data. So instead of asking them for a password to login to their system, all they need do is look into the PC’s camera, it reads their iris pattern and they’re in (no more 'password' for passwords, or 'abc123').

Intel has this technology ready today, and hopes to see this all in the mass market, within a range of mobile devices and PC form factors by 2015. This ability to reduce some of the key pain points and restrictions we all face in the workplace due to the current need for wires has the potential to change the workspace environment as we know it.

This takes security and access to a level above the standard password due to the individuality and difficulty in hacking a person’s biometric data.It means devices are more secure, systems are more secure and the workplace is more secure as an impact.

At IDF Intel gave a glimpse of a world we can relate to as consumers and users of mobile devices. But it is the possibilities and the positive impact that these new technologies can have on a business’s efficiency, ability to collaborate, and ultimately its culture, that make these innovations very, very exciting.

Intel is committed to helping create smart work environments for all businesses to thrive in.

For more on Intel mobility, visit the Intel IT Center. 

This article has been written by Intel.