Cisco Smart Workspaces FAQ

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Updated:September 23, 2022

Bias-Free Language

The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using Inclusive Language.

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Updated:September 23, 2022

Table of Contents

 

 

Overview

Q.  What is Cisco Smart Workspaces?
A.  Cisco ® Smart Workspaces from Cisco Spaces brings together the power of the Cisco portfolio, including Catalyst, Meraki, and Webex, to help enterprises create safer, smarter, and more enriching workplaces. The cloud-based solution helps people visualize real-time occupancy and indoor environmental conditions (air quality and temperature) and makes it easy to locate available meeting and collaboration spaces.
Employees can use this information to make informed decisions about where they work and collaborate when in the office. And IT, facilities, and HR receive analytics to better utilize space, manage energy usage, and quickly act on health and safety concerns.
Q.  What value does Smart Workspaces deliver?
A.  Cisco Smart Workspaces allows organizations to:

      Improve employee productivity

      Improve employee satisfaction and retention

      Make informed decisions on how they bring employees back to the office

      Help employees feel safer and more empowered in the office

      Better utilize space and assets

Enterprises spend as little as $1 per square foot per year on Smart Workspaces and can realize benefits up to $9 * per square foot per year.
*Assuming space optimization and employee productivity use cases have been deployed with recommended hardware.
Q.  Who will be the primary users of Cisco Smart Workspaces?
A.  Hybrid workers/ employees:

      Safety: View real-time occupancy and air quality

      Productivity: Visualize meeting room and desk availability

      Experience: Provide contextual awareness

IT/facilities:

      Understand space utilization

      View real-time occupancy and manage capacity

Benefits and features

Q.  What are the benefits and features of this solution?
A.  Rich employee experience

      Cisco Smart Workspaces transforms flat floorplans into dynamic, interactive, 3D maps. It uses digital signage, such as Webex® Boards, to provide contextual awareness, easily locate empty meeting rooms and desks, and find important points of interest.

Safety and ell-being

      Employees can easily access real-time occupancy and environmental information (indoor air quality, volatile organic compounds, temperature, humidity, noise levels, etc.) across a specific building, floor, or meeting room. IT and facilities teams can monitor occupancy and air quality in real time, set alerts, and respond immediately when safety thresholds are crossed.

Employee productivity

      Employers can improve employees’ experience and boost productivity by decreasing the amount of time it takes to find meeting rooms and desks. Employees can visualize live meeting room and desk availability along with key environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, and noise levels. Additionally, they can temporarily hold meeting rooms until they arrive, all with the touch of a button using digital signages.

Space utilization

      IT and facilities teams can use Cisco Smart Workspaces to get a better understanding of the physical workspace. Organizations can improve space utilization and make decisions on consolidation or reconfiguration by analyzing usage patterns, running A/B tests, and reviewing the impact of layout changes on productivity.

Q.  When will this be available?
A.  Cisco Smart Workspaces is generally available starting May 6, 2022.
Q.  How do I purchase Cisco Smart Workspaces?
A.  Smart Workspaces is accessed under the Cisco Spaces Act license tier. Cisco Spaces Act is available as an option with Cisco DNA Advantage or as an a la carte option.
Q.  What makes this solution different from competitor offerings?
A.   

      Cisco holds a unique position at the intersection of networking, collaboration, and cloud, and Cisco Spaces ties them all together.

      Cisco delivers an end-to-end solution.

      Cisco is committed to evolving our products for hybrid work and building future-ready capabilities for our customers’ changing road ahead.

Q.  What do I need to get started?
A.   

      For interactive 3D rich maps: Facility (CAD) maps

      For building and floor-level occupancy data: Wireless network (Catalyst or Meraki) or Cisco Meraki® MV cameras*

      For floor-level environmental metrics: Cisco Catalyst® access points,* Webex® devices, Meraki MT sensors, and/or third-party IoT sensors*

      For room-level occupancy, people count, and room environmental metrics: Webex devices or third-party IoT sensors*

( *Roadmap.)
Q.  What environmental metrics are available today?
A.   

      Indoor air quality: Total Volatile Organic Compounds [TVOC]

      Temperature

      Humidity

Q.  How are the 3D maps created?
A.  Facility (CAD) maps are required to create 3D rich maps. The Cisco Spaces mapping engine intelligently deconstructs facility maps and extracts data such as meeting rooms, desks, and amenities using AI/ML and transforms them into interactive, rich maps.
Q.  What kind of data does Cisco Spaces Smart Workspaces collect, how does it use the data, where does it keep the data, and for how long does it keep the data?
A.  Cisco Spaces:

      Does not collect any special category of personal data, such as race, ethnic background, political opinions, genetic data, biometric data, health data, etc.

      Does not intentionally collect any personal data from minors, as minors are disallowed from using the Cisco Spaces solution.

      Collects only nonsensitive personal data through the network (MAC address). This data collection is optional, and in certain cases the customer may decide to collect additional data from users.

Q.  I’m interested. How do I get more information?
A.  External resources:

      Smart Workspaces landing page: https://dnaspaces.cisco.com/smart-workspaces/

      Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62lYSskhNCI

      E-book: https://dnaspaces.cisco.com/smart-workspaces-guide/

Q.  What technical support is available to help with deployment and management of the Cisco Spaces Smart Workspaces solution?
A.  Smart Workspaces includes end-to-end monitoring and proactive notifications. Visit https://dnaspaces.cisco.com/support/ for more details. For onboarding and deployment related queries, get in touch with the Spaces team by sending an email to: dnaspaces-onboarding@cisco.com.

 

 

 

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