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The vision for our new headquarters was to build a model A short timeline and brand-new technology
for the operational efficiency, collaboration, and produc- To realize our vision, many things had to come together
tivity gains that are possible now in construction by quickly. The shell of the building was already under
leveraging emerging technology. The goal was to create construction when the choice to go PoE was made,
a tangible showcase for our growing digital building which meant—for financial and contractual reasons—we
business—demonstrating the potential in IoT and PoE to had just ten months to design and put it all together.
current and new clients. For decades, facilities managers The developer of the building needed to be convinced
have used the time-tested ‘3-30-300 Rule’ when evaluating to use the technology, and contractors with knowledge
real estate. It’s essentially the breakdown of what an of low-voltage systems had to be found and signed up.
organization pays per square foot in total occupancy costs: Some of the equipment wasn’t even yet fully available for
roughly $3 for utilities, $30 for rent, and $300 for employ- testing during the design process, so we made educated
ee-related expenses in salary and benefits, etc. Until now, assumptions and took risks that it would work as
the first two lower numbers were widely viewed as the area planned.
where building managers could have the greatest impact.
With our new headquarters, we intended to prove the focus IoT connects, automates, and controls all electronic
should include that third—and much larger—number using systems and devices within the building, such as HVAC,
technology to significantly improve worker productivity and lighting, meters and sensors, water, power, communi-
the user experience; thereby boosting efficiency while also cations, collaboration, meeting room scheduling,
attracting the best employees. televisions, occupancy tracking, and security.

We chose Fort Mill because CompuCom already had a Every light fixture is both LED and PoE, which saves
significant footprint in the Charlotte region—including energy and allows all lighting throughout the building to
being the location for many of the company’s top-level be controlled by sensors—meaning there are absolutely no
executives—and there were significant tax incentives from light switches on the walls anywhere. The light levels are
the state of South Carolina to be gained. automatically adjusted based on occupancy and time of

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