Thing-it

The modern workplace has undergone a profound shift, marked by a decisive move towards hybrid and remote work setups. In response to this transformation, Thing-it, an innovative startup, has emerged as a trailblazer, actively addressing the evolving needs of companies navigating this new era.

Companies, particularly large corporations with a global footprint, are turning to Thing-it for solutions that streamline space allocation and elevate the overall workplace experience for their diverse workforce. Thingit’s cutting-edge solutions offer a remedy to the challenges posed by this paradigm shift, with a specific focus on enhancing space efficiency and optimising the digital experience within the workplace.

Thing-it’s mission is clear: to simplify the daily routines of office life, minimising distractions and improving overall workflow. By leveraging technology, the startup aims to expedite everyday tasks, making them more accessible and reducing friction in the office environment. This strategic focus aligns with the broader goal of creating a seamless and productive workspace tailored to the needs of the modern workforce.

Leveraging a Data-driven Platform to Foster Engagement

The rise of hybrid work renders traditional space planning obsolete. Corporations struggle with outdated desk and meeting room ratios, fuelled by uncertainties about real estate costs from the shift to time-at-work data.

Klaus Berberich, Thing-it co-founder and COO, sheds light on Thing-it’s solution for simplifying the availability of office spaces. “Our integrated platform is designed not only to book desks, but to track precise daily usage based on occupancy sensors. Our algorithms are proven to create a highly reliable analysis of usage patterns and provide a precise picture on desk and meeting room demand.”

The platform employs powerful algorithms for evidence-based rightsizing and redistribution of office spaces based on real usage patterns. Empowered by these algorithms, the platform discerns the actual need for each desk. Occupancy insights, presented through analytics, reveal usage patterns by department, location and level, facilitating evidence-based adjustments to office spaces in line with emerging team needs.

Understanding actual desk demand by team allows to allocate each team dynamically exactly what they need. Readjusted team allocations are communicated seamlessly and are reflected in self-service tools for employees that allow each employee to know what’s available to them. These self-service tools eliminate the need for formal floor-plan communication and allow much more frequent changes, often on a monthly or quarterly basis. Using these tools, companies can adapt desk allocations based on real usage patterns, ensuring efficient and flexible office space utilisation in response to evolving departmental needs.

Working in tandem with space allocation is Thing-it’s positioning and map feature. It acts as an ‘indoor Google Maps’ for the office. By leveraging location-based services on employees’ smartphones, the feature helps users quickly find and navigate to available amenities such as free phone booths, available meeting rooms and coffee areas without employees having to walk the floor to find them. Making it easier for employees to find what they need within large office spaces reduces friction and gives back valuable time to employees.

Our integrated platform is designed not only to book desks, but also to track precise daily usage based on occupancy sensors. Our algorithms are proven to create a highly reliable analysis of usage patterns and provide a precise picture on desk and meeting room demand

Proven Global Deployments

Thing-it is typically used by its customers across their office portfolio globally. Operating in 22 countries, the company uses in-country partners to provide local service and expertise against globally set standards. The platform allows large companies to set up each location with different rules and adapts to environments where it is challenging to adjust existing processes and systems to software. Deep integration into the Microsoft Office 365 world simplifies large scale rollouts, through automatic user provisioning and a seamless login experience with the corporate SSO solution. Being based in Europe, Thing-it is GDPR compliant by design, ISO27001 certified and compatible with typical enterprise IT governance requirements. Checking for all IT governance requirements is a complicated task for most larger organisations. Based on its broad feature set that spans desk, room and parking booking, occupancy, locker management and much more, companies using Thing-it can focus their compliance checks on one system and then add modules as desired without having to go through the full check each time. This lowers the total cost of ownership compared to several individual solutions significantly.

Hypoport, a leading German fintech company, implemented Thing-it’s workplace optimisation solution for their hybrid work model across all their offices. The rollout provided analytics and mobile tools, enhancing the employee experience in line with Hypoport’s innovative culture. Thing-it’s integrated capabilities, including desk booking apps, real-time space usage data and touchless access control, enabled effective space sizing and distribution amid changing remote and in-office staffing. The result is a robust infrastructure supporting engaging experiences for hybrid work, while also reducing real estate costs through rightsizing.

Creating a Better Workplace

As workplaces undergo the most radical transformation in generations, Thing-it finds itself at the nexus of helping enterprises create the best workplace for their employees. Looking ahead, the company aims to double down on its speciality as a software specialist to enhance analytics to model scenarios accounting for factors like projected headcounts, business expansions and strategic real estate needs. Berberich also hints at new concepts his team is exploring around augmented reality and even smarter assistance to take frictionless workplaces to the next level.