Over the past decade, a lot of offices have evolved to become more informal, more airy and open, and more focused on collaboration and shared spaces. Many offices have also focused on creative comforts like comfortable furniture and company-provided snacks, as a way to help professionals relax so that they can be more creative and productive.
The challenge is that while companies have invested in these types of office upgrades, the technology in offices has remained pretty stagnant and so many of the old office frustrations--like trying to connect to a conference call or present a PowerPoint from your laptop--are still as annoying as ever.
That's where the new trend toward the "smart office" is kicking in. It's about using tech to amp up workspaces so that they are more efficient and employee-friendly.