Designing the Smart Experience at Akamai HQ

by Mani Sundaram on February 7, 2020

We are now 90 days out from a major milestone for Akamai: the opening of our new headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The state-of-the-art tower in the tech hub of Kendall Square is particularly exciting for me in my dual roles as CIO and SVP of Global Services & Support, because it marks the culmination of several years of research, testing, and implementation of enhanced smart building technology at Akamai.

With the recent opening of our headquarters, as well as new Akamai facilities in Bangalore, Tel Aviv, and San Jose, Costa Rica, we’ve successfully moved over 4000 people into elevated workspaces in the last two years. In Cambridge, our new headquarters brings our 1700 local employees under one roof, where a curated collection of enhanced technology is on full display to customers and visitors. I’ve highlighted just a few of these below.

Customer Connection

Our new smart offerings are particularly exciting for my Services & Support organization, as they directly improve the way we can interact with our customers. With the opening of HQ, we have also launched new, improved facilities for our continuing EBC, BOCC and SOCC programs. Our updated EBC serves as a dedicated customer experience center, designed for increased collaboration and multi-client engagements with a broader reach. Our new SOCC and NOCC facilities continue to provide 24/7 customer support for attack mitigation and deployed network support, backed by the latest tech.

Visitor Experience

Akamai HQ is a welcoming place for customers and guests, with smart tech guiding the way from the moment they enter. With our pre-registration system, guests have automatic access to Wi-Fi and can seamlessly connect with their host.

Enhanced Wi-Fi

Speaking of Wi-Fi, we’ve deployed a best-in-class network infrastructure with the latest enhancements for better performance, increased reliability, and improved video quality. Akamai’s goal is to bring a fast and reliable online experience to our customers, and we want that same level of excellence in our building at all times.

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Digital Signage

Just our headquarters alone features over 90 digital signs for interactive wayfinding and internal communications. We’ve also included smart elevator banks for faster travel. I think we’ve really created a sense of a journey through the building with these digital touchpoints, and it’s been a great collaboration between IT and our facilities and branding teams.

Cutting the Cord

Globally, we are on an aggressive path to replace legacy wired hardware with improved, wireless solutions. We transitioned most physical phones to Cisco Unified Communications Manager in all of our offices in 2019, and this system pairs with Cisco “one touch” collaboration spaces in the new headquarters. The reduction of wired hardware represents a substantial savings in cost and hours, and enables global communication on a common platform. It’s a step that’s become increasingly critical for IT departments in all industries, where productivity and the bottom line can suffer from dated hardware.

The HQ experience was designed to eliminate friction for employees, customers, and partners using the latest tools, because it’s becoming essential for workspaces to go beyond enablement and truly enhance the user experience. This building is a testament to this collaborative effort and Akamai’s bold vision for the future. I look forward to sharing these new modern experiences with our employees, customers, partners, and friends.