cisco building bangalore case study ppt

Cisco's campus in Bangalore: Lessons for PM Modi's smart cities

Lessons for PM Modi's smart cities

<b>Moinak Mitra, ET Bureau</b><br><br>As the Chief Globalisation Officer at Cisco, Wim Elfrink prides himself on applying digital overlay to physical infrastructure. <br><br>He's also the brain behind the 2.18 million square feet Cisco Smart Campus in Bengaluru that houses eight glass-and-concrete buildings showcasing a digitally connected and sustainable environment where 8,500-odd techies don't have an assigned workplace.<br><br><i>The campus ecosystem resembles a smart city and is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's big idea of digitising India by setting up 100 smart cities.</i>

Campus a 'smart city'

Though Elfrink is based out of Cisco's global HQ at San Jose, he's been a regular to the Bangalore campus since his India stint in 2007. <br><br>In his words, the campus is a smart city in itself, even more advanced than the San Jose headquarters of Cisco Systems.

Work-live-play-learn

A walkabout in the Cessna Business Park where the 32-acre Cisco SEZ is the lone corporate surrounded by LG, InMobi and a few other companies outside its gates gives a sense of the expanse and an evolving digital architecture that caters to the demands of the Gen Y employees, who make up roughly 25 per cent of its population (Cisco India contributes to 60 per cent of Gen Y staff company-wide globally).<br><br>As the younger workforce prefers a seamless environment for day-to-day activities, it ties in quite naturally with the company's vision of work-live-play-learn.

Book a work station

Cisco employees can book a work station through the global network by scanning the QR code in their device. It then extends to a higher degree of personalization wherein the IT registration mode tosses up the employee's preferences—lighting, air-conditioning, TV channels, phone profile preferences, and even the blinds setup.<br><br>Simply put, you get to choose not only your workplace for the day but also your ambient light and temperature zone at the touch of a button.

Cool confines

Employees can access their seat for the day much before entering the campus, be it next to friends at work or by the cool confines of a Zen-like garden. <br><br>And when they are done for the day, the seat is up for grabs again, thereby increasing space utilization campus-wide, which today sits at 58 per cent.

Seeing is believing

Of course, Cisco is high on tele-presence, an innovation the company has perfected over the years and high-definition screens abound in the campus that hook on to 600-odd Cisco offices worldwide, as well as with the location of clients and partners.

Most connected

The Bangalore campus is perhaps the most connected in the Cisco ecosystem. <br><br>People can pick any conference room, and adjust the lights, shutters or even control the AC.

Digitizing the commute

Talking of security, the company's transport buses, used by 30 per cent of the staff, are fitted with GPS tied to the Transport Control Room.<br><br>Apart from route information, even if the driver deviates from the prescribed route or over-speeds, an alert is generated.

RFID tag readers

Moreover, all transport vehicles come equipped with RFID tag readers.<br><br>In other words, staff are supposed to swipe in on entry and swipe out on exit. If they do not get off at a registered place, which is the drop-off point, an alert again gets generated. For those who prefer to drive down to work, parking is made easy.<br><br>Though the campus has room for 2,200 cars, there are sensors on the ground that pick up whether a parking lot is occupied or empty. So the employee gets to choose his parking lot much in advance over his registered device and can park without any hassle. The idea is to manage parking efficiently.

Food for thought

On campus, efficiency flows even in the business of food. The five cafeterias can accommodate roughly 6,000 people. This is where the 'Connected Café' solution comes in handy providing information on where things lie.<br><br>While the main kiosk on the entrance to cafes is one way to look at things—menu, availability— anyone can do the same from their device. Giri Govindrajalu, Director IT, Cisco India swishes his iPad and goes to the Connected Café app where he pinpoints to a North Indian Thali with 1,259 kilo calories.

LEED-Platinum certified buildings

A testimony to that are five LEED-Platinum certified buildings on campus. <br><br>The top certification by the US Green Building Council has been awarded to about 150 buildings countrywide and Cisco scores with seven of them in India.

Sustainability

So sustainability does tie up with everything one gets to see on campus as each activity is looked upon by the administration as a business case and cracked open with precision. <br><br>Fuelling the campus sprawl is 50 MW of power with a 70 MW back-up as 85 per cent of the power consumption is taken up by the various labs packed to the hem by cables, routers and switches.

Energy usage

The company also generates 1 MW of power through solar energy (Karnataka generates 9 MW of solar power) panels placed strategically on the building terraces. But interestingly, with increased use of network, Cisco has now gone in for power trading.<br><br>The entire superstructure gets linked to an integrated dashboard with pointers on energy usage, transportation, space utilization et al. making life a lot easier.

Gymnasiums, gaming zones

Again, catering to the younger workforce, the campus is liberally sprinkled with gymnasiums, gaming zones, thematic floors and breakout areas, also known as collaborative spaces.

Solution-driven

At any given corner, millennials can be seen converging on issues over coffee or a cricket match being telecast. <br><br>Clearly, the 'cool' frat is more solution-driven than its predecessors, who were problemcentric and the Cisco Bangalore campus is striving hard to carve out such cool spaces.

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Cisco systems b16 Building

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Cisco’s Bangalore campus is a 2.1 million square foot campus on the Outer Ring Road in Bangalore. The B-16 building has over 1,500 interoperable Therma-Fuser™   VAV units installed, utilizing square, round, and linear models.

PROJECT NAME

Cisco Systems B16 Building

Cisco Systems India Pvt Ltd

Bangalore, India

MARKET SECTOR

Building size.

2.1 million sf

CONSTRUCTION TYPE

• New Construction

SUSTAINABILITY

• LEED® Platinum Target

THERMA-FUSER SYSTEM CONFIGURATION

• Option 4: Interoperable BACnet Diffusers

ACUTHERM MANUFACTURER’S REP

CANI Marketing Pvt Ltd

• Controls & Accessories

Construction Week India

Latest Construction News | Construction Week Online

Cisco to add 6.6 lakh sq ft to Bangalore unit

Networking major Cisco has firmed plans for developing an additional 6.6 lakh sq ft office space with an option of scaling it up to 2.2 million sq ft in Bangalore, making this the largest development plan by an IT major in recent times. Cisco currently occupies 1.2 million sq ft at Cessna Business Park, an operating SEZ developed by Bangalore-based Prestige Group and has a staff strength of around 4,000. The 6.6 lakh sq.ft facility is targeted to be completed by the second quarter of 2012. On completion, the company’s India centre will be its largest outside the US. With Cisco designating Bangalore as their globalisation centre, the company expects approximately 12,000 employees based here over the next three to five years. A part of the additional space will be used to consolidate Cisco’s offices in Bangalore into this state-of-the-art campus where all businesses and functions are co-located.  

Cisco Blogs / Corporate Social Responsibility / Cisco’s green buildings: Good for the planet and our well-being

Corporate Social Responsibility

Cisco’s green buildings: good for the planet and our well-being, jordan hart-white.

Earth Aware , Cisco’s month-long employee celebration of sustainability and the planet is also an opportune time to focus on green buildings. But first, what is a green building?

By definition, a green or sustainable building is a building that, because of its construction and features, can maintain or even improve the quality of life of the environment in which it is located.

Green buildings conserve resources

There are several features which can make a building green, including:

• Efficient use of energy, water, and other resources
• Use of renewable energy, such as solar energy
• Pollution and waste reduction measures, and the enabling of re-use and recycling of materials
• Good indoor environmental air quality
• Use of materials that are non-toxic, ethical, and sustainable
• Consideration of the environment in design, construction, and operation
• Consideration of the quality of life of occupants in design, construction, and operation
• A design that enables adaptation to a changing environment.

Any building can be a green building, whether it’s a home, office, school, hospital, community center, or other structure, provided it includes some of the features listed above.

Green buildings improve our quality of life

Green buildings reduce or eliminate negative environmental impacts while also creating positive impacts for both people and the environment. It is worth noting that individuals spend over 90 percent of their time indoors, so that time should be spent in the most healthy space as possible. Green buildings have been connected with employee benefits, such as mitigating stress and burnout.

Simple steps, like improving air quality, increasing natural light, and introducing greenery can also have a dramatic impact on the bottom line, by improving employee productivity and reducing absenteeism, staff turnover, and medical costs .

Typically, organizations prioritizing their employees’ wellness and environmental sustainability in the construction of their buildings will follow third-party certifications, such as LEED , WELL , BREEAM , and FitWEL . These certifications focus on tangible and quantifiable sustainability measures, like reducing the consumption of energy, water, and other resources; but also, the intangible benefits, such as making improvements to layout and noise, indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and lighting.

What is Cisco doing?

Before the pandemic, 17 percent of our real estate space was certified through a green building standard (LEED, WELL, or equivalent). Now, we are at 19.5 percent certified through a green building standard. These are great steps forward, but we are always looking for ways to do better.  

While most of our employees were working from home in 2020 and 2021, Cisco decided to pursue a new green building rating called the WELL Health-Safety Rating . This new rating was developed to help organizations and businesses adopt evidence-based measures that promote the health, safety, and well-being of their occupants. It includes 22 strategies to:

•  Keep spaces clean and sanitized
• Provide essential health benefits and services
• Communicate your health and safety efforts
• Help everyone prepare for an emergency
• Assess air and water quality

As of January 2022, 55 of Cisco’s largest and/or newest buildings in San Jose, Research Triangle Park (North Carolina), Chicago, New York City, Bangalore, and London were certified to this standard.  

Now that our workforce is beginning to return to the office, Cisco has decided to pursue the WELL Building Standard and LEED certification for new, large building projects. By pursuing both certifications, we know our buildings will be high performing, energy efficient spaces that positively impact the people inside them.

Spotlight on NYC and Atlanta

The renovation of our office in New York City is complete. This new space is designed to achieve LEED Silver certification and includes technologies such as Power over Ethernet (POE) connected lights, desks, and blinds. The office is designed to consume seven percent less energy and 27 percent less water than the local code requires through low flow toilet/sinks and energy efficient lighting (LEDs). Our Atlanta office will be the second completed LEED and WELL certified building in our portfolio (after Chicago) and will include Cisco technology that measures indoor air quality ratings in each room, healthy break room offerings, reflection rooms, and curated exercise programming like yoga classes .

What about our headquarters in San Jose?

We know hybrid work is here to stay. We developed our first collaboration hub in San Jose as a place for people and teams to come together for meetings, events, and volunteering opportunities. The building includes features that promote employee well-being, such as massage chairs, creativity zones, and reflection rooms, combined with mental well-being offerings and curated events for teams. As an example, one team could choose honey tasting and mental health training. Another could choose a giving back activity and a yoga class. Teams can choose what they do with their time from a catalogue of options. And yes, it will be WELL building-certified as well.

In summary, we have an opportunity through our real estate to focus on more than just how our buildings perform, but also how they impact people’s well-being. We look forward to expanding our green building portfolio, to ensure that our spaces are safe, healthy, and sustainable.  

Revisit Cisco’s Environmental Sustainability efforts

Energy & Sustainability Manager

Global energy management & sustainability.

Great blog. Thank you Jordan for all your leadership and efforts in leading the Green Team Network at Cisco and promoting sustainability across the company and our communities. Green buildings certainly will improve our quality of life, thank you for those great insights!!!

Well said Jordan and great job to you and the entire team for driving green building standards throughout Cisco’s portfolio!

Thanks for all your fantastic work, Cisco. Shaping the future of the internet and creating a more green and sustainable future for our world.

Thanks Jordan and terrific work team in making a meaningful impact inside and outside Cisco.

The even bigger contribution of Hybrid and remote work is the reduction and elimination of office footprint in general, as well as carbon emissions from commutes. The time saving from commute is not only improving worker well being, but also increasing worker productivity.

Jordan you do amazing job.

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