Telecom Space Planning

By Devon Maresco
Marketing Coordinator
SpaceIQ

As the digital world continues to expand, it requires physical expansion from telecom companies to support it. Telecom space planning has become a paramount focus in the wake of more server farms, new 5G lines, enhanced cell towers, and other such telecom assets. Even planning accommodations for a growing workforce requires more physical space. Safe to say, growth isn’t limited to the digital plane.

As telecom companies set to expand and grow their operational reach, there’s benefit in looking ahead at how to acquire, organize, and operate space for the best ROI. Mind for proper space planning can take many of the growing pains and headaches out of a scope of operations that’s continually growing.

Here’s a closer look at telecom space planning and how it affects digital data providers as more and more of the world moves online.

What is telecom space planning?

Telecom is about more than cell towers and data centers. While these represent the critical infrastructure that powers telecom services, telecoms themselves still rely on traditional business lines to function. Billing, customer service, sales, HR, marketing, and more are all critical aspects of the growing telecom landscape. Each needs its own space to operate.

Space planning is the practice of looking ahead at new or available facilities, and deciding the best use of that space based on the business’ needs. If the sales team is expanding, what type of facilities do they need to support them? If there’s a focus on engineering and data analysis, where are these operations best hosted in the company’s real estate portfolio? Is there enough space in a specific warehouse to expand the data center as-needed? These questions (and their answers) are a function of space planning.

Space planning helps telecoms grow accordingly, allocate space efficiently, and keep operations running synergistically. It’s the key driver behind mapping the physical infrastructure that supports our growing digital landscape.

Benefits of telecom space planning

Telecom space planning is a cornerstone of streamlining operations. Whether it’s the data centers that house cloud environments or the administrative buildings that keep the company’s lights on, everything needs the right space to function. When there’s a place for everything and everything’s in its place, telecoms benefit:

• Telecom business facilities become more accessible
• Employees have the space they need to execute mission-critical tasks
• Reduction in the amount of space needed to conduct operations
• The cost to the company drops as facility efficiency lowers overhead expense
• Fewer overlaps and interruptions ensure smoother operations
• Enhanced safety, security, and privacy in well-orchestrated spaces

Beyond delegating space enough for every business line, space planning also delivers de-siloed benefits to the company. It encourages telecoms to look for synergies and find ways to integrate different business units, so they can work together in pursuit of a more efficient range of service offerings.

The role of telecom space planning software

As telecoms look closely at the way they’re allocating and using space, they’re turning to software to help contextualize it. Telecom space planning software provides an intimate look into floor plans and space allocation data, which informs a better standard of facility usage.

For instance, software can show a telecom a current floor plan for an administrative office, with space metrics represented alongside it. Drag-and-drop floor planning tools make it easy to rearrange and re-orchestrate the layout, with a real-time look at the metrics that govern it. This allows administrators to sandbox solutions and make changes without disrupting operations.

The data quantified by telecom space planning software is also important for informing operational improvements. How many workspaces go underutilized each day? Which business lines have more space than they need vs. too little to go around? These metrics aggregate into a functional dashboard that makes it easy to make changes and improvements, or plan ahead to better-accommodate the needs of the business.

There are also the numerous benefits that come from automation and machine learning. Software lowers the administrative burden of sorting through data, reviewing trends, and making mistakes when planning space. With preprogrammed parameters and rules, and instant access to mobilized data, action is easier. Decision-makers can feel better about allocating, using, and optimizing space when presented with data that’s already clean, organized, and assessed.

Physical space deserves the same attention as digital

Each day, the world creates roughly 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. It all goes somewhere—whether that’s onto a server, from phone to phone, or into something that’s shared in a business cloud. Facilitating all this data takes a powerful physical infrastructure. Planning for the efficient use of that infrastructure is an important consideration.

Telecom company space planning will only become more important as demand for growing digital solutions powers society forward. Telecoms that recognize their need for space, identify the best use of space, and coordinate it accordingly are companies that’ll bring the future of digital solutions of every form to the eager customers that rely on them.

Keep reading: Telecom Space Utilization