With high speed internet access, I became excited about the potential for the revitalization of business is the East St. Louis area. A small Business Center in the a remodeled floor of a hotel provided a great place to set up a center that could both attract large corporations to the community and lower the start-up overhead for micro-entrepreneurial ventures within the community.

In this project, I have compiled an introductory plan for the types of rooms and services that could be offered in this center. My hope is that this could jumpstart the conversation on what needs to be done to revitalize the business sector of the community.

It is not enough to provide the facilities for the community. Individual consultation on how to best implement this technology into a business model ensure that those using this facility are getting to most out of access. I would that a local consultation company would provide onsite Online Business Optimization services. Additionally, my hope is that Univeristy of Illinois departments including GSLIS and the Business School could conduct seminars, workshops, and training sessions to on business technology concerns (e.g. Internet Security, Network Service, and use of office productivity application).

Ideas for Online Business Services

Online Business Optimization would hopefully include:

• Search Engine Marketing,
• E-Commerce Optimization
• Website Development
• Onsite Service Space to host webpages

Ideas on Small Office Services

Another program that I hope the small business center might offer would be a small office service. The provides a client with a productive office space with out the headache and cost of convential office space. Those using this space could receive discounted rates to facility and other services offered by the center.

Small Offices could include:

• Standard Phone with Speakerphone
• Standard Furnishings with uprgradability
• Personalized Voice Mail
• Receptionist in Reception Area
• Basic Computing/Printing Options Available
• Utilities, Maintanence, and Cleaning Services

Additional Facility Services could include:

• Package Handling
• Printing Service Including Color Print, Facsimile Services
• Local Area Access to Resource Library to include basic business reference sources (i.e. Mergent, OneSource, ABI Inform etc)
• Loanable Technology (ie Laptops, Hard Drives, Flash Drives, Calculators, DVD Players, Video and Digital Cameras, Whiteboards, markers, and erasers, etc)

Large Conference Room

Large Conference Room

Ideally would have:

• Hopefully can seat at least 25 people
• Smart Desk with either/both wired ethernet internet connection or wireless connection at each seat for laptop use during meeting
• Wireless Networked Connection from each seat to printer and projector
• Networked Printer
• Networked Projector with dedicated screen
• ISDN/IP based video conferencing unit that could be networked to laptops at each seat
• Digital telephone
• Interchangable placard on Room door
• Optional Smart Podium which can be configured to Projector or to individual laptops
• Options to Install Web Conferencing Software (e.g. Adobe Acrobat Connect, Microsoft Office Live Meeting, etc)

Room Usage:

• Medium to Large Corporate Meetings
• Video Conferencing
• Multimedia Presentations to Larger Groups

Seminar & Training Room

Room would hopefully include:

• Adaptable Seating Arrangement for Seminars or Large Training Session which might invole the addtion or removal of individual desk space
• Desk space with wired connection to LAN for presentations, collaborative work, or testing
• Digital Projector with moveable smart podium control unit
• ISDN/IP based video conferencing unit
• Sound System with multiple wireless mircophone options
• Digital Telephone
• Personalize Name Placard on Door
• Wireless Internet Access

Use of Room:

• Large Training Session both in person or video conferenced
• Seminars
• Corporate Gatherings
• Large Presentations
• Community Meetings or Presentations
• Facilty Led Workshops

Small Conference Room

Room Should Have:

• Seating for 6 to 8 people
• Smart Desk with either/both wired ethernet internet connection or wireless connection at each seat for laptop use during meeting
• Wireless Networked Connection from each seat to printer and projector
• Networked Projector with dedicated screen
• Digital telephone
• Interchangable placard on Room door

Room Usage:

• Small business meeetings
• Client Meetings
• Local Business Brainstorming Session
• Business Consultation Sessions

Useful Links

These are some of the most helpful links I found while designing this project:

http://www.smart-detroit.com/index.html-  This served as the base inspiration for the space that I imagined
The ISDN to IP Migration for Videoconferencing – A paper on the different types of Video Conferencing Options
Bringing the Meeting Room Into the Digital Age- A fairly comprehensive paper of the future of conference rooms and how they can best serve businesses
Smart Conference Rooms from Fortune – A small introduction on what a SMART conference room is and what it might contain
Remix Rooms: Redefining the smart conference room- An overview of the changing aspects smart conference room technology and these rooms might cater to these sectors