60 Rooms, 1 Month: Cisco and Salamander’s Remarkable Feat In Transforming a Workplace
Acquisitions are exciting for expansion and acceleration of a business yet can be challenging and time consuming as well. And so, it might have been that way with the major acquisition of Splunk by Cisco in the Spring of 2024, which exemplifies this dynamic. In fact, this was the largest acquisition in Cisco’s history. Cisco, renowned for its leadership in networking technology, collaboration, and security, joined forces with Splunk, a company recognized for its expertise in analyzing machine data and providing operational intelligence to businesses. This strategic move aimed to enable Cisco to “supercharge” its application of artificial intelligence for enterprise customers, forging new, secure connections.
60 Conference Rooms in 30 Days Flat
In this unique scenario, the imperative for both speed and precision is crystal clear. Cisco set out with a goal: to ensure that spaces in Splunk’s San Jose headquarters were fully enabled from the moment the acquisition was finalized, with a mere 30 days’ notice. That meant retrofitting a staggering 60 conference and meeting rooms within that tight timeframe. With the target of less than a week, this endeavor was ambitious, yet Cisco remained steadfastly committed to establishing environments conducive to inclusivity and productivity for all teams involved – right from the start.
Enter Salamander Designs
Naturally, Cisco turned to Salamander for assistance with this challenge. Cisco had used Salamander’s audio/video and technology furniture solutions extensively over the past several years, including showcase office projects in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Paris and Singapore. Salamander Designs portfolio of wall mounts, credenzas and huddle room solutions has allowed Cisco to rapidly deploy video-enabled collaboration spaces while minimizing costly and time-consuming room remediation work required using traditional deployment approaches and furniture.
~ Mark Miller, Director of Cisco’s Collaboration Center of Excellence.
“For this sizable project, we gave Salamander 30 days from start to completion, including their time to design, build and deliver all the furniture systems to support this project,” shared Mark Miller, Director of Cisco’s Collaboration Center of Excellence. “An effort of this size and complexity would typically take us months to complete, but Salamander’s understanding of our tight timelines, the breadth of their portfolio, and their willingness to partner with our Real Estate and IT teams was what made this project a success.”
The project included several different room types, from small huddle spaces all the way up to a large board room, as well as several collaboration spaces in the open plan. Different technologies and systems had to be supported. As such, the project included Salamander Designs Huddle Stations, Mobile Carts, various Lifts and other custom furniture to meet the specific end user requirements and combined Cisco and Splunk needs.
The Salamander furniture selected matched perfectly to the requirements of each space type. The furniture systems support displays from medium to large, and many are mobile, making the facility modern and able to easily accommodate any meeting, gathering or video conference at a moment’s notice. In the causal huddle rooms Salamander Electric Wall Stands were used in conjunction with a Cisco Board Pro 55s to provide a height adjustable video experience to employees. Several Salamander Huddle Lite tables were also installed, along with a 50” display and Cisco Room Bar, to dramatically expand the number of small traditional collaboration rooms. Large rooms used credenzas to support dual displays and Cisco Room Bar Pro solution, and many Salamander Electric Mobile Carts with Cisco Board Pro 75’s were placed in the open plan to provide additional flexibility
Three Big Benefits
When we asked Mark about what stands out most to him, he highlighted three key benefits of Salamander in this process. “Speed is obviously a major benefit, allowing us to quickly, being able to deploy technology minimizing us touching walls, relocating power and/or data. Second is the cost savings attributed to those third-party trades. Lastly, and most importantly, we’ve future proofed this environment. We typically refresh our collaboration technology, which is our video devices and third-party displays, every 3-4 years. By using Salamander we’ve dramatically reduces the time, complexity and cost of these future upgrades, which will pay dividends both today and well into the future.”
So, did the companies make the tight deadline? Indeed, they did. In a mere 30 days, Cisco, now joined by Splunk by Cisco, successfully made their open date and collaboration on day one. Teams swiftly became operational, productive, and maximized the utilization of both space and resources post-acquisition. And as they say, the rest is history.
About Salamander Designs, Ltd.
For over 30 years, multiple award-winning Salamander Designs has been designing and manufacturing premium quality furniture for residential and commercial audio/video technology integration that complements any space. Committed to the promise that every customer deserves furniture that is shaped by their needs, Salamander’s expert design team and build-to-order formula serve a wide range of markets equally, including the advanced audiophile, luxury residential and commercial customers of all sizes and categories. All products are custom made in a 100% solar-powered USA facility, uniquely quick shipped within days and backed by a lifetime warranty which includes superior support. To learn why global companies and thousands of residential customers worldwide rely on Salamander furniture.
Understanding the California Proposition 65 Warning
A small amount of wood dust, brass, PVC or other elements on furniture and household items might seem trivial to many. The state of California, however, has taken the issue of ingredients in consumer products to a whole new level with its Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, known as "Proposition 65."
Originally, the proposition was intended to protect drinking water sources from chemical contamination. Over the years, however, the scope of the law has exploded. As the Los Angeles Times wrote recently, "Warnings (about Proposition 65) are everywhere: parking lots, hardware stores, hospitals and just about any decent-sized business."
Proposition 65 requires warning labels on products that may contain any of 800-plus chemicals or ingredients that the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) lists as a carcinogen or a reproductive toxicant. These include wood dust, brass, and a multitude of other everyday elements. A flame retardant upholstery chemical currently required by the state of California to be added to upholstered furniture foams is now included among chemicals that require a warning under Proposition 65.
Many of the elements listed under Proposition 65 are common everyday additives found in products such as jewelry, lamps, ceramic tableware, lead crystal glasses, electric cords, automobiles, beauty products and furniture.
Because there is always a chance that wood dust or some other of the hundreds of ingredients listed in Proposition 65 could potentially be on our products or packing materials, we must include Proposition 65 warnings on our products or risk large fines under this law in California. In addition, we are required to use the exact wording for this warning specified by California: " This product can expose you to chemicals including formaldehyde or Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) which are known to the state of California to cause cancer, and birth defects and or other reproductive harm. For more information regarding the regulation go to www.P65warnings.ca.gov."
Ideally, we would have placed these Salamander Designs warnings only on our products being shipped to California. However, Salamander Designs, like most companies, builds products in large quantities for stock. At the time of production, we rarely know where each item will ship. We have no alternative except to place these warnings on all of our products, whether it ends up in California or not. It is also important for all retailers to leave the warning on the product when they are shipping to people in California.
The safety of our customers and our employees is of highest priority for Salamander Designs.
