The continuous flow of emerging technology is progressing at a rapid speed and is radically transforming businesses. Trends point to greater cooperative interaction between users as hardware and software providers continue to develop new and disruptive products that improve the flow of business with better service, more innovative products, lower prices, greater flexibility and improved efficiencies. In fact, according to PwC’s Strategy&, 45 percent of technology company CEOs said their company had entered a new industry within the last three years, with an additional 23 percent who considered doing so. The future of technology and its influence is phenomenal.
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The continuous flow of emerging technology is progressing at a rapid speed
KBS is well-versed in technology and many of its buildings are equipped with the latest advancements to meet the demands of today’s high-tech players, including the following:
• Sophisticated network to accommodate data exchange
• Full Wi-Fi coverage
• Flexible and open workspaces
• Video conferencing capabilities
• Smartboards
• Telecommuting capabilities
• Central data repository
• High-end amenities
• Data security
Multi-functional software, mobile communications, emails, conference calls, web-based education, digital files and electronic research have spurred a movement toward modern office designs. KBS has maintained a competitive advantage to capitalize on the growing tech industry by seeking to tailor each space to the functionality of each tenant to ensure the best operating and most innovative environment. This strategy has helped capture the attention of high-tech powerhouses including Rocket Software, PointClickCare and Zoom Video who are prominent tenants within the KBS portfolio.
In today’s highly competitive technology sector, support is critical, says Andy Youniss, president and CEO of Rocket Software.
Rocket Software
Towers at Emeryville, Emeryville, CA
Lincoln Court, Campbell, CA
Leased space: 15,486 square feet
www.rocketsoftware.com
Nearly every enterprise relies on some kind of software to keep their business running and functioning. Rocket Software is a leading global developer of software products that help corporations, government agencies and other organizations reach their technology and business goals. It has formed powerful partnerships with companies like IBM, EMC, Fujitsu, HP Enterprise Services and Hitachi Data Systems.
“At Rocket, support isn’t just a function — it’s a profession,” states the company’s CEO, Andy Youniss. “When problems arise, our committed support professionals have the experience and product knowledge needed to diagnose and resolve most issues within hours.”
Rocket Software’s story dates back to 1990 in a spare bedroom near Boston where one of the founders started writing assembler code. By 2016, the company’s portfolio has grown to more than 100 products that supports thousands of companies with their most challenging business problems, and helps them run their critical infrastructure, business processes, and data, as well as extend those assets to take advantage of cloud, mobile, analytics and other future innovations.
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Rocket Software’s story dates back to 1990 in a spare bedroom near Boston where one of the founders started writing assembler code.
Much of Rocket Software’s growth has come from acquiring other tech companies whose products and services complement its strategy while keeping existing employees intact. In 2011 it acquired the Emeryville, Calif.-based Aldon, which brought the software developer to the KBS building. Now known as Rocket Aldon, the business unit provides application lifecycle management (ALM) for the business of IT.
“The KBS-owned Towers at Emeryville office just couldn’t be better,” said Vice President, Dan Magid. “It really has served as our flag in the ground in the Bay Area. It is a phenomenal office with a lot of shared work space and private office space, which reinforces collaboration.”
Towers at Emeryville is a three-building, Class A office park located across the bay from downtown San Francisco. The trophy-quality property encompasses 815,018 square feet of office space and a rich amenity package that includes an on-site cafe and bakery, a full-service bank, dry cleaners, car wash, state-of-the-art fitness center with locker rooms and conference rooms.
Zoom Video Communications
The Almaden, San Jose, CA
Leased space: 17,000 square feet
www.zoom.us
Video conferencing is one the most popular and efficient methods of connecting and doing business today—and is a staple in nearly every office. At the forefront of this communication wave is Zoom, a tenant within KBS’ Almaden building in San Jose.
Zoom started in 2011 when Eric S. Yuan, a web conferencing industry leader who was the heart and soul of the WebEx product from 1997 to 2011, recruited an all-star engineering team to build the next generation of online video conferencing. Today, Zoom unifies cloud video conferencing, simple online meetings, group messaging and a software-defined conference room solution into one easy-to-use platform. It offers the best video, audio, and wireless screen-sharing experience across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Blackberry, Zoom Rooms and H.323/SIP room systems.
Boasting an employee base of more than 350 — and expanding — Zoom’s growth in recent years has been exponential and can be attributed to its ease of use, video quality and strong customer base. It has great adoption with tech companies, education institutions, healthcare and finance.
KBS’ The Almaden building has afforded the company an environment that fosters creativity, and innovation. The combination of open floor plans, small meeting spaces for brainstorming allow for a lot of sharing of ideas and collaboration.
“Our office space is very important to the success of our business. We need to have open collaboration across all departments allowing all parties to have a say in our product and how to make it better,” says Zoom President, David Berman. “The right space helps to create the culture of the company. The combination of open space, along with Zoom Rooms in our huddle and conference rooms allows us to innovate quickly and deliver happiness to our customers.”
The Almaden is a prestigious Class A office tower in downtown San Jose. Current tenant amenities include a fitness center and locker rooms and a five-level parking garage. The property is located in proximity to the pedestrian friendly San Pedro Square, which offers tenants a diverse collection of dining, shopping and entertainment nearby.
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Our office space is very important to the success of our business.
PointClickCare
Northland Center, Bloomington, MN
Leased space: 15,486 square feet
www.pointclickcare.com
The Baby Boomer population is rapidly entering retirement age, and it’s projected that the number of seniors in the United States will swell by 53 percent over the next 15 years. By comparison, the senior population in Canada is expected to grow by 62 percent over the same time period. Couple that with modern day medical, scientific and technological advances and innovations that are increasing life expectancy rates, and the demand for senior care is heating up.
To keep up with this changing demographic, PointClickCare was created in 2000 to serve as the system of record for senior care providers. It’s the leading cloud-based software for the senior care continuum, offering a portfolio of cloud-based software and services designed from the ground up to help providers manage the complex requirements of senior care.
Today, more than 13,000 skilled nursing facilities, senior living communities and home health agencies serving approximately 925,000 residents per day, use PointClickCare — making it the North American healthcare IT market leader for the senior care continuum. But what makes PointClickCare unique is its technology.
“We believe the PointClickCare platform is the system of record for senior care facilities that helps our customers improve quality of care and demonstrate better patient outcomes, enhance financial performance, facilitate interoperability among healthcare providers and movement throughout the continuum of care and simplify regulatory compliance,” says PointClickCare co-founder and CEO, Mike Wessinger.
PointClickCare’s sophisticated software requires equally sophisticated office space that can accommodate a highly creative and innovative team.
“We strive to maintain a modern, comfortable, flexible workspace for our employees,” said Wessinger. “We recognize that everyone works in different ways, which is why our key focus is to provide a diverse space that allows our employees to move from area to area as needed.”
KBS’ Northland Center property fell on the PointClickCare radar due to its technology capabilities and offerings, and its rich amenity package. The company specifically looked for a space that would offer employees in Minnesota similar amenities as their corporate head office, and were thrilled that Northland Centre included a fitness center, in-house café and conference facilities that play a big role in helping the teams remain connected.
Northand Center is a well-located, highly amenitized Class A office asset offering tenants a full-service cafeteria with catering services, training and conference facilities, a full-service fitness center, heated VIP parking and a sundry shop with dry cleaning.
