Yesterday I attended the opening of Citrix's new office in Raleigh, North Carolina. This new facility was built upon the foundation of an old factory and warehouse and will be used primarily by employees working on the ShareFile product family. But the scope of this building is much larger for community around it. Just a 10-15 minute walk from downtown, this new office is in an area dominated by abandoned warehouses. Citrix has spent more that 3 years working with local, state and federal officials to open this new office, with the hope that this will rejuvenate the area, bringing new businesses, housing and transportation to the area. The Governor, Mayor and other local politicians joined Citrix's executive team in the ribbon cutting ceremony.
MyPOV
In an era where technology is making it easier than ever to work anytime from anywhere, it's still important to create spaces where people want to gather to dream and create. As someone who's worked as a remote employee for more than a decade I can tell you, all the mobile devices and web-conferences in the world don't fully replace human interaction. Much like the cool startup offices found in Silicon Valley, Citrix has created a space where their staff wants to come to work. I candidly interviewed several employees yesterday and they could not be happier about this new facility. They talked about the cost of living in Raleigh compared to places like New York and San Francisco, the weather and walking or biking to work instead of having an hour or longer commute. After touring the high-tech open floor plan with desks that raise and lower, dual monitors, gym, and rooftop cafeteria I can honestly say I'm pretty jealous about their working environment. Right now the only issue is there is not much surrounding the office, but that's the point... this is intended to motivate stores and restaurants to open in the area. I hope Citrix invites me back in a year to see the progress that's been made.
Until then, here are some of my thoughts and pictures from the day.