Technology & Infrastructure

THE MARIS METHODOLOGY:

DESIGNING FROM THE “NETWORK OUT”

At Maris, we refuse to treat IT as a “Day 2” deliverable. We integrate technology from the very first concept drawing. Our methodology is built on the principle of “Designing from the Network Out.”

This means we do not place a single desk until we have mapped the invisible infrastructure that supports it.

1. The Pathway:

We map the “containment” (floor boxes and ceiling voids) to ensure cables are hidden but accessible. There is nothing worse than a beautiful boardroom ruined by a trailing HDMI cable.

2. The Wireless Canopy:

We conduct “Heat Mapping” of the floorplan to place Wireless Access Points (WAPs) for saturation coverage. We design for “roaming” – ensuring a call doesn’t drop as you walk from the kitchen to a meeting room.

3. The Seamless Handshake:

We specify “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) systems that work instantly. A user should be able to walk into a room and cast their screen in under 30 seconds. If it takes 5 minutes, the tech has failed.

DEEP DIVE:

THE COMMS ROOM (THE HEART OF THE BUILDING)

The most critical room in your new office is the one your clients will never see: the Server Room (or MER – Main Equipment Room).

In many fit-outs, this is treated as a cupboard. This is a dangerous mistake. Servers generate immense heat and require specific environmental conditions to prevent failure.

1. Cooling
You cannot rely on the building’s main air conditioning (which often switches off at 6 PM). You need dedicated 24/7 cooling units (N+1 redundancy) to keep the room at 21°C.

2. Power Resilience
What happens if the building loses power? We install UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) systems – batteries that bridge the gap until power returns or generators kick in – preventing data corruption.

3. Security (ISO 27001)
As an ISO 27001 accredited partner, Maris designs these rooms to banking-grade security standards. This includes steel lined walls, access control logs, and gas based fire suppression systems (which extinguish fires without water, saving the hardware).

MARIS TOOLS:

THE “TECH-READY” CHECKLIST

Give this list to your IT Director before signing off the technical design.

• Cabling Standard: Are we specifying Cat 6A cabling? (Essential for 10Gb speeds and futureproofing for Wi-Fi 6/7).
• The “Mimecast” Test: Do the meeting room acoustics support video? (Glass walls reflect sound, causing echo on calls. Have we specified acoustic absorption?)
• Room Booking: Is there a panel outside the meeting room integrated with Outlook/ Google Calendar to stop “room squatting”?
• Video Equity: Are the cameras wide-angle (180-degree) or AI-enabled to frame individual faces, so remote workers see everyone, not just a bowling-alley view of a long table?
• Guest Access: Is there a segregated “Guest Wi-Fi” VLAN that keeps visitors off your secure internal network?