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AN iOFFICE

SUCCESS STORY

Big Fish Games: Reels in iOFFICE IWMS and Nets Big Results
FOUNDED

2002

AREAS SERVED

Worldwide

INDUSTRY

Computer Games

SQ. FT.

187,000

HEADQUARTERS

Seattle, Washington

BIG FISH GAMES' GOAL:

A WORKPLACE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION THAT COULD COORDINATE MOVES ON TWO CONTINENTS.

Big Fish Games, one of the world's largest casual video game development companies, was looking for an integrated workforce management system (IWMS) that could coordinate moves on two continents. The company had a small facilities management (FM) team and was using labor-intensive manual processes to manage moves within the ever-growing company. Armed with only static PDF floor plans and Excel spreadsheets, the FM team had no way to visualize the actual move process.

THE iOFFICE PLATFORM ALIGNED WITH THE BIG FISH GAMES COMPANY CULTURE, WHICH EMPHASIZES THE NEED TO EMPOWER EACH EMPLOYEE TO DO THEIR BEST BY PROVIDING THEM WITH THE BEST TOOLS."

Evan Cottingham, Director of Global Real Estate and Facilities

Big Fish Games

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THE PROBLEM

In 2012, Big Fish Games had to increase its workforce by 100-150 percent.

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THE ACTION

After evaluating multiple IWMS providers, Big Fish chose iOFFICE for its customization, usability and scalability.

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THE RESULT

Big Fish gained insight into space utilization and can now strategically plan for the future.

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THE FUTURE

Big Fish plans on strengthening its strategic partnership with iOFFICE by implementing more modules.

BIG FISH GAMES REELS IN iOFFICE IWMS AND NETS BIG RESULTS

Seattle-based Big Fish Games is one of the world’s largest casual video game development companies. Since its founding in 2002, the company has distributed more than 2.5 billion games to customers in 150 countries and boasts a growing catalog of 450+ mobile games and 3,500+ PC games.

THE PROBLEM

Big Fish Games’ Seattle headquarters is the largest of their three offices, with 122,000 square feet of space and 600 employees. There are also two regional facilities: one in Oakland, California (34,000 square feet and home to 100 team members) and another 2,000-square-foot building with 12 employees in Luxembourg.

The company had a small facilities management (FM) team and was using a labor-intensive manual process to manage moves within the growing company. Armed with only static PDF floor plans and Excel spreadsheets, the FM team had no way to visualize the actual move process, which resulted in several moves to find the right fit. Furthermore, without dynamic tracking or reporting capabilities, the FM team couldn’t monitor the quantity or impact of moves.

To complicate matters, there was no integration with HR or IT—each department had its own systems and databases. Therefore, when a new employee would join the Big Fish Games workforce, the FM team would simply get an email from HR and then finish the onboarding and set up manually. The lack of a standard procedure and centralized repository led to inaccurate and quickly outdated employee information. While this process was sufficient, it was not ideal and certainly not scalable.

In 2012, Big Fish Games was faced with a major challenge: increasing their workforce by 100 to 150 percent. Evan Cottingham, Director of Global Real Estate and Facilities, was responsible for the expansion and was feeling the pressure. Having prior experience managing moves of this size, Cottingham understood how difficult this undertaking would be without workplace management software to support the process. This is what ultimately triggered his search for a solution.

THE ACTION

Cottingham began his search for a solution at IFMA’s World Workplace. After learning more about the numerous software choices, he decided to issue an RFP for Big Fish Games.

Among the IWMS providers Cottingham considered were FM Systems, Office Space and iOFFICE. What set iOFFICE apart from the competition was its customization, usability, mobility, scalability and price point. The iOFFICE platform also aligned with the Big Fish Games company culture, which emphasizes the need to empower each employee to do their best by providing them with the best tools.

IMPLEMENTATION

In preparation for the big move, Big Fish Games decided to start with a test environment where they used iOFFICE’s Move Management module in tandem with the existing protocol to increase the probability of a positive outcome. This strategy proved successful, and when it came time for the real move, Cottingham and his team introduced iOFFICE to the rest of the Big Fish Games workforce.

In addition to the 2013 move, the FM team has supervised an average of two to three interdepartmental reorganizations per year, using the iOFFICE solution to help at each step along the way. The iOFFICE mobile app allows team leads to see exactly where to place personnel as well as equipment and then make the moves instantly.

“iOFFICE IS THE RIGHT DECISION FOR ANY AGILE AND GROWING COMPANY – WITHOUT A DOUBT. WHEN YOU’RE SEARCHING FOR A WORKPLACE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION, DON’T JUST GO WITH THE BIG GUYS. JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE BIG, DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE THE BEST. iOFFICE LISTENS TO THEIR CUSTOMERS AND MAKES SURE YOU HAVE THE BEST SOLUTION FOR YOUR NEEDS.”

Evan Cottingham, Director of Global Real Estate and Facilities

Big Fish Games

THE RESULTS

Since first partnering with iOFFICE in 2012, Big Fish Games has saved untold hours in move planning and increased the productivity of the FM team. With the data collected by iOFFICE, Big Fish Games is able to do more strategic planning for the future. Now they have complete transparency into what’s happening in the workplace and how space is being used.

Implementing the iOFFICE solution has also allowed Big Fish Games to accommodate the needs of their growing company without having to expand their team. Though the workforce has increased from 200 to 800 employees, the FM team has had to hire only one additional person. While Cottingham’s budget has remained the same, he can do much more with it. Whereas in the past he might have been able to do 200 moves at a time, he can now coordinate 600 moves simultaneously.

What’s more, the Big Fish Games employees love working with the platform—in particular, they appreciate the easy-to-use interface. iOFFICE has also helped the FM team communicate more effectively with the C-suite about current and future space utilization.

THE FUTURE

Big Fish Games plans on strengthening their strategic partnership with iOFFICE by implementing the Asset Management, Visitor Management and Mail Tracking modules as part of an upcoming real estate expansion. They are also sharing the data collected via the iOFFICE platform with their architecture partner to incorporate into the schematics of the new building.

 

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