Pardon our Dust -- Tucson EBC is Moving

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We're moving! We often joke that I.B.M. stands for "I've Been Moved", and the Tucson Executive Briefing Center is no exception.

Today is the last day for us in Building 9070. Starting tomorrow, the Tucson EBC will operate out of Building 9032 instead. While moving is always painful, there are some distinct advantages to the new facility:

• The Building 9070 facility has been in operation since 2003, and some IBM executives felt it was starting to show its age. The new facility reflects IBM's commitment and investment to IBM System Storage portfolio, including a new Green Data Center reflecting the latest "best practices" in facility design similar to the one we have in the Raleigh EBC.
  
  
• Several companies rent space in Building 9070. Clients visiting Building 9070 had to walk past the offices of our competitors. Building 9032 is exclusively IBM, with the new facility just off the main lobby.
  
  
• The previous facility was on the top floor of Building 9070, and the floors often shook because of an air handler on the roof. Clients complained that it felt like a minor earthquake every time it kicked in. The new facility is on the ground floor, on solid concrete.
  
  
• As the tallest building on campus, our clients in Building 9070 were often distracted by the views of our mountains and desert landscapes. We would take a 5 or 10 minute break, and getting everyone back in the briefing rooms was [like herding cats]. The new facility has no views to distract anyone, allowing our briefing managers to keep our meetings on schedule.
  
  
• The Building 9070 facility was so large with five meeting rooms and three dining areas, arranged facing out in a circle. If you get lost, just do a few laps on the outer track and eventually you will get back to the room you were looking for. No client will get lost in the new facility, with just two rooms and common dining area all facing each other in a triangle configuration.
  
  
• With the success of the Storwize family developed in Hursley UK, IBM management felt the Building 9070 facility no longer reflected the "center of gravity" of IBM's storage development. Moving the Tucson EBC a quarter mile northward therefore brings us closer.
  
  
• Since the primary purpose of an Executive Briefing Center is to bring clients in direct contact with IBM Research and Development, we often had developers walk over from the other buildings to the Building 9070 facility. They often complained that this took 5 minutes or longer each way. Since most or our disk and tape developers reside in Building 9032, we have greatly shortened the time it takes for them to come over.

For myself, as the lead Subject Matter Expert on the Tucson EBC staff, I get a much larger office with brand new furniture!

Now is the time to book a briefing in Tucson to check out the new facility. Go to the [Tucson EBC landing page] for contact information.