AppNexus uses Comfy to keep employees comfortable while increasing operational efficiency.

AppNexus is an internet technology company that enables and optimizes the real-time sale and purchase of digital advertising. Ranked #21 on the Forbes Cloud 100 List (2016), AppNexus’ powerful decisioning platform enables publishers to maximize yield and marketers and agencies to harness data and machine learning to deliver intelligent and customized campaigns. AppNexus' headquarters, located in the historic Flatiron District of New York City, was designed to create an environment that “facilitates innovative thinking” and features agile workstations, activity furnishings, and state-of-the-art amenities.

Image: AppNexus, 28 West 23rd Street, NY, NY

The Opportunity

Despite their best efforts to create an optimal working environment, the AppNexus workplace team had trouble addressing one key element and source of constant frustration: temperature. Before Comfy, the internal facilities and operations team would “get so flooded hot/cold tickets” that it became hard for them to even leave their desks or work on other projects.

“I remember one, hot summer day, the office was hovering around 73 degrees and an email thread started where someone complained about it being so cold, they were using blankets and wanted space heaters," says Cadi Withers, Senior Manager of Global Operations. "The email thread exploded into about 50 or so responses and we just thought, ‘this is out of control.’”

The Solution

AppNexus deployed Comfy in spring 2015 as a convenient and innovative solution to their temperature woes. Now with Comfy, employees are empowered to make themselves more comfortable—at the push of a button—without having to wait for the internal facilities team to process a temperature complaint. While employees use the Comfy app to adjust the temperature, the AppNexus workplace team looks to Comfy Insights [Comfy's data analytics platform] to gain a better understanding of how people are using and enjoying the space. The analytics available through Insights enables the workplace team to view direct user feedback, identify any mechanical faults detected by the Comfy team, and gain a better understanding of their operational and energy savings.

The Benefits

Having Comfy in the AppNexus headquarters has improved employees’ workplace experience while significantly reducing the burden on their internal facilities team. Cadi Withers, Senior Manager of Global Operations, views the number of Comfy requests (Total: 69,515) as a measure of the prevailing HVAC problem that her team would otherwise have had to address, if not for Comfy. In fact, hot/cold calls have been reduced to nearly nothing, providing Cadi and her team more time to tackle other important projects. Meanwhile, AppNexus employees are more comfortable in the office, with over 50% of reporting that they feeling more productive now than they did before Comfy. Finally, the Comfy team has helped AppNexus identify and prioritize various mechanical issues and further optimize building operations.