Weybridge, UK, 29^th October 2026: Organisations are grappling with the death of the “average office”. While demand for display technology rises, the growing variety in what workplaces require also creates a need for a broader range of display sizes and specifications. That's according to new research from Sony Professional Displays and Solutions Europe among decision-makers responsible for AV purchasing. For anybody still buying workplace technology on outdated office norms, that’s a problem.

87% say demand for workplace AV and display technology has increased over the past three years, with 39% saying it's increased significantly. At the same time, 68% say technology requirements now vary more across projects, spaces and use cases than they did five years ago.

That's the end of the average office in two numbers.

Where the variation plays out

The modern workplace isn’t built around one type of space anymore. Organisations are equipping rooms for collaboration, learning and flexible use, each with different technology demands. More than half of all respondents cited both meeting rooms (56%) and training and learning spaces (55%) as areas seeing the most technology investment, followed by flexible or multipurpose spaces (48%).

That variety carries through to the technology inside those spaces. 55% say that a broader range of display sizes is now needed within a single workplace or project, while 54% cite rising demand for higher-spec displays and 44% see demand shifting towards more affordable mid-range solutions. Demand is simultaneously moving up and down the range, so a single workplace can now require very different displays within the same project.

AI raises the stakes

AI makes life after the average office even harder to plan for. It’s the leading reason organisations are investing in workplace technology, with half of respondents saying that AI and automation is one of their top priorities, more than any other driver. At the same time, 59% say future-proofing those investments, including getting ready for AI, is one of their biggest challenges in designing modern workspaces. No challenge ranks higher. Organisations are committing budget now to technology that's still taking shape.

Respondents expect AI to keep setting the pace. Over the next two years, 62% name AI-enabled collaboration as one of the technologies that will see the biggest growth in investment, making it the highest-ranked response. And 47% believe AI-enabled workplace technology will be the single biggest trend over that period.

Building on years of research

Sony has been tracking the demise of the average office for years. In 2022, half of the office workers Sony surveyed wanted employers to offer the flexibility to work asynchronously. A year later, 82% of office workers said their office tech set-up needed improvement, and even then, there was no single way of working: 31% worked completely flexibly, 26% were entirely office-based and most of the rest went in on set days or a fixed number of days.

Energy efficiency is now all but non-negotiable. In 2024, around 8 in 10 corporate AV professionals said they'd pay over 20% more for products that are made more sustainably or are more energy efficient. This year, 97% of decision-makers say energy efficiency is important when selecting workplace display solutions.

Designing for what’s next

Adam Dover, Senior Trade & Corporate Marketing Manager, Sony Professional Displays and Solutions Europe said: “The average office is gone. Organisations still specifying as if it is are setting themselves up to rip and replace every few years. Every space has to serve a different purpose, and AI is shifting the ground as they plan.

“Our advice for organisations is to choose technology that can be updated and managed remotely, instead of locking your budget into something that’s quickly obsolete. That's why flexibility matters more than any single specification, and why at Sony we start with how a space will be used, not with a product.”

This year’s findings form the basis of The Anywhere Workspace, Sony's latest report on dynamic working, that explores how workplace technology needs are changing across Europe.

The full report can be downloaded here: Here

Supporting Imagery & Assets can be downloaded here