Austin’s Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway) long ago envisioned as a loop around the west side of Austin, but now consumed by growth, is home to many life draining fluorescent prisons, more commonly known as “Class A” office space. Several high profile technology companies have inexplicably decided that it would be a good idea to locate their workforce along this stretch of roadway.
Anyone who spends any amount of time in Austin understands that traffic is undoubtably the biggest negative of living or working in or around Austin (hipster culture is a close second). Traffic alone though is not what makes this particular “highway” a terrible place.
The problem? Any network architect would have ample time to tell you as they waste precious cycles sitting in traffic that could be spent doing something productive… SPF or “Single Point of Failure”.
Many offices along 360 have only one way in and one way out. No alternate routes unless you have four wheel drive and a chainsaw… Any incident along this single path makes an already ridiculous commute, untenable. A serious incident like a wildfire or intentional act by nefarious actors could turn inconvenience into disaster.
My recommendation: Always consider ingress and egress under normal and emergency conditions when evaluating any location which will contain your most important resource; your people.