'Awfis' space start-up in expansion mode

05 March 2016

'Awfis' space start-up in expansion mode

  • Business Today

Founded in April last year, plug-and-play office space provider Awfis Space Solutions might have been in the market barely for 11 months but the start-up is already in expansion mode.

Currently, the company has seven properties in Delhi (two properties), Mumbai (four) and Bangalore (one). “By the end of this year, our goal is to be in 15 locations with 50 centres and 10,000 seats. So going from the current 1,500 seats we will be 4,000 by the end of March and then 10,000 seats by the end of December,” Amit Ramani, founder and CEO of Awfis, told Business Today. “We are also going to add four more cities – Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai.”

A new-age venture that targets the SMILE (small, medium, individual, local entrepreneurs) community, Awfis provides just-in-time office space that can be booked using its app, call centre or via sales executives. All the spaces provided by the company are equipped with CCTV cameras, sensors and NFC technology, and companies or even individuals can take them on rent for a maximum span of 11 months.

The company also offers meeting rooms on rent, for which it has tied up with hotels like Trident and Lemon Tree. These, too, can be booked on just-in-time basis using the Awfis app.

And like most start-ups of today, the company relies heavily on technology. “Technology is a very important factor, so if we want to people to use our spaces in just-in-time, we needed them to provide the ability to book-in-time,” Ramani said. “We have been able to create a system which allows people to use mobile phone to access a space, use their mobile phone to buy food, use it to buy additional credits etc.”

“Our charges start at Rs 4,500/month for a flexible seat, which means you don’t get a dedicated desk but you get a desk for sure and goes up to 13,000 for centres that are at a more premium location and this includes wireless, printing and tea/coffee,” Ramani informed.

According to Ramani, Awfis Space has so far raised $10 million in funding. The company plans to look for additional VC funding after September.

It is also planning to expand its employee base from current 70 to 400 by the end of 2016.

Work from office resumes in 35% companies after 2-year gap, shows survey

04 August 2022

Work from office resumes in 35% companies after 2-year gap, shows survey

  • Posted by Awfis Editorial

The pandemic – work from home spell may finally be coming to an end for employees of tech-based companies. A Colliers-Awfis survey has revealed that around 35 per cent companies have already witnessed a return of around 75-100 per cent employees back to office. The return to office, includes hybrid modes of work where employees come to work for a few days in a week.

An ebb in COVID-19 cases has helped building confidence in people to return to work.  At the same time, about 74 per cent of the occupiers are looking towards distributed workspaces as a strategy to shift from location-centric to people-centric workspaces.

This will enable flexibility to employees while furthering productivity gains for businesses.

The Colliers-Awfis joint report explores the status of return to work across different sectors. It delves into how occupiers are likely to choose distributed workspaces and devise flex space strategies by understanding their current usage patterns and preferences.

According to the report, telecom and consulting saw around 75-100 per cent return to office while IT and New Technology saw around 25 per cent return to work trend. Among the workplaces which are witnessing a return to work, around 74 per cent are likely to adopt distributed workspaces while around 53 per cent prefer working in the hybrid format. Additionally, about 49 per cent occupiers are likely to adopt flex-centres to enable distributed workspace, followed by setting up their own offices in metro and non-metro cities.

“The survey reveals that as occupiers straddle business goals and employee wellbeing together, about 74 per cent occupiers are looking at distributed workspace, and more than half of the IT/ITeS companies prefer a distributed work model for their employees. Therefore, we can see opportunities for flex spaces not only in metro cities but also in non-metro cities. In fact, in non-metro cities, total flex spaces are likely to grow more than two-fold to 5.5 million sq feet by the end of 2022.” said Ramesh Nair, CEO – India, Colliers, said.

Amit Ramani, Founder and CEO, Awfis said, “The findings of the survey are a testament to the success of the distributed work model and subsequently of flex spaces in catering to the ever-evolved workspace needs of India Inc. The survey unveils that currently 74 per cent occupiers have adopted flex centres for their workspace needs given the multiple benefits associated with flex working. Going forward, 77 per cent occupiers will include flex spaces as part of their workplace strategy. We expect exceptional demand in the future, driven largely by large corporates for de-densification of existing traditional offices.”

“Keeping employee centricity at the forefront, 79 per cent of the occupiers feel that distributed workplace strategy will be highly beneficial to save time and money. Additionally, work-life balance, mental wellbeing and team productivity are fueled when opting for flex spaces,” said Sumit Lakhani, Deputy CEO, Awfis.

This story appeared in the 4 August, 2022 issue of Business Today and was originally published at: Work from office resumes in 35% companies after 2-year gap, shows survey

Co-working spaces are leading the race for sustainability in real estate

15 June 2022

Co-working spaces are leading the race for sustainability in real estate

  • Posted by Awfis Editorial

While traditional workspaces are doing their bit in saving the planet, co-working spaces are not too far behind. From the future of work to the future of sustainability, co-working spaces have the potential to unravel the problem of sustainability in real estate.

In a post-pandemic reality, as we move toward normalcy, sustainability has come to the forefront as governments, investors and built environment stakeholders, consider how to build a better future for generations.

In an evolved reality, businesses have undergone significant changes with externalities such as climate change, finite resource availability, and changing stakeholder expectations. However, with the evolving landscape, the yardstick for business success has considerably shifted from short-term profitability to long-term sustainability for stakeholders. Recently, there has been a boost in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors being regarded and incorporated into commercial real estate transactions. Whether we look at investors or occupiers, it is evident that demand for more sustainable practices and structures is rocketing. Seeing this growing awareness and demand for eco-friendly products & services, ESG has become a key element of decision for corporate occupiers, employees as well as investors in commercial real estate too.

Talking about offices, the concept of ‘green workspace’ will soon become a standard rather than an exception. While traditional workspaces are doing their bit in saving the planet, let us look at how co-working and shared office spaces hold on to the more profound significance of sustainability. From the future of work to the future of sustainability, co-working spaces have the potential to unravel these problems.

Shared use of resources

Being a co-working space, it is a shared workspace for multiple organizations, businesses and individuals. These flexi spaces possess a huge potential to support environmental sustainability due to their inherently sharing-oriented composition. At their core, they support the sharing of space, supplies and other resources, thereby cutting down on basic wastefulness. Compared to a traditional office, co-working spaces offer common utilities to all workers from different field or companies, like a printer, coffee machine, etc. Not only is this cost-effective, but it also sends less waste to the landfills & results in less electricity consumption. Had there been no coworking spaces, these businesses would have been operating out of their different offices thereby increasing the usage of space and land.

Energy efficient travel
Commuting to independent offices can prove to be a hassle as employees from different corners of a city travel to these conventional office spaces which are generally located in a commercial district. Since co-working spaces have a vast network and are present at multiple prime locations, it is easily accessible to employees through a short distance commute. This not only helps them save time and money spent on travelling but from a sustainability point of view helps in reducing pollution generation and carbon footprint.

Integration of tech
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused businesses to be more reliant on technology than ever before. Apart from being equipped with natural lighting, greenery and open space, flex spaces are opting for intelligent LED lighting which uses much less power and has a considerably longer lifetime. Shared workspaces are optimizing energy usage by changing the lighting & ventilation design to reduce energy consumption per unit. With use of advanced building design software, coworking spaces are leveraging the opportunity for smart, data-driven decisions within every element of design and construction, from glass curtain wall detailing, to implementing natural daylighting strategies, to prefabrications, raw material procurement and so on.

Individuals and organisations now realise the significance of preserving resources as it helps us to lead better professional as well as personal lives. Today, builders and business owners are collaborating to build eco-friendly office complexes, tech-parks and zero-waste facilities. Even when the healthcare crisis is over, there can be no going back to the ‘old’ normal for office spaces. It will be upon us to shape its recovery and make the case for positive change as we build back better, and flex spaces possess a huge potential contribute towards an environmentally conscious workspace.

This story appeared in the 15 June, 2022 issue of Business Today and was originally published  at: Co-working spaces are leading the race for sustainability in real estate, Business Today
Co-working space provider Awfis opens new centre in Chennai

10 June 2022

Co-working space provider Awfis opens new centre in Chennai

  • Posted by Awfis Editorial

Co-working space provider Awfis has set up its new centre in the city, the seventh such facility, under its plan to strengthen presence pan-India, the company said on Friday.

The state-of-the-art facility, spread across 45,000 sq ft with 650 seats, is equipped with ‘cutting-edge’ infrastructure and has design in line with the company’s philosophy of creating space reflecting Indian culture.

Awfis currently has seven co-working centres in Chennai and the company plans to open four more centres by end of the year, a company statement said.

The new centre is part of the company’s premium workspace offering — Awfis Gold — which aims to deliver an unparalleled workplace experience to the company’s clientele.

”..we have realigned our offerings to meet the requirements of the workforce in line with the new reality. Our continuous expansion in Chennai is a testament to the ever-increasing demand for shared workspaces across clients…”, Awfis founder-CEO Amit Ramani said.

Awfis clientele in Chennai comprises of start-ups, small and medium enterprises and multi-national companies. Some of the brands that have taken space with Awfis includes Sony Pictures, Suzuki, Lenovo, Practo, WayCool among others.

This story appeared in the 10 June, 2022 issue of Business Today: Co-working space provider Awfis opens new centre in Chennai: 

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