The last few years have witnessed a massive change in the workplace preferences of the Indian workforce. There has been a revolutionary shift from traditional offices to shared workspaces, making India the second largest market for co-working spaces, after China.

In the first quarter of 2019 itself, co-working had taken up about 2.9 million square feet commercial realty—a 70% increase on a Q-O-Q basis and a 277% increase on a Y-O-Y basis. The top three cities were NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. (Source: CBRE).

Co-working is now being recognized as a major portion of the CRE leasing activity, giving tough competition to conventional offices.

Driving this growth is the rise in demand from metros along with Tier 2 and 3 cities. Over 13 million people will work out of co-working spaces by 2020, with tier 2 and 3 leading this change. This demand for co-working spaces was expected to grow at 40% – 50% this year, higher than Asia Pacific’s rate of 35.7% (Source: JLL).

With the economic growth in the top seven cities beginning to saturate, tier 2 and 3 cities have come into reckoning as the growth engines of the future. This is being led by a rise in disposable income, resulting in enormous opportunities for companies looking out for new markets to tap into (Source: Cushman & Wakefield).

Adding to the demand are the SMEs and corporates, who are moving towards co-working spaces for setting up their HQs, satellite offices, back offices, etc. Thus, given the strong demand and momentum that co-working spaces have gathered, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the best is yet to come and that we have only just touched the tip of the iceberg.

With the ever-growing competition, and in order to stay relevant for their clients, co-working players are continuously reinventing and adapting best practices. Thus, there is an immense focus on integrating technology at the heart of all offerings to capture the market share of the millennial workforce that breathes technology.

The advent of autonomous workspaces

Today, digital disruption is all-pervasive. Digital innovation is transforming economies and re-imagining the way businesses are conducted globally. The speed at which technology is evolving today reminds us of the industrial revolution in the 1900s. Every industry is experiencing the positive implications of it including real estate.

If embraced wisely, technology can serve as a catalyst to accelerate businesses, design user-centric workspaces and heighten productivity. Walkable treadmill workstations, pedal tables, virtual assistant-integrated desks and smart sensing technologies will provide untethered flexibility at work. Voice-activated systems and wearable technology such as wearable glasses, embedded chips, and wrist devices connected with work desks will make ‘working on the go’ more productive.

By integrating IoT with AI, co-working spaces can be transformed into smarter, dynamic and interactive offices. Automating the entry and exit, improving security, controlling energy consumption and utilization, and enabling cashless payments allow professionals to work in an accelerated environment. The volumes of data gathered are offering insights for future strategies. Cloud computing, web conferences, instant messaging, and e-diaries have enabled better communication around the world and within organizations. The ability of devices to interact with individuals provides a personalized workspace to inspire productivity.

This is an authored article by Mr. Amit Ramani, Founder & CEO, Awfis. This was originally published at: http://brandleadership.hindustantimes.com/brand_masters/amit-ramani/the-workplaces-of-the-future/?fbclid=IwAR1jk3QkvKC0FzXMJx9sRUIjagBMvpwiBkw0XRa0STggCAVTJCsT1UWeZsw

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As start-ups sprout in non-metro cities, entrepreneurship catches on, companies based in the metros are offering them workspaces too

Last August, Gorakhpur got its first co-working space, Startup Cafe. When Arunn Guptaa, 30, launched it, he had to start from scratch – the concept didn’t really exist in all of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
“Many weren’t aware of the term. So I made animation video tutorials explaining it and posted them on social media, WhatsApp groups and took out advertisements in local newspapers,” says Guptaa, a graduate in business studies who has previously worked with major e-commerce platforms. Now, 50 people – start-ups and freelancer – work out of the 2,500-sq-ft space.

Awfis, which has made its mark with multiple spaces in the metros, launched an outpost in Chandigarh earlier this month. They already have centres in Hyderabad and Pune. Within three months, they plan to foray into Ahmedabad and after that, non-metros like Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Kochi and Indore.

Elsewhere, young entrepreneurs are launching co-working spaces in cities like Surat, Rajkot, Udaipur and Panaji. They’re offering services like GST registration, incorporating local elements in designs and layout, and organising networking events to boost local start-up ecosystem.

LESS IS MORE
According to a research report for 2017-18 by real-estate services firm JLL, there are approximately 350 co-working players / service providers operating an estimated 500 shared workspaces across the country, compared to less than 30 centres in 2010. The bulk of this segment is restricted to seven cities – Mumbai, Delhi/ NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Kolkata. But smaller markets like Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kochi are expected to see a boom in this segment, the research suggests.

“The entrepreneurial spirit in smaller cities has exponentially increased their potential to be up-and-coming hubs of co-working spaces,” says Amit Ramani, CEO and founder of Awfis.
Akshit Mehta, founder of Vorq Space that has two co-working centres in Mumbai, agrees. “A NASSCOM report says that lndia is expected to have as many as 11,000 start-ups in the tech domain alone by 2020, of which a significant number will be based in non-metro cities,” he says.

Responding to this potential, Mehta has chalked out a plan to penetrate non-metros markets. “By 2020, we want to open 10 more co-working spaces. The focus locations in the first phase are Arpora in Goa, Surat, Nashik and Puducherry.”
Availability of space, high speed internet and more importantly, low-cost leases, are also encouraging entrepreneurs to focus on non-metros. “Government initiatives like smart cities mission have enhanced real-estate growth in these regions, making it easier to provide Grade A workspaces at affordable prices,” Ramani says.

YES AND NO
Based on the non-metro markets they are in, the spaces also feature local elements in their design.
At 9lSpringboard in Panaji, vibrant murals sport anchors and lighthouses. “Cultural sensibility also plays an important role,” says Ramani.

Launching co-working space in a non-metro has its risks and challenges, though. The first is familiarising locals with the concept. “Explaining benefits was a big challenge,” says Abhinandan Gupta, 28, founder and CEO of Adited, which launched its first space in Indore, a 34-seater, in November 2015 and now has three spaces in that city. “For first three months, we had just two small IT companies working with us. So we started focusing on networking events, which helped us build good reach. We reached 100% occupancy at our first branch in about six months.”
Once they understand it, the formula offers a win-win for the growing number of entrepreneurs in non-metro cities – they get office space without hassle of running it themselves or maintaining it; plus, they can network with other entrepreneurs at no extra cost.

Interior designer Anubhav Suri has been working out of a co-working space with a team of three members at Startup Café in Gorakhpur for five months. “Monthly rental for a 200-sq-ft office space would be Rs 20,000. I’d have to spend extra on infrastructure and amenities. Here, I can rent a fully equipped cabin for Rs 5,000 per month,” he says.

The above article was published in Hindustan Times- Mumbai Edition on 30th November 2018