Evolution Of Flexible Workspace Business Models

"Flexible workspaces have always been on the periphery of every real estate decision-making, from the business centers of yesteryears to what it has evolved into today," said Ramita Arora, Managing Director, Bengaluru & Head, Flex India, Cushman & Wakefield.

She stated that the models if segmented by demand coming from three segments – The GCCs and other new entrants coming into the country, who are coming in without knowing the plans of what is going to happen. The second category is small and mid-size companies with aspirations of being in larger facilities, and the last segment is large organisations.

While discussing hybrid work models at BW Flexi Spaces Conclave and Awards, Sanjay Chatrath, Managing Partner, Incuspaze, said, "We need to understand the concerns of the large corporates after the pandemic. He also added, 'The issues with these corporates are that they cannot get rid of the spaces due to several reasons. Some are mostly business reasons. A lot of capital can be saved. With new models branching out in different cities, there is a lack of good supply.'"

Pulkit Bakshi, Head - Flexible Workspace Solutions, CBRE, mentioned that all the organisations that are now becoming environmentally conscious prefer LEED Platinum buildings. He went on to say, "I think after-sales is a very big thing. CRE heads don't only want to buy space but instead, now they are signing up for 3 to 5 years with our partner operators today." He felt that leadership qualities are of utmost importance in the present day, and are expected from big leaders.

Ekta Acharya, Senior Director, City Lead - Office Leasing Advisory, Pune & India Lead - Flex & Managed Office, JLL, explained that over the years, the industry has grown a lot. She said, "There has been substantial evolution and growth on how this industry has evolved and grown. Few of the drivers of the industry in the last 2 years have witnessed uncertain times, though, on the other hand, it has been a learning experience for all."

Kunal Walia, Founder & CEO, Simpliwork Offices, shed light on the fact that as one gets more important for the client, the client wants a strategy and they don't want a specific transactional solution. He went on to say, "The emphasis towards the return to the office has driven a design decision-making process to be present today in terms of how it was not the case 2 or 3 years back. Larger corporates have a lot of stakeholder pressure as of now."

Neetish Sarda, Founder, Smartworks, opined that the industry has certainly evolved, looking at the last 4 to 5 quarters. He said, "We have seen a significant change in the demand and type of demand that is coming. 5 to 6 years back, we were working on a transactional level basis, but now everyone is talking about portfolio changes. On a personal basis, looking at our presence, we are now present in 14 cities of the country."