Serviced Offices
The pioneers of serviced office space industry were as early as in 1960’s in United States with its first office by the name of Omni Offices which later was followed by the launch of Paul Fegen’s, furnished law suites in 1966, the concept then spread to other parts of the world like Australia where Alf Moufarige founded the now famous ServCorp in the year 1978, and then to U.K, in Northampton where it was launched in the year 1979 by the Fuchs family. The innovations in computer technology during the 1980s reduced the amount of staff required to operate in a serviced office, and increased the technologies that a serviced office could offer to its clients which includes, access to computers, voicemail, and fax machines. Richard Nissen founded Business Space Ltd. in London in the year 1980 and was a pioneer of the new digital exchange telecommunications system that used electronics to place and transfer telephone calls. Serviced offices are the most convenient and cost-effective means of occupying a fully furnished and administered office space of any size, anywhere in the world. A serviced office can also be defined as an office or office building that is fully equipped and managed by a facility management company, which is known as an office space provider, which then rents individual offices or floors to other companies. Serviced offices which are often referred as managed offices, business centres, and flexible offices are often found in business districts of large cities in India like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Pune. These business center or serviced office owners are commonly helped by channel partners or brokers to rent their serviced office space. These service offices are generally able to offer more flexible rental terms as compared to a conventional leased office space, which may require a capital expenditure cost of furnishing and the equipment and even has a more restrictive lease term. The space provided by serviced offices are even more flexible in size, which means it is easy to downsize or increase your office space requirement at a short notice. Serviced office providers often allow occupants to share few services like reception services, business machines, lounges, cafeterias, and other resources, providing reduced costs and access to equipment which may otherwise be too expensive, serviced offices are considered to be a central component to the flexible workspace industry. Coworking spaces are a branch of serviced offices that add features of collaboration and community working to the workspace. The term was invented by Bernard de Koven in 1999 and has since become a popular trend for start-ups and international businesses. In India, the concept of services office is fast growing, and more and more companies are opting for these services due to its various benefits over a conventional office space. The country has seen a sudden rise in this serviced office space different parts of the cities.
To name a few of these Serviced office space providers in India we have:
- WeWork: having its headquarters in New York and operating in Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Mumbai.
- Cowrks: having its operations in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi.
- Avanta: having its operations in Gurgaon, Delhi.
- Regus: having its operations in Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mohali, Cochin, Bhopal, Kolkata, Surat, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Noida.
- 91Sprinngboard: having its presence in Delhi, Gurgaon, Goa, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai.
- AWFIS: having its presence in Pune, Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Noida.
- The Executive Centre: having it headquarter in Singapore and presence in different parts of India like Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Pune.
- Vatika: having its operations in Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Noida, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai
- Altrade: having its operations in Gurgaon.
Categories of clients who require a serviced office setup:
- New market/locational – Businesses which have headquarters abroad or in another region of the country and require a business presence in the local area of operation of the busines, prefers to be in a serviced office space as they don’t want to incur additional cost for setting up an office which might be temporary.
- Startups/ Entrepreneurial – Small to medium businesses or enterprises which do not want to make a financial commitment to a longer-term lease also prefers to be in a serviced office where the leasing terms are flexible. Other costs like the administrative and the office supports cost is also shared in this kind of setup.
- Overflow – Typically a large company experiencing growth, with traditional leased space in the area is not able to get enough space for its employees. In these situations, which might be short-term or a long-term requirement for large number of users can easily be absorbed by a serviced office in that area.
- Short-term – Clients that are in the process of moving from one space to another, and may be facing delays in the completion of the new space can take a serviced office for a shorter tern as the leases are flexible in this model.
- Project-based – Clients that have a specific need for office space, based on a specific contract or project can also opt for serviced offices as the lease are flexible and can be altered as per the requirement.
Services typically include:
- Dedicated Receptionist
- Administrative Support
- Telecom service
- IT infrastructure and internet connectivity
Facilities typically include:
- Conference Room
- Meeting Room
- Heating, Air conditioning and other utilities
- Furniture
- Full-time security
- Insurance
Benefits of Serviced offices over a conventional offices space:
- No or low startup costs
- Prestigious addresses
- Flexible leasing with little notice
- Building Maintenance is included
- Immediate availability
- Support staff available as needed
- Receptionist
- Access to business centres worldwide
- Modern fit-out and fully furnished offices
- Bundled packages