Presenting Knowledge series by Qdesq on “Emergence of Managed Office”, moderated by Mr. Karan Singh Sodhi, Regional Managing Director at JLL India and Board member of Qdesq, in association with Mr. Ashish Goenka, Director, Red bricks offices, Ms. Ekta Acharya, Senior Director and Head of flex India, JLL, Mr. Rishi Das, CEO and Cofounder of Indicube, Mr. Neetish Sarda, Founder at Smartworks, Mr. Ankit Jain, Director and Co-founder at Skootr, Mr. Rohit Rajput, CEO, Max Asset Services, Mr. Kunal Walia, Founder and CEO at Simpliwork, Karan Chopra, Co-Founder, and Chief Revenue Officer at Table Space, and Paras Arora, CEO and Founder Qdesq.
Overview
The managed office is a 360 degree outsourced workspace solution where end-users get the flexibility in terms of space at premium locations where everything is professionally managed and at a cost that includes everything. It enables them to have similar experiences across multiple locations and grants the much-needed flexibility to scale when required. In short, it’s a liquid workspace solution where users pay for what they use and when they use it.
Valuable takeaways
- Managed office spaces have become a new vertical in real estate. What was seen as a bubble earlier has now evolved into a strong real estate strategy for both the demand and supply sides.
- RIET’s, landlords, and developers have started to see managed office operators as partners, rather than competitors, who add value, which in turn attracts more clients.
- A gradual shift in landlords’ thought process highlights the realization that owning an asset & managing it are two different ball games & to keep up with changing demands of the market they need services over & above real estate.
- Employers are finding it hard to call people back to work. To cater to this problem, operators are coming up with innovative solutions like meals, laundry, green buildings, transportation, etc. all under one roof, just to make them feel at home.
- Hospitality is the key here, as customers want to be serviced in a manner like they are serviced at a premium hotel.
- With the rising development of urban infrastructure in India, many landlords are willing to invest in the up-gradation of their commercial assets.
- In the west, valuations of buildings increase if they have an element of flex in them, as operators focus on the health, safety, and wellness of occupants. It’s a bit early to say, but the industry expects the Indian market to follow suit.
- In the post-pandemic world, companies are going to have separate cultures for separate teams, and to cater to this demand, they are going to require specialists like managed office operators.
- In the post-pandemic world, technology has been an enabler in terms of delivery & management. The future of technology is to work on the challenges of personalizing it based on the needs, demands & affordability matrix of the customers.
- While the threat of a new wave or a variant is still on people’s minds, the industry feels that they are much better prepared to handle it.
The Verdict
Inflection point for managed office spaces is now.
