businessinfomag.uk
magazine
34
Workplace
The office is dead...
long live the office
Tim Meredith, a unified communications
expert with Daisy Group, argues that
thanks to the growth of cloud-based
services and mobile devices, people no
longer need a permanent desk and will
increasingly work from home or utilise
pay-as-you-use alternatives.
“The business world has become
extremely fast-paced and organisations
need to be able to react quickly to
survive,” he said. “Office space, on the
other hand, requires long-term financial
commitment and maximum occupancy,
otherwise it becomes a huge financial
drain.
“Floor space is one of the biggest
outgoings for the majority of businesses
and yet it is largely becoming an
unnecessary expense. The nine-to-five
shift is dying as more businesses allow
their employees to work flexibly, which
means workers no longer need to be
desk-bound and there is less need for
fixed office space.”
He added: “The number of UK
home workers has increased by 45%
since the start of the millennium, and
I anticipate this trend to continue. By
2035, businesses will be following the
lead of freelancers and start-ups by
The UK’s office property sector, worth £2bn per annum,
is undergoing fundamental change
Tim Meredith
Offices of the future
The office of the future might look a lot like Net.Works. The brand new
co-working space in Highbury & Islington offers a stylish, friendly work
environment for SMEs and start-ups with 1-30 employees. Key selling
points include 1GB fibre-optic internet connection, private meeting
rooms, bike storage and regular networking events. Another attraction is
membership of SL28, London’s first members-only, touch-down artisan
coffee shop and lounge area.
Spaces has opened its first London workplace at Mappin House
on Oxford Street. Part of Regus, Spaces is a provider of new-style
‘community-driven’ workplaces designed to encourage networking
amongst clients. It marries a playful interior décor and choice of
open, private and collaborative workspaces with a programme of
inspiring business and networking events.
renting fully-equipped office space or
portable workstations as and when they
need them. Both options are increasingly
attractive because they cut real estate
costs, office overheads and travel
expenses.
“The mass availability of affordable
tools, like video conferencing software,
internal social networks and intranets,
are enabling businesses to create virtual
teams around the country that can
collaborate, and I can only see flexible
working and the trend of pay-as-you-use
desk space and meeting room provision
growing.”
4G roll-out
Meredith said the rollout of superfast
broadband and 4G connectivity across the
UK is helping facilitate the move away
from the office. Increasingly, workers are
able to access software and applications
that were traditionally only available at
the office, from their homes via VPNs and
the cloud. Meanwhile, technical ‘mobile
device management’ solutions have been
developed that enable organisations to
monitor their remote workers’ activity.
“Removing permanent offices means
businesses have to create processes and
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