Gone are the days when operating out of traditional workspaces used to be a fantasy. With the emergence of co-working spaces, more and more millennials are opting to work from a trendy and classy workspace.
But what does it feel to be the owner of a co-working space? Meet Amit Ramani, CEO and founder, Awfis who stresses on the role of technology in day to day life, and how is Awfis unique from other existing players.
In an e-interview with Express Computer’s Gairika Mitra, Ramani spills the beans for enterprises to be more innovative. Edited excerpts:
How do you think we can create better workspaces with technology?
Technology is extremely crucial for growth across business spectrums. This holds true especially in the development of workspaces, as they are not limited anymore to just being a place to work. With Gen Z joining the workforce, it is critical to enhance and upgrade the existing workspaces and match them to the requirements and preferences of this new tech-savvy generation. A major part of day-to-day operations are carried out at shared workspaces with the help of technology. Seat bookings, automated entry/exit, digital payments and controlled utilisation and temperature management etc have helped in smooth operations at coworking spaces. Here is where the employees are able to freely collaborate, communicate and connect with each other, in turn enhancing the overall creativity and productivity.
Another important role technology plays at workplace is maintaining the work life balance. In today’s complex and competitive work environment, it has increasingly become difficult to attain that. However, with the inclusion of technology such as artificial intelligence, internet of things etc. in their daily work schedule it has helped them attain this balance. A task, for example, took as much as 30 minutes to be done manually, now can be easily done in in a matter of five minutes with the help of automation/ artificial intelligence in turn helping them economize their time spent and thereby improving their efficiency.
Technological advances at several co-working spaces have led large corporations to opt-out of smart workplaces. What approach is Awfis taking? As in what are its USPs?
The coworking sector has evolved through a demand arc – from being an office space/real estate solution, it slowly moved to a marketplace for work services – events, collaborations, networking, retail, concierge services. It has made the work experience more seamless and offered quick customization. Whether it is a single seat, an on-the-go meeting room or a 1000-seater for an MNC, coworking has become a one-stop solution for professionals, managed by professionals.
SMEs & Enterprises are constantly on the lookout for flexible, affordable and well-equipped infrastructure at a cost-effective price. We provide them with Grade A amenities at value driven prices. Equipped with a better understanding of the intricate working of Indian Real Estate ecosystem we are able to cater to the needs and requirements of our clientele with greater efficiency and effectiveness. We have systematically established our resources to meet our business requirements without hampering the quality of workspaces provided.
We follow the Managed Aggregation model, wherein we tie up with landlords in a profit-sharing arrangement. This is an asset-light, risk-averse business model that has enabled us to expand at a fast pace along with becoming profitable within 3 years of starting our business. This model also provides us a cushion in case of an economic downturn. Currently, 75% of seats are under ‘managed aggregation’ model and Awfis intends to increase this to 85% in the next 10-12 months.
How do you think adopting technology like IoT and AI would boost the ecosystem as a whole?
Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence play a crucial role in the development of the future ready workspaces. By further leveraging them, shared workplaces are now being transformed into smarter, dynamic and interactive offices. Right from the lighting to the preferences on the furniture style, through Internet of Things (IoT), all these details will now be captured and translated into meaningful data for the space providers to include in the designing stages of their workspaces thereby creating a self-sustaining working environment. By further leveraging IoT and integrating it with Artificial intelligence, workplaces will transform to become more dynamic and collaborative.
Coming to the financial perspective, is Awfis planning to go public soon?
Yes, we are planning for an IPO in the 2022.
Lastly, how do you think we can get our startups to be more innovative?
Startups, touted as the hub of great ideas, are now striving for ways to be more viable and innovative to the present and current generation of workforce. These startups now need to understand the requirements of the Gen Z customers. This generation needs to have opportunities and preferences at their fingertips that will help them maximize their productivity irrespective of where they operate from.
Virtual Reality is one such big thing, which is helping them break the boundaries of setting up traditional work meetings and instead virtually meeting and maximizing their output. As we move ahead in the future, virtual workspaces would no longer be a thing for the future. Soon every individual with the help of VR will be able to create a truly collaborative and interactive environment that web and video conferences have been unable to achieve.
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