By 2018, many young and established corporates shifted their offices to co-working spaces to take advantage of the flexible and adaptable office-sharing culture. Two key drivers behind the burgeoning demand for coworking spaces in Noida, Delhi, Gurgaon and throughout India were:-

1. The mushrooming of the start-up sector in the country, thanks to government policies that are start-up friendly. New entrepreneurs prefer going in for shared office spaces because it means lower rentals thereby saving up on overhead costs. It also helps save other operational costs like basic IT infrastructure, upkeep and housekeeping, internet connectivity, telephones, etc.
2. An overall steadfast economic growth and development in the country has provided the right environment for the workspace industry to develop and evolve.

There is a third reason why major cities in India are witnessing growth and demand for coworking spaces – it is trendy and classy throwing the monotonous office culture out of the window.

What is coworking space?

Coworking space as the name indicates is the sharing of office space or workplace where people associated with and working for different organisations work under one roof. A western concept it revolves around two main aspects –

• People from different professional background work independently while they are able to interact and synergize with other like-minded people around.
• It offers flexible working environment compared to conventional office and work environment.

Most coworking spaces today are equipped with trendy office interiors, smart and latest infrastructure that facilitates in making work more enjoyable and fun.

Growth of coworking space in metropolitan cities of India

The Tier I cities in India are leading the market in the growth of coworking spaces. A lot of demand currently exists is in these cities which primarily revolves around business centres and coworking spaces. Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore occupy the three top places in the country today with the highest demand – these citiesare buddinghotspots for the growing coworking space culture in India. As per a report from CBRE, the total occupied coworking space in 16 cities of the Asia Pacific region was about 40 million sq. ft. in mid-2018 including these three Indian cities. Co working space in Delhi NCR,Indiain June 2018 occupied about 2.9 million sq. ft. and is expected to considerably rise this year; Bangalore had about 4.1 million sq ft. and Mumbai had about 2.8 million sq ft allotted to coworking spaces.

Growth of coworking space in Noida

The evolvement of coworking industry in Noida has been considerable in the last few years. The satellite city of Delhi has witnessed many top providers of coworking space opening up their units here. Wizworks is one such provider that offers pioneering and innovate coworking space to users.It is a name to reckon with in this industry offering start-ups, freelancers and even corporate entities the opportunity to connect with one another in a setting that is charged upwith ingenuinity and creativity surrounded by a high-tech and stylish work environment. One of the leading coworking space providers in Noida, the brand offersother than the usual workspace that ranges from dedicated workstations to personalized executive cabins and even meeting spaces, special facilities like gaming zone, break-out rooms, a gym and fitness centre, crèche, nap room, and even catering facilities on demand. In a highly competitive business scenario, their coworking space in Noida sector 126 is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week providing working professionals the perfect atmosphere to work efficiently and develop fruitful associations with compatible counterparts. Their coworking space in Noida expresswayalso supports with additional services like courier service, a ready-to-help reception and front office personnel, mail handling services, provide IT support and solutions and basic housekeeping services.

Benefits of coworking

The culture of co working is on the rise globally. A growing number of people are expected to use the services of a coworking space internationally by 2020 of which about 13 million are expected to be from India alone. Here are few main reasons why coworking is proving to be so attractive to millions:-

1. Saves costs: One of the primary reasons why people are keen to move out of leased office spaces and move into a coworking unit. Rents are lower, utility costs are almost negligible and overhead charges are much more reasonable.
2. Flexible options: While leased office spaces are usually contracted for a set period that ranges from a year to more, coworking spaces can be rented on a monthly basis or even on a day-to-day model. This helps businesses and individuals who are not in a position to pay hefty advances and deposits and commit to long-term office rentals.
3. Miscellany: The coworking space concept became so popular in the west because it provided people from varied companies and organisations to collaborate with each other while finishing their individual professional commitments. It offers opportunities for individuals to interact and network with many other individuals proving valuable and worthwhile at a personal as well as at a professional level. The overall atmosphere in a shared working space is amicable and supportive that in fact helps enhance productivity and focus levels.
4. Helps make new business connections: It is due to the nature of the coworking space culture that individuals and organisations are able to foster new working relationships giving them better and increased chances of exposure to potential clients and customers.
5. Helps balance work and social life:In modern times, the typical business environment is full of cut-throat competition which usually does not enable employees to balance their professional and personal life well. Coworking spaces are generally associated with flexible working hours,freedom and independence to work as per one’s convenience. Also with provision of gym, breakout rooms and gaming zones, people are encouraged to take healthy breaks from work and indulge in activities that help them relax their minds and body. This directly or indirectly influences their performances.

Types of coworking spaces

Business centres that have existed for years now were one of the first types of coworking spaces. The centres would usually provide for basic office facilities that enabled business entities to conduct meetings and carry out office work. Accelerators and incubators are also another type of coworking spaces that provide handholding support to new and start-up companies to set their foot and make their mark in their industries before letting them continue on their own. Coworking space meaning derives a lot from these shared working cultures to become its own individual entity.

Changing trends in the co working space in Delhi NCR, Indiaspecifically and in the country in general

Typically it has been observed that new entrepreneurial units and small and medium scale businesses prefer to start off or operate from a coworking space. This is understandable since it helps saves operating costs. In recent times however, it has been noticed that the co working space in Delhi NCR is not limited to the start-up companies only. Some of the trends that are noticeable now include:-

• Even multinational companies and organisations that are large have started to consider coworking spaces in Noida and other cities because of the cost-effectiveness. Also the fact that the causal and enjoyable environment helps young minds to concentrate better and boost their productivities has played a major role in this shifting paradigm.
• Till date it’s mostly the IT and ecommerce sectors that have used coworking spaces. But now slowly even industries like banking, manufacturing etc. are being attracted to shift their offices to coworking spaces because they want to project themselves as new-age companies.
• Many start-up coworking space providers are nowfocussing on specific industries rather than providing generic facilities and services. Hence, facilities like gyms, healthy snacking options, 24-hours open etc. are on rise. This with the objective to provide niche coworking spaces to the millennial.
• More and more coworking spaces have started to offer high-tech setups that provide for seamless experiences to users.
• With more than 350 service providers in the country vying for a lucrative market share, Delhi-NCR is one the hubs for major activity in the sector. It is being forecasted that this year few smaller players might join hands with bigger players to workout profitable ventures.
• The demand for coworking spaces in Tier II cities is on the rise and 2019 will witness many big and small service providers entering the smaller cities to make their mark.

In order to find coworking space near your location, you would simply need to enable your location and search online, using a desktop, laptop or smartphone for a coworking space near you. With this vertical catching up fast, the idea of coworking is bound to become more attractive with passing years. The shift from traditional workplaces to flexible working environment is definitely on the cards for many business entities and individuals this year as newer and smarter coworking spaces like Wizworks increase their footprint in the country.