The current office real estate market provides a diverse range of buildings to house a development team, ranging from restored mansions with maintained historical appearances to ultra-modern trendy commercial centers. Each choice offers significant advantages as well as drawbacks. And despite the fact that renting an office in a separate residential building is a sign of high status for any company, since it is an image property, it is still a little inferior to serviced business centers. IT companies choose the last option more often, and below we will tell you why.
A business center is a structure that was initially intended to accommodate offices. The location, layout, parking availability, communication and security services, technical systems, and other building elements are all subordinated to one goal: establishing comfortable working circumstances. Multifunctional centers may provide owners and workers with a developed infrastructure: malls, shops, cafés, workout gyms, and even medical offices meet the needs of employees on-site, reducing the need for them to leave their permanent job location.
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What other advantages are there of working in an office in a business center?
Focus on your own work
One of the main reasons for the popularity of business centers is that they make it easier to conduct your business. Business centers often handle numerous centralized functions, allowing you to focus only on your own firm. Some office spaces even provide furniture and the essential IT connections, allowing you to just plug in your laptop and get to work. These are referred to as “serviced offices.”
Engineering system
Business centers are designed taking into account modern requirements for safety and comfort. Engineering systems ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity and water, air conditioning and climate control. By the way, modern business centers are usually equipped with smart systems – they optimize resource consumption and reduce the amount of utility bills, and with it the rent.
Design solutions include spacious common areas, a high level of natural light, and the presence of high-speed elevators.
Open plan
An open layout is important, allowing the workers or owner to change the office configuration to suit their needs. The offers in large business centers are varied; it is easier for the development team to choose a suitable office, and, if necessary, to expand their space at the expense of neighboring premises.
When comparing a residential house as an office, any minor changes, including cosmetic renovations, must be agreed upon. It should be taken into account that residential buildings have less usable space than business centers: about 60%-80%.
Parking and transport connections
New business centers are located near subway stations and ground transportation stops. The projects provide for several convenient access roads and underground parking.
Accompanying services
Renting an office in a business center relieves a development team from many everyday worries. There is no need to worry about security, cleaning, maintenance of communications, landscaping of the territory – all these issues are dealt with by the management company, which has entered into an agreement with the owner of the building.
If you rent a residential building as an office, you will have to deal with the hiring issue yourself.
Working atmosphere
The work atmosphere in the office has become an important element in post-industrial society. It helps you get into a business mindset. Business centers are a favorable place for creating an IT community, because many specialists are concentrated here. The productivity and efficiency of the company is positively affected by the constant exchange of experience with colleagues from other teams, mutual favors, as well as the joint development and creation of interesting ideas.
Moreover, you may network and cross-sell with other firms and organizations in a multi-tenant business center. Many office buildings provide formal networking events for their communities and bring in intriguing speakers with the goal of boosting networking and expanding business prospects.
Pretty flexible rental agreements
Lease arrangements for business centers are significantly more flexible. Serviced offices are available for monthly rental, whilst coworking spaces are available for daily rental. A business center allows expanding enterprises to increase their office space to accommodate their expansion without having to relocate.
Lease terms for commercial buildings are often more “user friendly” than lease terms for residential buildings. Flexible agreements that do not require legal counsel and can be completed in a short period of time, allowing for speedy occupancy, help business centers better understand company demands.
In fact, there is a steady preponderance in the market in favor of business centers. Large business centers provide comfortable working conditions for development teams, and also have a flexible system for meeting the needs of small businesses. After all, there is simply more office space within business centers and it is available to different categories of tenants.
Residential buildings for an office is a pleasure for a limited number of major league players. It may be inferior in comfort, but it emphasizes the stability and high status of the company. So this option is suitable for teams that have closed a successful IPO a long time ago, have collected a lot of money from the product and are simply moving forward in development.
Therefore, when choosing a location for an office, one must be guided by the main goals of the organization. Those for whom the functionality of their workspace is important choose an office in a business center. Companies that need to maintain a certain image are looking for a solid residential building for an office.