SKOOTR BLOG: OUTLOOK OF WORKSPACES IN 2021
Workspace Management and design saw a significant growth and digitalization this year. According to Gartner, 66 percent of the Fortune 1000 were observed investing in smart technology in 2020. As per previous reports, Managed offices and smart technology were the top emerging trends in 2020.
This year the industry was positioned for another wave of growth and development, unfortunately it was abruptly affected due to the pandemic-induced lockdowns and social distancing norms between March and May. While the staggered reopening of the country over the following months improved economic conditions, concerns around the sustainability of this early rebound remain.
A decline never seen before
Going into 2020, the commercial real estate was in a strong position and was not experiencing the rampant overbuilding of prior cycles. And then came COVID-19, causing the GDP to decline by 23.9% year over year in the first quarter of FY2021 – the largest GDP decline recorded in a quarter since India began reporting quarterly data. The real estate and professional services sector saw a decline of over 5.3%. Deloitte cites the reasons for this drop include supply disruptions across industries spilling into the financial subsector, thereby adding stress on lenders’ balance sheets, and remote work affecting professional services.
Economic growth back on track
While the path to economic recovery depends on how long the pandemic lasts and vaccine accessibility to everyone around the world, we can observe the bottleneck constraints easing in every sector. Global logistics investment increased 47 percent from the second quarter with investment in the real estate market amounting to the maximum percentage. This indicates that investors are on the lookout for opportunities in the sector after the steady economic recovery continues.
On top of that, the government has announced two stimulus packages of over 10% of GDP to help people and businesses respond to the crisis. Fresh measures aimed at improving infrastructure, regulations, and job opportunities and their timeliness will likely aid in sustained economic recovery and rebuilding.
What happens next?
JLL’s most recent report, points out that the need for flexible managed spaces will be on the rise in the new normal which indicates that we can expect many emerging trends to redefine the sector.
Many companies are rethinking their workspace requirements and adopting methods similar to Skootr’s ‘Reverse Office Model’ in order to continue operations in a cost-effective manner. Organisations are also actively adopting smart technology and innovations such as SkootrOne app to accelerate growth, optimize office management and ensure safety of the workforce.
Covid-19 was the catalyst that forced many companies to devise transformation strategies and quickly adopt technologies to support remote operations, however we can expect digital transformation to go from being a buzzword to a business goal in the coming years. Modern workspaces and technology will take centre stage in 2021 replacing traditional offices which were the norm for decades.
