Thinking Beyond The Flex Space

A new report conducted by Verantix reveals that there are major disparities between the flexible office services demanded by occupiers, and those that are actually offered by building owners.

Commissioned by essensys, the study found that only 13% of tenants felt that their landlords were equipped with the appropriate tools to meet their needs.

The most glaring disparity was the lack of digital infrastructure. The research showed that just one-third of respondents felt “fully satisfied” by the data security they were offered in flexible spaces. This was largely due to flex spaces not prioritizing security in the first place.

“They need to think about the whole hierarchy of security needs — everything from physical access to network security to digital security,” said James Shannon, chief product and technology officer at essensys. “Within a flexible area of the landlord’s building or in a traditional space, not only should the experience be consistent in terms of how I log into the network and how I access the space, but it also needs to be just as secure. It’s really important that landlords check the boxes that enterprise customers are demanding.”

In addition to secure connectivity and digital infrastructure, tenants want ease too. Having access to seamless booking options, touchless access, connections with local eateries and more can greatly improve the flexible workspace experience.

All of these requirements make it clear that landlords need to think beyond the four walls of their flex space — they need to think about the environment beyond their own building.