The days of having to employ significant resources to enable a high technology environment are long gone. A new trend among businesses is quickly gaining popularity; coworking spaces. The goal of this article is to highlight the transformative work environment thanks to coworking spaces and cover everything from coworking spaces on Long Island to IT Consulting Services in NJ and how they tie together.
For starters, what is coworking?
Coworking spaces provide an office environment for people to network, share resources and knowledge, and remain productive without the overhead of leasing a traditional commercial space.
After searching for Coworking Spaces on Long Island, we came across a company called Bridgeworks and had the opportunity to talk to their Co-founder, Graham Beck, about the 3 main benefits of coworking and how technology has played an integral role in starting a coworking franchise.
1. Shared resources
Most coworking facilities offer amenities such as coffee/tea, kitchen supplies, high quality printers, office cleaning, lounges & sometimes cocktails after a long day (yes, you read that correctly). Coworking spaces serve as a managed workspace solution, meaning you can focus on running your business, rather than having to worry about inventory supplies and other office related costs.
In a traditional office environment, you’re responsible for everything to make your office run smoothly. If you find that you are spending way too much time running your space, rather than your business, a coworking space may be a great option for you. As a business owner or operations manager, you remove the burden of these non-revenue generating tasks such as ensuring the office has coffee and that the office is clean, so that you can focus on more important matters that ultimately help you grow your business.
2. Ability to network
When utilizing a coworking space, you’re surrounded by a coworking community of professionals who all have a goal of growing their network and business. What is better than surrounding yourself with like-minded professionals? Coworking spaces often hold networking events at the space; Because the space is filled with business professionals, coworking spaces will often partner with companies that sponsor events for you to attend. The events will either be at the space, which makes it convenient for you to attend, or at a convenient location near the space, with a goal of getting out of the office setting.
(Pictures courtesy of Bridgeworks Coworking Space in Long Island)
Graham Beck, Bridgeworks Co-founder, had this to say about the coworking opportunities. “Coworking is becoming increasingly popular because of the value members receive from aligning themselves with professionals who share their same goals. It has become so mainstream, that even restaurants have changed into coworking spaces to take advantage of their underutilized space.”
3. Technology To Power Your Business
Typically, coworking spaces will outsource or work with an IT Consultant to eliminate the complexity of providing a secure network, backing up data, and managing other time-consuming technical issues. IT Consultants can offer an array of similar services for your own company such as:
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- Virtual Desktop as a Services (VDaaS)- The goal for your Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is to allow users to access all their applications from anywhere that they desire and do so securely. This is increasingly common due to the trend of employees working remotely. So, whether you’re in your coworking space or on vacation, you’ll have secure access to your company files and applications.
- Backup as a Service (BaaS) – Your company data is crucial to your success and losing access to it is simply not an option. By leveraging a backup service that replicates a copy of your data at specific intervals, you can rest assured that if a data loss event occurs, you’re covered.
IT Consultants don’t just work with the owners of the space, but the tenants as well to help them grow their business. VirtuIT Sales Director, Josh Lee, describes the added value of technology in a coworking space. “We’ve worked directly with owners of the spaces to help them optimize their infrastructure (storage, servers, networking, & data protection). After showing the added value of our offerings, we’ve opened up the door to a new network of customers. Tenants are saying ‘hey, we’re looking for an IT Consultant in NJ that can help us with remote desktop services’ and because we’ve shown the value of implementing the technology into the space that they work out of everyday, we’re able to add value for the tenants within their own business as well by implementing a solution that ensures they can securely access their company files and applications from anywhere outside of the coworking spaces.”
How do you find a space that fits your business needs?
Coworking spaces are popping up everywhere due to the success of the business model. This can make it an overwhelming experience when trying to determine which space is right for you. Luckily, there are services out there such as DropDesk that make it easy for you to narrow down your search. You’ll be able to compare different locations, price points, and amenities and try them out before determining which one best suits your needs. Regardless, the memberships are flexible, and you can work out of several different spaces if you have a schedule that takes you to different locations on a weekly basis.
Not only does the service make signing up for a space easier, it also has added offerings such as SEO & PPC management if you’re looking to boost the marketing efforts of your business as well. Further adding to the convenience of the application, you’re provided a seamless experience for choosing a colocation space, boosting marketing efforts, and receiving consultations to help grow your business.
Coworking spaces are an innovative business model that provide significant benefits to those who take advantage of them. Whether you’re a startup, one-person operation, or established company, the perks of a fully managed facility and easily being able to network may be a great fit for your business.
Learn how coworking spaces and technology can help transform your business.
