What’s The Difference Between A Serviced Office And Co-working Space?
As a new business owner or an entrepreneur, deciding where you will run your business is one of the first real challenges in setting up a business in Dubai. Regardless of the size or sector of your business, finding the right office space to rent is critical.
Modern solutions to counter the problems that come with traditional office rentals have led to a steady rise in the variety of flexible office solutions available. Two of the most popular are coworking spaces and serviced offices. These two options may look very similar at first, but some noticeable differences could impact how you run your business. Understanding these differences and knowing your business needs are the key to selecting the perfect modern office environment for you and your staff.
Serviced office space defined
Serviced offices are a fully-furnished office suite that is already set up with all the facilities. These types of offices are leased out by companies that are associated with facilities management. Serviced offices are also known as managed offices, executive offices, or business centers. Generally, those businesses, corporate organizations, startups, or small-scale businesses, prefer serviced offices.
Coworking office spaces defined
Coworking space is the newest and most popular office environment of the season when talking about flexible workspaces. These flexible offices are highly suitable for freelancers, entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses. If you are renting a coworking space, there are various options that you can look out for.
Key Difference between a serviced office and a coworking space
The work floor plan – In a coworking office space, most floor plans tend to have an open concept, and this feature makes it easy for the office tenants to collaborate and share equipment as well as ideas. These places are designed keeping in mind the modern lifestyle feeling and comes with cool features like pool table bars and some even nap rooms. On the other hand, serviced offices are mostly compartmentalized in comparison to any average coworking space. These offices are often divided into individual “cubicle style” workstations. Hence, they work better as private offices or suites for individuals or teams.
The Community Culture – As mentioned above, coworking spaces often have open floor plans and are usually occupied by startups and freelancers. Therefore, coworking spaces offer a more collaborative culture. Though not always, these office spaces usually employ a community manager responsible for onboarding new members, maintaining the space’s culture, and igniting the collaboration between members. While serviced offices also are occupied by businesses of all sizes from an individual start up entrepreneur to a team of 20 or more people, but they lack the feel of networking and collaboration of a coworking space.
The office space design – Coworking spaces typically have a more relaxed, casual atmosphere. The design will vary from space to space. Still, you can expect the facilities to be modern, creatively inspired, and each having its little twist depending on its community identity. As per serviced offices, they are more of a corporate/professional look and feel. The mood and colors will be much more toned down than in a coworking space, and the design is not made for collaboration. This may be good for some, as it can allow for more independent, quiet, head-down work.
To ensure you make the right decision in selecting the best office space for rent, you must know in advance precisely what your needs are.
Knowing what you need from your office is the key to making the right decision on your workspace. At Austria Business Center, we’ve got a range of flexible packages, meaning it’s never been easier to get the best workspace possible without the headache of traditional office rental.