S. Shanker

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Mumbai, July 13 Post-digitalisation, the buzzword was paperless offices. A step further now, it is virtual office — no establishment, no employees, no interiors to fit out and best of all, getting your office work done in precise space.

Of course, one can upload his office files on to an electronic platform, print the prestigious address of his service provider on his visiting cards and letterheads, besides seeking assistance from a dedicated receptionist who will answer his calls on his company’s name.

Since the facility is woven along with functional office service, access to boardrooms, meeting rooms, business centres and waiting lounges are extensions of a package which comes in a ‘pay-as-you-use’ model.

Mumbai-based realty major K. Raheja Corp has tied with Servcorp, a global player in functional serviced office and virtual space business, to offer the facility at its real estate holdings in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Monthly charges begin from Rs 6,800 with telephone charges and other add-ons on the pay-as-you-use format.

K. Raheja Corp owns leading retails brands such as Shoppers Stop, Inorbit Mall, HyperCity and Cross Word chains and its clientele include IBM, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Nokia, Accenture, Oracle, and Citigroup.

The Raheja-Servcorp combine are initially providing the facility in about 22,000 sq ft of commercial space each at Hyderabad and Mumbai. In Mumbai, it is at the commercial hub of Bandra Kurla Complex and at Hyderabad, in Rehaja’s IT Park. Booking are close to 90 per cent for the serviced clientele, while 55 virtual office packages have been sold so far.

Servcorp has 3,000 serviced office clients and over 12,000 virtual office ones, with a client list that includes Audi, VMware and Dell.

The advantages are obvious for the serviced offices. The per sq ft rental at Bandra Kurla Complex is about Rs 350, which for 1,500 sq ft works to over Rs 5 lakh a month.

At Raheja’s facility, it is about Rs 150 a sq ft or close to Rs 2 lakh, and furnished. A support person services come for Rs 10,000 at the bare minimum, while the facility offers access to a full team, comprising receptionist, trained multi-lingual office professional and technical assistance too for Rs 6,000. This is apart from savings on leased circuitry and communication lines.

For utilisation by one to 10 persons, there is just no comparison, says Mr Sunil Hingorani, Senior Vice-President (Finance), K Raheja Corp, adding that that the target in three years was 10-15 locations.

The entire service revolves around Servcorp’s online platform, which encompasses its 80 offices across the world, so much so that a business traveller in Europe can book a boardroom in Shanghai online in 30 seconds and send documents to print in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, besides inviting associates and others for a meeting. His mail is taken care of and bills in any place can be viewed and remittances made, said Mr Taine Moufarrige, Executive Director,

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