The year 2017 marks a turning point in the recent history of nomadic work. The global community of coworkers recently passed the one million user mark - and now it's time for the next big thing. 1 180 000 according to the 2017 studyGlobal Coworking Survey"In fact, some of the world's largest companies - published by Deskmag - regularly make use of these new workplaces. Given the growth in demand, which has more than doubled since 2015, supply is struggling to keep up. The study identifies 13,800 coworking worldwide at the start of the year, compared with 8,700 two years earlier.
Paris is keeping pace with this trend, with a number of big names in the sector taking up residence. In the space of just a few weeks, and in a relatively small area, two references have been added to the range of coworking Ile-de-France. WeWork opened its first French address on 3 April, called La Fayette, in the street of the same name. At the end of the year, the American giant will do it again on rue des Archives, in the Marais district, in the former headquarters of Galeries Lafayette, transformed by WeWork into a 7,000 m² workplace.
Faced with this offensive, another heavyweight is counter-attacking. Coincidentally - or not? Regus has also chosen the date of 3 April to inaugurate its very first centre Spaces in Paris, opposite the Opéra Garnier. This new business hub, adjacent to the Cercle Parnasse inaugurated a few days earlier, has a dual vocation. It is intended both for a sedentary" customers - 313 fixed workstations have been set up in offices dedicated in particular to start-ups - and to visiting professionals. This Spaces community will be able to take advantage of around a hundred places in the coworking area.
More than just a place to work, Spaces aims to offer " a real living space, a business acceleratorby bringing together a community of innovative entrepreneurs who quickly create a ecosystem" according to Christophe Burckhart. The Managing Director of Spaces, who was obviously present for this first inauguration in France, outlined the major ambitions of Spaces, which is also setting up shop on Rue Réaumur and Boulevard Poissonnière. " Spaces is now present in 15 countries through 50 sites. We are in a very sustained deployment phase, and by the end of the year 20 to 25 countries will be covered by our network. In total, more than a hundred sites will be there to accompany members of the Spaces community when they travel around the world, from Grenoble to Shanghai or Melbourne, whether on a Spaces site or one of the group's brands, such as Regus or Stop & Work " underlines Christophe Burckhart.
A pioneer in coworking created in Amsterdam ten years ago, Spaces was acquired in 2015 by Regus and since then, inaugurations have been multiplying. By the end of 2017, the global Spaces network will be offering its customers the Regus "Enterprise" service. In practical terms, the client company will be able to credit an account - monthly, quarterly or annually - which its employees can then spend in the office by the day.
