An alternative to the traditional office, the co-working space, has come into vogue in just a few years’ time.
In fact, there are now roughly 10,000 of these spaces worldwide according to a white paper released by the OpenWork agency, and that figure is nearly triple what it was three years ago.
Microsoft provides the most interesting case study. It’s giving nearly 30 percent of its New York City employees WeWork memberships. All told, that’s about 300 people, mostly in sales in marketing.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) isn’t only experimenting with WeWork, though. In October at Grand Central Tech at 335 Madison Ave., Microsoft launched its Reactor, an in-house sort of co-working space where businesses, universities, governments and entrepreneurs can come together and access the latest Microsoft technologies and expert resources. Microsoft Reactors also provide training, networking events and related resources to support developers in the local tech community. Sound like anything you’ve heard of?