Coworking is moving from the likes of WeWork into the mainstream of global corporate culture, according to a new report by Knight Frank.

The company queried 120 global companies, finding that space-as-a-service is rapidly becoming a new normal, as exemplified by the growth of coworking space.

Recent estimates suggest that there are now almost 18,000 co-working spaces around the world, Knight Frank reports, accommodating almost 1.7 million workers. These totals represent staggering growth of 3,500% and 8,000%, respectively, since the early 2010s.

The report also shows that there is still room to grow in the space-as-a-service model. Despite its recent mushrooming, coworking space still represents less than 10% of office stock in all major global markets.

The proportion of corporate space users who have between a fifth and half of their occupied portfolio in coworking, serviced or flexible space is set to increase from 27% now to 44% within the next three years, the report predicts.

Why has coworking caught on? The report posits a number of reasons, but according to 55% of the corporate real estate leaders surveyed, flexibility is its primary appeal. That is because flexibility is key to dealing with digital disruption challenges and shortened business planning horizons.