Office space as a service, which provides companies space on demand for as long as they need it and no longer, has some enthusiastic advocates.
As technology and cloud computing allow businesses to grow in unpredictable ways, the argument goes, space-as-a-service flexibility will be critical. So critical that space as a service will disrupt the industry completely, becoming the future of office space, its advocates say. But not everyone agrees this model is the be-all, end-all.
Convene CEO Ryan Simonetti — whose rapidly expanding company provides office space as a service — is an articulate advocate for the disruption he says the concept is causing the office space sector.
"We're stretching out, first at bat, first inning," Simonetti recently told Bisnow. "I think real estate as an industry is being disrupted for the first time ever and technology will continue to change this industry and accelerate."
Not everyone is persuaded that office space as a service is going to completely remake the office space business in its own image. Rather, the concept could be on its way to becoming an important niche player, and possibly one with an important influence on how more conventional office space landlords do their business.