A new whitepaper by Dimension Data, Securing Workspaces for Tomorrow, says that as enterprises “increasingly aspire to create future workspaces and harness the benefits of a mobile workforce that leverage cloud platforms, there’s a greater need than ever to implement measures to secure data, infrastructures, applications and users, wherever they may reside”. 

Mari Schourie, CEO of The Workspace in South Africa (part of the InteSpace group of companies), which operates several high-end cowork and serviced office solutions in South Africa, says IT security is taken very seriously by most cowork space operators. And, as large companies increasingly relocate certain divisions to cowork spaces, this has become even more important. 

“We have always taken IT security very seriously and it remains one of our biggest priorities on a daily basis. We make sure that our network is secure when it comes to coworkers and members of The Workspace connecting to the network, whether it is being used to retrieve emails, surfing the web or saving data to the cloud or even those updating social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn etc. Our incoming and outgoing connections are secure and safe without limiting or restricting the full use and benefits that the cloud service provides,” she says. 

Schourie says the company conducts extensive research to ensure its clients’ data is secure at all times. “This also means that we take our client needs into consideration, as it is important for us to know what industry they are in and what they will use the network for. With this information we always tweak and make changes to ensure we meet their needs,” she says. 

The Didata whitepaper points out that commercial real estate companies are investing in design and technology upgrades to stay competitive with new builds. Schourie says this is a vital element The Workspace takes into consideration when developing its cowork spaces [The Workspace branches are opening in Cape Town and Durban, Ballito this year]. 

“As any upgrades to technology and implementation of new technologies benefit our clients, we ensure we’re ahead of the curve,” she says. “These technologies increase human capability, simplify life, increase workflow, allow more free time and easy access to information, improve communication, and increases efficiency and productivity too,” she says. “Our clients are using cowork spaces and serviced offices because they want to be liberated from having to deal with the day-to-day office demands so anything that helps them to concentrate on growing their businesses – and the economy – is our business.” 

The Harvard Business Review recently wrote that because technology has enabled people to work anywhere, on any device, “work is something people do – not just a place to which they go. This shift demands that businesses manage and operate so that they can attract the right people, retain them, and ensure they can do their best work. New ways to improve business productivity, flexibility, and agility are no longer just nice to have: they are essential for the modern workplace”. 

As Schourie says, a key feature of the service in cowork spaces is effective IT management. “Our IT department and technicians build personal relationships with all our clients. We understand that company information/data is of the highest priority as well as consistency on the network, line speeds etc,” she says.  

“We always strive to put the very best equipment into our buildings to avoid any down time and to prevent dealing with inadequate devices failing. We ensure we always have ample access points and pride ourselves in the fact that we can offer clients 100MB high-speed fibre optic lines.”