Serviced Office Growth Increasingly Driven By Tech-Startups

SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Serviced office providers are continuing to see growth in occupancy driven by technology firms, which in turn is changing the dynamics of serviced offices from general office-space providers to technology incubators, according to Rockefeller Group Business Centers (RGBC), a serviced office provider with locations in San Jose and New York City.

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As Silicon Valley's economy continues to strengthen, RGBC believes that start-up technology firms could be a significant driver of long-term growth in markets with an established tech-sector like San Jose, New York and Boston, which in turn will have many implications for serviced office providers in those markets.

According to Joanne Escobar, General Manager for RGBC's San Jose office, "70 percent of our clients are technology start-ups.  Most of these companies have their second round of funding, have a viable product and come to the serviced office because they need a secure environment and privacy to work on the next phase of the product launch.  

"When they come to us, they have been working from their homes and now need meeting rooms, team rooms and full-time offices to work and meet and collaborate with their co-workers,"  said Ms. Escobar added.  "The flexibility of lease terms means that they do not have to commit long-term to a space as they grow, which is extremely helpful because the pace of growth for many is simply too hard to predict in the early stages."

The Rockefeller Group has seen an increase in occupancy in the past three years, with much of that growth being driven by the technology sector.  According to Ms. Escobar, many of RGBC's start-up clients over the past decade have later been acquired by companies including Cisco, EMC2, Dell and Intel.

"Our clients like being around other tech companies in a similar situation," said Escobar.  "The energy in the center is entrepreneurial, active and professional."

Ms. Escobar predicts that serviced-office providers that cater to the specific needs of the technology sector will benefit from demand.  At RGBC, the company has increased its emphasis on services such as on-demand administrative support, retrofits to offer more common areas like conference rooms and cafe-style meeting areas, as well as an infrastructure that can scale to meet the needs of rapidly growing firms. 

The company has installed the latest voice, telecommunications and broadband data systems, as well as secure server-storage rooms to meet the networking, Internet commerce and associated bandwidth demands of firms in the sector.

Contact: David Jakubowski, 212-918-4832, [email protected] 

SOURCE Rockefeller Group Business Centers