Regus collaborative workspaces to mitigate information privacy risks

• Survey reports 59% cafés are most vulnerable, followed by 50% of hotel lobbies and lounges

Office employees across the globe are increasingly working from remote locations. Studies have shown that the advent of high speed internet together with various types of portable devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones, means that employees need not work in their offices in order to conduct their business meetings and do their office work. Internationally, cafes and coffee shops stand out as the most common places for office employees to conduct business meetings. According to a Regus survey that reached out to more than 22,000 respondents in over 100 countries, globally these individuals are putting business privacy at risk when out of the office and the most perilous locations are cafés (59%). Although cafés are often a handy time-out point to catch up on tasks while on-the-go, this is where the privacy of documents and conversations if most at risk followed by hotel lobbies and lounges (50%). Campus style canteens also have little privacy to offer (29%). In Sri Lanka, this trend has followed a similar pattern. Most of the companies, primarily in Colombo, have given their employees the freedom to meet and conduct business in a casual environment with up market coffee shops and hotel lounges being the most commonly used locations. These environments are often very noisy and not private at all and hence cannot be considered as ideal for corporate meetings and discussions. Speaking about this growing trend, Regus Sri Lanka Country Manager Nirmal De Silva stated, “When it comes to conducting business meetings or putting together collaborative work environments, it is very difficult for companies to find sufficient space that is easily accessible, completely private and fully-equipped. One option is to book a hotel business centre or conference room but that is a very costly affair and therefore not very feasible in today’s economic environment. “Also, employees need a professional workspace environment where they can work flexibly, popping in from time to time while on-the-go, with the assurance that their private business will not be exposed. This is where Regus comes in. We have five business centres spread across key locations in Colombo and suburbs that offer the ideal collaborative workspace environment.” Regus in Sri Lanka encompasses five business centres, including three Centres in the heart of Colombo, with all business centres fully equipped to provide collaborative workspace experiences, not only benefiting global clients, but also creating a much required solution to suit individuals, entrepreneurs and the corporates in Sri Lanka. The Colombo offices are located at GPD Building, Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 07, The World Trade Centre (Level 26 and 34, East Tower) and McLarens Building, Colombo 04. In addition, there are two centres in Dehiwala (Bernards Business Park) and Nawala (Lotus Building) catering to the growing demand of flexible, collaborative and privacy risk free workspaces. De Silva added that employees across the globe agree that collaborative work environments are an optimal solution to help businesses save money while providing workers with top class locations and facilities. “However, it must be noted that cost reduction is not the only factor driving collaborative workplace popularity,” he claimed. “Global businesses recognise that mixing workers from different firms and different functions helps develop a more innovative and entrepreneurial outlook as well as keeping the firm agile and able to respond to changes in the market faster. Unlike traditional leasing arrangements, collaborative workplaces are generally more flexible allowing firms to expand and retract as the market demands.”