THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite major IT companies opting to extend their work-from-home policies and accommodate remote work indefinitely in the wake of the pandemic, the office space market under the Kerala IT Parks is all set for a major expansion.
A slew of IT projects including buildings at the Technocity, Taurus Group's building in the third phase of the Technopark, projects of the Brigade in Technopark and Technocity, the Brigade Carnival at Infopark, Lulu projects, etc., is nearing completion here.
The IT building spanning an area of 2 lakh sqft at the Technocity is expected to be completed in December. While the IBS campus is expected to start functioning by the next year, the construction of Caspian Technology Park, Media Systems India Solutions, and the Plug and Play business office at Cyberpark, Kozhikode, is progressing, said a statement.
As the office space continues to expand, the IT sector is pinning its hopes on a post-Covid scenario, where more employees work from the office. There are already fresh demands for IT office spaces. As many as 20 new IT companies have decided to set up offices after the lockdown, resulting in the employment of
300 people. Five companies that already have offices in the IT Parks have also sought more office space, said the statement.
According to an official statement, more companies have switched to the hybrid work model during the pandemic. The model allows a small percentage of employees to attend office, while the others work from home. The IT companies are able to get a productivity rate of up to 85 per cent with this new model.
At present, just five to 10 per cent of the workers are attending office.
The companies have given an indication that at least 20 per cent of the workforce will continue to work from home, even after Covid-19. Over the next 100 days, the Technopark, the Infopark, and the Cyberpark would be able to generate jobs for 500, 1000, and 125 people respectively. At present, there are 1.10 lakh employees in these parks. The sector has given employed up to 3.30 lakh people indirectly.