Infopark to develop co-working spaces under brand name ‘i by infopark’ as a separate vertical

Infopark Kochi is set to develop the ‘i by Infopark’ brand, a premium and flexible co-working facility, as a separate vertical to attract companies in the IT/ITES sector to the city, looking for state-of-the-art infrastructure, excellent connectivity, and a thriving ecosystem in Kerala.

Speaking to The Hindu, Infopark CEO Susanth Kurunthil said that the second ‘i by Infopark’ facility in the city, after the maiden one at the Ernakulam South metro station, will be commissioned this year itself. The idea is to spare companies looking to set up shop in the city from initial capital investments and the time required to ready the space, thus enabling them to become operational from the very first day.

“We do location analysis and have our own metrics to figure out where such a facility could work out. We are scouting government buildings in strategic locations, like near transit hubs, to set up ‘i by Infopark.’ With the Infopark main campus remaining saturated at the moment, this is a definite model, which may in due course be developed as a feeder to bring in companies to the main campus,” said Mr. Kurunthil. He, however, emphasised that this was no alternative to the future expansion of the Infopark campus, as government approval for phases 3, 4, and 5 is being awaited. While phase 3 will be an integrated IT township, the other two will be a mix of IT and commercial space.

‘i by Infopark’ may even be adopted by companies as an alternative to a work-from-home facility, allowing them to work at co-working spaces near their homes rather than commuting to their main offices. Flexibility remains one of the highlights of the concept. “It caters to companies looking for a limited number of seats or even a one-day working space on rent, as well as to those companies looking to hire entire floors. The facility gives companies elasticity, enabling them to scale up or scale down with ease,” mentioned Mr. Kurunthil.

He said that in the future, the possibility of giving ‘i by Infopark’ franchises to private players could also be explored. “One thing is for sure—companies coming to Kochi will see a lot of these facilities. Ideally, they will offer around 50,000 sq. ft., since too-small and too-big spaces come with their own set of problems. In the future, more such facilities may come up across the district and even across the State,” added Mr. Kurunthil.