Ravi Chandran
JustCo launches Digital Future of Work Platform with ground-breaking innovations Switch and SixSense
JustCo, Asia-Pacific’s leading co-working company, today launched its Digital Future of Work Platform at an event officiated by Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Mr. Chan Chun Sing. JustCo’s new platform uses digital technology to enable users to decide where and how to work, depending on each individual’s unique needs. Diverse workspace options such as hub-and-spoke offices, flexible workspaces and remote work booths can now be combined with the home office and other workspace solutions to enable solo work or team collaboration to happen seamlessly.
The two key innovations powering digital platform of JustCo are:
Switch – The world’s first workspace on-demand app. Switch connects users and providers of workspace flexibly and dynamically. Users pay by the minute for the space that they use, with introductory pricing starting at just S$3.60 per hour. Switch customers can choose between accessing JustCo centres, non-JustCo shared office locations, or proprietary Switch booths, based on their needs. 60 Switch booths have already been deployed at JustCo’s centres and at nine1 Frasers Property malls, with both CBD and fringe locations covered. Customer adoption rates have been overwhelming, particularly in suburban locations where users want an alternative to working from home. Plans are underway to introduce more Switch booths in Singapore and across the region in cities that JustCo has presence in.
SixSense – An AI-powered tool that connects with sensors to analyze how space is being used. The use cases for SixSense include workspace design, space-use optimisation analysis and, importantly, crowdedness monitoring for safe distancing purposes. SixSense has been put into service at 10 Justco centres across Singapore with the following immediate benefits:
- JustCo centres’ users now have real-time information on centre density and crowdedness at their offices. By combining this information with JustCo’s flexible office options (including Switch), users can avoid crowded locations and pick work spaces that best suit their needs.
- JustCo operations teams are now assisted by SixSense in their monitoring of safe-distancing compliance and other centre operations matters.
- JustCo’s design team can now use information collected through SixSense to continuously improve office design and construction.
Taken together, Switch and SixSense, plus other digital tools to be added to JustCo’s digital platform, will transform how companies and workers access office space. By giving users the ultimate flexibility to choose where and how to work, office space can now be consumed as an on-demand service.
Kong Wan Sing, Founder and CEO of JustCo, added: “When the pandemic struck, many of us were forced into the unknown and untried world of working from home. It worked well for some, but terribly for others. We quickly realized that what workers needed was the power and digital tools to decide where and how to work. JustCo’s Digital Future of Work Platform is our answer to that problem. Fixed and rigid offices have run their course. The future belongs to flexible and on-demand workspaces.”
The launch event was held at JustCo’s newest co-working location at Singapore’s The Centrepoint shopping mall. JustCo Centrepoint houses the company’s global headquarters and is also the firm’s first “Smart Centre.” Technology features in this centre include:
- Facial recognition at all main entrances, with an advanced “mask setting” that permits entry only for masked users
- Mobile app enabled card-free access to all private suites and meeting rooms
- A fully-automated robotic café and bar operated by JustCo F&B partner RATIO. When paired with the RATIO app, users can order beverages remotely and have them ready upon arrival at the office
These technological innovations are being pioneered in Singapore before being introduced to other markets across the region.
JustCo Centrepoint commenced operations in October 2020. New customers who have joined JustCo Centrepoint’s community include companies like Tencent-backed Riot Games as well as SMEs. The opening of JustCo Centrepoint follows the company’s July 2020 opening of JustCo OCBC Centre East and its recent announcement of an upcoming centre at Razer’s Southeast Asia headquarters in Singapore’s One-North. More new JustCo centres are expected in 2021.
In early December JustCo announced that it has notched up a holistic work solution by launching its first technology-enabled workspace. With support from one of its strategic partners, Frasers Property, JustCo has introduced its total work solutions platform at The Centrepoint in Singapore’s iconic retail district, Orchard Road. JustCo at The Centrepoint is set to inject vibrancy and fun into the neighbourhood, while making work better and smarter for businesses and individuals in the heart of town.
Piloting at The Centrepoint, JustCo has partnered with workspace on-demand platform Switch to offer users fuss-free access to conducive workspaces as and when they need, and pay for exactly what they use. In addition, this centre will feature other workspace technologies such as facial recognition card-free access via Bluetooth capability and a fully-automated, in-house café by day and cocktail bar by night. Powered by robotics and artificial intelligence, RATIO offers custom-crafted coffee and cocktails, made to a high level of precision. As an added safety feature, the facial recognition turnstiles are designed to detect if members are wearing their face masks, in order to permit them entry. JustCo has also engaged SixSense, a spatial analytics technology company to effectively monitor space occupancy levels and detect any unacceptable social distancing amongst members and guests.
