NEWS

Business Partnership Agreement Reached with Nikkei Inc. for Service Launch



 

OPT Incubate Inc. (headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO: Atsushi Nouchi) has developed OFFICE PASS, a pass that offers unrestricted access to more than 100 shared offices, primarily in Tokyo. The company has also reached a business partnership agreement with Nikkei Inc. for the launch of a service for selling access to the shared offices on April 10 under the name, “OFFICE PASS Supported by OPT Incubate” (“OFFICE PASS”).

Not only is Japan ranked only 21st out of the 35 OECD nations on labor productivity, its population is also expected to fall below 100 million by 2050. In response, the government has embarked on policies for boosting productivity under the banner of “working style reform”. Likewise, the city of Tokyo is promoting practices such as remote working and changes in working hours so that people can commute at different times of the day in the hope of alleviating the morning commuter rush in the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Major companies in particular are responding to these measures by central and local government by making greater use of teleworking.

It has become commonplace to see business people in cafes using a PC or smartphone to handle e-mails or work on documents. The problems that these business people face, unfortunately, are that they cannot be sure of finding a place to work until they arrive nor whether they will have access to power or Wi-Fi, and that the close proximity of adjacent seats makes it difficult to find privacy and enough room to work. Security is also a concern for companies when staff work outside the office.

The solution to these problems is the provision of shared offices that are available for use by sole traders and staff from different companies. Along with providing a comfortable environment where they can work during gaps in their working day, shared offices are also increasingly being used as places for coming up with new business opportunities by encouraging interaction between users to foster working ideas. With large real estate companies having launched shared office businesses in recognition of this need, and with US companies also active, the market is characterized by service competition between major providers from both Japan and overseas. When those operated by small and medium-sized providers are included, Tokyo already has more than 100 shared offices within the city boundaries.

OFFICE PASS is a network of high-quality shared offices operated by a number of different providers. The idea is to offer business people a new way of working by making well-equipped work spaces available across a variety of locations. The aim is also to contribute to the business operations of the shared office owners by encouraging more extensive and sophisticated use of these facilities and by helping to improve the degree of commonality between the different offices.

OPT Group already has a track record of investment and development in sharing economy businesses that encourage the use of underutilized assets. OPT Incubate, meanwhile, has been utilizing a new business development framework that it devised for itself in its own business development work. Along with improvements to OFFICE PASS itself, OPT intends to continue with the development of services that enable Japan’s “working style reform” by supporting people who want to be able to work wherever and whenever.

■OFFICE PASS service
<Overview>
Service name: OFFICE PASS Supported by OPT Incubate
Price: 14,980 yen/month (including tax) *A discounted price of 7,980 yen (including tax) is available during April
Launch date: Tues. April 10, 2018
https://officepass.nikkei.jp

<How to use the service>
Customers use a smartphone or PC to purchase a monthly ticket from the web site. A Nikkei ID is required for purchase. The website displays a QR code at the time of purchase. Customers use the web site to check space availability at their choice of shared office and then present their QR code (either on their smartphone or printed out) on arrival. Once the office has scanned the customer’s QR code to verify their ticket, the customer is able to enter the office and use its facilities. The ticket is sold on a monthly subscription basis. There is an upper limit on the number of tickets able to be sold that is based on the number of participating offices. The limit at the time of service launch is 1000 people.