This is according to Org Geldenhuys, managing director of property development and marketing company, Abacus DIVISIONS.

Geldenhuys said this trend is growing, including in the Irene and Centurion business areas - where Abacus DIVISIONS is active.

"We are seeing this trend at all the major office parks, including Route 21 Corporate Park and Highveld Technopark.

"What we now have available ranges from a single office of around 30 square metres to various office sections of up to 1 200 square metres - and more that are furnished, coming with the necessary shared network and telephone infrastructure.

"In some instances there are even server rooms and sophisticated security infrastructure that is up for sharing. Ancillary services such as
generators, reception and cleaning services are also usually available to share.

"Typically,"Geldenhuys added, "multinationals and big corporate companies are inquiring about furnished offices, with a view to use them as disaster recovery sites for business continuity planning".

Geldenhuys said his company is also seeing a demand for furnished offices for the purposes of "project offices" or "start-up businesses" .

He said there are a number of benefits to choosing this scenario, including lower capital outlay and the ability to meet businesses continuity
compliance requirements with little or minimum effort.

"Most of these office parks - such as Route 21 Corporate Park - boast excellent data and telecoms infrastructures, provided via a fibre network
with redundant routes.

"There are also multiple data and telecoms suppliers - all making use of independent network infrastructure. This," Geldenhuys explained, "makes these office parks ideal destinations for disaster recovery sites.

"The recent addition of fibre network into Route 21 Corporate Park, for instance, makes the decision to use the area as a disaster recovery location a 'no brainer'," he quipped.