SAGE Publications' Journey to a Customised Workplace with Avanta
How SAGE Publications partnered with Avanta to create a customised managed office in Nehru Place, combining employee-focused design, specialised infrastructure and the flexibility to accommodate changing workplace requirements.
Client Overview: SAGE Publications and Its Workplace Requirements
SAGE Publications is an American-based publishing company that focuses on academic publications. It was started by Sara Miller McCune in 1965 in New York City. It is a private company that works in different markets, including North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
SAGE's North America comprises Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Toronto, whereas its European operations head office is in London, United Kingdom. In the Asia Pacific region, SAGE has offices in Melbourne, Australia, India and Singapore.
SAGE Publications had been operating from an office having a floor space of 30,000 sq. ft. in the Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there had been a change in expectation regarding work environments. The employees were already used to the convenience of working at home, and now going to the workplace was a new kind of work environment challenge.
Stakeholders in the India office project include those in the domains of IT/Infrastructure, Operations, Finance, and Leadership. The stakeholders include Soniya Kapoor, managing director; Mr Gautam Mehta from IT/Infrastructure; Tanushree from operations; and Mr Susheel Sharma from finance.
A new workplace was required to integrate the experience of the employee, work area, meeting space, IT infrastructure, and office management in one single place. This led SAGE to partner with Avanta Business Centre for a personalised managed office at International Trade Tower, Nehru Place, Delhi.
At a glance: the SAGE Publications × Avanta engagement:
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Client | SAGE Publications (Academic Publishing) |
| Location | International Trade Tower, Nehru Place, New Delhi |
| Workplace solution | Customised Managed Office |
| Prior office size | 30,000 sq. ft., Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area |
| Engagement start | 17 March 2022 |
| Office handover | December 2022 |
| Expansion | August 2023 |
| Partnership duration | 3.5 years |
| Client satisfaction | 9/10 |
Key stakeholders on the SAGE India office project
| Name | Role | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Soniya Kapoor | Managing Director | Leadership |
| Gautam Mehta | IT/Infrastructure Lead | IT/Infrastructure |
| Tanushree | Operations Lead | Operations |
| Susheel Sharma | Finance Lead | Finance |
The Challenge: Creating a Workplace That Employees Would Want to Return To
SAGE's problem was driven by a paradigm shift in the way that employees perceived their work. Having spent a lot of time working from home, employees got used to the comfortable environment at home. Coming back to the office entailed more than furnishing them with desks and conference rooms.
In addition to creating an atmosphere for the professional setting, the new workplace should also cater to the needs of the employees created due to their remote work. However, at the same time, the SAGE company had to consider a number of business functions within one place of work.
The challenge thus became twofold: creating a working environment that would favour the company and creating a situation that would make coming back to work worthwhile for the employees.
The Requirement: Bringing Employee Experience, Infrastructure and Functionality Together
SAGE was seeking an office environment that would cater to the needs of its employees and operations. The key requirements included:
Therefore, the workplace had to be designed according to the requirements of SAGE and not according to the standard office environment.
Finding the Right Location: Why SAGE Chose Nehru Place
Before choosing the new office, SAGE had reviewed various options at Avanta in Delhi NCR, such as Connaught Place, KG Marg, Nehru Place, Saket, Park Centra, and MG Road. SAGE visited these various centres to assess their suitability for their needs as an office space.
After this evaluation, the International Trade Tower located in Nehru Place was chosen for the new managed office. Now that the decision about the address had been made, it became imperative to look into the creation of the proper workspace.
Avanta centres SAGE evaluated before choosing Nehru Place:
The Avanta Solution: A Managed Office Built Around SAGE's Requirements
Once the location was selected, Avanta designed a custom-made managed office at the International Trade Tower, Nehru Place. Workplace design did not begin with a pre-designed layout. Avanta conducted stakeholder engagement for SAGE and took their needs into consideration while designing the workplace. It involves a combination of workstations, individual offices, meeting rooms, and other collaborative spaces, specialised information technology infrastructure, and workplace solutions. The Managed Office model provided for consideration of both aspects of the workplace and its operational needs.
Designing the Workplace Around Different Ways of Working
The workplace was designed to cater to different working styles within the same office space.
SAGE wanted its new India workplace to reflect a new workplace philosophy that had already been implemented in its London office. As part of the design process, SAGE shared photographs of its London office with Avanta, providing references for the workplace elements and design approach it wanted to bring into its India workplace.
Avanta worked to bring these elements to life while also incorporating the expectations of SAGE's India leadership team. The workplace was designed with Indian work habits in mind while also considering the specific working styles and requirements of different teams within the organisation.
There was a particular emphasis on collaborative areas and casual workspaces, creating spaces that could support interaction, discussions, and different ways of working alongside the more traditional dedicated work areas.
The café was also developed around the same workplace philosophy. While its concept was inspired by SAGE's new approach to workplace design, the space was adapted around Indian food habits to make it relevant to the Indian workplace.
The result was a workplace that brought together SAGE's new workplace philosophy, the expectations of its India leadership team and the practical working requirements of its different teams.
Building a 16°C Server Environment
SAGE's requirements were quite detailed, particularly those regarding the IT infrastructure of the new office. Specifically, a server environment needed to be created with server hardware that would need to be moved. The server room had to be kept at a temperature of about 16°C, as well as the necessary infrastructure to support the equipment.
Server room requirements delivered by Avanta:
Server room specifications became an integral part of the workplace design and fit-out process from the outset. Since SAGE planned to host its critical servers at the new office, ensuring 100% uptime was essential. Avanta's IT and Projects teams worked closely with SAGE to understand the technical requirements and address every detail, including fibre optic cabling, backup power supplies, specialised UPS systems and server room security. For SAGE, the workplace therefore needed to support both its people and the critical technology required to keep its operations running reliably.
Implementation: From Initial Engagement to Office Handover
The project went through various stages from the time of engagement until the completion of the managed office.
The initial engagement of SAGE with Avanta was through an initial enquiry on 17 March 2022.
After the discussion regarding the needs of SAGE, the managed office layout was completed on 19 May 2022.
The project moved to the next stage involving lease registration and due diligence.
The bespoke office fit-out was performed within this period, considering the workplace and infrastructure requirements established at the planning stage.
The Managed Office was finally handed over to SAGE in December 2022.
SAGE needed more workspace capacity and decided to extend its current workspace through Avanta without embarking on another office search.
This project involved the integration of workplace planning, design, fit-out and special infrastructure as a cohesive process.
Managing the Transition into the New Workplace
Beyond building the office itself, there was more to this project. Avanta worked with SAGE's internal stakeholders in coordinating the needs for the transition. These include working with the legal and HR departments of the company, as well as team-specific workspace needs.
Phased implementation was achieved, whereby the workplace structure, individual configurations of the team, and overall operational requirements were taken care of before handing over the project. This facilitated preparation of the completed workplace for regular operations at the time of handover to SAGE.
This meant that apart from creating the physical space, the project also required coordinating the various teams and requirements for moving to the new workplace.
The Workplace Experience: Creating an Environment Employees Could Return To
Employee experience was still a crucial factor in the design of the workplace. Instead of duplicating the traditional office space, the workplace features comfortable furniture, natural light, privacy, collaborative, and concentration spaces.
The office environment offered distinct spaces for:
- Individual task-orientated activities
- Collaborative work
- Meetings and discussions
- Private conversations
- Interactions among colleagues
This led to the development of an office environment which catered to both the needs of the business functionally and those of the employees coming back from remote work.
Beyond the Office: Ongoing Workplace and Operational Support
SAGE's demands were not just limited to fit-out completion. Through the Managed Office model, Avanta continued helping with certain requirements at the workplace level.
Ongoing operational support Avanta provides SAGE:
This implied that SAGE could depend on Avanta for certain functions at the workplace instead of dealing separately with different requirements. As SAGE's business needs evolved during the tenure, Avanta worked closely with various team leaders to modify the physical infrastructure and adapt to the workplace to meet their changing requirements.
When SAGE required additional space during the contract, Avanta was also able to accommodate the requirement by providing additional space within its business centre. Thus, the physical workplace and its continuous operational needs came under one managed office service.
Results and Impact: A Workplace Designed to Adapt With SAGE
The completed managed office met the needs of SAGE, which led it to rethink its office space while also offering the necessary flexibility for future modifications.
A Workplace Designed Around SAGE's Teams
The workplace was built based on requirements for different functions, not just as a standard office layout.
Specialised IT Infrastructure
The work environment had the dedicated server room, which required approximately a 16°C temperature and infrastructure.
A Workplace Designed for Different Ways of Working
Comfortable seating, natural lighting, privacy zones, conferencing facilities, and collaborative facilities were included in the workplace.
Managed Workplace Operations
Avanta assisted in handling many daily functions such as connectivity, office support, supplies, housekeeping, maintenance, safety, and security.
Flexibility for Future Requirements
The work environment was adaptable in response to future needs of SAGE, since this has been shown by the expansion in 2023.
Flexibility of the workplace was best exemplified in August 2023. SAGE needed more workspace capacity and decided to extend its current workspace through Avanta without embarking on another office search. This expansion proved that the initial workplace could adapt to any change in the needs of SAGE. A new office's need has evolved into a workplace relationship capable of meeting SAGE's next need.
Avanta Perspective: Building a Fully Customised Managed Office
Why Avanta: From Workspace Provider to Long-Term Workplace Partner
SAGE's working experience shows how a managed office helps where a company needs more than just fully equipped office spaces. The project brought together:
- Strategic location selection
- Customised workplace planning
- Premium workplace infrastructure
- Specialised IT facilities
- Dedicated operational support
- Transition and implementation management
- Flexibility to scale
Avanta worked in collaboration with SAGE's stakeholders to identify how each of the teams would use the workspace with respect to some technical considerations, including the server room. This also entailed coordinating with the legal team and people at SAGE to get the workspace ready for use.
Most importantly, the engagement went on after the first transfer. When SAGE needed extra capacity in 2023, the current workplace of SAGE could be enlarged to meet this extra need. For Avanta, the aim is to provide workplaces which mirror the way businesses work and adapt to their evolving needs.
Final Thoughts: From a New Office to an Evolving Workplace
For SAGE Publications, the transition from its previous office of 30,000 sq ft presented a chance to rethink how its office environment should be configured for post-COVID-19.
The new managed office at International Trade Tower, Nehru Place, integrated customised office planning and design with employees in mind, specialised IT infrastructure and operational support.
The project started from the first engagement in March 2022 to layout completion, due diligence, customised fit-out, and office handing over in December 2022. However, when SAGE needed more space in August 2023, the current workplace was increased by adding extra workstations, customised offices and meeting rooms.
This outcome was not only an office but also an office designed according to the needs of SAGE and able to adapt to changes in those needs.
Ready to Build a Workplace Your Team Wants to Return To?
Avanta designs and manages fully customised offices across Delhi NCR and Gurgaon – from dedicated server rooms to employee-first layouts, built around how your teams actually work.
About the Author
