As TCS plans to reduce its office-going workforce to 25 percent by 2025, the IT major looks to use the vacant real estate space to house its laboratories and Research and Development (R&D) facilities, besides using it as modern-day workplaces for its employees. 

TCS which has 4.5 lakh employees, will have a hybrid model and it means people will work remotely and virtually as well as in an office environment, said V Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer of TCS.

However, real estate will continue to be relevant for TCS, the CFO said. "We are saying that in few years' time we believe that not more than 25 percent of a person's time has to be spent in offices or not more than 25 percent of people will be required in the office at a particular time. It does not mean that somebody does not have to go to the office, everyone will go to the office but not for the same length of timeframe. They will be able to work remotely and virtually," he said.

"The facilities will also serve as modern-day workplaces for our associates, and also house our laboratories and Research and Development facilities. So there will be a requirement of offices," he added.

As per reports, the top IT services provider has sought approval to build two new IT parks of 5 million square feet and lease another 1 million square feet, despite announcing a massive work-from-home plan.

It was in April that TCS had announced that by 2025, it will ask a vast majority of 75% of its 4.48 lakh employees globally (including 3.5 lakh in India) to work from home (WFH), up from the industry average of 20% today. The new model called 25/25 will require far less office space than occupied today.  

From a highly centralized model, with large campuses accommodating thousands of employees, TCS was able to switch to a distributed delivery model, with 95 percent of its 448,000-strong workforce enabled to work remotely, in a couple of days through their new operating model called Secure Borderless Workspaces (SBWS).

With the success of the SBWS model, TCS was able to announce the 25x25 work model.

As TCS plans to stick with the hybrid model and also utilize its office spaces for R&D, it is also hoping to return to the pre-COVID level of growth by end of the year. Ramakrishnan added that from a medium to long term, it is very confident of the strength of its business model and in the long-term, the strength of the business model and investments and the compelling factors will continue to be its guiding stars. How do the WFH move and buying more real estate in tandem augur for the IT giant remains to be seen.