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India’s next Grade A office buildings will be defined by digital resilience

Over the past three years, the office market in India has undergone a profound transformation, driven by a powerful convergence of factors. As businesses emerged from the pandemic with redefined workplace strategies, leasing activity rebounded at record levels across the country’s major markets. Just in the first quarter of this year, despite the headwinds of global macro uncertainty, the office market saw its strongest ever quarter, with total leasing activity surpassing 20 million sq ft.

And over this same short period of time, India has cemented its position as the global hub for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), with multinationals expanding rapidly and bringing with them higher expectations around building performance and infrastructure. As a result, the traditional definition of Grade A space is being redefined.

These organisations are bringing global benchmarks, operational complexity, and a heightened focus on employee experience. Location, design, and amenities are still relevant—but they are just no longer enough to meet the occupier demand.

“We are seeing that buildings are now increasingly being assessed through a broader lens: one that includes smart building readiness, resilience, and the ability to support digital, data-driven operations,” says Mehernosh Captain, Head of WiredScore India. “Today’s occupiers expect buildings not only to be well-designed, but to be reliable, adaptable, and capable of supporting uninterrupted operations. Within this, digital resilience plays an extremely critical role. Future-ready buildings must embed strong digital foundations from the outset, including robust and redundant telecom infrastructure and “always-on” connectivity that occupiers can rely on.”

And as AI becomes increasingly embedded across business operations, the demands on buildings will only intensify. Landlords must be prepared to support greater volumes of data, higher speeds, and more complex digital ecosystems, with scalable systems and interoperable technologies that can evolve over time. Occupier demand now is for buildings with an integrated, future-proofed foundation—where connectivity, systems, and infrastructure work seamlessly together to support business continuity and evolving occupier needs.

There are already signs of this shift in the market. Newer premium office developments, such as Hines’ Atrium Place in Gurugram, are being positioned with features such as touchless technologies, advanced air-filtration systems, stronger security measures and smart management of common areas. Other examples include Project Alpha in Mumbai, which is explicitly targeting certifications like WiredScore and SmartScore to signal their ability to deliver measurable performance across connectivity, resilience, and smart building capability. 

 At a portfolio level, DLF and Brookfield Properties have also built scale in this space by committing their entire commercial portfolios in India to WiredScore certifications, demonstrating their ability to meet the evolving expectations of global occupiers and deliver high-performing, future-ready workspaces.

Crucially, these expectations for digital resilience in buildings are not limited to top-tier global firms. As India’s corporate ecosystem matures, these standards are cascading across a broader base of occupiers.

Mehernosh Captain adds, “We are seeing here in India, and in overseas markets, that developers who take a proactive approach—embedding these digital readiness capabilities early in the lifecycle—are far better positioned to meet the expectations of the next generation of occupiers. Those who do not risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive market.”

“In many ways, India is no longer catching up with global office markets—it is helping redefine them in terms of what Grade A space should now offer.  And increasingly, the buildings that succeed will not just be those that can perform now, but those that can withstand the rapid pace of digital transformation ahead of us!”