Virtual Internet Office

There are many social, technological and economic issues impacting the development of and incorporation of virtual offices. The development and widespread use of the internet is a significant example of a technological change supporting the development and value of a virtual office. Mobile telecommunications is another example. But it is also important to note that the mobility of work and workers is an even greater example, in this case of a social change, of a factor which has greatly impacted the value of a virtual office. And in turn virtual office services have enhanced the capability of mobile workers. As more and more workers become mobile workers the services provided by a virtual office become more important. This is true for home based workers too. The availability of technological services, the increasing awareness of the high level of services available from a virtual office, and that these services can be provided on a cost effective basis supporting economic value to small businesses has made these services very valuable to the small business person and entrepreneur.

Virtual offices offer a wide spectrum of services to the developing entrepreneur and small business person. These services include communication, address, internet based services and office and conference room services. Some businesses may find all of the services valuable to getting their job done while others may only need certain services. It is totally dependent upon the nature of a particular business. Let’s review each of the categories.

Communication focused services include auto-attendant services, live receptionist services, voice mail, find me/follow me services and a complete range of unique and supportive organizational features. Auto-attendant services are client focused greeting services. An auto-attendant system provides professional greetings to a company’s clients when they receive the call. They allow a client to obtain relevant information, such as directions to the company, or permit phone access to a company’s employee. At the push of a phone button an incoming call is processed and forwarded to the employee wherever he/she is located at the time. The employee may be in the office, car or any other location. Calls can be forwarded to office phones, home phones or mobile phones or even multiple phones at the same time. These systems enhance the access from a client to a company.

Live receptionist services provide for professional live receptionists to respond to inbound calls from clients. The receptionist is located at a centralized location and provides the same service to multiple companies at the same time. Sophisticated database software provides the receptionist with the detailed information needed to properly and professionally respond to the new phone call. Receptionists can also provide administrative services, such as appointment scheduling, for each of the companies, from the remote location.

Voice mail services are provided from the remote location. This service often eliminates the need for an employee to maintain a voice mail box at each of the phones he or she may be using (office and mobile phone). This improves employee efficiency and keeps them better organized. There is no need to determine which voice mail has received a message from the client.

Additionally, find me/ follow me services allows the system to locate the employee and deliver the important call wherever he or she may be. The caller doesn’t need to know the employee of the company is not in their office and possibly even at another client’s office, the car or even at lunch. The employee appears to be in the office and available to service the client. While not designed to allow the employee to ‘sneak around’, this feature is available to help make the employee much more efficient and effective.

Virtual office systems offer many unique features. Other examples might include the many different ways a mobile or home based company can be notified that new voice mail has been left in their mailbox. For example, consider the following choices – paging, SMS text message to mobile phone, email inbox with attached wav file of the message. Some systems can even call the voice mail box owner, inform the owner of a new message, request a pass code and then deliver the message.

Virtual office services offer functionality beyond communication services. Some companies would like a presence in another physical location without actually setting up an office. “Bricks and mortar” can be expensive – upfront and ongoing. But a virtual office address service is essentially a rent an address service. The service provides a presence which is indicated as an address on a business card and letterhead. It provides a location to send mail and packages and should also provide access to using a private office or conference rooms. And due to the great power of the internet and technology, a range of other services are available to the virtual business person. Consider audio and video conferencing services. The availability of VoIP based phone services is reducing the cost of communications. Additionally, the integration of voice and data services is providing enhanced functionality for the worker. The bottom line is that home based and mobile based workers are gaining access to services which until recently only employees of large corporations had access to. This makes working easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs, improves the competitive position of small businesses and entrepreneurs and enhances the level of service which small businesses and entrepreneurs can provide to their clients.
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