Technology dominates the 21st century and ‘Virtual’ is doing the rounds in nearly every facet of life, be it virtual office space, virtual sports, virtual tours, or virtual learning. Gadgets can now fetch nearly anything for us and with just a click we can time travel to a different continent in nanoseconds. This evolving trend has charted the course for a paradigm shift in the way businesses and offices function. Virtual office space is a product born out of this trend to disrupt the real estate segment by exploiting technology.
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With multiple entrepreneurs and start-ups eager to experiment and carve out their niche spaces, demand for office space in most metropolitan cities has increased exponentially. Nearly all such business owners look for workspaces that are cost-effective and convenient. Most of these businesses look for a work environment that is stress-free giving them enough freedom to work without being tied to traditional work hours. For this class of entrepreneurs, virtual office space offers an ideal solution.
Cloud Office
Before examining the role of virtual offices in helping startups thrive in today’s digital age, let us briefly understand what ‘cloud’ is and how it relates to virtual office space. “Cloud” and “Virtual” are closely interlinked but they cannot be used interchangeably. “Cloud” is an environment Cloud solutions are effective online replacements for file storage systems used in the physical world. The advantage of a cloud solution or cloud office is that users can access data stored on the cloud from anywhere under the sun with the help of the internet. Further, such data can also be simultaneously accessed by any individual who is authorized to access the data.
On that note, let us also ponder over the benefits that virtual office space can deliver to startups and help them thrive in the digital age.
Saves time and money
Businesses incur significant expenses in setting up their equipment and workspaces and even more in a facility management team to ensure that everything is working as expected 24x7x365. All these overhead costs can be saved when businesses switch to a virtual office space from their physical office. Employees and employers can also save significant time since most of us spend about 2 to 3 hours getting ready for work and reaching the work spot wading through bumper-to-bumper traffic. With virtual office space, there is hardly any time wasted and productivity gets a big boost since people can start work without the bother of traffic, parking space, or the fear of getting late to work.
Professional appeal
With virtual office space, businesses can be groomed to look more professional, serious, and scalable. The following are among the professional-grade services that you can expect from a cloud office or flexible shared office.
- A professional receptionist with a dedicated phone number. With a dedicated phone number, it is a lot easier to acquire local clients and customers. With a dedicated phone number and a professional receptionist, businesses can get a big boost to their image and trustworthiness.
- Corporate mail id – With a virtual office or cloud office, you get a professional mail id and that adds to the credibility of your business.
- Meeting rooms – virtual office spaces also offer meeting rooms that you can book in advance. With these plush meeting rooms, you can impress your customers/clients without the need to create expensive physical infrastructure.
- A large pool of talent-A large pool of talent is always available on the cloud and you can access the required talent with the help of your virtual office any time. Your networking application helps you connect with individuals irrespective of your physical location and your job gets done very quickly.
- Enhanced flexibility – Virtual offices offer great flexibility helping employees complete assignments before the stipulated deadline because they are not bound by traditional work hours. The employee gets all that is needed to complete the job right within the virtual office space and there is no bother of closed doors.
- Minimal overhead costs – Physical offices attract significant overhead costs and a big chunk of that cost is not productive either. With an office on the cloud, these overhead costs can be saved and only a small fee is charged by the service provider for your plush office on the cloud.
Tips for Startups Considering Virtual Offices
When you are considering setting up a virtual office space, there are many steps that you should know and implement correctly to get the maximum advantage from this digital age facility. In the first place, you should identify a virtual office space service provider and meet their requirements. In most cases, you will be required to get a domain name and mailing address (e-mail). This will also be known as a virtual mailing address or virtual business address. With this, the service provider will scan all the mail received and upload an image to your digital mailbox. You can request selected mail to be opened and scanned before deciding to add them to your inbox. Similarly, you can also add a virtual phone system that comes with a main phone number, toll-free numbers, and local numbers. For many businesses, this is a huge benefit that comes at virtually no cost.
We can help you with more informed choices
As a startup, you may not be familiar with wading through various steps to configure your virtual office space and we at startup offices are always at your service to make your journey comfortable and well-oiled. Visit us today to explore our virtual offices and shared office space and choose one that suits your needs best.