By Amanda Ciccatelli, TMCnet Web Editor

Technology has made it easy to operate a virtual office no matter the size of the company or the location. The capability to have access outside the traditional office setting is becoming a necessity, from managing one office to multiple locations.

Recently, Denver-based Intelligent Office (News - Alert) has made virtual offices an option for home-based entrepreneurs, offering virtual office franchises to establish executive office suites. In March, Intelligent Office opened its first New England location in Boston, a few days before Matrix Realty Group L.L.C. filed plans for a turnkey executive office suite service at the Matrix Corporate Center in Danbury.

As landlords are offering short-term office space, Intelligent Office is now allowing entrepreneurs to get into the business, having established locations on Long Island, N.Y., and in New Jersey. Intelligent Office startup costs ranged between $300,000 and $500,000, covering everything from a fixed $30,000 franchise fee to leasehold improvements ranging anywhere from $30,000 to $120,000.

For so many high-end small businesses in Fairfield County, there are actually not that many flex suite operators to offer space on a month-to-month basis or longer term, along with virtual office services like a receptionist to take calls and route them to a home office.

Stamford’s newest operator is Stark Office Suites, which opened an executive office suite last year in the Stamford Marriott offering virtual and flex office suites.  Building and Land Technology (BLT) has achieved a 90 percent occupancy rate a few years after debuting its own office suite offering at 2 Stamford Landing in Stamford, while also operating a location at 1540 Post Road in Darien.

In addition to offering standard office suite and virtual office services, BLT promotes its center as an option for businesses that need space for unexpected disruption at their main place of business.

Another virtual office service provider Regus has five Fairfield County locations with the largest executive office suite operator in the world having quadrupled its global membership base since the peak of the last economic cycle. Regus has two locations in Stamford, Greenwich, Norwalk, and Shelton. The company is adding more locations Westchester County, amid plans to open 200 locations globally this year.

After filing plans for an executive office suite offering in March, Matrix is scheduled an open house later that month to showcase the suites.