Virtual Office Resource

Setting up an office once meant finding a location, negotiating rent, securing a phone system, picking out office furniture, installing the right IT system and signing a lease. It was quite a lot to do before the business owner could bring in a single dollar of revenue. Moreover, the official business location was essential, however, if the business owner wanted to be respected as a competitor in the desired field.

Today, technology has advanced to the point that a business owner can accomplish the same thing with just a Web browser. The arrival of the virtual office opened up a whole new world of opportunity for advancement, market placement and innovation without significant upfront capital. This concept was recently discussed in a WhaTech report.

A number of businesses today are being run using desktop and mobile applications, whether in a physical or virtual office environment. With an increased focus on cloud computing, however, a business owner can significantly reduce investments in software and hardware solutions that can be expensive to license, install, support and maintain. Plus, the business is no longer bound by location, allowing key individuals to conduct business when and where it needs to happen.

When cloud applications are leveraged from the virtual office, the business owner can access what he or she needs from any location, device and browser. It also extends the same capabilities once only enjoyed by the larger competitors. The arrival of the cloud environment leveled the playing field for all companies.

Business owners and staff members can leverage hosted services from Google (News - Alert), Microsoft, Salesforce.com, Dropbox and others like Phone.com to gain access to the services they need. For the business that has already been around for a while, a shift to the cloud may be required. Fortunately, these companies are proven players in the field, providing the necessary guidance for making the transition to a virtual office reliant on the cloud an easy one.

The key to initiating such a change is to understand what knowledge workers need in the virtual office. If content creation is a key focus, Microsoft (News - Alert) Office and Google Drive are both available through the browser. If large documents need to be easily shared, Dropbox is an easy and secure method that is available on the desktop and mobile device. Salesforce.com (News - Alert) provides customer relationship management (CRM) solutions across all devices, with easy access on the go, and Phone.com offers powerful hosted VoIP solutions for powerful voice communication.  

With so many applications available on the go, the innovative business owner no longer needs to be tethered to a desk or even WiFi (News - Alert) to get the job done. The virtual office can exist in the home, on the road or even in the air. As long as a browser is accessible, business can get done.