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A Virtual Office can be defined as a combination of off-site live communication plus the address services. The address services are allowing people to cut back on the traditional office costs but still be professional. The term of “virtual office” is sometimes confused with “office business center” or “executive suites”. But there are no similarities between them. Having a virtual office means not having a lease on any place and no expenses with that. The History The idea of creating a virtual office resulted from the convergence between the Information Age and the technological innovation. Also, during the Industrial Revolution, the concept emerged a bit as many people worked from the offices but had a parallel work at home. Also, the truth is the virtual office concept evolved from the executive suite industry after giving up at the inflexibility of the lease. This is how it appeared. In 1994 the first commercial application of the virtual office occurred. It was when, in Boulder, Colorado, Ralph Gregory created “The Virtual Office, Inc”. After a short while his whole business developed in North America and now you it bears the name the Intelligent Office. The Services When you are thinking about “a virtual office” you spot that it implies space utilization and a lot of communication. These are the services. The Communications Services: - the remote receptionist: this refers to a team of professionals that work remotely and they use a CTI - Computer Telephone Integration software that replaces the traditional receptionist. - the virtual assistant: this is often a person that works from home and rarely goes out to meet with clients. Normally, the virtual assistant doesn’t interact with the CTI Software and it is usually paid with about $15 or even more. - answering services or call centers have a centralized location and their main objective is to receive and pass along a large amount of information that was requested by phone. The downfall of the answering services are the security issues, the impersonal staff, translation errors, language barriers and the less than professional image. - the voicemail is also a technology, of a lower cost, that stores all the messages in an electronic matter. But this kind of application has a lot of limitations and it is used for customer service. The downside of this tool is that it creates a lot of frustration among clients and there are many complaints gathering up. Plus, people will always prefer a voice over a robot. The Space Services - the professional address is also known as an office in a big building that is used for business purposes. Having a professional address can diminish some of the risks of having a home based business. - the mailing address is a professional address, which you will use for getting and sending professional email. There are many providers that give you access any time of the day to locked mailboxes. - the reception courtesies – this means that the receptionists that are at the business address will get the incoming deliveries, the packages and much more and they will offer an on-site witness for you. - the business meeting space is a space on-demand used for meetings or conferences. You can rent this place when you have to have a meeting. - the casual workspace is a light alternative of the home office interruptions and can be rented occasionally or by the hour. - the executive suite is a rented space and only some virtual offices rent it full time. - the on-site amenities represent the internet connection, the fax, copier, printer, video conferencing facilities or kitchenette. |