A virtual office is part of the flexible workspace industry that provides businesses with any combination of services, space and/or technology, without those businesses bearing the capital expenses of owning or leasing a traditional office.
A virtual office can be used by entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small businesses that do not need or cannot afford a traditional office space. It can also be used by larger companies that want to establish a presence in a specific location without committing to a long-term lease.
Some virtual office providers offer additional services such as meeting room rentals, administrative support, and live receptionist services. These services are usually provided remotely, but also some virtual office providers have a physical office space where clients can have access to these services. This can be an attractive option for businesses that want to project a professional image without the cost of a full-time office.
Virtual office services started in the 1960s as serviced offices and have evolved with technology to include a wide variety of personnel, physical space, digital storage and communication services. Customers pay a contract fee for these services which may be offered à la carte, as packages or membership subscription. The concept is popular with companies of all sizes, including self-employed entrepreneurs. One of the primary allures of the virtual office is the flexibility it offers for employees and freelancers to work from a satellite office, home office, remote location or even on-the-go via a mobile device. At the same time, a company can offer its clients and employees a stable home office with access to amenities such as receptionist, conference rooms, desk space, mailboxes, printing and faxing at a permanent address, which are owned and maintained by the virtual office provider or a third party.
In 2021, a number of companies set out to fix the challenges of virtual meetings. This led to the appearance of virtual office software. When referring to a company having a virtual office, this no longer refers to a standard set of business services. Rather a virtual space for employees to gather and perform business-related activities. For example, companies like KumoSpace and Pluto utilize spatial audio to recreate a company's physical offices in a virtual environment. They offer users a wide range of functionality and customization l allowing companies to create a virtual office that matches the company's brand.
Virtual office providers may also include digital capital such as cloud storage, web hosting, email and other web-based applications.
Also, according to the research, the attitudes and policies of employers in the virtual platform affect their employees' personal lives and productivity. Employees will be more productive if they believe their company trusts them, recognizes them, cares about them, and receives the proper training (including online processes, etc.), project management, and support to perform their tasks productively. When employees don't have to spend time, money, or resources on transportation between home and work, it positively impacts employee productivity. That is why it became necessary to create an appropriate software environment to ensure these processes' functioning.
