While everyone was watching for the telecommute trend to explode and for companies to implement large telecommute programs, something else quietly boomed along with it: The emergence of the virtual company. The business with no office to telecommute from and with minimal overheads.
These companies give new opportunities to entrepreneurs to get started with very little upfront investment. Equally important is that a virtual company also allows people to plan how they want to live their lives, and to get a proper work and home balance.
Many industry and business experts agree that there is likely to be considerable growth in the virtual business arena. The future is likely to be driven by virtual businesses operating from virtual offices. Gone are the days of new businesses being developed in a bedroom or garage. The new business ventures are likely to be started by small teams of individuals living in areas of high human intellectual capital. With the advent of affordable video conferencing tools, instant messaging, email and collaboration tools, distance between individuals is no longer relevant.
A convergence of new technologies has now occured and the incentives to form virtual businesses in virtual offices are many:-
1. Traditional employees are leaving regular jobs in order to regain control over their time and lives. Both men and women are increasingly willing to leave the work force in order to get their lives balanced, and this trend is likely to gain momentum. Virtual offices will become the normal and not the exception to the rule when new businesses and companies are created.
2. Technology has now reduced the barriers to entry for virtual businesses. It has become so cheap and easy to use that someone who doesn’t have a lot of resources can create a Web presence that looks established and professional. By using readily available and affordable systems, it is possible for a mom and pop company to rival the presence of fortune 500 companies.
3. Many companies, including Microsoft and Oracle, have seen productivity increases and employee satisfaction rise by allowing workers to work at least some part of each week from home or a virtual office.
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