Office Space News
Officescape Rolls Out Virtual Incubator Services Worldwide
Published March 13th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
You’ve probably heard of incubator office space. (If you haven’t, check out what the Coalition of Office Space Providers are doing in Manhattan.) But have you ever heard of virtual incubator space? I hadn’t – until Officescape rolled out what it’s calling Virtual Incubator services.
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As the company describes it, Virtual Incubator services allow traditional business incubators to serve a large number of off-site tenants by providing them enhanced on-demand and virtual office services. This is the type of creative service I’d expect to see coming out of the virtual office industry right now. I’m impressed with its capabilities and pleased with the timing.
Officescape didn’t throw this together in time for the recession. The company says it’s been working on this concept for years, researching and investing millions of dollars to develop a virtual incubator model with virtual office technologies. Let’s take a closer look at how this can help research parks and business development centers help start-up companies.
Understanding Incubators
When it comes to incubator space, it’s more than just office space. Incubator space offers support that aims to accelerate the successful development of start-up and fledgling companies with a variety of targeted resources and services.
As the National Business Incubation Association puts it, a business incubator’s main goal is to produce successful firms that will leave the program financially viable and freestanding. These incubator graduates have the potential to create jobs, revitalize neighborhoods, commercialize new technologies, and strengthen local and national economies. Incubators typically offer clients access to appropriate rental space and flexible leases, shared basic business services and equipment, technology support services and assistance in obtaining the financing necessary for company growth.
For Officescape’s part, its Virtual Incubator service aims to expand the capabilities of business incubators by offering services to entrepreneurs that might not have previously qualified for a space, may not be located near the incubator location, or may have been turned down due to space restrictions. While would-be clients bide their time on a waiting list, they can tap into the virtual incubator services.
Overcoming Geographical Restraints
The thrust of this program is that it makes some measure of incubator services available to entrepreneurs who may otherwise be able to access them – and that’s a vital aspect of helping grow the backbone of the United States economy. Officescape’s program makes it possible for off-site tenants to use all of the incubator’s services without having a full-time physical office space at the facility.
Officescape’s Virtual Incubator services also include technology resources such as communications, data storage, remote software applications and off-site phone answering, as well as mail services, all accessible on a single platform. Officescape is currently providing its Virtual Incubator services to a number of incubators across the country.
“We work with Officescape to provide our clients the possibility of using virtual office tools. They are very professional and responsive,” says DeWayne Landwehr, director of Flagship Enterprise Center in Anderson, Indiana. Since Officescape’s services are accessible from anywhere at anytime, incubators are able to continue to serve businesses even after they have grown beyond the need for other traditional incubator services.
Officescape is right on time with the wide roll out of its Virtual Incubator services. Economists say a down economy is the perfect time to for entrepreneurs to launch business idea that they’ve been considering for years but haven’t had time to execute. Business incubators offer the counsel and office space that will allow many of those bootstrapping entrepreneurs to get up and running quickly. Many believe that small business growth will fuel the economy. Incubators are a strong a catalyst to the next wave of innovation.
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About the Author
Mike Sullivan March 16th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
The angles companies like Officescape are using is interesting. I’m not sure how effective they are. I’m not sure how easy it is to reach the target audience. I think they would mostly be online, and I don’t see a whole lot of marketing communication around the concept in the appropriate channels… the message is good, however.
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