Virtual Offices
RingCentral Chronicles Rise of Virtual Offices
Published November 18th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
There is a continuing shift from the traditional on-site centralized workforce to a virtual distributed model. So says a new survey from RingCentral.
Specifically, the survey reveals that only 15 percent of small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) have all their employees working from a single physical location. That’s a marked shift from the days when virtual office space and mobile work models were reserved for field staff and freelancers.
What’s driving the shift? In part, technology. Doubtless, the ability to access business systems from remote locations makes it easier for companies to employ virtual office models. But technology is not the only driver. The economy has also played a role in the shift. Companies large and small continue to seek creative ways to cut costs without jeopardizing their competitive edge. The virtual office model reduces overhead and opens up the labor pool to new geographic locations.
Key findings from the survey include:
- Nearly half (45%) of employees spend three quarters (75%) of their time conducting business away from the office.
- Only 15% of SMBs reported having all employees work from a single physical location.
- When working from outside the office, 80% of the businesses normally want to give the impression that their employees are in the office when receiving or making business phone calls outside of the office.
- 80% of the businesses normally want to give the impression that their employees are in the office when receiving or making business phone calls outside of the office.
- In 2010, nearly two-thirds (67%) of SMBs are planning to hire more employees and over half of them (57%) are planning to have these new employees work remotely and/or with mobile capabilities.
OK, now since RingCentral took all the trouble to conduct the survey, we need to give them a chance to plug their solution…
“This survey demonstrates that even with the trend toward a flexible, distributed office model, today’s business is not willing to compromise on the professionalism associated with a traditional office model,” says Vlad Shmunis, CEO of RingCentral.
“RingCentral Office is designed to meet the needs of the modern mobile business world. RingCentral facilitates the seamless integration of distributed employees into a single business phone system regardless of the employee’s choice of phones – mobile or fixed line. The best part is that businesses do not need to spend a single dollar in capital expenditure.”
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Bill Brookshire November 18th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Nice survey. I thought this was particularly interesting… “80% of the businesses normally want to give the impression that their employees are in the office when receiving or making business phone calls outside of the office.” I wonder if one day it just won’t matter. Is the rise of virtual offices really about giving false perceptions? It really shouldn’t matter where the employee is working so long as the customer is serviced.
Elizabeth Sanchez November 18th, 2009 at 9:21 am
RingCentral pulled out some important insights about the shift toward virtual offices with its study. Technology and the economy are key drivers of a lot of workforce trends, in good times and bad. In the good times, companies invest more in video conference and telepresence systems. In the bad times, they are investing more in virtual offices. It makes sense.