Comments on: Virtual office reviews: Weber Media Partners manages virtual office with Onebox and Basecamp

By: Virtual Office Technology “Beams Up” Conference Participants

Virtual Office Technology “Beams Up” Conference Participants — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:48:18 +0000

[...] of new virtual office providers springing up from sea to shining sea, but there’s also a lot of virtual technology purveyors that have been waiting for a moment like this for nearly a [...]

By: SmartSpace Sets Up Shop in Miami's Financial District | aBetterOffice

SmartSpace Sets Up Shop in Miami's Financial District | aBetterOffice — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:33:39 +0000

[...] receptionists. So even if you don’t need a physical office space, you can tap into their virtual office services and impress your clients in Latin [...]

By: Daria

Daria — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:55:06 +0000

It’s a great idea to start such a series. I thought you might be interested in this story too: http://www.wrike.com/story/voco.html. This creative agency runs a 100% virtual office. If you talk to them, I’m sure they have a lot of experience to share.

By: Mike Sullivan

Mike Sullivan — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:53:00 +0000

Peter – You’re not picking… just holding me accountable for my statements, huh? That’s a good thing.

My main sentiment there was that I have spoken with clients of Davinci Virtual and Intelligent Office. I also have researched their companies quite thoroughly, spoken with current and former employees, discussed their capabilities with industry experts, etc., and they both have solid capabilities. Davinci in particular has solid technology with a quite versatile team of receptionists that can do more than answer the phone and take messages.

The little information I’ve gathered on Onebox does not yet support a full endorsement for all their services. But that doesn’t mean I’d recommend against them or that they won’t get a recommendation from aBetterOffice. I’m working on building a bigger body of research… until then, I’d recommend people look into Davinci or Intelligent Office. What I didn’t mention was that serviced offices provide some/most/all of these capabilities as well. With 4500 serviced offices across the US, it’s difficult to recommend one over another. I’d just suggest that people research a local reputable serviced office and put them in the mix if their virtual services seem to fit their needs.

More information is coming soon! Let me know if you have any other questions.

By: Marcus Hester

Marcus Hester — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:56:46 +0000

Voice systems and phone conferencing are absolutely vital to a firm like Weber. So the fact that Catherine is using Onebox as part of this virtual office technology package says a lot.

I imagine they do a lot of client conference calls and perhaps set up interviews with the media for clients on conference lines. That definitely demands a reliable service.

By: Peter Chee

Peter Chee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:00:38 +0000

Just use Google Docs. Keep it simple and it’s free.

@mike, I don’t mean to pick on you, but above you recommend using a Davinci Virtual Office or Intelligent Office for live phone reception over Onebox, could you please expand on what features or service was exceptional?

By: Bill Brookshire

Bill Brookshire — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:04:27 +0000

Catherine, thanks for spelling out the process of managing workers in a virtual office and how Basecamp plays a role in that. It’s hardly Big Brother, but it does seem a if this virtual office technology helps you keep tabs on productivity even while it helps the team be more productive.

By: Elizabeth Sanchez

Elizabeth Sanchez — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:34:09 +0000

I like this story because Catherine demonstrates what’s really possible with virtual office technology and gets real about the pros and cons. She told it like it is, for better or worse.

Virtual office technologies have come a long way, and the competition is breeding innovation. What I’d like to hear more about is what’s lacking that businesses need.

What features aren’t available, or what tools are required that aren’t on the market now that could help virtual offices be more productive?

By: Rob Zeus

Rob Zeus — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:04:29 +0000

I think the fact that you can’t customize Basecamp software might be troublesome for some. That’s why open source software is so popular. That gives me a thought: is there any virtual office open source software on the market?

In any case, it sounds like Onebox has some customer service issues despite its solid performance. That’s often the downfall of tech companies — good help is hard to find.

By: Melanie Jones

Melanie Jones — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:51:06 +0000

This is a really helpful column. Exploring virtual office technologies in actual practice is going to help a lot of companies assess the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities that exist.

It’s one thing to read a testimonial about virtual office technology on some vendor’s web site. It’s another thing to read a no-holds barred story. It looks like Weber is pretty happy with its virtual office technology and it works well. Good model.