As more businesses incorporate more and more technology into their everyday operations, working remotely is fast becoming the norm.

Since their first applications in the 1990s, more businesses have incorporated flexible work hours, cloud computing and other things into their operations. Surveys have indicated that a large percentage of companies are becoming more comfortable with their employees working remotely.

 
The immediate advantages of a virtual workplace are obvious: 

• Being able to work remotely

 

• No commute time

 

• Lower overhead costs

 

• Lower turnover rate

 

 
An in-depth look at each of those benefits further highlights the advantages companies have by having employees work remotely.

• More Activity: A large percentage of employees view the option to work remotely as a job perk. If people aren’t hampered by the stress of working in a traditional office, they’re likely to be more active.

 

• No commute: The last thing people want to do five days a week is travel down a busy freeway or highway and get stuck in traffic while on their way to an office. Being able to work remotely takes all the stress and anger out of having to make a long commute and lets employees focus more on doing their job as best they can.

 

• Less overhead: With no office space to lease, no miles and miles of wires that come with audiovisual installation and no utilities to pay for, companies have less overhead to deal with. Less overhead allows companies to invest money elsewhere such as in areas like telecom and VoiP for increased telepresence.

 

• Saving on Tech: Equipping employees with laptops or tablets is a great way to allow employees to work remotely. Bosses can easily send out software updates and everyone can share work on any number of cloud programs. Rather than working about audiovisual installation in an office and having av installers come in for assistance, bosses can send videos and other work-related materials via a cloud service.

 

• Better workers: Rather than worrying about when employees arrive and leave an office every single day, having virtual offices means that companies can spend more time working on specific goals and helping their customers. Industries that use virtual offices include financing, legal, consulting, technology, real estate/brokers, marketing and advertising, healthcare, entertainment, retail and construction.

 

 
As beneficial as a virtual office can be, there are also a few disadvantages to using this model: 

• Space: In some cases, companies need office space. They might need to store technology (include audiovisual installation equipment), work samples and important files. If a company needs access to important files, storing them on a cloud service might not be the best idea. If there’s a hack of that service, your company may lose a lot of valuable information. The same applies if a company’s customers need physical samples of products (think food service, promotional products or home improvement).

 

• Growth: Having an office gives a company a headquarters to operate from, but there may come a time when a company needs more space than what it has with a virtual office.

 

Should a company need a physical office space, co-op office help promote networking, efficiency and professional and personal growth. Workers are likely to be less distracted, more productive and happy to come to work with enthusiastic co-workers. Co-op offices also allow for more creativity, whether its working toward company goals or giving quality presentations with audiovisual installation. Co-working allows employees to grow and collaborate while providing feedback and new perspectives. 

 
There are plenty of advantages to companies working virtually. It also employees more freedom to work where and when they want, it cuts down on overhead, it cuts out the commute to work and it ultimately allows employees to more productive. Recent surveys have indicated that 96% of organizations have utilized cloud technology in some form and 80% of companies that adopt cloud technology see vast improvements in their IT departments. By embracing virtual offices and technology, companies can keep up with the constantly changing times.