Virtual Organization

Virtual Organization is a term used to describe a collection of people or organizations who are sharing resources without physically moving into the same space. Typically, virtual is used to describe computer generated environment, where people with a common purpose or issue can meet without any geographical restrictions. This type of organization has grown substantially in the past 10 years as the cost of technology decreases, providing opportunities to remove these barriers at a lower cost.

All Virtual organizations have same requirements: The ability to communicate with a large group of people. In virtual organizations there is often no single leader but a collective group of people overseeing the operations of an organization. This structure is most common in organizations united by a common goal.

In a global environment, workplaces have practically no boundaries with employees located all over the world. With the ever increasing prices of real estate, the virtual office has become an attractive phenomenon to many business people. Companies can be located at a particular place but the employees conduct their day-to-day office affairs from different locations such as a hotel, café or home.

Steps for Creating a Virtual Office

Step 1: Deciding Business Address

Decide on a business address for your virtual office. It could be a mailbox number or you could use a CMRA (Commercial Mail Receiving Agency) mailbox service for getting a corporate-sounding address.

Each option has the drawback of requiring you to go somewhere else to get your mail (although there may be services that will deliver your mail to you). Post office boxes have the additional drawback of not allowing you to receive packages because couriers won't deliver to a P.O. box. If you use a service that gives your business a suite number (actually, just another name for a box number), you can receive packages. You also have 24-hour access and can request notification when a package has arrived.

Step 2: Connectivity Options

Look at your connectivity options. There are several to choose from whether its emails, cell phones, online