virtual office

(noun)

A virtual office is a combination of off-site live communication and address services that allow users to reduce traditional office costs while maintaining business professionalism. Frequently the term is confused with "office business centers" or "executive suites" which demand a conventional lease whereas a true virtual office does not require that expense.

Related Terms

Examples of virtual office in the following topics:

  • Working from Home

    • Information sharing should be considered synchronous in a virtual office and building processes to handle conflicts should be developed.
    • Operational and administrative support should be redesigned to support the virtual office environment.
    • Facilities need to be coordinated properly in order to support the virtual office and technical support should be coordinated properly.
    • The drop could also be accountable to an inadequate office setup.

  • Introduction to Motors and Pumps

    • Virtually every business or office contains at least one.

  • Types of Networks

    • A local area network (LAN) is a network that connects computers and devices in a limited geographical area such as home, school, computer laboratory, office building, or closely positioned group of buildings.
    • A virtual private network (VPN) is a computer network in which some of the links between nodes are carried by open connections or virtual circuits in some larger network (e.g., the Internet) instead of by physical wires.
    • The data link layer protocols of the virtual network are said to be tunneled through the larger network when this is the case.
    • Not to be confused with a Virtual Private Network, a Virtual Network defines data traffic flows between virtual machines within a hypervisor in a virtual computing environment.
    • Virtual Networks may employ virtual security switches, virtual routers, virtual firewalls, and other virtual networking devices to direct and secure data traffic.

  • Fuel cells

    • Fuel cells require no combustion, have no moving parts, are silent, and are virtually pollution-free.
    • For example, a fuel cell can be reduced to fit inside a portable music player – or be increased to the size of a refrigerator to power a house, office or apartment.

  • Reduce paper consumption

    • Most is used and thrown away shortly after it's bought (the average office worker uses one sheet of paper every twelve minutes).
    • In Australia, a business turn-around specialist once told me that virtually his entire secret to saving bankrupt companies was to ‘forbid the writing of memos altogether' (for the same reason).

  • Affirmative Action

    • During a compliance review, a compliance officer examines the contractor's affirmative action program, checks personnel, payroll, and other employment records, interviews employees and company officials, and investigates virtually all aspects of employment in the company.

  • Conflicts of Interest

    • An example of using a third-party to establish an 'arm's length' or fair transaction would be where a corporation that leases an office building that is owned by the CEO might get an independent evaluation showing what the market rate is for such leases in the locale, to address the conflict of interest that exists between the fiduciary duty of the CEO (to the stockholders, by getting the lowest rent possible) and the personal interest of that CEO (to maximize the income that the CEO gets from owning that office building by getting the highest rent possible).
    • In fact, for many professionals, it is virtually impossible to avoid having conflicts of interest from time to time.
    • These are typically evaluated by a governmental office (e.g., in a US Government RFP) to determine whether the risks pose a substantial advantage to the private organization over the competition or will decrease the overall competitiveness in the bidding process.
    • As codes of ethics cannot cover all situations, some governments have established an office of the ethics commissioner, who should both be appointed by and report to the legislature.

  • Miscellaneous tips

    • Encourage the planting of trees or other indigenous foliage outside the office building.

  • Internet Retailers

    • An online shop, eshop, e-store, Internet shop, webshop, webstore, online store, or virtual store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or shopping center.
    • Will call, in care of box office (ICOBO), or "at the door" pickup: The patron picks up pre-purchased tickets for an event, such as a play, sporting event, or concert, either just before the event or in advance.

  • Competitive advantage through human resource management

    • When the paint peels on the office walls, one does not throw away the building and build a new one; a new coat of paint is sufficient.
    • Yet, research shows there is virtually no connection between industry and success.