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How To Grow In A Recession: Use Virtual Offices

Just because there’s a recession in progress, you need not put your strategic growth plans on hold. Rick Endres, President of The Washington Network, explains


Alexandria, VA  — May 13, 2009 — The recession has forced small to midsized businesses worldwide to maintain profitability with fewer resources. One popular method: using your existing technology to deploy virtual offices. Virtual offices can expand your business, improve profits and make employees happier and more productive. 

Virtual offices fill the same roles as a traditional office. But employees (called telecommuters, remote workers or teleworkers) work part- or full-time at home offices. They collaborate electronically. The mission remains the same, but some procedures change to accommodate the distance.

Virtual offices require unified communications: integrating phone, computer, email and fax. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) provides remote, secure access to your local network. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phones use the Internet to avoid long-distance charges and being tied to a single location. By integrating voice and data, VPNs and VoIP phones deliver valuable productivity-enhancing applications.

Benefits for employers, employees and customers:

  • Employ talented workers wherever they live. Distance no longer stops you from acquiring valuable skills you need.

  • Existing remote workers become more accountable. The new technology removes gaps in communication.

  • Dispersed sales teams become more connected. They collaborate more effectively from any distance.

  • Traveling workers become more effective. A hotel room instantly becomes a virtual office. 

  • Use the same incoming phone numbers anywhere. Just take along your VoIP phone.

  • Serve customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Establish support centers in time zones that match your customers’ needs.

  • One-touch dialing. It can increase communication among multiple offices by 400%.

  • Increase productivity. Gartner estimate that offsite employees are up to 40% more efficient than their colleagues in the office.

  • Work on offsite on strategic issues. Managers avoid getting bogged down in daily operations; retired owners stay connected without an eight-hour day.

  • No one knows you’re not at the main office. That is, unless you want them to.

The first step

Find a telecom provider that understands business, as well as technology. With just a few additions to your existing network, they can set up your virtual offices. You’ll be able to conduct business wherever you can most effectively satisfy customers. And your employees can increase their quality of life. It’s a win-win-win for managers, employees and their valuable customers.

ABOUT THE WASHINGTON NETWORK

The Washington Network, Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia, provides business VoIP telephone systems and computer networks for associations and businesses in the Washington, DC metro area. Flat-rate managed IT services include remote network monitoring, preventive maintenance, help desk, redundant back-ups and on-site support. For more information, call 703.212.7100, or visit www.WashingtonNetwork.com


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