A Better Virtual – USA Virtual Offices

SAN JOSE, CA—What’s better than a virtual office provider that can also offer a virtual phone system and experienced live receptionists? A virtual office provider that can offer a virtual phone system and experienced live receptionists—and meeting rooms.

Alliance Virtual Offices fits that bill with its up and coming service. Alliance Virtual Offices is readying to roll out Alliance Meeting Rooms in Jan. 2012.

“We are thrilled to be expanding our service offerings to our global clientele,” says Frank Cottle, chairman of Alliance Virtual Offices. “Making our global meeting rooms available to purchase online will give our clients much more flexibility and convenience when doing business in our centers.”

Cottle sees an opportunity to serve more mobile worker with its latest venture. It’s a direct response to the increasing demand for flexible working options. Cottle has long been a predictor that mobile workers would change business centers, and he is investing his time and effort in that area. His goal is to make it as easy as possible for clients to set up and run a meeting.

Alliance Meeting Rooms will be located in some of the world’s most impressive business. Each facility coming fully equipped and staffed. You can choose from all shapes and sizes and rent the meeting rooms online by the hour, half-day or full day.

Although the service will only roll out initially in the United States, Cottle promises to add international locations soon. It’s all part of his efforts to combine people, place and technology—the three key components needed to serve mobile and work-from-home professionals.

LOS ANGELES–This is the time of the year when virtual office providers talk about how much growth the industry has seen in the last few years, how much momentum lies ahead, and how their virtual office brand contributed to the success. So why should Alliance Virtual Offices tell any different story? Actually, Alliance Virtual Offices does have a unique story to tell.

Alliance Virtual Offices has been pointing to the synergies of combining people, place and technology to deliver flexible work environments for the past year. The virtual office brand has also been predicting that the virtual office will stymie the growth of traditional office space in the years ahead.

For its part, Alliance Virtual Offices attributes the growth to all those trends—and its new, improved services platform. Alliance Virtual Offices posted what it calls “extraordinary year-over-year revenue and client growth” thanks, in large part, to its platform that delivers all the hottest virtual office solutions, including live receptionists and virtual phone systems, at competitive prices.

“People are not going to work anymore, work is coming to them, wherever they happen to be. Why endure the waste, costs and stress of constructing new office structures when Alliance Virtual Offices makes it easy to work anywhere at any time?” asks Frank Cottle, founder of Alliance Virtual Offices.

There’s plenty of evidence that the modern mobile professional agrees with Cottle’s take. Alliance Virtual Office’s steady annual growth rate not only reflects broader virtual office market growth, it also reflects the value its improved platform offers customers. With its new platform, Alliance Virtual Offices has seen increases in revenue, customers, office locations and live receptionist packages sold.

And with mobile workers in mind, Alliance Virtual Offices is getting ready to roll out a host of new products to support the mobility trend in 2012. Cottle says, “We saw 2010 as the year to build a new foundation, 2011 to prove that foundation and 2012 will be the year where we expand our product offering, our office footprint and our own team to deliver even more value to our customers and members.”

NEW YORK–Virtual law offices are gaining momentum, and may be part of the solution to the impending changes with the United States Postal delivery system.

Let’s review the problem: The United States Postal Service, or USPS, figures it can save $2.1 billion by laying off 28,000 workers, closing hundreds of mail processing plants and ending first class mail delivery. Indeed, by May the USPS may put an end to next-day mail delivery service in a move to keep its doors open. There has also been talk of shutting down Saturday delivery, and some post office locations are closing altogether.

Legal Web Experts, a Web design firm that specializes in developing Web sites for attorneys, is predicting many law firms that rely heavily on prompt mail delivery could find their practices in trouble without a reliably fast mail service. Think about it: Without next-day mail delivery, the delay of important court papers, documents, evidence and other materials could cause problems and even cost an attorney their case.

Enter the virtual law office. By deploying virtual law office software, much of the problem is solved.

“Sending and uploading documents via the internet is beginning to affect every industry, including legal,” says Ryan Nelson, Director of Operations for Legal Web Experts. “All firms must seriously consider having a digital document sending solution—or, at the very least, have a solution that can be implemented quickly should they need it.”

Virtual law office systems let attorneys set up a client login portal on their Web site. Clients can log in over a secure connection to download and upload documents, send completed forms, securely message their attorney and even make payments online. It’s faster and efficient than even overnight mail.

But the benefits of the virtual law offices extend beyond mail service. The virtual law office also gives lawyers increased flexibility at their office and the ability to work from anywhere. For clients, completing, sending and reviewing forms and documents online—no law office visits—is also convenient.

And here’s the good news: Web designers can integrate a virtual law office platform into almost any Web site in less than two weeks, or even days. So if your law firm has been considered a virtual law office solution, now may be the time to step up your investigation of the possibilities and prepare for the potential USPS changes.

BUFFALO, NY-Opus Virtual Offices is taking a page out of Davinci Virtual Office Solutions‘ playbook with an iPad contest. Both companies have held iPad contests to entice visitors to request more information about their virtual office solutions. No purchase is necessary from either company to enter the sweepstakes.

The winner Opus Virtual Offices iPad contest: Nicole Fiorella from Buffalo. The owner of Fiorella Search Group, Fiorella has been an executive recruiter since 1996. She specializes in matching top tier professionals in healthcare, biotech, and medical industries with top tier corporations seeking the finest candidates. She also offers management training and career coaching.

“We’re running sweepstakes to bring excitement and reward opportunity for businesspeople visiting our Web site to learn about the Opus virtual office solution available for only $99 a month,” says Yori Galel, CEO of Opus Virtual Offices. “Opus will be holding drawings quarterly, with the next winner to be announced on March 15, 2012. Anyone filling out the form had an equal chance to win, but I was thrilled to hear that Ms. Fiorella was already utilizing our program.”

Galel explains that the idea of access to live receptionists and the technology of fax and voicemail converting to email bundled for $99 monthly sold Fiorella. She didn’t even shop around to other virtual office providers. The virtual office allowed Fiorella to drop her fax line and one phone line, saving money. Now, her calls are professionally transferred and her business materials offer an impressive corporate mailing address close to her residence that convenient and offers a much classier image than a P.O. Box.

Fiorella’s story also shows the power of social media in the competition for virtual office users. She found out about Opus via Twitter. She wasn’t looking for a virtual office space. She thought she only needed a P.O. Box. But the virtual office is working for her in more ways than one.

Davinci runs its contest about every other month. This is the first one I’ve seen from Opus, but it appears the virtual office provider plans to continue the promotion in competition with Davinci. Davinci has an active contest running with the winner to be announced on Feb. 1.

SAN JOSE-I probably can’t count on one hand how many awards Virtual PBX won in 2011. The company really illustrated why it’s one of the leaders in the virtual PBX world this year, perhaps making 2011 hard to top in the years ahead.

This time around, Virtual PBX, a pioneer and leader in the increasingly crowded hosted PBX systems market, won the 2011 Unified Communications Excellence Award. TMC and its subsidiary offered the award, one of many its handed over to Virtual PBX this year.

“With proven excellence in providing solutions in the UC marketplace, we are pleased to grant a 2011 Unified Communications Excellence Award to Virtual PBX for Virtual PBX Complete with VoIP Anywhere,” says Rich Tehrani, CEO of TMC. “Congratulations to the entire team at Virtual PBX for their commitment to advancing UC technologies and we look forward to future innovations.”

Virtual PBX has a number of award-winning services. But Virtual PBX Complete with VoIP Anywhere is cleaning up in the awards category this year.

Virtual PBX Complete with VoIP Anywhere is a hosted PBX phone system designed with the specific needs of small- and mid-sized businesses in mind. Essentially, the virtual PBX product gives entrepreneurs and small business owners the freedom to carry their business extensions around the world.

Underneath the hood, so to speak, the virtual office system features Open VoIP Peering capabilities. Those capabilities eliminate the need for expensive analog phone lines and allow users to access full business phone services through their softphones.

“Our customers have embraced the idea of attaining freedom to access VoIP business features on any smart device, which reflects our dedication to delivering a quality and cost-efficient product,” says Greg Brashier, CMO of Virtual PBX. “This recognition reflects our dedication to meet our customers’ need for products and services that deliver powerful value while reducing their operational costs.”

CHICAGO-IL—Zaplee. It may sound like a newfangled app for your iPhone, but it’s actually a cloud call center system—and it’s gaining traction with small businesses looking for a cost-effective virtual PBX.

Zaplee is a young company, but it’s not a brand new face on the virtual PBX scene. The company opened its virtual doors in 2007, aiming to help small- to mid-sized businesses operate their virtual call centers via cloud technology. Zaplee lets you take phone calls from anywhere you happen to be so long as you have a mobile device.

Online retailer Just Almonds has been using Zaplee for more than a year now. The company’s vice president says Zaplee’s customer service—specifically, always having someone available to answer questions and offer technical assistance—makes the company stand out in the crowded virtual PBX marketplace.

“We were with Zaplee already for our local phone number and loved it, but once they started offering service to toll free 800 numbers, we decided to port our 800 number over to them as well,” says Just Almonds Vice President Kurt Mattingly.

“The guys at Zaplee have always been there and been so helpful throughout the process. I don’t know a whole lot about computers or their components, but Zaplee makes it easy to set up and use. Their excellent customer service is reassuring because I know that I can always go to them with questions or problems and get help.”

Zaplee recently introduced the ability to provision toll free 800 and toll free numbers internationally, including in the US, Canada, Spain, Austria, New Zealand, Mexico, Australia, the UK and Austria. Zaplee boasts more than 300 satisfied customers in over 20 countries.

For its part, Just Almonds uses Zaplee as a replacement for the traditional PBX system to handle phone calls to their toll free 800 number. Customers are able to call in and place their orders, no matter where Mattingly or his other two call center representatives happen to be at the moment. The team handles between 10 and 20 calls per day, whether it’s from their headquarters in Nevada, their farm in California, or even their own homes. Mattingly says Zaplee’s virtual call center is the best mobile toll free solution he’s ever used.

“Since it’s all web-based, it makes us be able to make our toll free 800 number mobile and accessible to multiple staff members all at the same time so we can do our jobs everywhere as opposed to being tied down by a landline,” Mattingly says. “I want to be on the beach taking these calls someday.”

Zaplee’s virtual call center integrates with Skype, Google Voice, regular phone lines, or SIP. The cloud call center works with toll free 800 numbers as well, and a business can port its existing 800 number over to the system.

BOCA RATON, FL—I would wager a bet that most reputable virtual office providers have seen significant growth over the last few years—at least if they are doing a halfway decent job of getting the word out about what they offer.

From Davinci Virtual Office Solutions to Alliance Virtual Offices to Opus, virtual office providers with a strong reputation for customer service and technology bells and whistles are growing in this economy. Indeed, Opus Virtual Offices CEO Yori Galel is convinced that its highest quality providers drive the virtual office industry. For its part, Galel says his company has exceeded growth projections for 2011 with a whopping 50 percent increase in its client base.

“The benefits of a virtual office solution for business are clear. This year, Opus VO saw strong growth with franchisees, home based businesses, contractors, and local and international entities,” Galel says. “With our all-inclusive services for only $99 a month, it’s no surprise that clients want to partner with us, but a 50 percent increase surpassed expectation.”

Although Galel reports strong activity in certain sectors, virtual offices are seeing an uptick across most industries due to the flexibility and value they offer over traditional office space. Virtual  office users eliminate the cost of renting, leasing or buying brick-and-mortar office space, not to mention the furnishings, utility costs and staffing.

Davinci Virtual Office Solutions hasn’t put out its numbers yet for virtual offices, but the company did announce in October that it landed on the Utah by Mountain West Capital Network’s Utah 100. Davinci was ranked the sixth fastest growing company in the state. Meanwhile, DavinciMeetingRooms.com, its online reservation platform for meeting rooms, has seen an amazing 200 percent growth in 2011.

The point is clear: virtual offices are here to stay and gaining ground in the business world as companies continue shedding corporate real estate in favor of alternative workplace strategies and as entrepreneurs recognize the value of having a more professional business

MIAMI-A glut of new office space has come to Miami in the last two years—now virtual offices are adding to the mix. Intelligent Offices is the latest brand name to enter the Miami virtual office market.

It’s no surprise that Miami is seeing more virtual office providers. Virtual offices are gaining momentum on top of momentum because they offer a practical way for companies to simultaneously reduce overhead and serve up a big company image.

There are still many different takes on what a virtual office is. Virtual offices usually offer some combination of an 800 number, a premier business address and a live receptionist. Some virtual office providers also offer access to office space and virtual assistants.

Intelligent Office Miami is putting its own spin on the virtual office concept by providing office space, a receptionist and what it calls the next generation of virtual offices. Specifically, Intelligent Office is pushing the virtual office envelope with Intelligent Assistants serve as your specialized business support team.

“Intelligent Office helps clients grow their businesses by combining professional staffing with the physical and technological infrastructure of a virtual office,” says Allan Sirotkin, managing director of Intelligent Office Miami. “With more than 160,000 businesses here employing fewer than 49 employees, there are many businesses in many industries that can benefit from the enhanced services Intelligent Office provides.”

Intelligent Assistants are not your typical virtual assistant service. Indeed, they are called “Intelligent Assistants” for a good reason—each client custom trains the virtual assistant for its unique needs. The virtual assistant essentially learns your personalized phone script and otherwise works to get familiar with your business—just like an employee would. The Intelligent Assistant can even keep track of your schedule so calls can be addressed and routed without delay.

Intelligent Assistants can serve as a business concierge, handling reservations, preparing presentations, scheduling appointments, or fulfilling phone orders. And you don’t have to rent office space or virtual offices to tap into this resource. You can contract an Intelligent Assistant without any other officing strings.

“The Intelligent Office model is not based solely on office rentals,” Sirotkin said. “It’s a technology-based model where the support services and personnel assistance bring value to a business.”

Intelligent Office Miami is located on the 37th floor of One Biscayne Tower in downtown Miami. The location offers individual offices, conference suites, a kitchen, and private mailboxes, all of which are available 24/7. The facilities are available by the hour, day, week or month with prices starting around $18 per hour or $1,500 per month. On-demand personnel support services are tailored to address the specific needs of each business and are priced on usage.

When companies in totally different sectors start jumping on the virtual office bandwagon, you know it’s a monumental business trend.

MyNewCompany.com, an online incorporation service and small business resource, is getting into the virtual office business, starting with a virtual office space in Nevada. The decade-old firm has helped more than 30,000 companies get legally incorporated, maintain an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and accomplish other business goals. Now, they are on a new mission to serve up alternative workplace strategies.

Matt Knee, founder and president of MyNewCompany.com, says it has always been the firm’s mission to make starting a business as simple, fast and inexpensive as possible.

“I attribute our success to keeping to that philosophy even through all the economic changes and uncertain circumstances of the past decade,” Knee says. “Our company itself was launched just a month after 9/11, so we understand the frustration of trying to get started in a challenging business environment.”

MyNewCompany.com is entering the virtual office industry by offering clients a real Las Vegas street address, unlimited mail forwarding to US and international locations and a phone and FAX line with a 702 area code.

MyNewCompany is also offering an online dashboard that lets its virtual office customers manage their service online. Customers can view scanned e-mail, recycle e-mail they don’t want, change their mail forwarding address, forwarding their phone line to another number or receive voicemails and faxes via e-mail.

MyNewCompany isn’t stopping with the Nevada virtual offices, though. The company also launched international incorporation services to foreign entrepreneurs start U.S. companies and ComplianceLock, a service that allows corporations and LLCs to automate certain functions to maintain their corporate shield and stay on top of other required compliance tasks.

ATLANTA-VoiceNation must be doing something right. The live answering and virtual receptionist service has grown 400 percent in the two years since its launched its calls centers in 2009.

VoiceNation’s growth is so strong that the company recently renovated its call center to quadruple the size of its space just so it could staff up to answer phone calls and continue growing in the future.

VoiceNation reports that incoming call volume has more than doubled. The growth, in part, signifies how more companies are looking to virtual solutions in a down economy.

“The demand for live answering services is only increasing, as companies find that live answering services have less overhead costs associated than hiring their own in-house receptionist,” Jay Reeder, president and CEO of VoiceNation.

VoiceNation attributes much of its success to its proprietary virtual PBX technology. The live answering service developed the technology and continues tweaking its systems to improve the quality of its customer service.

In addition to its virtual PBX technology, the company also boasts trained call center representatives. Each new employee undergoes a six-week training boot camp in VoiceNation’s brand new, advanced training facility before they ever take a live call from one of your prospects or customers.

I can’t prove this, but VoiceNation claims it has the lowest hold times in the industry, in part, to its training. VoiceNation also uses its training facility during its four-step quality assurance program to guarantee that new accounts are set up specifically how you want them.

VoiceNation opened its virtual PBX service in 2002. Today, the company has more than 40,000 customers, including FEMA, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Dell, AIG and the U.S. Coast Guard.