Does the Virtual Office Make Brick and Mortar Obsolete?

Heraclitus rightly said, “The only constant in life is change” and considering current events we must agree. 

Businesses that were, perhaps, considering a move away from their traditional office space toward allowing remote working have been plunged into a virtual office environment faster than you can say Coronavirus. 

Is this a good thing? 

Will the virtual office replace its brick and mortar counterpart?

The Rise of the Virtual Office

When the working world realised the scale of the 2020 pandemic, many made the immediate move to send their team home with a laptop and an internet stipend to ride out the storm. It may have taken a little while for teams to adjust to a new way of working, but the results have been astounding. 

Connectivity solutions such as Zoom have stepped up and allowed us all to meet and communicate just as efficiently as we would in our ‘real’ office. Team tracking software has granted management the ability to monitor the workload in real-time, follow customer interactions and even see what is on their employee’s screen at any given time!

Let’s take a pragmatic look at the pros and cons of the virtual office.

The pros 

1. The most obvious benefit of making use of the virtual office is the cost-saving on, often prohibitive, office rentals. Desks, boardrooms, coffee machines, cleaning and maintenance, equipment, security and other costs simply fall away.
2. Perhaps less obvious but just as important is the environmental impact remote working offers. Fewer cars on the road and far more online transactions as opposed to printed slips, statements, or tenders have eased the burden on our fragile environment.

In fact, a telling article from Insider on the effect of the lockdown on global air quality is fascinating. They comment on the state of one of the most polluted cities in the world, “According to the Washington Post, air pollution in New Delhi dropped by almost 60% within just a few days of the beginning of the lockdown.”

1. Without the constraints of a desk count or limited office space, a business can scale up or down quickly and efficiently. 
2. Businesses are realising the benefits of employing people from different provinces, or even different countries which enhances their talent pool and creates a true international team.

The cons

1. Remote working is not suitable for all businesses. For example, health and beauty has taken a massive knock in South Africa during the lockdown. There is simply no replacement for face-to-face operations for some. 
2. For those who enjoy the water-cooler chat and coffee mornings with colleagues, the lack of social interaction may be problematic. 
3. Some employees are simply not cut out to work from home, and without a firm hand and a big brother approach, productivity may suffer. 

 

The Common Thread

Whether your business is going to remain virtual, or you’re heading back to the brick and mortar office, one thing remains certain: we all need the internet. 

Virtual offices will always rely on a fast and stable connection to ensure glitch-free conferences, training, and meetings. 

However, traditional offices still make use of the cloud as the preferred way of storing and accessing information. Live chats with customers, large file uploads and downloads, busy eCommerce stores and VoIP phones may slow down your connection even further.

It’s clear that not just any internet connection will do – no matter where your office is.

The internet is certainly an essential service for any modern business, and because of this, we need to know that it’s going to work, no matter what. We need a plan B if plan A fails, and we need it immediately.

If this resonates with you then we’d like to encourage you to explore the connectivity options available from Huge Connect.