With the growing trends toward web-based software like Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote and BaseCamp as important hubs of corporate infrastructure, more and more businesses are finally embracing the cloud as a viable option for productivity and efficiency.
And while this trend translates seamlessly into an equally emergent revolution of location independence and the virtual office, many businesses remain unnecessarily tethered to the physical office (and the commute, attire, property leases and other overhead costs that come with it).
Perhaps it’s the value of the face-to-face aspect of greeting and meeting clients in a professional atmosphere. Or maybe it’s the comfort of an office with a physical desk phone, receptionist and supplies.
But it could just be lack of awareness.
Each of these aspects of the physical office could easily be transferred into a remote setting and tremendously reduce overhead in the process. Countless business have done it and thousands more will in the next year.
Do you really want to be physically tied to an office building?
Just like the spreadsheets, file storage, note-keeping and communications software that were initially localized to your desktop – and have since moved to a much more efficient place on the cloud – practically every piece of the traditional office can easily be moved into a home office for each of your employees.
That’s right – even your phone lines.
You may think you are physically tied to the building because the “lines” are physically in the building, but they don’t need to be. Your entire phone system can now live on the cloud – without your customers ever knowing that your receptionist is sitting in her home office in her yoga gear, transferring calls.
Moving your office to the cloud means no more telephone closet and no more copper lines.
Your phone lines can ride on any internet connection.
Whether it’s via mobile or a web portal, multiple access methods exist and can be customized for any call routing setup your business could use.
Whether you’re home on a staycation, on the road, or on vacation, your customers will never know. If you use a receptionist, he or she can be set up at home with a headset on a computer with web-based extensions for each of your employees.
Your main number can even be set up to call the receptionist as if it was a physical desk with a land line, and the receptionist can transfer calls to multiple “extensions” – which can be mobile phones or home office phones – through a web-based dashboard that shows the status of all users (you can see if they’re on the phone, away, or available).
So now what’s stopping you from moving your office to the cloud?