Comparing Virtual Workplace Solutions

Virtual Office Software Definition: What is Virtual Workplace Software?

Virtual office software is a platform - often hosted in the cloud - that allows businesses to set up completely equipped digital workplaces for their employees. These workplaces are accessible via the internet from any location and in some cases at any time.

From these virtual workplaces, employees can use an internet-enabled device to remotely access files and applications for their daily to-dos. The digital environment provides all the programs needed for work - from office applications and communication applications to specialized industry and professional software.

In addition to the implementation of typical office tools, which correspond to those on the desktop computer in the company, the use of specific collaboration solutions is also possible. For maintenance, updates, antivirus programs and data backup, the provider takes care if it is a cloud solution as Software-as-a-Service.

These basic features of virtual office software can appear in two different basic types:

1. There is virtual workplace software that can practically recreate the office computer desktop or a specific app with all relevant tools and access to the company network.

2. On the other hand, workspace programs are available that, in addition to setting up desktop or app environments, also enable the creation of virtual offices, conference rooms, etc.

The core objectives of any software for virtual workplaces or offices are to support remote work quality, employee motivation, and not least company cohesion.

Why should companies use a virtual workplace?

The everyday life of most employees is strongly characterized by the use of various software - be it HR professionals, accountants, salespeople, purchasers, project managers or marketers. These programs make the execution of typical work processes easier, more efficient and increase productivity.

In times of affordable computers and fast internet connections, such solutions can of course also be installed without any problems on remote devices and corresponding work results can be fed into the company network. This is how remote work or mobile work and home office work in their simplest form.

That it is becoming increasingly relevant for companies to consider relevant forms of employment is beyond question: The Covid-19 pandemic has ensured that working from different locations has arrived in the German business landscape. In general, many areas of activity are now much more flexible than they were at the beginning of the millennium. The best professionals increasingly expect to get good remote work conditions.

Companies should therefore offer an environment that optimally supports location-variable work if necessary. Simply installing the most important office, industry and specialized programs and network connections on laptops, tablets, etc. for use at home or on the go is often not enough. Dissatisfaction, communication problems, multiple edits and/or even serious security risks can quickly occur.

Otherwise, it is ultimately people who form the teams: For ideal, profitable teamwork, colleagues need to communicate and share the same working framework and the same company attitude. This is undoubtedly a particular challenge in a remote environment. Some team members are hardly ever in the office and barely know their colleagues. The corporate culture, which is usually lived and promoted in the office, is far away at home or in the field. Spontaneous interactions rarely take place by phone or conventional messenger. In addition, there are increased difficulties in evaluating performance and managing resources at a distance.

The often ideal, because only effective solution for remote teams: a virtual office per software. With a virtual workplace program, work environments can be created that are precisely adapted to the needs and expectations of employees in terms of equipment and also visually.

Team spirit, the feeling of company affiliation, and the acceptance of company values can even be significantly promoted with relatively simple software for desktop mappings that include quick, easy collaboration applications.

The best results are achieved by programs that can create and use virtual rooms. Here, everyone can pursue the goals and basic ideas of their company together even over the furthest distances. The common mission and vision is more strongly manifested in the rooms and is more present for everyone. Ideally, the users immerse themselves completely in the virtual environment during work and thus tend to concentrate better on their to-dos.

How does a virtual office work per software?

The functioning of virtual office software primarily depends on the features it brings. The following tools and related processes are typical.

• Remote work: With software for virtual workplaces, remote workers can access their daily work system from any location. They therefore do not necessarily have to be in the company to complete their tasks. This function can be particularly advantageous when working from home or on the go. Freelancers and small businesses, who may not have sufficient resources or budget to rent office space, also benefit.

• Central Database: A virtual office software forms a central platform through which all users can access their work files, applications, emails, and other resources. This facilitates the synchronization of work between multiple team members and tracking progress.

• Security features: Modern virtual workspaces and the data stored there are protected by industry-standard encryption protocols. This ensures that no unauthorized persons can gain access to sensitive information. Administrators can also assign specific internal rights.

• Cloud storage: Software for virtual offices and workplaces can be integrated with cloud storage platforms like Dropbox or Google Drive. Here, numerous documents or images can be stored without having to worry about capacity limitations on local computers.

• Automation tools: Many solutions for virtual work environments have tools for automating individual processes. With these, users can have the system perform common to-dos, such as time tracking or creating recurring reminders and notifications. This contributes to streamlining workflows and allows more time for core tasks.

• Collaboration tools: Within virtual workplaces, teams can collaborate in real time using audio/video conference tools, online whiteboards, and other common collaboration functions. With options for file sharing, users are able to easily exchange documents for review or revision with each other.

• Features for creating virtual spaces: Specific virtual workspace software allows for the creation of virtual office and/or conference rooms using prefabricated elements and design options. Here, teams work almost as if they were in the real office. To the employees, all familiar programs for their tasks and also special communication and collaboration applications are offered.

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Virtual Workspace Tools?

In general terms, virtual office software can make remote work more efficient and effective. The individual benefits associated with this are summarized in brief below.

• Increased productivity: Software for virtual offices and workplaces can improve the efficiency of daily remote work and ultimately maximize productivity. The respective solutions help employees stay organized. They centralize tasks, important documents, messages, projects, and other work-related elements in a safe place that can be accessed from any device with internet access.

• Improved collaboration: Software for a virtual workplace facilitates collaboration between team members, regardless of where they are currently located. It allows employees to communicate simply when working on a specific project or task. Everyone here can access the same data. A platform is available for real-time conversations, video conferences, or chats.

• Cohesion and corporate culture: Workplace software often enables the creation of one or more virtual spaces in which teams work together almost like in a real office. Under these realistic conditions, team cohesion and the impartation of corporate culture can be developed. These are two urgent elements for maximum work efficiency and effectiveness. These are usually only very limited in the context of standard remote work.

• Separation of work and personal life: Especially when employees move within digital spaces based on virtual office software, the distinction between professional and private life can be made very precisely even in the home office. Ideally, users immerse themselves fully in their virtual work environment and concentrate more on their tasks than under simple standard remote work conditions. A clearer demarcation is conveyed subconsciously.

• Increased security: With software for the virtual workplace, all files are usually stored securely in the cloud and encrypted in a modern way to protect them from unauthorized access. In addition, this type of software usually has additional protective functions such as user authentication and two-factor authentication. This further increases the level of security.

• Cost reduction: Through the use of software for virtual workspaces, companies can save money, as less expensive physical hardware such as servers or desktop computers is needed. On top, potentially more people can work from home, which can reduce the office space to be rented.

• Optimized flexibility: Virtual office software offers even in-office employees the necessary flexibility to be productive anywhere. All tasks can be done even on temporary business trips or when unable to come to the office due to injury. Most virtual workspace solutions even have mobile versions for smartphones.

With all these significant advantages, there can hardly be any disadvantages - or can there? The short answer is: kind of. Real disadvantages do not necessarily have to be feared - if you choose a suitable solution and - this is essential - are aware of what their use means for the company.

• Possibly high implementation effort: The implementation of a virtual workspace can be a lengthy and costly process. Depending on the solution, commissioning requires considerable technical knowledge. For example, optimally adjusted virtual spaces are often not set up without the support of programmers and office consultants. In addition, licensing for such a work model can bring hidden costs. With many virtualization solutions, not all functions are available under a single license.

• Significant operating costs: Since many and resource-demanding computing tasks are usually performed daily in virtual workspaces, high operating costs for the technology or a correspondingly equipped license from the respective SaaS provider can arise. Downtimes must be absolutely avoided due to the importance of the system. Ensuring high availability does not make it any cheaper.

How to choose the right software for virtual offices?

The Virtual Office Software market is now large - and there are applications for various requirements or company prerequisites.

Getting an overview and finally selecting the perfect tool for creating virtual workplaces represents a major challenge.

It becomes easier when considering the following tips.

Implementation and use Managers should make sure to choose VR office software that is quick to implement and easy to use. Indeed, integrating a corresponding program into the company's processes can be very complex and time-consuming.

A cloud program is usually available faster than a locally installed system. This is why most companies prefer cloud implementations to on-premise solutions. If the application is then easy for its end users to use, effective use is achieved particularly quickly and safely.

Communication To get the most out of virtual office software, effective, easy-to-use, and natural means of communication must be in place. It should be easy to exchange important knowledge between teams or individuals and to quickly start a conversation - even in groups.

Managers are well advised to ensure that their virtual work area has solid internal communication tools such as chat, video chat, and comments. A self-service portal can also be beneficial, where employees can provide various forms of assistance. An employee directory also helps colleagues to connect names with faces and see who they need to contact for various concerns.

Collaboration Together with communication, the possibility of effective collaboration is another very important feature of software for virtual offices. Teams should be able to easily work together on documents, exchange ideas, and communicate openly about them.

Ideally, specific spaces are available for meetings, general questions, project work, etc. Managers should also get the chance to analyze and evaluate the work or its progress based on the program.

Customizability A platform that can be adapted to the needs of individual team members encourages employees to use their virtual workspace more intensively.

For example, it is possible to let the users decide for themselves what general notifications they want to see. Furthermore, specific employees can be added to a kind of favorites list for quick accesses and the typical work programs can be positioned individually.

System monitoring Analyses and insights help administrators refine the content of the virtual workspace. This in turn makes it possible to create increasingly efficient and effective remote work processes.

Managers can, for example, see which pages generate the most engagement, recognize which are the most active and popular channels, or check the performance of posts.

Integrations Using a single platform for virtual workplaces simplifies the search for files, the management of documents, chatting with colleagues, planning meetings, etc. and also reduces the risk of errors, such as multiple processing.

However, it cannot get by without good integration prerequisites - simply because, in principle, other (office) programs for daily work have to be integrated at all times. Managers should definitely ensure that they can equip their virtual workplaces or offices with all the relevant software.

What does Virtual Office Software cost?

The costs for a virtual workspace software primarily depend on the specific functions and possibilities as well as on the number of user licenses. In general, the prices range between around 100 EUR and several thousand EUR per year.

Especially when virtual rooms are to be created and more complex functions need to be integrated, for which perhaps special APIs are necessary, it can be expensive. Here, prices from 1,000 EUR are not uncommon.