Whether it’s information or engineering, technology has revolutionized the business world in more ways than one. While trends in this field will never stop evolving, the simplification of the most basic organizational functions has taken companies by storm. While the demand for virtual offices represents this trend, there are other interesting virtual technologies that are attracting attention.

While it might have taken some time to catch up, the adoption of virtual business practice has shown benefits that are hard to overlook. People are no longer required to report to their workplace to render their services. Virtual technologies and trends have responded to some complex problems by removing geographic constraints, creating access to diverse skill sets, opening up new opportunities, and ensuring profitability.

The practice of managing a virtual office space has been around for more than a decade. As this technological realm continues to develop, a variety of techniques are constantly emerging, thus presenting to the world what lies beyond the ingenuity of virtual office spaces: the virtual world. This upward trend has led companies to take more advantage of the “virtual” phenomenon and make things simpler and more convenient.

Virtual roles are a trend today

Virtual teams

Virtual teams work across space, time, and organizational boundaries with links that are strengthened through networks of communication technologies.

However, what makes a virtual team a strong workforce are these simple characteristics:

Variety of Choice – Ability to choose from a variety of talents and individuals, not just in close proximity to your location, but from anywhere in the world, depending on the exact service they require, multiplying your options tenfold.

Easy communication: As organizations build their global teams, software such as Microsoft Office 365 and Lync video conferencing facilitate communication and collaboration between them.

No geographic constraints – A virtual workforce also bypasses any trace of geographic constraints, giving this remote team flexibility and ensuring greater productivity.

Virtual assistant

Personal assistants (PAs) no longer need to be tied to their cubicles to perform their tasks. Virtual assistants (AV) perform the same roles and more.

Virtual assistants, independent entities with a precise set of skills, shape their work hours based on the convenience of their employers, while saving important resources such as time and money.

Competition is already fierce between these people from around the world with dozens of skills in a variety of fields. Websites like Elance and People Per Hour provide the necessary platform where virtual assistants can bid on the tasks of their choice. At the same time, companies receive detailed information on the skills and experiences of their potential employees, making it easier for them to choose the best talent.

With self-employed VAs working from their home offices, their employers don’t have to worry about labor costs, sick leave, compensation, benefits, or payroll taxes. This advantage makes virtual assistants more productive than a regular assistant, since they realize that their income depends entirely on the perfect execution of the assigned tasks.

Virtual classrooms

Learning is endless and that is also true in the business world. Between keeping up with one’s homework and learning new lessons and techniques that are introduced almost every day, there is sure to be a lot to handle in a lifetime.

Another virtual invention made accessible by technology is the virtual classroom. A combination of classroom training and self-paced online learning, virtual classrooms also save a lot of time and money.

One of the best examples of virtual learning would be Microsoft Virtual Academy. With virtual classrooms, one does not need to worry about traveling to a class or booking in advance to attend a conference. Anyone looking to gain an edge in their field just needs to register for the course or live event of their choice and log in to ‘attend’ their lessons.

Interactive and immersive, instructors and their students can also communicate in real time through text, audio and video chat. Virtual classrooms allow your students to download lectures and presentations, as well as test themselves with quizzes. Ultimately, this provides more room for improvement.

Server virtualization

Server virtualization is the conversion of a single physical server into multiple virtual machines using specially designed software, commonly controlled by the administrator. Since maximum resource usage is preferable in any field, server virtualization is another service that provides just that.

An organization, large or small, depends on a number of servers for its technical functions. Typically, a single server is used for a single application. Tech-based writer Jonathan Strickland claims that if multiple applications can use a minimal amount of processing power, the administrator could merge multiple machines onto one server while simultaneously running multiple virtual environments.

This method of consolidation helps companies dramatically reduce the need for physical space. It also eliminates the need to buy expensive hardware and extensive CAPEX. The reasons for using server virtualization are technical and financial in nature, but this trend also advocates the best possible use of fewer resources.

Data virtualization

With data virtualization, one can manage any data by using an application to access, retrieve, or reshape without having to acquire its original path or physical location. Wayne Eckerson, director of BI Leadership, a TechTarget research attended, pointed out some of the top uses for data virtualization.

Data virtualization helps test the effectiveness of a data-driven application before it is physically hardened into data warehouse storage. Helps improve a particular data or application by acquiring external data from other resources.

When a business urgently needs a data-intensive application anytime, anywhere, rather than purchasing the physical source, developers can use data virtualization software to immediately build the application when needed.

Data virtualization considerably reduces the time spent developing and supporting data while increasing the speed of access to the information required at any time.

Today, even traditional companies with a legacy are opting for modern virtual options. The advantages and efficiencies of the virtual world are abundant, flexible and undeniable, therefore, this is what makes it one of the most chosen office solutions for startups. Especially for organizations looking to push their limits with regard to geographic limitations.