Virtual Offices vs Coworking Spaces

Virtual Offices vs Coworking Spaces

When it comes to choosing an appropriate office space, new businesses and young entrepreneurs have several options at their disposal. Apart from conventional brick-andmortar office spaces, now they can also opt for modern options like virtual offices or coworking spaces.

Recently, people have started opting for unconventional workspaces, owing not only to the changing perceptions of business culture but also due to the rise in wanting a more flexible work arrangement and an increasing number of freelancers.

Essentially, a coworking space is a ready-to-use office with all the facilities that are required by an organisation for productive work. Even though the facilities offered may slightly vary between coworking spaces, most of them include high-speed network connections, conference/meeting rooms, cafeterias etc. At a given time, several organisations or freelancers can be working in the same coworking space.

Conversely, a virtual office is essentially a service for people who mostly work from home but want a separate business address. It may give you partial access to the physical address, but uninhibited physical use is usually restricted.

Amongst these, companies can choose the workspace based on their expected usage and requirements. While choosing between a virtual office or a coworking space, the following pointers should be considered:

1. The purpose and suitability of the office space Since coworking spaces fulfil the same purposes as a conventional office without the added hassle of equipment maintenance or other related issues, they work best for a bigger team where the physical presence is essential to efficiently finish tasks. They also work well in case of freelancers who are in need of a separate office space without having the space or budget for maintaining a fully-equipped office by themselves.

On the other hand, a virtual office space fits the bill perfectly for companies or individuals whose teams are working from home, but just need a valid business address with facilities like a reception service, assistance with calls, couriers and voicemail support, or a space to meet clients. It also works well for professionals who have to move frequently during their work.

How does a virtual office help your business to be more effective?

2. Expenses involved Since the physical access to the workspace is often restricted in case of a virtual office, it is less expensive than a coworking space. However, the facilities offered by a coworking space are exponentially higher, which usually justifies the increased cost. These options are still cheaper than maintaining a separate conventional office.

3. Flexibility Even though coworking spaces offer organisations adequate flexibility in terms of facilities, or office arrangements, virtual offices boast of much more flexibility in terms of the available

times of operation, no dependency on location of employees, among other things. Therefore, in case extensive travelling is involved, a virtual office may be a superior choice.

4. Other advantages

A coworking space offers more networking options as you are working in close proximity with people from a plethora of fields within the same office space. It also provides other necessary services such as meeting rooms to entertain clients or team-meets, cafeterias, printers and photocopiers, among other facilities. It also ensures a more formalised working style as well as better communication between the team as they are in close physical proximity.

On the other hand, virtual offices in Bangalore ensure that even with a small budget, you can have a separate business address, which is usually the most financially challenging step for young start-ups or entrepreneurs. Not just that, you can choose a business address in an opulent area, where it may be next to impossible to rent or buy a physical office space. That contributes positively to the professional image of the business and adds to its goodwill and reputation. A virtual office also facilitates operations of a business in a new city without having an actual office in the same area.

In the context of all this, businesses or solo entrepreneurs have variety to choose from when picking an office which best suits their needs and aspirations. While virtual offices provide more flexibility in terms of time and location, the services and facilities on offer at a coworking space can’t be overlooked. While making an informed choice, you’d need to consider other factors like: -

The budget,

-

Need for collaboration and networking between the team,

-

Hours of operations, and more!

Fortunately for the Indian market, several brands, like iKeva, offer all these services at a reasonable price while maintaining industry-leading quality - be it for a virtual office or a coworking space!