How to make your business super flexible

Flexibility in business is becoming more and more important. As businesses expand, the need to work from different locations is essential. Whether you own a small business that is operated between home and an office, or you’re part of a larger team that moves about the country – being able to work flexibly from various locations is needed to make the most out of your working day.

It’s time to go virtual.

Cloud

Updating your existing IT infrastructure to the cloud is the first step. It ensures that information and data is accessible to anyone who needs it. It is no longer necessary to be onsite in order to access shared documents/files etc. All that’s needed to access the cloud is an internet connection. Controls and permissions can be set up for workers in different locations etc. allowing your business to have the same level of control no matter where everyone is.

Regardless of flexibility, most businesses should consider migrating their existing IT infrastructure to the cloud anyway. It is far more secure than local hardware systems. It is also considerably cheaper as there is no need for onsite IT maintenance teams and is regularly updated by the provider.

Most cloud based systems also run on a pay-as-you-grow scheme, meaning you only pay for what you use and it’s easy to scale up or down as your business does. The cloud is totally flexible, just like your business should be.

Virtual Numbers

A great solution to advertise your business are virtual numbers. Not only do they allow you to choose the best number to represent your company (local, London, national, freephone etc.) but they are also yours for life. If you set up an office, you’ll likely get a landline number. But what happens if you move offices? Or you expand and build a new office elsewhere in the country?

VOIP numbers can divert to any existing number no matter where you are or where you move to. This flexibility is also great for remote or field based staff that take work calls on their mobile. Calls can be diverted to your mobile, meaning that you are able to answer them on the go, whilst protecting your private number.

These numbers free you from geographic constraints whilst helping to create a professional business image.

Virtual Office

If your company doesn’t have a fixed business address, a virtual office can be the perfect solution. Alternatively, if you are looking for a business office away from where you are currently located, a virtual office can provide this.

Virtual offices can act as a registered business address and director’s address. They also have many options for mail forwarding – any business correspondence can be sent to this dedicated address and collected upon delivery.

Alternatively, it can be forwarded directly to you wherever you are in the world, making it super easy and convenient. Many virtual offices also provide meeting rooms for hire to take your professional business image to the next level.

With hundreds of virtual office locations across the country, finding an address to suit you is easy.

Virtual Receptionist

Telephone answering services provide expert virtual receptionists to answer your business calls any time of day. Calls are answered seamlessly in your company name and messages can be sent straight to you via email or SMS. Alternatively, the caller can be patched straight through to you wherever you are

Virtual receptionists provide a consistent front of house for your business. They ensure that your company maintains its high levels of customer service no matter where you are. Call handling solutions like these are also extremely flexible.

You can scale your use of them depending on how busy you are. They are easily updated and convey necessary information to your customers as effectively as an in-house receptionist. So if you’re in a meeting in London all day and are unable to return a message until tomorrow, or you’re going to close early next Friday – your virtual receptionist can inform your customers of this.

Call handling PAs are able to create a professional business image and help your business appear larger. They are a great way to fill the gap between your business and your customers whilst you’re moving around.