VIRTUAL OFFICE TO TRANSFORM THE WAY WE WORK

Wainhouse Research LLC, a leading US independent research firm, and web conferencing solution company Marratech, have announced the joint publication of a new white paper titled "The Arrival of the Virtual Office." The paper identifies the virtual office as a paradigm for
collaboration and highlights how it can enhance interaction between geographically dispersed employees and improve teamwork and cooperation.

"The concept of the virtual office has the potential to transform the way we work," said Lars Persson, CEO of Marratech. "The pressure on workers has increased steadily as enterprises boost workloads without adding additional people power. In order to survive and thrive, workers need a new type of business tool that allow them to maximize their efficiency."

While Marratech has been refining its virtual office solutions with the exponential growth of broadband, its vision has remained focused ­ designing tools that bring remotely deployed resources together in an easy-to-use, collaborative-friendly environment. Today, Marratech and the virtual office concept unchain workers from their desk or an office by allowing them to work from anywhere and connect with colleagues as if they were in the same room.

"Although meeting enhancement tools have flooded an efficiency-hungry marketplace, for the most part these tools support the metaphor of a meeting and not the remainder of the work day," said Ira M. Weinstein, senior analyst and consultant at Wainhouse Research. "The virtual office, instead of enabling only formal meetings, helps workers to make the most of their entire work day, which in turn allows companies to increase the overall efficiency of their workforce.2

Marratech adds true value to the virtual office solution by taking a unique approach to its Web-collaboration tools enabling effective collaboration in a virtual office environment thats always on. Using Marratech, business and commerce users can take advantage of the affordability and efficiencies of the Web while maintaining data security, and they can also utilize high-quality voice communications, live video, messaging, application sharing and interactive whiteboard features to work effectively with others from a remote location. The overall result ­ Marratech is designed to enable ad hoc, impromptu communication in a non-obtrusive, productive manner that ultimately empowers employees.