<s>
A	O
virtual	O
office	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
entrepreneurs	O
,	O
freelancers	B-Language
,	O
and	O
small	O
businesses	O
that	O
do	O
not	O
need	O
or	O
cannot	O
afford	O
a	O
traditional	O
office	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
larger	O
companies	O
that	O
want	O
to	O
establish	O
a	O
presence	O
in	O
a	O
specific	O
location	O
without	O
committing	O
to	O
a	O
long-term	O
lease	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
primary	O
allures	O
of	O
the	O
virtual	O
office	O
is	O
the	O
flexibility	O
it	O
offers	O
for	O
employees	O
and	O
freelancers	B-Language
to	O
work	O
from	O
a	O
satellite	O
office	O
,	O
home	O
office	O
,	O
remote	O
location	O
or	O
even	O
on-the-go	O
via	O
a	O
mobile	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2021	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
companies	O
set	O
out	O
to	O
fix	O
the	O
challenges	O
of	O
virtual	B-Protocol
meetings	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
appearance	O
of	O
virtual	B-Application
office	I-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
space	I-Application
for	O
employees	O
to	O
gather	O
and	O
perform	O
business-related	O
activities/	O
For	O
example	O
,	O
companies	O
like	O
Kumospace	O
and	O
Pluto	O
utilize	O
spatial	O
audio	O
to	O
recreate	O
a	O
company	O
’s	O
physical	O
offices	O
in	O
a	O
virtual	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
an	O
executive	O
suite	O
lease	B-Operating_System
became	O
increasingly	O
impractical	O
for	O
certain	O
types	O
and	O
stages	O
of	O
business	O
,	O
it	O
naturally	O
opened	O
the	O
door	O
to	O
a	O
virtual	O
office	O
concept	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
1981Released	O
1	O
April	O
,	O
The	B-Device
Osborne	I-Device
1	I-Device
became	O
the	O
first	O
successful	O
portable	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
designed	O
by	O
Adam	O
Osborne	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kern	O
used	O
the	O
term	O
to	O
describe	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
‘	O
doing	O
business	O
while	O
on	O
the	O
go’	O
thanks	O
to	O
portable	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
1984The	O
first	O
personal	B-Application
digital	I-Application
assistant	I-Application
(	O
PDA	B-Application
)	O
,	O
the	O
Organizer	B-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
by	O
Psion	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alon	O
Cohen	O
invented	O
the	O
type	O
of	O
audio	O
that	O
later	O
enabled	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
VoIP	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
VocalTec	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
company	O
to	O
offer	O
Internet	B-Application
phone	I-Application
services	I-Application
and	O
also	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
successful	O
Internet	O
IPO	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
VoIP	B-Application
phones	O
are	O
a	O
popular	O
service	O
that	O
virtual	O
offices	O
offer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
1990The	O
first	O
Internet	B-Application
search	I-Application
engine	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
McGill	O
University	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
the	O
first	O
webcam	B-Protocol
,	O
located	O
at	O
Cambridge	O
University	O
,	O
was	O
developed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IP-based	O
videoconferencing	B-Application
technology	O
evolved	O
with	O
more	O
efficient	O
video	O
compression	O
to	O
allow	O
PC-based	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CU-SeeMe	B-Protocol
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Tim	O
Dorcey	O
at	O
Cornell	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
videoconference	B-Application
and	O
instant	B-Application
message	I-Application
other	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
1998At	O
the	O
Winter	O
Olympics	O
opening	O
ceremony	O
in	O
Nagano	O
,	O
Japan	O
,	O
Seiji	O
Ozawa	O
used	O
IP-based	O
videoconferencing	B-Application
to	O
conduct	O
the	O
Ode	O
to	O
Joy	O
from	O
Beethoven	O
's	O
Ninth	O
Symphony	O
simultaneously	O
across	O
five	O
continents	O
in	O
near-real	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
2000The	O
first	O
Symbian	O
phone	O
,	O
the	O
touchscreen	O
Ericsson	B-Language
R380	I-Language
Smartphone	B-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
2000	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
device	O
marketed	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
smartphone	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
combined	O
a	O
PDA	B-Application
with	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
2003Skype	O
is	O
released	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
,	O
allowing	O
free	O
IP-based	O
communications	O
using	O
microphone	O
,	O
webcam	B-Protocol
and	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
to	O
individual	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
companies	O
creating	O
virtual	B-Application
office	I-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Printing	O
and	O
related	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
copying	O
,	O
binding	O
,	O
faxing	O
,	O
scanning	B-Application
,	O
laminating	O
,	O
and	O
shredding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
technology	O
is	O
another	O
trend	O
that	O
may	O
soon	O
impact	O
virtual	O
offices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
applications	O
have	O
the	O
capability	O
of	O
creating	O
offices	O
spaces	O
that	O
are	O
physical	O
spaces	O
within	O
the	O
virtual	O
world	O
where	O
users	O
can	O
meet	O
and	O
work	O
side-by-side	O
.	O
</s>
