For any growing business looking to take the next big steps as an organisation, internationalisation is a big opportunity. The promise of targeting new markets and acquiring new customers is significant to both company growth and future investment. However, there are as many risks involved as there are opportunities, which is why it's important to mitigate as many of these as possible by reducing the costs of the investment. One of the fastest growing developments in this area is the burgeoning technology of virtual offices.

With new regulatory frameworks to be manoeuvred, as well as political and economic considerations, new marketplace entry and brand awareness raising all significant requirements of internationalisation, taking away the strain of finding a physical location can add a lot to the potential success of the expansion.

Virtual offices have been around for a while now, but as technology has advanced, the process has become far more streamlined and easy to adopt. As well as the standard local telephone number and address that has been part and parcel of virtual office solutions since their inception, there have been a number of advancements. One of the most important is the evolution in virtual receptionist capabilities.

For a while, it was simply accomplished through an outsourced call centre. However, with the need for more of a personalized approach to business call handling, more sophisticated applications have been developed. These include dedicated on-site, multi-lingual receptionists that answer calls in your company name thanks to call origin technology and advanced reception skills. Calls can then be patched through to designated members of staff around the world thanks to high spec telecommunications technology.

Receptionist instructions can also be changed automatically online for a number of the more sophisticated providers, making it easy to be flexible to business needs as they develop.

Other advancements include the addition of interactive voicemail services, fax to email technology and video conferencing capabilities to virtual office packages making it easier to set up and manage meetings from any location worldwide.

Reducing the costs and the difficulty of internationalisation in this way frees up a lot of time and resource to focus on business growth, as well as mitigating the risks. Although, it only makes sense if there is also a physical element to the virtual office that makes it a real international business proposition. If you can't meet clients or operate from day offices on location then it won't be fit for serious international business operations. For this reason, it's important to make sure a virtual office package also provides access to boardrooms, meeting rooms and day offices from your target location.

With the right package you should be able to do business from anywhere in the world, and add your new locations to letter headed paper and website details. It could also come in handy for broadening your reach through Google Maps and other directory listings.