Powwownow is reporting a 30 percent increase in its teleconferencing business year-over-year. That, the company says, confirms that remote working is on the rise and displays a move toward more flexible working in Britain. That is in line with Davinci Virtual Office Solutions’ internal records of the rise of virtual office use.

“In this age of technology, work no longer needs to be confined by the boundaries of an office or even 9 a.m. to 5 p.m,” says Simon Curry, CEO of Powwownow. “Technology enables us to interact on the move, from anywhere at any time. It allows a greater flexibility for businesses.”

There is strong support for flexible working, including virtual offices, in the United Kingdom. Look no further than initiatives such as Work Wise Week, which aims of to promote modern “smarter” working practices such as flexible, remote and mobile working, as well as working from virtual offices. Work Wise Week is now in its seventh year.

And a recent CBI/Harvey Nash employment trends survey reveals that flexible working is now a standard feature of the modern workplace, with 96 percent of employers offering at least one form of flexible working. The survey also found that there has been a rapid expansion in recent years in the use of teleworking, with now 59 percent of employers using this form of flexible working, increasing from 46 percent in 2008 and only 14 percent in 2006.

“During this age of austerity, an increasing number of organizations have realized the benefits of smarter working practices,” says Phil Flaxton, CEO of Work Wise UK. “Enabling staff to work more flexibly has reduced costs and at the same time significantly increased staff wellbeing. There is a range of innovative business management practices that have emerged which have changed the way we work. Smarter working practices have developed as a result of technological advancement and enable a far better use of limited resources and time.”

If we want to stick with facts, we can say Cerritos is located smack dab in the center of the Los Angeles/Orange County metropolitan area. The 5, 605 and 91 Freeways feed into Cerritos, a park-like community with a network of tree-lined streets.

Cerritos is midway between downtown Los Angeles and the business centers of Irvine, Santa Anna and Anaheim. Cerritos has become one of Southern California’s premier commercial crossroads because it’s virtually in the geographic center of the region.

Davinci Virtual Office Solutions offers virtual office space in Cerritos at the Cerritos Business Center. Located at 18000 Studebaker, these Cerritos virtual offices start at just $95 a month. You can see plenty of pictures of our Cerritos virtual offices here.

When you rent Cerritos virtual office space from Davinci Virtual, you get a prestigious business address, business services, a client drop off and pick up point, a lobby greeter, mail receipt and more.

You can also rent a conference room for special meetings for just $25 to $40 an hour or a day office space for $10 to $35 an hour. If you are a heavy meeting room user, you can even opt for a virtual office package that comes with 16 hours of optional meeting room time for an extra $135 a month.

Check out this video on Cerritos and see for yourself how strategic the location is:

Click here to view the embedded video.

We hope you like it, because we didn’t take the project lightly. Indeed, we custom built the new virtual office Web site and virtual office blog over a 10-month period—and we used the most advanced programming and technologies available.

What does that mean for you? Virtual office users—or would-be virtual office users—can now browse our all-new easy-to-navigate Web site and choose from more than 1,000 virtual office locations and business communication services.

And guess what? Our new virtual office Web site also offers interactive videos and detailed feature descriptions to help you with your virtual office buying decisions. The new virtual office Web site even provides real-time online provisioning. That means your virtual office account can be up and running instantly.

“Our prospects and customers have been asking for an easier and more interactive online experience,” said Bill Grodnik, CEO of Davinci Virtual. “We have listened and now have launched the new flagship site of the virtual office industry. Our dominant market presence clearly is a testament to our Internet properties and comprehensive online marketing efforts.”

In case you didn’t realize it, Davinci Virtual Office Solutions serves more than 10,000 companies and entrepreneurs in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Central America, Asia and Australia.

We offer more than 850 virtual office locations including virtual offices in New York, virtual offices in Los Angeles, virtual offices in Chicago, virtual offices in Miami and any other metropolitan area throughout the world. Clients can choose from Virtual Addresses, Live Receptionist Services, Live Web Chat Services, Prime Business Addresses and Flexible Meeting Spaces.

Indeed, we are at a tipping point—and employers can do one of two things: watch them sit on the sidelines, drawing from unsustainable entitlement programs and the general economy, or enable them to continue working and contribute to the country’s economic growth and prosperity. Virtual offices can empower the second scenario.

Recent AARP surveys indicate that 80 percent of the Baby Boomers intend to continue working after leaving their regular career jobs. More than half of them will do so on less than a full-time basis. The Center for Productive Longevity (CPL) calls this a ticking time bomb. But, again, we think virtual offices can help diffuse it.

“We have been aware of this ticking time bomb for years without taking effective action. Now it’s really getting louder with the growing retirement of Baby Boomers at the rate of 4.2 million each year from 2011 through 2029, compounded by high unemployment and low economic growth for the foreseeable future,” says William Zinke, 85, founder and president of CPL. “We can defuse this time bomb by creating a wave of entrepreneurship across the country and stimulating employers to take a more flexible approach in providing employment opportunities for older workers.”

As CPL sees it, flexible workplace options stimulate employers to develop phased retirement programs and other flexible workplace options that will retain and attract Baby Boomers 55 and older who want to continue working but on a part-time basis. A movement is developing in this direction, but a recent Harris Interactive survey indicates that only 24 percent of Fortune 1000 companies provide such options. Virtual offices are an easy way to get the job done.

Virtual offices are an inexpensive solution to maintaining a productive workforce at any age, but especially helpful when looking to attract and retain older workers who need or want more flexibility. Virtual offices ultimately mean less overhead for employers and give older employees the ability to workshift even as they share knowledge with younger workers. So can virtual offices help diffuse the ticking retirement time bomb? Yes, we think so. Virtual offices are not the only solution, but virtual offices can offer employers more options to create flexible workplaces.

According to the survey, financial pressures are playing a key role in how moms are managing time at work. Thirty-nine percent of working moms and 43 percent of working dads in the survey reported that they are the sole financial provider in their household.

But there’s a disparity that makes it more difficult for working moms. Working dads who are the sole breadwinner were almost twice as likely to earn $50,000 or more and were approximately three times as likely to earn six figures as working moms. Women were much more likely to earn less than $35,000 compared to men.

“As more moms assume the sole or primary breadwinner role in their households, they’re feeling increasingly torn between providing financial security for their families and having quality time at home,” says Hope Gurion, Chief Development Officer at CareerBuilder, and mother of two. “The pay disparity between working moms and dads has improved over the years, but is still significant. More working moms are seeking out second jobs to supplement incomes and flexible work arrangements to afford more family time.”

What can working moms do to find a better work-life balance? Obviously, we believe working from a virtual office at least part time can help. But CareerBuilder experts offer some additional tips beyond virtual office technologies–and even incorporate them.

Go in with a game plan: The vast majority of working moms who have taken advantage of flexible work arrangements—such as working from a virtual office—said it hasn’t negatively impacted their careers. Talk to your supervisor or HR department and explore options. Make sure to come to that conversation with a game plan on how you can manage workload, cover responsibilities, etc.

Keep an “I’m Fabulous” file: Keep track of all of your accomplishments within the organization, quantifying results whenever possible, and list out the additional responsibilities you have taken on in the last year. It helps you to build your case when negotiating for a better salary or consideration for promotion with your employer. It can also help sway the decision to allow you to work in a virtual office.

Get organized: Structure in your life will save you time, stress and mental energy. Keep one calendar for business and family commitments to avoid double-booking. Set up a schedule for chores, homework, family activities and playtime.

Remember quality over quantity: Make the most of your personal time. When you’re home, it’s all about them. Wait until after the children go to bed before checking email or finishing up that presentation. If you work from a virtual office, you have the flexibility to workshift.

Schedule “me time”: Working moms need to take care of themselves too. Put actual time on the calendar for an hour or more of doing something you enjoy such as going to the gym, taking a walk, reading, etc.

The survey shows that 26 percent of working moms who have given birth to a child in the last three years reported they did not take the full maternity leave allowed by their company—and 10 percent took two weeks or less. Virtual offices can allow women more time to stay at home without missing out on work they deem important.

That’s vital, given that competitive work environments and demanding positions may be causing more women to reduce their time off from work after delivery. While 44 percent of working moms who’ve had a child in the last three years reported taking more than eight weeks of maternity leave, 12 percent said they took two weeks or less. Forty percent were off work for six weeks or less.

How much time do working moms get to spend with their families? Not as much as they’d like. In fact, women feel the pressure of splitting time between the office and home—and they want more time to balance both. Twenty-five percent of working moms feel they have to choose between their children and a successful career—and 24 percent report they have missed three or more significant events in their children’s lives in the last year due to work obligations.

When asked how much time they’re able to spend with their children during the work week, half of working moms said they average around four hours of quality time each day. However, nearly 30 percent reported they get to spend two hours or less with their children each day.

Virtual offices can’t make up for all the woes of an overworked mother. But virtual offices can give a working mom another arrow in her quiver as she attempts to hit the bulls eye, or sweet spot, between work and life. Virtual offices can allow mom to be at home more without missing out on important work.

According to the survey, a virtual office might be a good gift. That’s because working mothers care more about having flexible hours after returning to work than spending more time at home while on leave.

In fact, when asked to prioritize six “work situations” as a working mother, 44 percent chose flexibility as most important versus only 5 percent who said they would opt for longer maternity leave. A virtual office can provide that flexibility.

The survey also shows that working mothers ranked the ability to work from home (29%), convenient working hours (20%), and on-site day care (2%) as priorities. Again, a virtual office can help.

The female professionals surveyed are in the following industries: construction, education, engineering, finance, human resources, law, marketing, medical/science, operations, real estate, sales and technology. Although all of those industries don’t lend themselves to virtual offices, the administrative side does.

Finally, the survey confirms that balancing a career and a family is a huge struggle for 87 percent of respondents. Fifty-five percent admit that “excelling at both is overwhelming,” 13 percent “struggled at first, but now it’s under control,” 16 percent “always put family first and work has suffered for it,” and 3 percent “always put work first and family has suffered for it.”

Virtual offices can help breed work-life balance for moms and dads alike. A virtual offices offers the ultimate in flexibility for moms at any stage of their work career—or their life.

Indeed, Senn authored an insightful blog post on the Global Workspace Association’s (GWA) blog. The title: “Virtual Offices – Away We Work … Anytime, Anywhere, Everyone!”

“Today’s businesses and entrepreneurs are finding quickly that a virtual office is the best solution for the new work day of the 21st century. Companies of all sizes are discovering that a virtual office setup offers low entry costs, minimal overhead, valuable on-demand services and great flexibility,” Senn writes.

“All that without sacrificing the corporate image and professionalism! A large number of business analysts agree that the virtual office trend is worldwide, here to stay, and that adoption and usage will grow rapidly over the next years.”

Senn notes that the workspace-as-a-service Industry is perfectly positioned to deliver an array of virtual office products. Many operators, he explains, have focused on the virtual office market for several years and they are driving significant revenues, but even more importantly—significant margins to their bottom lines. What’s more, he says, specialized global virtual office providers have established themselves as viable turn-key sales channels for all involved.

Next, Senn points to some recent revelatory statistics from the 2011 GWA Financial Study: virtual office revenues represented almost 9 percent of total revenues for office business centers in the US.  The study also showed an almost 14 percent increase in virtual revenues in 2010 compared to 2009 overall and identified virtual office revenues and meeting room revenues as one of the main factors that generate net profits for OBCs.  Senn’s conclusion: statistically speaking, virtually every workspace operator should embrace the virtual office business!

“As the landscape for virtual office service providers becomes more competitive, operators will have a unique opportunity to generate additional virtual revenues by working closely with national and global wholesale channels that will function like Expedia and Travelocity in the travel industry for virtual office services and meeting space in the workspace industry,” Senn wrote.

“Based on statistical data, business centers will also attract more virtual office clients by offering easy access, cutting edge technologies and flexible workspace configurations. Davinci Virtual Office Solutions, a leading virtual office provider is now servicing over 10,000 active clients that are using a variety of virtual office products. The new way to work seems to take hold nicely!”

Probably too many to count, but FlexJobs is offering some indication of how big the trend is actually getting. For the first time, FlexbJobs has surpassed 10,000 job openings on its Web site. All of the jobs offer some sort of flexibility, including part-time, telecommute, freelance, virtual office positions, and more.

“This is an exciting milestone,” says Sara Sutton, CEO of FlexJobs, noting that the company’s job research team has hand-screened and verified every virtual office, telecommuting or other flex-time job before posting it to the site. “Hopefully it’s indicative that the economy is turning around as well as more companies are jumping on board to offer work-life balance.”

FlexJobs also posted the data from its April 2012 Flexible Index Report. The career fields with the most openings, in order, are medical and health, administrative, education and training, customer service and sales.

“It’s great to see increases in a variety of fields,” says Fell. “We continue to see jobs for all levels of professional experience as well, from entry level through executive. It’s a great time to be looking for a flexible position.”

FlexJobs’ success is more proof that virtual office jobs are gaining momentum. Ten thousand job openings with some form of flexibility is more than a little significant. For every virtual office, telecommuting or part-time position that’s listed on the site there are probably dozens or scores more that are not.

Virtual office jobs are good for both employees and employers. Employers don’t have to pay overhead costs to keep employees in a traditional office and employees, of course, tap into the ultimate flexibility, cut commute costs and time, and set the stage for greater productivity.

Published jointly by the Families and Work Institute and the Society for Human Resources (SHRM), the survey shows that significantly more employers are allowing at least some employees to get flexible. Virtual offices are finding their place in the flex time work trend.

“It seems that employers are dealing with the lingering economic instability by trying to accomplish more with fewer people,” says Ellen Galinsky, president and co-founder of FWI and an author of the study. “Most of the gains allow employees to work longer hours or adjust those hours to care for their personal and family responsibilities while getting their work done. Although some may have expected employers to cut back on flexibility entirely during this economic downturn, we are seeing employers leverage flexibility as they look toward the future.”

• 77% use flex time and periodically change starting and quitting times within some range of hours
• 87% take time off during the workday to attend to important family or personal needs without loss of pay
• 63% work some of their regular paid hours at home on an occasional basis
• 44% have control over their paid and unpaid overtime hours

“Employers continue to find ways to offer flexibility to their employees, despite economic challenges they may face,” says Henry Jackson, president and CEO of SHRM. “As we look ahead, it is clear that in order to remain competitive, employers must find ways to offer flexible work options if they want to attract and retain top talent.”

Virtual offices are helping to forward the flextime work trend in several ways. Virtual offices allow for workshifting, making room for those 77 percent of workers to “use flex time and periodically change starting and quitting times within some range of hours.” Virtual offices also make it possible for those 63 percent to “work some of their regular paid hours at home on an occasional basis.” Flexible work and virtual offices aren’t always paired, but they are often a good match, especially for companies exploring cost-effective alternative workplace strategies.