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The virtual office has generated a great deal of interest lately as companies look for ways to reduce costs while maintaining cohesion and efficiency levels.

 

For many businesses with regional offices, justifying the expense of separate phone systems for each site has become near impossible, and providing a single solution for all of its sites is quickly becoming a necessity. Often small and medium size businesses (SMB) have to make difficult technology purchasing decisions without all the information available.

 

This is one particular reason that 8x8 Inc., which provides VoIP services to the SMB market as well as consumers, added its Virtual Office Business Phone Service to the Intel (News - Alert) Business Exchange (Intel BX) roster, an online storefront and business solutions Web portal designed to help these companies speed the identification procession of appropriate tools for their business.

 

Visitors to the Web site now have the ability to research products and services such as 8x8’s (News - Alert) Virtual Office, request quotes, connect with solution providers, and get product ratings on a wide range of SMB technology solutions.

 

Huw Rees (News - Alert), vice president of Business and Channel Development at 8x8 Inc., noted the importance of creating an online resource to educate business decision makers.

 

"We are very pleased to be part of this innovative and influential online resource and look forward to educating more and more small businesses about the cost and operational efficiencies of our Virtual Office VoIP business phone service," said Rees.

 

8x8's Virtual Office hosted PBX (News - Alert) phone service is an all inclusive Internet-based telecommunications solution designed to help streamline the communications process and costs by combining unlimited local and long distance calling with advanced PBX features.

 

Of course, in today’s business environment, telecom is often the last thing companies focus on when looking to slash the bottom line. And that is a mistake. For example, 8x8's Virtual Office  can simultaneously eliminate an old and expansive legacy PBX systems, while creating increased benefits of the an of IP-based communications solution.

 

In fact, 8x8 recognized the challenges in the SMB market during the tough economic downturn and earlier this month told TMC it was cutting its monthly users fees for Virtual Office by 50 percent for new customers.

“With the unprecedented economic challenges we’re all facing, we’ve changed our marketing focus to emphasize price,” 8x8 Chairman and CEO Bryan Martin told TMC (News - Alert) at the time.

 

Normally priced at $49.99 per extension/month Virtual Office is now available to companies who subscribe by December 31, 2008 for a monthly fee of $24.99/extension or a one-time annual fee of $250/extension for the first year of service, according to the company.