With increasing economic squeeze, and continuous need for businesses to reduce cost, many are fast looking for alternative ways of keeping down their operational expenses. Even in a recessionary economy, the demand is growing for virtual office. According to Wikipedia, the virtual office idea came from a combination of technological innovation and the Information Age. The concept has roots in the Industrial Revolution, where parallels to current work styles, specifically working from home, have been drawn. It is a concept said to have evolved from the executive suite industry. However, the inflexibility of an executive suite lease which is restrictive and doesn't work for many business models, helped spur the virtual office concept. The first commercial application of a virtual office is said to have occurred in 1994 , when Ralph Gregory founded "The Virtual Office, Inc" & later "Intelligent Office", in Boulder, Colorado, USA. In just two decades the concept has gained global significance with Africa said to be ‘among the dearest’ in terms of demand and fast industry growth According to UK-based flexible office specialist INSTANT, African serviced office market (under which virtual office is categorised) had grown by 19% over the past 12months under 2013 review. The continent is said to be the highest contributor of the total growth witness in the global serviced office market, with the most expensive African markets by workstation being Lagos, at $1,600 per workstation per month, followed by Lusaka and Abuja! INSTANT’s research showed that the uncertainty and risk associated with expanding into new markets "is one of the reasons that companies are most likely to consider a flexible solution with a familiar serviced office brand". While serviced office centres in emerging markets currently represented 12% of the global total, Instant’s head of research, Branton Moore said this would "undoubtedly increase as global corporations continue to focus on increasing market share in these fast growing economies". In Lagos, Nigeria, despite the overwhelming gap in awareness and perceived high cost of serviced and virtual office among local businesses, the concept and use of virtual office, and coworking space amongst upcoming consulting, professional and start-up firms is gaining momentum; coupled with the increasing rise of entrepreneurs there is a huge demand waiting to be served! Watch out for our next topic: How to start and run your business using a virtual office www.theresourcespace.com