Virtual Business

A Virtual Business conducts all or most of its business via the internet and does not have physical premises to interact with customers face-to-face. A purely virtual company may outsource nearly all of its business functions such as product development, marketing, sales, shipping, etc.
However, most virtual businesses retain some of these activities in-house and may still require a physical presence in the form of headquarters, warehouses, shipping and delivery hubs, and other functions.
❖The Largest Virtual Business in the World
Amazon is the most famous virtual retailer and the largest in the world,
with over 6,47,500 employees. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, it began as
a virtual bookstore and with the advent of digital books (e-books) and
e-readers has turned the publishing industry on its head. Traditional “bricks
and mortar” book sellers such as Borders (who at its peak had over 600
retail stores) were unable to compete with Amazon’s huge selection, low
prices, and free shipping.
Borders filed for bankruptcy in 2011. In addition to ebook sales, Amazon
markets its own line of Kindle e-book readers. On average, 12 new books
are added to Amazon’s catalog every hour of the day.
Amazon quickly expanded their online offerings to include sales of
CD’s/DVD’s, video games, electronics, and a huge variety of dry goods in
almost every retail category including apparel, home, and garden,
automotive, hardware, etc.
❖Virtual Business Advantages
Virtualizing business activities has many potential advantages,
including:
“Bricks and mortar” cost savings: reducing the need for employee
workspace saves money on overhead (expenses such as commercial
building leases, utilities, insurance, etc.)

Flexibility: a less rigid organization can react faster to changes in the
marketplace.
Happier employees: working from home creates a better work/life balance
for staff.
A larger employee base: Since employees can work anywhere,
organizations can provide employment in rural locations or areas of high
unemployment.
❖Virtual Business Disadvantages
The possible disadvantages of business virtualization include:
Lack of cohesiveness in the organization due to employees being
located in diverse regions, with possible language and cultural
differences.
Lack of face-to-face interaction between employees and teams
resulting in communications-related issues.
Reduced productivity from work-from-home employees who lack
self-discipline.
Nowadays Online shopping becomes more popular than in store
shopping and virtual businesses are growing.
Virtual businesses will be more profitable in the future…
What is your opinion?

By Anjum Shabbir Pathan