Get your Virtual Office in India

Today morning, something caught my fancy with the Hindustan Times print, something about setting up a cheap virtual office for startups who need a physical address, phones number and assistants. I googled around to find one such service – the Imperial Servcorp.

Imperial Servcorp is a joint venture between real estate conglomerate K. Raheja Corp and Australian serviced office provider Servcorp. They’ve setup virtual office formats for Multinationals and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across India. Their first Indian serviced office complex at Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) was inaugurated in February this year. I’m not sure but I suspect there are similar services in Hyderabad and Bangalore too.

The virtual office, an innovative add-on to the serviced office format, is typically used by upcoming entrepreneurs. It provides them with an address in a business centre located in a prestigious location and meeting room space whenever necessary. So, one can operate from home without hiring staff or committing to a lease and yet have all call answered at an official telephone number and address.

The serviced office are spaces equipped with corporate infrastructure and support services and given out to companies on a pay-per-use basis. So, not just Indian companies but other Multinational Startups and companies can setup their presence in India quickly and in a very economical way. Virtual offices can serve as a stopgap arrangement until the companies establish themselves. Such services give you a buffer time to concentrate on expanding your business without having to worry about infrastructure or hiring support staff.

All this for an economical rate of just about Rs. 6,000 per month (roughly equivalent to $140 /mo). Check it out if you’re in India or want to make an Indian presence without the overheard startup cost.