Fueled by the pandemic, virtual workspace solutions have become increasingly popular in the past few years.
Gallup’s poll of 140,000 US employees surveyed since the pandemic began reveals that employees now prefer remote or hybrid work:
The best way for organizations to support fully remote and hybrid work models is to offer employees a shared workspace online where everyone can work together.
This guide will show you what functionality to look for in a virtual workspace system and highlight the nine best virtual workspace online solutions to use in 2022 and beyond.
A virtual workspace is a working environment in which users can connect and communicate online from any location. They might use instant messaging, video calls, document sharing, and screen sharing tools to interact and collaborate on projects and tasks.
Here are four scenarios highlighting how different types of workers can benefit from a virtual workspace:
Hybrid workers: A virtual workspace ensures employees use the same environment, whether they’re working from home or in the office.
Remote workers: Fully-remote employees also benefit from a virtual workspace, because it helps them stay connected to their peers.
Mobile workers: Virtual workspaces are ideal for employees who are on the move, such as sales reps and delivery drivers. They can log in to a virtual workspace from their mobile device to read important updates and check on the status of projects.
Healthcare workers: A virtual workspace allows emergency responders, doctors, and healthcare staff to access encrypted patient data instantly, which can be critical when providing treatment or attempting to diagnose an acute symptom.
Following are 11 features to look for when choosing your virtual workspace software.
Organizations want a virtual workspace that’s quick to implement and easy to use. That’s why the majority prefer cloud implementations over on-premise ones.
Research by the Nielsen Norman Group shows the average time of creating a virtual workspace shrank from just over 6 years (74 months) in 2011 to 17 months in 2021:
Image: Nielsen Norman Group survey results.
With Happeo, the average launch time is only six to eight weeks. That means companies implementing Happeo get a quick return on their investment.
Image: Happeo customers can begin using their virtual workspace in weeks, not years.
To make the most of your collaborative virtual workspace, you need an easy way to share knowledge between teams and individuals. Ideally, a virtual workspace should also be a “self-serve” environment, meaning employees can find what they need without asking for help.
Image: Types of files and information employees might access from within Happeo.
You can use your virtual workspace as an internal content management system (CMS). Choose a CMS that comes with templates your staff can use to create, publish, update, share, and archive content without special development or design skills.
Image: Happeo’s easy-to-use CMS.
Make sure your virtual workspace comes with a solid set of internal communication tools, like chat, video, and direct messaging.
A universal search feature lets employees find files outside the virtual office software, but not all platforms have this feature.
Happeo’s Universal Search can find everything in your platform, Google Drive, OneDrive, and SharePoint. You can search through different formats and content types, including documents, tables, PDFs, emails, photos, and videos — even Slack messages.
Image: Happeo’s universal search functionality.
A vital feature of a virtual workspace is collaboration. Teams need to work on documents together, share ideas, and communicate openly regardless of hierarchy or location.
Happeo’s Channels feature lets employees:
Image: Happeo makes it easy for employees to collaborate from any device.
An employee directory helps staff match names with faces and build stronger connections.
Happeo’s automatically-created people directory allows staff to browse employee profiles and visualize their organization's structure.
Image: Happeo’s automatically-generated organizational chart.
A customizable platform encourages employees to use their virtual workspace every day. Happeo users can decide what they want to see in their feed, which employees they want to follow, and what content to share with others.
Happeo’s Pages let admins create a company homepage with relevant dynamic content for each user, role, and function. Plus, the drag-and-drop builder makes it easy for anyone to create a page without any coding.
Image: Create a personalized homepage in Happeo.
Analytics and insights help you refine your virtual workspace content. For example, you can:
Image: Happeo Post Analytics.
Using a single platform makes it easier to search for files, manage documents, chat with colleagues, and schedule meetings — as long as it integrates with your existing collaboration tools, like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
Happeo’s Google Workspace integration allows you to:
Image: Happeo Google Workspace integration.
The best virtual workspaces include enhanced security features to ensure your sensitive data and content remains safe at all times.
Happeo’s best-in-class security includes:
Image: Happeo’s security features.
Now that you know what to look for, let’s examine the nine best virtual workspace software platforms.
G2 rating: 4.5
Notable brands: Doctolib, SmartRecruiters, Decathlon, Pinterest, True, Marqeta
Happeo is an easy-to-use and fun virtual workspace that teams love. It brings all your sources of information together in one digital platform and provides a place for employees to interact.
Virtual workspace features:
“Our leadership team has already adopted Happeo as the way that they communicate whenever there’s an important announcement, an action item, or something that needs to be acknowledged by the broader team.
And leadership really enjoys that information is then stored in a way on Happeo where you can search and access it later.”
G2 rating: 4.6
Notable brands: Salesforce, Bushel, Lush, BHI, Deliveroo, RSPCA, Monzo, All Saints, Custom Ink, PWC, Revolut
Google Workspace includes all of the productivity and collaboration tools you know – Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, and Chat – and optimizes them for business use.
Your employees can use Google Workspace to collaborate on documents, share files, communicate, and attend virtual meetings. And since everything syncs automatically to the cloud, you won’t lose any work.
Virtual workspace features:
Happeo’s integration with Google Workspace allows you to access Google files without leaving Happeo. You can also embed Google files, like Docs and slide decks, into your Happeo pages.
Most importantly, the integration can boost Google Workspace adoption by up to 13%.
G2 rating: 4.2
Notable brands: New Zealand Post, Canon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Georgetown University, University of Michigan, The New York Stem Cell Foundation
Bit.ai allows you to keep all your documents in one place, collaborate with colleagues, partners, and clients, and share them across departments.
Virtual workspace features:
G2 rating: 4.6
Notable brands: Clifton, Siemens, Toyota, Zurich
Microsoft 365 combines familiar Microsoft Office apps – Word, Excel, and PowerPoint – with cloud-based communications and collaboration services, including Exchange, SharePoint, Office, and Teams.
You can work, learn, organize, connect, and create from anywhere through the virtual workspace.
Virtual workspace features:
Happeo’s integration with Microsoft 365 allows you to use your favorite Microsoft tools inside Happeo. You can centralize your knowledge and files, distribute company news effectively, and provide a single hub that doesn’t look like SharePoint.
Best of all, the integration results in higher workspace adoption rates.
G2 rating: 4.3
Notable brands: Enhatch, Sortify, Hello, Fullstory, AiPass, Tidal Migrations
Pesto enables team collaboration and communication in virtual rooms that support audio, video, screen sharing, and screen drawing.
Virtual workspace features:
G2 rating: 4.8
Notable brands: WeWork, Freshworks, Deel, Hivemind, Hello Monday, One Tree Planted
Wurkr offers advanced video technology, flexibility, and a focus on employee well-being.
Virtual workspace features:
G2 rating: N/A
Notable brands: Medium, Asana, Lyft, Spotify, Dropbox, Airbnb, Notion, Instacart
Tandem is a virtual office for hybrid and remote teams. With a single click, you can get a sense of what’s happening in your office, check who’s available to chat, and collaborate on projects.
Virtual workspace features:
G2 rating: 4.3
Notable brands: AgileCraft, FlexJobs, Iguazu, JetBlue, ICAgile, Ultimate Software
Sococo is a virtual workspace where remote teams can work together, side-by-side, through voice, video, chat, and screen sharing. The platform has a virtual office space with separate rooms, including a conference room, chill zone, silent den, focus room, and breakout rooms.
Virtual workspace features:
G2 rating: 4.4
Notable brands: TrekSecure
NexGen Virtual Office is an online simulated office space where users “go” to work every day. You can design a custom digital office for your remote team with real-time in-office status, one-click secure video conferencing, and advanced chat.
Virtual workspace features:
Here are the top 7 benefits of investing in a virtual workspace:
Following the pandemic, more employees now prefer hybrid or fully remote working.
As a result, companies are embracing virtual workspace solutions to ensure all their employees can do their best work together regardless of location.
Happeo’s virtual workspace features make it perfect for remote and hybrid workforces. And it’s quick to implement and easy to use.
You can use Happeo to:
Watch the demo video to see how Happeo can become your digital headquarters!