Delving a bit into history again, on the trail of the "virtual organization",  here's a great case study on the business case for virtual companies, from Secrets of a virtual company CEO and More Secrets of a virtual company CEO by Jeff Zbar (NetworkWorld, April 3, 2001 and May 9, 2001) The series of two articles looks at Turner Consulting Group, a Web applications development company that employs 34 workers - 2 in Washington, D.C., 2 in home offices nearby, and the rest work from homes scattered across the U.S.

'With 32 virtual offices in operation, that potentially amounts to $1,600 per month each for broadband access, and more than $28,000 every 18 months on new computer technology. Tack on full health insurance, workman's compensation, life insurance for his six managers and property coverage, and supporting remote office workers gets pricey. Still, Turner reasons, it's much cheaper than paying $40 to $50 a square foot for commercial office space in D.C. '

Turner Consulting Group was recognized at #25 in the ranking Fast 50: 2000 Hot Companies Reflect Sizzling Region (Washington Technology, Jan 24, 2000). For a great peek at how telework is used to their advantage for recruiting, take a look at their careers page.

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