I've been talking a lot recently with Elias about how we use technology in our professional lives: diaries, contact lists, mails, SMS, networking, etc.

It's especially relevant to me because I use the Enspyre virtual office service to increase my efficiency and maintain the highest level of customer service possible. I have a secretary in an office and I'm constantly on the move, just like many other small business people. All of the data we both need has to be organised, accessible, and used to best advantage - but I constantly find myself screaming because I can't do things that I know I should be able to.

It's a question of making technologies work together in a way that can be replicated by anyone even without the resources of a major company behind them - and without signing up to a service that ties you to one particular company. So we've decided to commit to achieving a few goals before my birthday in September: 

I want to be able to work in the following way, and to have the technology make it possible without any fuss:

• My client calls my secretary, who can see my diary on a computer screen in front of her, including any notes I have made about particular events.
• She can make changes to that diary, or add notes of her own.
• I have the exact same diary information available from my mobile phone, updated regularly without me having to physically connect to any other device.
• My secretary can send me a 'heads-up', or query, from her computer that I will read whenever it is convenient for me to do so.
• I can reply to her in the same way.
• Whenever I meet anyone new, their contact details (from business card) can be added to my ONE single database without me having to sit down and type in anything except notes about that person, which will be done at my convenience.
• My secretary can also see my contact list and notes made about the client when they call.
• She can add client notes, which I can see.

If you have any suggestions for how virtual offices whould work then please feel free to post them below, or let me have any other suggestions or comments you may have.

thanks