The virtual workplace is becoming a reality.

A recent Nemertes Research survey of 120 IT executives found that 62% plan to increase the number of their branch-office locations. The research firm says branch offices will grow 11% in 2007, up 8.9% from 2006. Survey respondents also said close to 20% of their employees telecommute. And respondents said that some 80% of companies are virtual workplaces, which means some of the employees work at a different location than their supervisors or workgroups.

"On average, organizations classify 27% of their employees as virtual," said Robin Gareiss, executive vice president of Nemertes Research, in a press release.

IT executives cited global expansion, cost savings, environmental concerns, and employee attraction and retention as the main drivers for branch office growth. Nemertes notes that there was a "correlation between an organization's IT culture and their propensity toward becoming a virtual workplace." For instance, those respondents that considered their companies bleeding edge had the fewest number of branch locations, but also the largest percentage of growth planned for their branch offices and the largest number of virtual workers.

"The message from upper management indicates the success of the virtual workplace depends on three factors -- IT infrastructure, ability to manage and ability to perform," Gareiss said.