With the Covid-19 outbreak, there is a need for teams to be able to work remotely. In an effort to assist companies to transition to a remote workforce as smoothly and painlessly as possible, we comprised a shortlist of free remote working solutions that Edafio not only uses but recommends. We hope with this small gesture we are able to alleviate some of the financial burdens this virus is posing on businesses and on the economy at large.
AT&T
According to a report by Vice, AT&T is suspending broadband data caps during the Coronavirus outbreak.
AT&T is the first major ISP to confirm that it will be suspending all broadband usage caps as millions of Americans bunker down in a bid to slow the rate of COVID-19 expansion. Consumer groups and a coalition of Senators are now pressuring other ISPs to follow suit.
Cisco
Cisco is changing its free Webex meeting software so that it supports unlimited usage, supports up to 100 people per meeting, and has toll dial-in availability.
For businesses that are not currently a customer, Cisco is also offering free 90-day trials.
“Additionally, through our partners and the Cisco sales team, we are providing free 90-day licenses to businesses who are not Webex customers in this time of need. We’re also helping existing customers meet their rapidly changing needs as they enable a much larger number of remote workers by expanding their usage at no additional cost.”
Google is giving G Suite and G Suite for Education customers free access to their Hangouts Meet video-conferencing features.
This includes these features:
- Larger meetings, for up to 250 participants per call
- Live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain
- The ability to record meetings and save them to Google Drive
LinkedIn emailed registered users today stating that they are now offering numerous LinkedIn Learning courses about remote working for free.
“Like us, you likely have employees who are or will be working remotely to help contain and mitigate the spread of the virus. Different organizations are at different stages with remote work, but few of us have done it at the current scale. To help support you and your workforce adapting and ideally thriving, we’ve opened up a number of LinkedIn Learning courses that focus on being productive while working from home, including tips on using virtual meeting tools to build relationships in a new working environment. They are now available for free.”
Logmein – Go to Meeting
LogMeIn is providing a free Emergency Remote Work Kit that gives free 3-month site-wide licenses to GoToMeeting to make it easier for remote workers to conduct meetings.
“Starting immediately, we will be offering our critical front-line service providers with free, organization-wide use of many LogMeIn products for 3 months through the availability of Emergency Remote Work Kits. These kits will include solutions for meetings and video conferencing, webinars and virtual events, IT support, and management of remote employee devices and apps, as well as remote access to devices in multiple locations. For example, the “Meet” Emergency Remote Work Kit will provide eligible organizations with a free site-wide license of GoToMeeting for 3 months,”
LogMeIn CEO Bill Wagnar said in a blog post.
Microsoft
Microsoft is making Microsoft Teams for free for the next six months to aid businesses who move towards a remote workplace during the outbreak.
“At Microsoft, the health and safety of employees, customers, partners, and communities is our top priority. By making Teams available to all for free for six months, we hope that we can support public health and safety by making remote work even easier,”
Microsoft EVP and President JP Courtois stated on Twitter.
Zoom
For people in China, Zoom has enhanced the Basic (free) license by removing the 40-minute meeting limit.
With this tenet in mind, Zoom is doing everything we can to provide resources and support to those navigating the coronavirus outbreak, including:
- For our Basic (free) users in China, we’ve lifted the 40-minute limit on meetings with more than two participants, providing unlimited time to collaborate.
- We’re proactively monitoring servers to ensure maximum reliability amid any capacity increases, as uptime is paramount.
- We’re scheduling informational sessions and on-demand resources so anyone can learn how to use the Zoom platform with ease — and at their convenience.
We will end with this in mind: While COVID-19 won’t be an issue forever, remote work will be. What we learn about remote working solutions now will likely become the best practice for our businesses later on. If you are an Edafio client and need immediate assistance with working remotely, please contact our service desk: 501-221-4100 or email: servicedesk@edafio.flywheelsites.com
