Working remotely in the wake of the coronavirus
This is a piece by www.wearelaika.com, a platform for matching Tech professionals with companies. Check out more content here.
Thanks to the global health threat caused by the coronavirus, remote work is put on a test. And this is a very unprecedented scale.
Workers have been on lockdown in Italy, China, Japan, South Korea, and many companies around the world are deciding to adopt remote work as a temporary solution as their own way to help the spread of the virus.
Last week, the biggest tech companies in the world such as Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Google, all told their employees to remain home.
Although there is no cause for panic, it is smart to strategize as soon as possible, or at least have a contingency plan that includes keeping your employees home.
This experiment will teach a lot of companies about their ability to organize and function separately.
At the same time, there is a lot of tools and services, especially now, that help with organization, productivity, and communication.
1. Google made Premium Hangouts free in the foreseeable future
Google now allows free access to the enterprise version of Hangouts Meet to all G Suite and G Suite for Education users. It includes up to 250 users per call, recording of meetings and live stream for up to 100.000 viewers until July 1st 2020.
2.Microsoft offered a free trial for the Teams chat app
1 TB of storage and the ability to record meetings are now available for a six-month trial.
3.LogMeIn
You can also get free “Emergency Remote Work Kits” for three months. The kits are designed for nonprofits, schools and healthcare organizations.
4.CISCO
You can get the free version of their Webex service with no time restrictions. In addition, it will allow up to 100 meeting participants and has added toll-free dial-in features with a 90-day license for businesses that are not already customers.
How to stay organized:
Keeping in touch
Communication is crucial. That is exactly why remote meeting services are now in high demand.
The use of Cisco’s Webex service for video conferences rose 22 times since the coronavirus appeared. Rival Zoom also has a free video-conferencing plan. Its free tier allows unlimited one-to-one meetings, as well as group sessions lasting up to 40 minutes and involving 100 participants.
Stay safe
Don’t forget to keep information secure. Most companies will use a virtual private network (VPN) to create an encrypted connection from the user’s computer to their company IT system.
And of course — stay safe yourself as well. If you notice a coworker having symptoms, advise them to call the authorities and get checked.
Keep a level head.
Mass hysteria, fake news, and everyone talking about the coronavirus can make even the most grounded people stressed. Remember to take care of all precaution measures, keep yourself informed and stick to the advised plan to do your part in containing the virus. Luckily, we have all the tools to stay productive in crises like this one.
