Here’s how you can stay connected during the current coronavirus pandemic.
The demand for video conferencing and collaboration tools has never been greater.
Everywhere we look, global gatherings are shutting down.
Social soirees of all sizes and shapes are quickly moving online. Even bigger brands like Facebook, Google, and Salesforce have started asking their employees to work from home. CEO of Zoom, Eric Yuan, even suggested that the new call for video will lead to a “fundamental, permanent shift in how people work.”
Accessing Video Communication for Free
The good news for companies who don’t have the budget set aside for a shift to video right now is that there’s an easier way to evolve. Conferencing companies are being forced to respond to the increasing demand for cloud communications.
As Slack, Microsoft, Zoom, and others all see considerable increases in usage, these organisations don’t want to be seen as taking advantage of a virus that’s causing death and panic across the globe. Instead, these companies are using the wide-spread panic as an opportunity to connect with their customers on a deeper level, while attracting new ones.
By offering free versions of some of their premium tools, the market leaders in video conferencing and collaboration can begin to expand the small percentage of the global workforce that works remotely. After all, 44% of companies still don’t allow team members to work from home.
If you’re ready to make the shift into the cloud, but your budget isn’t, here’s where you can get the technology that you need for free.
Microsoft Teams
People were thrilled back in 2018 when Microsoft announced a free version of Teams for smaller companies. Now, to support the growing demand for video conferencing and remote working, the Microsoft brand is offering a free six month trial for the premium tier of Teams too.
The globally available trial represents Microsoft’s concern for the “wellbeing of [its] employees,” as well as it’s desire to support customers dealing with the impact that infection can have on their workforces.
The free trial will include meeting scheduling and all of the Teams collaboration features, except for PSTN conferencing.
There is a special 6 month E1 trial for eligible clients (circa 500 users and above) for a free fully featured Microsoft Teams experience, however, this must be approved by a qualified partner like CloudAssist.
Google Hangouts
Google has had a free version of Hangouts available for a while now, but it hasn’t offered many of the enterprise-level tools that modern businesses demand. Fortunately, the company announced that it is rolling out free access to advanced features for Hangouts Meet for all G-Suite and Education customers until the first of July.
This means that you can now host meetings with up to 10,000 viewers, or 250 visitors in a single domain, for free. Plus, there’s the option to record and save meetings to Google Drive too. The Google team said that this new rollout was its attempt to “do our part” to keep teams connected.
Zoom
Although Zoom has had a free version of its software available for some time now, the solution came with a 40-minute time limit on all video conversations. At the end of February, Zoom lifted these time limits for users in China. According to Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom, the company wants to help the people that are most profoundly impacted by the COVID-19 virus.
Zoom has seen a massive increase in usage since the spread of the virus started, bringing in more active users than ever before. Users outside of China can still sign up to the free version of Zoom to host up to 100 participants, access free 1-to-1 meetings, and create group meetings lasting up to 40 minutes.
Avaya Spaces
Avaya was one of the conferencing and communication companies on the frontline of the Coronavirus outbreak. The company donated audio and video equipment to workers in China, dispatching support for speedy deployments.
Today, the global company is taking steps to support more companies on a global level, by offering the Avaya Spaces solution for cloud meeting and collaboration for free. Avaya Spaces is available to all educational institutions and non-profit organizations across the globe. The free solution will support video conferencing for up to 200 participants, with access to video, voice, chat, content sharing, and online meetings.
Cisco Webex
Cisco recently reported that the traffic in it’s Webex solution within China has increased by 22 times since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. At the same time, the solution has seen up to five times as many users across South Korea, Singapore, and Japan.
To respond to the growing demand, Cisco has expanded the capabilities on its free offer in all countries where the technology is available. The updated free version now includes support for up to 100 participants, as well as unlimited usage with no time restrictions. There’s also toll dial-in available, in addition to existing VoIP capabilities. Additionally, Cisco is working closely with partners to offer free 90-day licenses to businesses that aren’t already Webex customers in the current environment.
StarLeaf
StarLeaf, one of the world’s leading providers of meeting room and video conferencing solutions, recently announced new measures to support customers with their business continuity efforts. New StarLeaf plans have been created that involve various new product and service offerings, such as a free version of the conferencing software, available on a global basis. Additionally, customers can also access more licensing flexibility.
The free StarLeaf version is available across all devices worldwide. Users just need an email address to get started. Users can then meet with anyone through video. There are also trials available through StarLeaf’s partner network. StarLeaf customers that aren’t sure how long they’ll need to enable remote working will be able to access flexible conferencing license options, which allow them to expand their technology when and as needed. StarLeaf is also launching a new remote-working environment to provide customers with resources to help create remote work solutions.
RingCentral Meetings
RingCentral already offers a no-commitment free trial to users interested in its Meetings software for collaboration. As one of the leading providers in the VoIP and collaboration industry, RingCentral offers tools like HD video and screen sharing within their Meetings stack, as well as recording and text-based chat. You can use the private chat or group-chat in-meeting, depending on your needs.
There’s a restriction of 40 minutes on group conversations within the free version of RingCentral Meetings, but there’s no limit imposed on one-to-one meetings.
Dialpad UberConference
Dialpad is another company offering businesses the tools that they need to work from anywhere, wherever a high-speed connection is available. Internally, the business has been implementing a flexible policy for team members that want to work from home since 2011.
To help other companies in the current landscape follow suit, Dialpad has started to offer the DialpadTalk and UberConference PRO technology in their communication stacks to any business throughout North America and Japan, for free. This free access will continue for the next couple of months as the concerns around the virus continue to grow, helping companies to adapt more quickly to the changing workforce demands.
8×8
8×8, one of the leading solutions for cloud communications, recently announced an expanded range of global capabilities for the standalone and free version of 8×8 Video Meetings. The company has now increased the capabilities and global reach of capabilities within 8×8 video meetings, providing employees and companies with location-independent access to unlimited meetings through any mobile device or internet-connected desktop.
Since the start of February, demand for 8×8 Video Meetings increased significantly, with users from more than 125 countries now using the tools. New registered users for the standalone 8×8 offering almost tripled too. CEO, Vik Verma, hopes the expanded free solutions will help people to collaborate and communicate more effortlessly in the cloud environment.
Zoho Remotely
Zoho, one of the leading companies in the collaboration space, recently launched a full virtual collaboration platform named Remotely. The solution aims to help companies to continue operating as normal during the rise of the coronavirus epidemic. The platform will be available to use for free until the 1st of July 2020, at which point, Zoho will review the situation and deliver a potential extension.
Raju Vegesna, the CEO of Zoho, said that the Remotely offering is a humanitarian gesture that will help businesses to mitigate the impact the spreading virus. Included in the technology are collaboration, productivity, and project management applications, alongside tools for the automation of migrating data into the Zoho cloud platform.
Remotely also addresses cybersecurity concerns for businesses, by enabling IT teams to apply security controls to the data that team members can access. However, IT organizations, in many cases, would still need to ensure that the connections they deploy are secure.
Lifesize
To help organisations of all types adapt to the very real work challenges presented by Coronavirus, Lifesize is offering free cloud video conferencing services for six months to companies around the world, with no limits on the number of hosts they can add, number of meetings they can hold or the length of those meetings. In addition, current Lifesize customers can add as many full-featured users as they want to their accounts, free of additional charge beyond what they are already paying.
This move is to technologically equip companies to handle the spike in remote work or entire teams working from home, allowing all employees to remain productive and collaborative, and to “keep the world working.” This offer is available to all organisations of all sizes, globally, for six months.
DTEN
Communication leaders, DTEN, recently launched the Stay Connected program to help educational institutions, healthcare providers, and companies mitigate the challenges caused by COVID-19. The Stay Connected scheme provides organisations with a month of free access to the award-winning video conferencing solution designed by DTEN for Zoom Communications. Additionally, to enhance the free offering, DTEN is also offering a 30-day subscription to Zoom Rooms for free.
According to DTEN, the global health emergency that we’re facing today has expanded the world’s understanding of just how valuable video conferencing and collaboration technology can be. Because of this, the DTEN brand wants to make sure that its technology is available to support anyone and everyone that might be affected by the coronavirus. Stay Connected also allows first-time users to request the DTEN D7 55 inch display to be shipped to their facility. This model integrates video conferencing, content sharing, interactive whiteboarding, and more, and it can be used with no cost for up to 30 days.
LogMeIn GoToMeeting
There are many collaboration and communication tools on the market today that typically come with a free trial lasting a week or two. LogMeIn usually comes with its own fourteen-day free trial. However, that’s about to change. According to the company, it will be providing critical front-line service providers and healthcare providers with free access. The solution, available for educational intuitions, non-profit groups, and municipalities will provide access to various LogMeIn products for three months, through the availability of Emergency Remote Working kits.
The Emergency Remote Work Kit from LogMeIn delivers collaborative communication for up to three months, helping businesses to stay connected through webinars, virtual events, and video. You can also access tools for the remote management of employee devices.
Monday.com
While Monday.com hasn’t changed anything about its free-to-use service, employees and businesses can still access the video conferencing system for free, with a few restrictions. This collaboration tool provides today’s users with a robust platform where business leaders can assign tasks, manage workflow, and support ongoing collaborative experiences in the workplace. There are fantastic colour-coded work boards available to keep employees on track, as well as easy-to-use tools for staff members that help to keep staff members in touch.
The free trial allows users to test the service before they commit, providing access to useful workforce management technology during crucial times in a business’s progression into the remote work environment.
Modality Systems OneConsultation
Designed specifically to support the healthcare companies that are facing significant challenges in the current COVID-19 environment, Modality Systems is offering a new offer for its OneConsultation service. The company submitted an open letter to NHS Groups this month, informing them that they could access their OneConsultation system, with integrations for Microsoft, for free.
The OneConsultation technology provides NHS groups with everything they need to communicate and collaborate in the cloud, as well as offering virtual consultations to patients. Because there’s no complicated set-up required, NHS Trusts can start delivering virtual conferences within a matter of hours.
PGi
PGi, a global business communications and collaboration provider, is at the forefront of the remote work movement – their video conferencing and webcast technology helps people, enterprises and teams connect around the world to unleash productivity. PGi is focused on reducing the impact the coronavirus has on its employees, customers, partners and communities around the world. As such they are offering GlobalMeet Collaboration for free unlimited meetings for up to 125 participants with HD multipoint video, Dolby voice audio, local dial-in access, recording and many more features.
Meetupcall
Meetupcall are a conference call provider who enable businesses to connect with one another from any country in the world. A fully GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001 certified service means that you can be confident that your calls are completely secure, whilst a whole range of additional features led the BBC’s Kate Russell to say “you may never have a face-to-face meeting again”. Meetupcall has over 10-years’ experience in the field of remote working. Indeed, as a conference call provider, remote working is their focus. They say that the biggest hurdle to effective remote working is keeping in touch with people – both your employees and colleagues, as well as your customers and clients.