During the time the world faces this coronavirus crisis, remote work proves to be an effective way to offset this pandemic’s economic effects.
Remote work tools help companies stay productive without exposing employees to coronavirus infection. This is probably why HR leaders in a recent online poll said they implemented a Work-from-Home (WFH) contract to function during the outbreak.
Companies are already re-imagining their remote work policy for mass WFH. Simultaneously, several employees may choose to go into quarantine, and companies must take active steps to support them. Technology has become the foundation for organizations to connect their employees without the risk of further exposure during an epidemic. Technology companies worldwide are coming together to offer these companies and their remote workers discounted and sometimes even free access to remote work tools. Especially in countries like America, France, Italy, and Spain (and many others), remote work has become the foundation of a business.
If you are practicing social distancing and asking your team to work remotely considering the risk of COVID-19, here is a comprehensive list to keep you equipped, productive, and safe during this critical period.
1. Atlassian
Atlassian is remote work and productivity giant with several tools for project management, collaboration, software development, and more. The company had announced that its flagship cloud products would be available for free for teams of up to 10 members, and other resources are already free for organizations of all sizes. This is not a time-limited offer, unlike most remote work tools on this list.
2. Recruit
Recruit, a hiring software from Vultus, is one of the most affordable cloud-based applicant tracking systems. Be it creating a job or placing a candidate, and the software provides all the necessary tools. It helps publish jobs across the world, source candidates from multiple job boards, schedule interviews, and manage pipelines. The entire focus of this product is to make team workflows fast, accurate & straightforward.
3. Box
Box is a known file storage and collaboration application that supports almost any device. Box CEO has announced that small and medium-sized businesses that need to use Box can sign up for the Business version, free for the next 90 days. Box Business has many useful features such as uploading a single file with a file size of up to 5 GB, unlimited users, mobile security, and advanced security.
4. Cisco Webex
Network and communications giant Cisco has released its flagship Webex platform for free in countries most affected by the Coronavirus. It will be a useful tool for remote work because employees worldwide are trying to keep in touch with their colleagues despite the lack of personal meetings. Free Webex is available with features like unlimited use and up to 100 participants.
5. Google Meet
Google Meet is an online meeting platform that increases productivity for millions of employees around the world. In response to the Coronavirus, Google re-engineered the service built for secure business meetings and made it free and available for all. Users will now be able to host larger meetings (up to 250 participants) and record them. You can also broadcast live to 100,000 viewers – precisely what you need for remote work right now.
6. Connect
Connect, again from Vultus, is a comprehensive workforce management solution that manages our employee database, documents, benefits, timesheets, and expenses in one place. It also helps us ensure legal compliance with utmost confidence and ease. The software helps make strategic and confident business decisions by providing sensible analytics, actionable data points, and centralized financial information.
7. Loom
Loom is a video communication software that allows you to capture and share quick video notes. The company realized that remote work increases the number of video recordings by 40%, and this number will increase as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increases worldwide. In response to the coronavirus outbreak, Loom has removed recording limits on its free plan. Also, Loom Pro is available with a 50% discount, and the free trial period has been extended from 14 months to one month.
8. Microsoft Teams
An essential requirement in remote work is the ability to chat with large, distributed teams without personal interaction. Microsoft has made Microsoft Teams available for chat, meeting, call, and collaboration for free for the next few months to resolve this issue. Teams allows you to chat, meet, call, learn, and collaborate all in one place. Easily find, share, and edit files using familiar apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel in Teams in real-time.
9. Senseon
Does your remote coronavirus toolkit affect cybersecurity? If not, take a look at Senseon – an automated threat detection, research, and response platform provider that provides selected free features.
Mainly its Endpoint 360 function is designed to secure remote/field devices. Because employees use their devices for work at home, you can use Senseon to protect your business from possible vulnerabilities.
10. Slack
Slack is already a popular tool for remote work, and during the quarantine for Coronavirus, the number of its users will only increase. Slack is committed to providing nonprofit and other COVID-19 relief related organizations with full support.
Companies strive to provide tools that enable others to stay productive while trying to contain the spread of COVID-19. In some cases, major companies also have waived-off their annual membership fees to ensure that their tools reach the widest possible audience.