(Temporarily) FREE Resources for Your Response to COVID-19

Last updated: 12:35PM EST 3/17/2020

The impact of the novel coronavirus, now dubbed SARS-CoV-2, is unprecedented. It has left many technology teams scrambling to enable and support remote workers that have not needed to work remotely in the past. It has also crippled various parts of the supply chain - we’ve seen reports of orders for laptops and thin clients indefinitely delayed, and warehouse workers being sent home.

The following information has been compiled by Global’s team of senior IT leadership, and will be published in 4 parts:

1. (Temporarily) Free Resources for Enabling Remote Work & Collaboration
2. Tips for When Remote Work Isn’t an Option
3. Insights from Our Global Outsourcing Partners
4. Insights from Our Experts

We will do our best to update this article throughout the next few weeks, as we continue to support our clients and learn more in this evolving scenario. Feel free to contact us if we can help you support your organization.

(Temporarily) Free Resources for Enabling Remote Work & Collaboration

• Microsoft is reportedly offering a free 6 month trial for O365, including Teams, at the E1 Enterprise Tier level. Per Microsoft, they are also rolling out an update to the free version of Teams that will allow unlimited members to a team, as well as video/voice conferencing.
• Google has also announced that it will allow all existing GSuite and GSuite for education users to utilize the Enterprise tier of Hangouts Meet, extending the standard capability to support up to 250 users per call, record meetings, and live stream to up to 100,000 viewers.
• GoToMeeting/LogMeIn is offering free “Emergency Remote Work Kits” for Health Care Providers, Educational Institutions, Municipalities, and Non-Profits. The kit is basically a free 3-month site-wide license for GoToMeeting.
• Cisco has removed time restrictions from the free version of WebEx, expanded it to allow up to 100 meeting participants, and added toll-free options. Note: this is only for 90 days, and only if you’re not already a Cisco customer.
• Cisco is also letting users of Duo Security, Umbrella, and AnyConnect VPN products go over their license limits temporarily.
• Zoom has also removed the time limit for its free tier - but only for K-12 schools in select countries: the United States, Japan, Italy, Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland, Poland, Romania, and South Korea.
• ViewSonic is offering myViewBoard, a distance learning platform, for free to K12, colleges, and universities.
• OneLogin is offering its Trusted Experience Platform for free to K12, colleges, and universities.
• 1Password, a popular password manager, has removed the 30 day trial period on 1Password Business - if your enterprise doesn’t already leverage a password management tool, now’s a great time to start. 
• Spectrum is offering free Internet access (for 60 days) to homes without a Spectrum subscription with K12 or college students. 
• Comcast is likewise offering 60 days of free Internet to new customers, and increasing their base tier from 15/2 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps.
• AT&T has said it would waive data overage fees for customers with capped plans.
• Box is offering 3 months of secure file sharing at the Business Plan level.
• Cloudflare is offering 500 seats of Cloudflare for Teams for small businesses, along with a free onboarding session.
• New addition: NICE inContact CXone, a cloud contact center platform, is offering free use for 45 days, and an up-and-running contact center in 48 hours.
• New addition: RingCentral is offering 3 months free for K12 educators, healthcare providers, and nonprofits. This includes video meetings with up to 100 participants.

As said, we’ll try to update this list as additional resources become available that could be valuable to you, your users, or your organization. If your business continuity plans aren’t running smoothly - or if you need guidance in responding to this crisis, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help.