The unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus has had a shocking impact on the world as we know it. Companies are shutting down or asking their employees to work from home so that they can avoid contributing to the spread of the disease. The demand for remote working collaboration tools and video conferencing services is greater than ever.
Fortunately, leading companies in the communication and collaboration space, like Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, are working hard to ensure that their partners, customers, and anyone else can keep the lights on in this difficult time. Not only has ALE asked their own employees to begin working from home, but they’re also providing access to a selection of completely mobile and easy-to-use remote working technology too.
Free Rainbow Enterprise licenses are now available for a three-month period, starting from the 9th of March. This ensures that companies of all sizes can unlock the benefits of cloud communications in a time when we all need better connectivity. I spoke to Moussa Zaghdoud, Executive Vice-President of the Cloud Communication Business Division at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE), to find out more.
What is ALE’s Focus Right Now?
The Alcatel-Lucent RainbowTM solution from ALE is currently used across 190 countries, providing over 20,000+ companies. ALE’s own analytics have proven a massive surge in the number of people using these solutions for remote conferencing purposes lately. Introducing remote working capabilities is giving businesses a new way to help control the spread of the virus, which is why more people are creating Rainbow accounts than ever before.
In this new environment, Moussa told me that ALE’s focus is on Time-management and Safety Feeling. “We’re seeing that everyone is in a hurry to evolve and give their employees the tool that they need, so we’re doing everything to offer access to tools as immediately as possible. What’s more, we want to ensure that our community of partners, end-users, and other customers has what it takes to keep their organisations up and running in this challenging time.”
The three-month free access available from ALE commences from the date of activation and allows users to access Rainbow immediately on their desktop, the web, or mobile. Additionally, at the end of the period, users will be able to extend their subscriptions if they choose.
How Are You Helping to Keep the Lights On?
I asked Moussa how ALE is working to help partners and customers to keep the lights on and keep businesses running smoothly in this new environment. ALE’s strategy focuses on both handling the COVID-19 situation internally, and externally.
From an internal perspective,
“The Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise management team has taken the pandemic very seriously and has rapidly asked its employees to work from home as much as possible, for their own safety first”
In a short period of time, ALE has been able to provide all employees to a wide selection of mobile and easy-to-use tools for communication and collaboration. In parallel the ALE organisation has accelerated its efforts to ensure that partners, end-user communities and other customers can thrive in this complex environment. ALE is offering Free Rainbow Enterprise licenses, the cloud-based communication and collaboration platform and services, for a period of 3 months.
“We’ve also made the effort to ensure that our partners and customers have what it takes to maintain their own business continuity. This means opening all of our cloud services without limitations for companies, so that everyone has the option to work from home securely.”
The offer from ALE comes with access to secure and unlimited instant messaging with absolutely no restrictions, and team collaboration tools for up to 300 participants. There’s high-level video and voice calling available, complete with screen and app-sharing solutions, as well as multi-platform support for any device too. The secure online portal makes accessing the ALE technology easier for businesses and partners alike.
How Important is it to Keep People Connected Now?
Moussa told me that the ALE team is working around the clock to ensure that business needs are met, and that they can operate as normal during these times of panic. Worldwide, ALE understands the importance of being and staying connected, and the importance of being able to access tools that keep us aligned.
“All the feedback I receive everyday proves just how many people understand the importance of communication and connectivity in the business landscape. People are seeing the advantages of this connectivity at all levels.”
“It’s not just keeping businesses running but allowing for continued human connections too”
According to Moussa, businesses aren’t just looking at opportunities for continuity right now, they’re also looking for tools that will allow them to maintain personal links with employees and other people. We’re in a time when it’s difficult for all of us to make human connections, particularly with issues like social distancing to think about. When we can’t go out and communicate face-to-face, the right communication tools are essential.
This is particularly true for video conferencing, which is allowing us to maintain some of the nuances of face-to-face interaction.
According to Moussa, being connected in the current landscape isn’t just about having the right technical gadgets, it’s about serving a human need “safety feeling” in the current situation. The technologies available from ALE are going beyond user centricity and ease of use, to focus on human centricity. “Our technologies are there to answer a critical need for valuable human connections, both professional and personal.”
Overcoming uncertainty
Although the crisis of COVID-19 is continuing to expand around the globe, companies like ALE are available to help businesses keep working at their best during these difficult times.
The organisation is carefully monitoring the usage of its platform and also have a dedicated team in place to deliver proactive support to customers and partners too. The objective of ALE right now is to continue safeguarding business continuity, by ensuring that people can work from anywhere, on any device, no matter what happens.
To learn more and benefit from Alcatel-Lucent Rainbow, don’t hesitate to visit the ALE website.
