In the wake of the global COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, video conferencing and business messaging software and solutions have become vital tools used to keep people connected. With millions of workers new to working from home looking for the right setups and devices to stay productive, technology companies have responded by making some of their premium services available for free for a limited time.
For entrepreneurs and small to midsize businesses (SMBs) scrambling to pivot their business operations, having access reliable video conferencing and group messaging solutions helps establish some normalcy in uncertain times. Let's look at what's available, how to get it, and what you need to know for each of these available tools.
Cisco Webex
Cisco is giving its free Webex tier additional capabilities.
"Effective immediately, we've expanded the capabilities on our free Webex offer in all countries where it is available, not only those impacted by COVID-19.
This includes unlimited usage (no time restrictions), support for up to 100 participants, and offers toll dial-in (in additions to existing VoIP capabilities)," said Sri Srinivasan, SVP and GM, Team Collaboration Group at Cisco.
(Image credit: Cisco Webex) Sign up for a free Webex personal account at webex.com.
Enter your personal email and you'll (eventually) receive a message once your Webex environment is ready (it took around four hours before I received an email response that my account was good to go).
When available, the free Webex Meetings plan offers meetings with 100 participants, HD video, screen sharing, and a personal room for use as long as needed. If you live in a country that is not eligible for free Webex personal accounts, Enterprise Trials for Cisco Webex are available.
To find out which countries will have access to Cisco Webex meetings, check out its help center.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft's Teams collaboration platform will be available free for six months so the company's employees, customers, partners and communities can continue working remotely. Microsoft Teams' free version offers unlimited chat, search, one-on-one audio and video calls.
In addition, the platform gives users 10GB of team file storage so they can upload and share files to on another.
It also offers 2GB of personal file storage per user.
(Image Credit : Microsoft) To access Microsoft Teams, use your work or school email to sign in here. People using email addresses like Gmail or Outlook can sign up for a freemium version of Microsoft Teams here.
IT professionals can also access Microsoft Teams even if their business isn't licensed for Teams.
They can contact their Microsoft partner or sales representatives to access the Office 365 E1 plan free for six months.
For educators, teachers, and students, a free version of Office 365 is available for free to all educational institutions.
Google Hangouts Meet
Last week, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced on Twitter that it would be enabling free access to various video conferencing and communications tools for schools and businesses through July 1, 2020, to all G Suite customers globally.
This unlocks various premium features, such as meetings for up to 250 participants per call with live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain.
Also available is the ability to record meetings and save them on Google Drive.
To avail of Google Hangouts Meet, Google says users should visit their learning center page, or follow the instructions outlined in their message to G Suite admins.
Recommended by Our Editors
Effective immediately through the end of 2020, Intermedia is offering free Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro video conferencing licenses for their customers and partners.?With AnyMeeting Pro, remote workers can hold global online meetings, using high-definition video and audio conferencing, screen sharing, call recording, chats, note taking and more, with no restriction on the duration of each meeting.? Simply head over to Intermedia's website and set up an account.
Also available is a free Webinar Pro license per account.?Webinar Pro enables companies to hold larger live broadcast events for up to 200 people, such as corporate all-hands meetings, webinars, lectures, religious services, and other virtual events.
Intermedia has developed a toolkit for SMBs and remote workers with useful resources.
Caveats and Considerations
Note that the sudden spike in video conferencing and messaging usage will undoubtedly tax the internet and data infrastructure.
This means that while these free cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools are convenient and easy to use, don't expect them to work optimally 100 percent of the time.
Cisco revealed that it continues to see a 700 percent increase in adoption of their solution over pre-outbreak rates.
The amount of people using their home internet connections to work from home due to this pandemic is unprecedented and will test the limits of networks and providers alike.
In the wake of the global COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, video conferencing and business messaging software and solutions have become vital tools used to keep people connected. With millions of workers new to working from home looking for the right setups and devices to stay productive, technology companies have responded by making some of their premium services available for free for a limited time.
For entrepreneurs and small to midsize businesses (SMBs) scrambling to pivot their business operations, having access reliable video conferencing and group messaging solutions helps establish some normalcy in uncertain times. Let's look at what's available, how to get it, and what you need to know for each of these available tools.
Cisco Webex
Cisco is giving its free Webex tier additional capabilities.
"Effective immediately, we've expanded the capabilities on our free Webex offer in all countries where it is available, not only those impacted by COVID-19.
This includes unlimited usage (no time restrictions), support for up to 100 participants, and offers toll dial-in (in additions to existing VoIP capabilities)," said Sri Srinivasan, SVP and GM, Team Collaboration Group at Cisco.
(Image credit: Cisco Webex) Sign up for a free Webex personal account at webex.com.
Enter your personal email and you'll (eventually) receive a message once your Webex environment is ready (it took around four hours before I received an email response that my account was good to go).
When available, the free Webex Meetings plan offers meetings with 100 participants, HD video, screen sharing, and a personal room for use as long as needed. If you live in a country that is not eligible for free Webex personal accounts, Enterprise Trials for Cisco Webex are available.
To find out which countries will have access to Cisco Webex meetings, check out its help center.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft's Teams collaboration platform will be available free for six months so the company's employees, customers, partners and communities can continue working remotely. Microsoft Teams' free version offers unlimited chat, search, one-on-one audio and video calls.
In addition, the platform gives users 10GB of team file storage so they can upload and share files to on another.
It also offers 2GB of personal file storage per user.
(Image Credit : Microsoft) To access Microsoft Teams, use your work or school email to sign in here. People using email addresses like Gmail or Outlook can sign up for a freemium version of Microsoft Teams here.
IT professionals can also access Microsoft Teams even if their business isn't licensed for Teams.
They can contact their Microsoft partner or sales representatives to access the Office 365 E1 plan free for six months.
For educators, teachers, and students, a free version of Office 365 is available for free to all educational institutions.
Google Hangouts Meet
Last week, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced on Twitter that it would be enabling free access to various video conferencing and communications tools for schools and businesses through July 1, 2020, to all G Suite customers globally.
This unlocks various premium features, such as meetings for up to 250 participants per call with live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain.
Also available is the ability to record meetings and save them on Google Drive.
To avail of Google Hangouts Meet, Google says users should visit their learning center page, or follow the instructions outlined in their message to G Suite admins.
Recommended by Our Editors
Effective immediately through the end of 2020, Intermedia is offering free Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro video conferencing licenses for their customers and partners.?With AnyMeeting Pro, remote workers can hold global online meetings, using high-definition video and audio conferencing, screen sharing, call recording, chats, note taking and more, with no restriction on the duration of each meeting.? Simply head over to Intermedia's website and set up an account.
Also available is a free Webinar Pro license per account.?Webinar Pro enables companies to hold larger live broadcast events for up to 200 people, such as corporate all-hands meetings, webinars, lectures, religious services, and other virtual events.
Intermedia has developed a toolkit for SMBs and remote workers with useful resources.
Caveats and Considerations
Note that the sudden spike in video conferencing and messaging usage will undoubtedly tax the internet and data infrastructure.
This means that while these free cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools are convenient and easy to use, don't expect them to work optimally 100 percent of the time.
Cisco revealed that it continues to see a 700 percent increase in adoption of their solution over pre-outbreak rates.
The amount of people using their home internet connections to work from home due to this pandemic is unprecedented and will test the limits of networks and providers alike.
