Microsoft has responded to the Corona virus epidemic with tools to assist remote working, while SafeGuard Cyber is offrering a free 60 day trial of its SaaS collaboration security platform to extend protection to apps that sit outside an organisation’s firewall.

Microsoft has launched a new Crisis Communication App to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 by enabling staff to easily share status updates. Through it, employees can report if they are working from home. 

The platform, which combines Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, can be used via a web browser, mobile app or Teams to help staff collaborate during a crisis. 

The app allows businesses to update employees with relevant information in real time through push notifications, and to share information from groups such as the World Health Organization or local government. 

Microsoft is allowing people to communicate with the premium Office 365 E1 version of Microsoft Teams for free over the next six months due to the coronavirus. The move will allow people at enterprises to coordinate and communicate better during the coronavirus outbreak.

This free version of Office 365 is also available to all educational institutions.

Along the same lines, Microsoft has also removed the limit on the number of team members that can join a team within the free version of Microsoft Teams.

Since January 31, Microsoft reports a 500 percent increase in Teams meetings, calling, and conferences in China at the epicentre of the Corona virus outbreak, and a 200 percent increase in Teams usage on mobile devices.

Cisco has announced it is extending its free Webex offer to all countries where it is available, not only those impacted by COVID-19. This includes Unlimited usage (no time restrictions), supports up to 100 participants and offers toll dial-in (in addition to existing VoIP capabilities).

To help organizations' address the workforce impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus), SafeGuard Cyber is offering collaboration and messaging security free for 60 days.

Companies looking to ensure business continuity are adopting collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack to enable chat, file sharing, and meetings. In some cases, companies are expanding use of features in existing tools like Chatter in Salesforce.

The SafeGuard platform provides visibility and security at the chat level, with machine learning to analyse, flag, and remediate risks at the speed and scale of digital communications. This ensures your workspace is protected whether or not employees are connected to your network

Learn more at https://www.safeguardcyber.com/collaborationsecurity