The recent Coronavirus pandemic around parts of the world has created an unfathomable situation in the business arena. Corona Virus (COVID-19) is a respiratory tract infection that began massively in 2019 in Wuhan, China, and became an issue that spread like wildfire in Europe and other continents of the world in 2020. This outbreak is causing a downward trend in the business circle, and this is because many businesses are shut down in a bid to curb the spread of this virus.
Quite a large number of businesses are closed down in countries like Germany, the United States, and China, to mention a few, and many more are bound to follow suit at the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading from country to country. However, running a business remotely may not be an enjoyable activity for so many people, and it is easy to see why this is so.
Coronavirus is contracted by close contact with affected persons, and such situations are usually not avoidable in business settings. However, here are a few ways this virus could affect the smooth running of your business;
- Restriction on travel: So many countries have started taking measures in order to protect their citizens from the Coronavirus outbreak, and one of such measures is the restriction of incoming visitors into their country. This could significantly hamper your business as lots of flights have been canceled as a result of this restriction.
- Cancellation of Conferences: The huge measure being put in place to curb the spread of this virus is the cancellation of big events like conferences where there’s likely to be a large crowd.
- Drastic reduction in the number of active customers: Customers are cautious as to the number of persons they come in contact with, and this has made many of them restrict their movement and interaction with others. However, not being able to reach such customers might be harmful to your business in the long run.
- Quarantine and tests: Having a suspected carrier of the virus in your organization could prove costly as every member of the organization who’s come in contact with such persons would have to be quarantined for up to two weeks, and this affects productivity in no small way.
- Uncertainty in Operations: Travel bans and flight cancellations are likely to get in your way of meeting certain deadlines, and this could prove unproductive eventually. It may also hurt your reputation, and this can as well affect your company’s image.
List of software offered for free:
In a bid to prevent oneself from contracting COVID-19, there have been restrictions on going to public gatherings, and events, among others in some affected countries. As a result, these measures are likely to make it impossible for people to work from their usual offices.
However, operating your business from home might sound unattractive and could also prove insurmountable for many, but it may turn out really fine when you employ some of the right tools on a daily basis. Some of these tools ensure smooth communication and exchange of vital information with your employees and clients.
This article takes a look at some software and tools that could prove helpful in times like this:
Zoom – CoronaVirus “Winner” – Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars
zoom is a tool that’s designed for hosting online conferences, webinars, and meetings. This cloud-based platform enables you to interact with people in different locations at once in real-time. Zoom is ideal for collaborating with colleagues and business partners remotely via instant access. It offers quality video calls, and it can accommodate up to 100 participants at once.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: Zoom is one of the big winners of the coronavirus outbreak, they make it possible for colleagues, clients, and partners to communicate in real-time, create events and connect with many people online. excellent solution for those in self-isolation. Conferences and meetings can also be organized online and via this platform.
Zoom is offering free resources and allowing a free Zoom Meeting service with up to 100 participants (up to 40 mins) for a group meeting.
Logmein – Remote Support, Online Meeting
Logmein set of tools built to help you gain access remotely to your computer hardware and software health from any part of the world. It is particularly useful in accessing your files in the office from home.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: Having to stay in self-isolation ultimately means you might not be able to work from your office for a while. Logmein Rescue makes it possible for you to gain access to all the files on your office computer right from home and also get IT to take over your computer in case needed. This makes it possible for you to continue working.
LogMeIn is offering its “emergency remote kit” such as GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, RescueAssist, LogMeIn central, and GoToMyPC available for free for three months. Those kits are designed for nonprofits, schools, and healthcare organizations that aren’t already customers.
Hivedesk – Time Tracking, Remote Employees
Hivedesk allows managing employees remotely using time tracking and collaboration on projects by users in any part of the world. You can also assign tasks and even monitor the project via this platform in real time.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: You no longer have to worry about your inability to assign an upcoming task to your employees because they are unable to come to the office. With Hivedesk, you can easily assign those tasks right from home, and this makes it even possible to continue to collaborate with your colleagues and employees.
Hivedesk is offering advice and their software starting at $15 per month for 3 employees.
Shopify – Sell Your Products Online
Shopify provides an easy-to-use eCommerce platform that has everything you need to sell online, on social media, or in person.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: Shopify makes it possible to sell your products and wares during self-isolation without any hitch. If you have only physical stores you can move them online quite easily with Shopify.
Shopify is offering the following: gift cards for all plans and customers, local pickup and delivery, $200 million in small business funding, an Extended 90-day free trial, Community support, and Live webinars.
Monday.Com – Fastest Growing Collaboration Tool
This platform makes it possible for teams and colleagues to plan and execute projects with precision remotely. Users are able to check workflow and track project status via the platform.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: You’re likely to have ongoing projects during this outbreak, and this platform makes it possible for you to continually check the progress and status of your project while you’re self-isolating at home.
Monday.com is offering its software free to any non-profit organization working to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
Worksnaps – Employee Performance Tracking and Monitoring
This is a useful tool for tracking and monitoring employee performance. It records employee time and computer activity and uses the data to prepare a detailed report for the user. Users can see the amount of work being done by the employee in real time via the platform.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: The coronavirus outbreak essentially makes it almost impossible for you to monitor the performance of your employees since everyone is out of the office work zone. But with Worksnaps, you can get constant updates on happenings in your workplace concerning employees’ work activities and performance.
Team Viewer – Remote Desktop Software
This platform allows you to gain access to your devices and networks remotely and in real time.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: This software makes it possible for you to gain access to all of your devices and networks in real-time while in isolation.
GoToMyPC – Remote Desktop Software
This tool allows you access to your files and networks irrespective of your location. This implies that you can easily operate your business from the comfort of your home.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: Self-isolation makes it impossible to gain access to some of your office files, and this impedes workflow. However, GoToMyPC ensures a smooth flow of work via access to all of your files and networks from home.
GoToMyPC is offering their software free for 3 months.
Tickspot – Time Tracking Tool
Tickspot is an ideal time tracking tool for added efficiency and improved productivity. This platform can be accessed remotely with a focus on effective time management.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: Having to work from home means you might sometimes get distracted while working. However, Tickspot helps you manage time with a focus on ensuring productivity.
iDoneThis – Team Progress Tracking
This tool gives users daily progress reports and check-ins to ensure a more productive business. The reports enable the users also to know what tasks have been completed as well as the undone tasks.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: Having an eye on the overall progress of work as well as each employee’s input while you’re working from home during this Covid-19 outbreak is priceless, and this is exactly what iDyouthis offers.
NordVPN – VPN Service
This tool helps users create a secure network where they can have access to the internet without fear of breach or hack. The encryption on this platform is well-protected and secured, and this makes it easy for you to browse with utmost comfort.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: Working from self-isolation comes with its risks, and one of these risks is getting hacked. NordVPN provides you with valuable encryption to keep your files safe in this regard.
NordVPN is offering 70% off on their plans.
Slack – Team Collaboration
Slack helps teams collaborate with tasks using a popular and easy-to-use platform.
They offer a free upgrade to the paid version.
Google Drive – Shared Documents
There’s always a need for a platform where files and other important documents can be shared, and this is exactly where Google Drive comes in.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: Collaboration is important in the business and corporate sphere; however, working out of office space as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic may impede collaboration. Google solves this dilemma via its collaborative tool, where you can share and view documents with your partners and employees remotely.
Furthermore, many companies are rolling out helpful software that could prove handy in the face of this coronavirus outbreak. Google, Microsoft, Zoom, and Slack have made free versions of their software available to the general populace in order to ensure seamless communication. This software includes;
Google Hangouts
This tool with advanced video capabilities was released by Google to help users worldwide connect and collaborate in real time. The software feature allows up to 250 participants in a singular video call.
Usefulness during Corona Outbreak: The video collaboration capabilities of this software enable you to organize and participate in teleconferences and meetings with your partners as well as your employees right from your home.
Facebook – Workplace
The workplace will be offered free of charge to government agencies and emergency services for 12 months.
GForge – Collaboration Tool
They offer their platform, both SaaS or on-premises, for free for up to 12 months.
RingCentral – VoIP Tool
RingCentral offers free video meetings, phone calls, and instant messaging to healthcare providers, K-12 schools, and nonprofit organizations.
Stack Overflow – Developers Tool
They offer the basic tier of Stack Overflow Teams for free.
Wrike – Project Management Tool
Wrike is now offering its Professional Edition of its teamwork management tool for free for six months.
Adobe – Creative Cloud
Adobe is offering students free, personal in-home access to Adobe Creative Cloud in place of their schools’ in-classroom licenses through May 31, 2020.
Adobe web-based PDF services on Adobe.com are free through May 31, 2020.
Zoho Remotely
Zoho Remotely enables you to take your work remote by offering a complete suite of web and mobile apps that will help you communicate, collaborate and be productive.
Zoho Remotely will remain free until July 1, 2020.
Dropbox HelloSign
Both vendors are now offering free subscriptions for a three-month period for nonprofits and NGOs that are focused on fighting COVID-19.
Final words
We are updating this list daily, if you know of any other tools that offer their services free of charge let us so and we will update it.