Discover easy and free ways to collaborate remotely

Damien Delard

April 15, 2020

Learn tips to make remote working more efficient with cloud-based collaboration and communication solutions.

In what has felt like an instant, the world has changed. Now we are dealing with a global health epidemic.

An illness so terrible that most countries have asked their citizens to work from home, stay at home and even maintain social (physical) distance from others. However, businesses still need to run.

We can’t put everything on hold until the epidemic ends. If business is to continue, people need to change the way they communicate and collaborate.  People must transform themselves and use collaboration tools that enable them to communicate, remotely manage projects, and conduct virtual meetings. And, that includes me.

After over 10 days of confinement and remote working, my current use of remote tools has increased by 500 percent. I hold video conference calls. I make phone calls. I share information with my colleagues. And I do all of this securely.

The following are tips from my experience using a collaboration solution from ALE.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise collaboration solutions

While working from home, I’ve been using mostly the Alcatel-Lucent Rainbow™ collaboration solution. It supports many capabilities, but I’ve found the following to be the most helpful in my work.

Rainbow Bubbles

A Rainbow feature I like a lot is the ability to notify key stakeholders before the meeting itself using the same tool. No need to use different tools like email to share information. By setting up a bubble, you can distribute information to those who will be in the meeting while still sharing your screen. In addition, you can do follow-up actions after the calls and share updated documents with the stakeholders in the same bubble.

Conference calls

I recommend  launching the conference a few minutes before the meeting start time. After trying different things, I realized the most efficient option is to start video calls a few minutes early. The meeting starts on time and it gives everyone a chance to be ready with their headsets, sound, and camera. The impressive thing about Rainbow is that we can chat even when the conference has not started yet, just to check or remind other teammates to be ready.

Video call versus audio calls

Not every call needs to be done with video. Some calls were much more productive as audio only, with simple statements and fewer group interactions. Other calls were better with video, offering a more personal touch and a sometimes much needed “human” interaction. ALE Rainbow allows both functions.

What is the best productivity tool?

Without hesitation, the most productive Rainbow tool is screen sharing. It helps with assessing the presentation and content as well as updating online tools with the team.

For example, you can view team members’ sales forecasts from their shared screen while they explain the information.  For some meetings, the remote screen sharing offers better productivity than if everyone was in the same physical meeting room.

Invest in the right equipment

For the best experience you need to acquire a very good web camera and an HD microphone. These are a one-time investment that can greatly improve the quality and productivity of your calls. The clarity will make your calls seem like you’re in the same room.

Security

Many times, especially now that so many are working remotely from home, you will hear about an online collaboration meeting being interfered with due to a lack of security in the solution.

We live in the age of cyber attacks. Protecting company information and data is crucial. You need to select the right collaboration tools that enable you to communicate and collaborate as well as protect your communications and data.

Why Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise?

Besides the features described above, Rainbow is a fail-safe environment for customer data. It is ISO-27001 certified and GDPR compliant, meaning that it upholds the strictest and highest standards in cloud security and management. Your information is protected as if you were working from your office.

Alcatel-Lucent Rainbow’s Enterprise license is now being offered for free for 3 months to support local businesses affected by the impact of COVID-19. Find out more about how ALE can help you with business continuity during a crisis.

Remember, #wereinthistogether