It was the week that coronavirus fears really hit the capital. A Deloitte employee has tested positive for the virus, while Sony Pictures Entertainment has closed its office in Soho amid fears of infection. In London’s tech sector, fintech Curve is shutting up shop tomorrow for one day only to test if its operations can handle all of its employees being out of office.
CTO Matt Collinge says the team will be relying on the likes of Google Drive and Slack to get work done, in what he describes as a “simulation of a 100 per cent remote working environment”.
If you haven’t been ordered home for two weeks without colleague contact already, then it may be on the horizon. And while some might rejoice at the prospect, for many the phrase “work from home” strikes fear into our hearts, here’s your “start up” guide to WFH.
Swap meetings for Zoom
That mandatory meeting everyone has to crawl into the office for on a Monday? Ditch the face-to-face time for some electronic facetime in the form of Zoom. The video conferencing company saw its stock price surge 15 per cent on Monday as investors wanted to cash in on fears of the virus.
Zoom makes it easy to hold video conferences anywhere. You can share screens and collaborate on documents, keep up to date with plans on chats and even hold webinars and training sessions, all with the help of a webcam. It works on mobile devices as well as computers, with companies like Uber and TransferWise on board as clients.
And if you’re worried about Zoom’s servers being unable to handle all the extra load, then don’t. In a blog last week, founder and chief executive Eric Yuan said: “It’s my responsibility as Zoom’s CEO — and Zoom’s unique responsibility as a company — to do everything in our power to support those impacted by the coronavirus outbreak by committing our reliable technology, expanded access, and agile customer service.”
Swap conferences for Hopin
Conference after conference has been cancelled because of coronavirus, from last week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to Google’s I/O developer conference which wasn’t expected to take place until May. An online events company Hopin has the solution. It’s an all-in-one events platform that allows organisers to replicate the experience of an offline event in a digital format. Whether it’s a keynote for 100,000 people or intimate networking, attendees can join in sessions via livestream, video conference or chat all without leaving their home.
The UK Green Party conference is going to take place via Hopin, while Sheetscon, a Google Sheets conference with 5,000 attendees will go ahead online next week.
The company recently raised £5 million from Accel and Slack Fund to push its tech further in 2020. Founder and CEO Johnny Bourfarhat says: “We are building the future of events.”
Swap exercise class for Fiit Club
Staying in your flat for two weeks is a surefire way to develop cabin fever. Vent all those frustrations with some sweaty exercise, courtesy of fitness app Fiit. Challenge your cooped-up colleagues to a tough HIIT workout using the app’s live leaderboard classes which take place throughout the day. Take on a non-stop Power class or Remix session, which includes four circuits of different training styles.
Remember, the more points you score, the higher up the leaderboard you climb and it will give you bragging rights on the company Slack channel.
Swap cinema trips for Kast
The joys of no longer having an hour-long commute means more time for leisure activities after work. While you won’t be able to hit the pub with your work pals once 5pm hits, you can go to the cinema together… sort of.
Kast is an app that allows you to watch films and boxsets with friends even though you’re not in the same room.
You can host a party of up to 100 people to finally get started on Netflix’s hit series Cheer or catch up on the final episode of Love Is Blind. Simply stream the Netflix video on Kast’s web app or web portal and share the streaming link to your pals who can login in online or on the mobile app.
Buying the popcorn is solely on you.
