A Cloud of Uncertainty? Perhaps Not…

Globally we live in unchartered times. Social distancing, face masks, isolation, businesses closed – the list goes on. The ‘new normal’ is something we are all slowly becoming accustomed to – along with vast numbers of the working population now adopting remote working. More agile ways of working have never been more prevalent.

Here at Dufeu we have a working model which has helped ensure a practically seamless switch across to this unexpected and radically different way of working. Already utilising key cloud-based tools our departments have adapted and embraced this ‘new normal’ with little to no interruption in service. But how have we achieved this? Well, the answer is by already utilising key products which offer existing scalability and more pertinently – cloud capability. Collaboration and communication are the absolute foundations of our ability to navigate through this different working landscape. These are some of the products that have contributed during the process of transition:

Microsoft Office 365

• Teams
  This has simply become a cornerstone of our daily working life. All Dufeu departments converse continually throughout the day via team chat feeds using both work stations and the mobile device app. Departmental meetings are organised, and staff join using built-in video conferencing. Ideas are shared as is a continual flow of communication. Screen sharing has been widely used to easily demonstrate points and ideas. Simply put, this collaborative tool has been indispensable.
• OneDrive/Sharepoint
  There are many benefits of a secure place to store, organise, share, and access information from any device across the internet. Eliminating the need for a VPN connection through to a server to then pull files back across to your remote laptop and vice versa!
• Email
  No reliance on a physical email server plus integration with Office 365 suite of products. Also, setting up Teams meetings instantly adds to Outlook calendars. Meetings can be joined directly from Outlook or Teams – ad hoc meetings can be created at the click of a button.

3CX (VoIP Telephony)

The infamous cloud returns – telephone calls across the internet. Again, this tool has meant that Dufeu are able to continue managing our calls with no intervention required or downtime. Our expected influx of calls around COVID19 happened fast but our teams coped admirably thanks to their professionalism, backed up by a telephony tool tailor-made for a remote working scenario. The 3CX app also allowed greater flexibility to manage telephone calls from any location.

In short, cloud computing provides access to business data and applications from anywhere, at any time, on most mobile devices. No reliance on local servers, stringent security and regularly implemented updates proved an efficient base where Dufeu remained productive through these uncertain times.

Written by Keith Trow