Rachel Bondi (Microsoft)
Microsoft Australia has followed the lead of several other tech players locally and around the world by asking its local workforce to work from home for the next fortnight as the coronavirus pandemic rolls on.
“Today we requested all Microsoft employees based in Australia work from home for the next two weeks,” Microsoft Australia chief partner officer Rachel Bondi said in a social media post on 18 March.
“I also want to take the opportunity to thank all our Microsoft Australia partners for the actions you are all taking to the health and safety for your employees, customers and vendors such as flexible working arrangements.
“A number of partners have asked for more information so please have a look at the local blog we recently posted. Please reach out to us if you need additional support,” she added.
In a blog post, Bondi said that many partners have asked the vendor to share the details of how it enables remote work for such a large workforce.
Among the measures recommended by both Bondi and the company’s One Commercial Partner corporate vice president Gavriella Schuster in an earlier blog post were, as a starting point, the use of Teams.
“Teams is a pivotal part of the remote work experience, and Microsoft is committed to making Teams available to everyone,” Schuster said in the post.
“We recommend that partners lead with the CSP Trial, as this is the only experience that partners can initiate and manage.
“For customers who don’t align to the CSP Trial, partners can now get access to the Office 365 E1 Trial for them.
“Virtual delivery options are now available across all Microsoft 365 Partner Accelerator workshops,” she added.
Microsoft Australia’s move to ask its staff to work from home follows hot on the heels of Telstra’s decision to ask all of its office staff to work from home until at least the end of the month, as a precautionary measure to help stem the spread of coronavirus.
