A number of digital tech suppliers have responded to the coronavirus crisis by offering products and services free to public authorities for as long as it lasts.
Following our report last week on a series of offers, others have emerged with a focus on software capabilities and video consultations.
NDL Software has made its FX e-form platform available for six months free of charge to organisations that hold a licence for one of its products. It said this allows them to create responsive forms quickly with its library of templates.
The company added that one hospital has used its web based app to produce a coronavirus service mobilisation form to collect information and match it with appropriate services and mobilise the effort against the spread of the virus.
Provider of smartphone based scanning technology Anyline has offered it for free to emergency, security and logistics services, with support, until the virus is under control. It said this enables healthcare workers to record patient information by scanning their details and gives security forces the ability to quickly check identification documents and vehicle licence plates.
The company has highlighted the need for healthcare workers to have contactless registration services to limit the chance of becoming infected by patients with the virus.
Care software
Consultancy and software provider Netli, which specialises in care services, is making the latter available across the sector free of charge to respond to coronavirus.
These include its Workforce platform to support remote working by office staff and management, and to speed up the recruitment process of new staff. The company said it can reduce the time to find new care staff from eight weeks to eight days and cut the related administration time by 90%.
The platform includes a dedicated online jobs board, CareJob.co., which automatically posts vacancies created in Workforce.
Video consultation provider Refero has said its platform is freely available to local authorities and social care teams for at least 90 days. Its technology is underpinned by Cisco Webex and enables care staff to speak with people through mobile and desktop devices.
It emphasised the safety advantages of care professionals consulting with people through video when possible.
Another video communication and collaboration company, Zoom, has said that schools can use its platform for virtual classrooms and online learning while children are kept at home. It provides scope for up to 100 participants with functions for screen sharing, whiteboarding, annotation and breakout rooms.
Zoom is also providing live and recorded training for teachers in how to use the platform.
Prison offer
Prisons are among the institutions under the most pressure from the outbreak, and Unilink Software has offered its cloud based prison video visits software to prisons in the UK and Australia for free for three to four months.
This can provide a substitute for visits in prisons during a period of the lockdown. The company said it assures a secure encrypted session between any browser based devices allowing flexible communication once it has been authorised.
Image by Ben Colley CC BY 2.0
