Together we will persevere.

Moments of extraordinary challenge test our collective will, but also bring out the best of our collective humanity. With the unpredictable and fluid situation around COVID-19, the world is navigating through an uncertain period with few precedents.

At Â鶹ԭ´´, we have colleagues and customers in every corner of the world. Our thoughts are with all those affected and the many communities that continue to face extreme measures as we work to slow down and contain the spread of the virus. We also want to express our deepest thanks and appreciation to all the healthcare workers, first responders, police officers, emergency workers, and all others in essential functions and on the front lines caring for the sick and keeping us safe.

Naturally, the health, safety, and livelihood of the extended Â鶹ԭ´´ family and the communities in which we serve is top of mind for us. Our focus first and foremost has been and will continue to be our workforce and colleagues. We’ve restricted travel, re-imagined in-person events as digital experiences, and our 100,000 colleagues are almost entirely working remotely. Our customers are also a part of the Â鶹ԭ´´ family, and we’re focused on standing by them as they navigate an incredibly challenging period.

Since our founding nearly 50 years ago, Â鶹ԭ´´ has been synonymous with mission-critical business operations. We firmly believe that securing our business allows us to better secure those of our customers. In recent years, Â鶹ԭ´´ has invested a great deal in crisis preparedness: Â鶹ԭ´´ business, support, and cloud delivery teams have developed and documented business continuity plans to respond to disruptive incidents such as COVID-19, while ensuring reliability of our cloud solutions and the delivery of services to you. You can read more about some of the specific actions we are taking to ensure business continuity for Â鶹ԭ´´ and for our customers here.

As we have seen, every day brings more information, but at times, more uncertainty. The more change we confront, the more important it is to understand how our people are feeling and adjusting to what may seem like a new normal on a daily basis. While we are all adapting to different work and collaboration models, the newness and the experiences are all unique to each of us depending on our job or industry. Understanding, acknowledging, and acting on the challenges and questions our employees have will help us equip them to navigate this new normal. All of us want employees who feel safe and productive, but it starts with understanding how they feel and what they need. To that end, Qualtrics has helped us get to the heart of every employee and we have opened up the same  for any who need it. We hope this is helpful.

As a company we have always believed in our responsibility to support the next generation of professionals and users with our best-in-class digital learning. Now students and subject-matter experts need safe and healthy learning environments to continue their education virtually. Therefore, we are broadening access to some of our offerings to facilitate the continuity of innovation and enablement. This includes free access to select learning journeys for students at one of the 3,800 member universities of the Â鶹ԭ´´ University Alliances program, online courses allowing young learners to explore technology, as well as the massive open online courses (MOOCs) available on the openÂ鶹ԭ´´ platform. All offerings are free – please find more information here.

We also recognise the massive disruptions impacting global supply chains, and we’ve opened up access to  so any buyer can post their immediate sourcing needs and any supplier can respond to show they can deliver. Our TripIt from Concur and Â鶹ԭ´´ Litmos teams have offered up free services to help with Ìý²¹²Ô»åÌý. Check back here for updates as our teams continue to come up with new ways to help.

For all of us at Â鶹ԭ´´, our vision to help the world run better and improve people’s lives has never been more important than in this current moment. We remain focused on our people, our customers, and our communities. Together, we will persevere.

All our best,

Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein

This article first appeared on the Global News Centre.

The post To All of Â鶹ԭ´´ and the Extended Â鶹ԭ´´ Family: Together We Will Persevere appeared first on Â鶹ԭ´´ Australia & New Zealand News Center.

During this time of unprecedented uncertainty, all of us here at Â鶹ԭ´´ are concerned about the safety and well-being of our families, colleagues, customers, partners, and the many friends who make up Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s vibrant global family.

Our hearts are with those who have been affected personally by the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) as well as the many communities around the world that are facing extreme measures in the attempt to slow its spread.

For nearly 50 years, we have been honoured by the trust you place in us to run your mission-critical business processes. In today’s challenging environment, we want to provide you more information as to how we are securing our business and, in turn, yours.

Company Assurance for Customers

Â鶹ԭ´´ business, support, and cloud delivery teams have developed and documented Business Continuity Plans to respond to disruptive incidents, such as COVID-19, while safeguarding the health of our employees and minimising the impact on the delivery of services to you.

Â鶹ԭ´´ infrastructure and cloud operations teams have put the following measures in place for all Â鶹ԭ´´-owned and co-located data centres:

• Working Remotely: For the majority of teams, work can be conducted through remote connections, which enables teams to work off-site for most tasks. Engineers around the globe are working separately and remotely where possible to mitigate the risk of an entire team becoming infected. Employees who must be on-site are applying social distancing and hygiene protocols based on guidance from health authorities and our Global Pandemic Task Force.
• Safety On-Site: Where on-site work is required (for example, working in data centre locations), staff who are on-site to accomplish specific tasks are spending only the minimum time required in locations. Additionally, teams have implemented rotating schedules to reduce the number of people in a single location and to separate individuals in common teams as much as possible. In data centre locations, Â鶹ԭ´´ has also sourced gloves and masks for the protection of on-site technicians if required.
  • Disinfection Protocols: Trained teams are available to administer data centre-specific disinfection protocols in Â鶹ԭ´´ data centres as required and are prepared to respond to any infections that may be identified. For co-location data centres, we are working with providers to ensure they apply the same standards and rigour to make sure all data centre sites are as sterile as possible.
  • Access: Data centre access is restricted to operational personnel only and following strict hygiene protocols.
• Our Suppliers: Â鶹ԭ´´ operations are supported by a number of strategic suppliers and we are in contact with all of them continually to ensure they apply comparable mitigation practices with their teams, while still maintaining service levels. For those who supply operational resources, we are focusing on scheduling and in-office practices to reduce the impact of any potential event. Finally, we are maintaining a database of updates and feedback from suppliers to ensure we can quickly locate and confirm documented information outlining the COVID-19 protocols and practices they are supporting.

For Â鶹ԭ´´ maintenance and support functions, we have business continuity plans in place that are activated on demand. All internal systems, tools, monitors, etc. are designed to allow for remote work. We have already activated these measures worldwide with no disruption in service. Likewise, Â鶹ԭ´´ consulting services are working from Â鶹ԭ´´ offices or remote locations, pending local guidelines and in consultation with our customers.

Company Guidance to Employees

Â鶹ԭ´´ has established a Global Pandemic Task force, working in tandem with local crisis teams and health authorities, to coordinate all efforts around the COVID-19 situation and provide guidance to Â鶹ԭ´´ staff.

Notable actions include but are not limited to:

• Asking all employees to work remotely as much as possible, and wherever possible, Â鶹ԭ´´ offices remain open.
• Initiating split-team options and select staff segregation for business-critical roles/functions.
• Announcing the cancellation or postponement of physical events planned for March and April, and evaluating which events will be delivered as a virtual experience.
• Restricting virtually all employee travel. Exceptions will be determined by Â鶹ԭ´´ management in consultation with our customers and in accordance with government regulations.
• Extending our mandate to conduct only business-critical travel through the end of April, which, as always, is subject to local regulatory guidance and restrictions.

In addition to the measures above, Â鶹ԭ´´ offers solutions that can differentiate and support businesses and individuals who are navigating disrupted supply chains and travel or exploring new ways of working as a result of the deepening effects of the coronavirus. You can learn more about these and other offerings here.

We realize these are uncertain times as the world navigates this pandemic. Â鶹ԭ´´ is fully committed to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our employees. This is our top priority in order to maintain the business continuity needed to provide the support and service our more than 440,000 customers rely on from Â鶹ԭ´´.

As this situation evolves, your Â鶹ԭ´´ account team will proactively reach out if there is additional support we can provide. In the meantime, if you have any further questions about Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s response to COVID-19, please contact your account professional.

Regards,
Steve Shute
Chief Operating Officer, Â鶹ԭ´´ Customer Success

This article first appeared on the Global News Centre.

The post Â鶹ԭ´´ Letter to Customers Regarding Business Continuity appeared first on Â鶹ԭ´´ Australia & New Zealand News Center.