Coronavirus Preparedness Resources
(last updated at 12 pm on Thursday, March 26)
CURRENT STATUS: We continue to take new orders for service, and prioritize those where there is an urgent need to support a business where people need to work remotely. An example would be a a business whose premise phone system does not support off-premise phones.
As an essential business under the metro’s Stay-At-Home order, Avid Communications will continue to operate. Our field teams will be able to support the establishment of teleworking operations for both new and existing customers. Emergency installations are available for businesses whose premise phone systems cannot support work-at-home.
We have invoked our emergency plan to have our own staff work remotely as much as possible, enabling us to maintain a safe “social distance” for everyone. For clients who need to pick up additional equipment (such as power supplies), our office is open, and equipment will be disinfected and placed in plastic bags in our lobby for pickup.
NOTE: Any phones or other equipment delivered to customer locations will be handled in our offices (during configuration) by employees wearing gloves and will be delivered by technicians wearing gloves AT ALL TIMES.
There are a number of ways that Avid Communications can help your business deal with the impact of the coronavirus and they fall into three basic categories:
- work from home (telecommuting)
- call routing changes
- ways to replace in-person meetings with online audio and video conferencing tools.
Please read our “Mitigating coronavirus disruptions” guidebook for more details about things we can help with.
One of the most important tools we can offer you is Accession Meeting
Accession meeting is a video conferencing service that is easy to use, powerful and has the same functionality as the best in class. And it fully integrates with your Avid services. Many of our customers are already using this as a substitute for face-to-face meetings. Here are some examples:
- Staff meetings
- Sales calls
- Training sessions
- Church services
You can use Accession Meeting both from a computer and from a mobile phone. The setup and usage guides can found here:
Desktop Accession Meeting User’s Guide
Mobile Accession Meeting Guide
Our sales team can do a remote demo of the service and then get you set up. Call us at (816) 994-7070 to get going.
User Guides
We’ve assembled a variety of User Guides that can help you set up, use and manage these services, and you can access them at links below. And don’t hesitate to call Avid at 816.994.7050 or email [email protected] for assistance.
- Administrator Guide to Reset User Password
Many of the services can be managed via the CommPortal web site that gives each user access to his or her services. The User Guides below begin with instructions on how to login to CommPortal, but each user will need their password to login. If they don’t know it, they can have Avid reset it, or the Administrator at their company can do it. The following guide shows the Administrator how to reset a user’s password. - User Guide to Forward Phone
A simple but very useful feature is the ability of a user to forward their line to a cellphone, home phone or any other number. Lines can be forwarded anywhere; it’s not limited to just Avid numbers. The line can be forwarded from anywhere using the CommPortal web browser, so they don’t have to be in the office to do so. - User Guide to Setting Up Softphone on Your Cellphone
Using the Accession Communicator mobile app, you can set up your cellphone (either iOS or Android) as your office phone. The app will use either your cellular data connection or a wifi connection to set up and receive phone calls (depending on the iOS Settings you choose for the Accession app). If your account has Accession enabled, you can use this guide to download and setup the app. If your company has not purchased Accession, please have your authorized company administrator call Avid to request that Accession be added (it’s an additional $2.50 per month per user). NOTE: Using the cellular data setting is our recommended approach, especially if you have an unlimited data plan. - User Guide to Setting Up Softphone on Your Computer
Very useful for telecommuting (work from home), the Accession Communicator application can serve as your office phone (commonly called a “softphone”) when running on a desktop or laptop computer, and will work anywhere you have. decent Internet connection. Some people use this as their main phone (replacing the actual phone on their desk) and others use it in addition to a physical desk phone. It can work well using your computer’s microphone and speakers, but many people choose to add a headset for better audio. This guide helps you set up the Accession program on your computer and provides a guide for basic usage. If your account already has Accession enabled, you can set it up immediately. If your company has not purchased Accession, please have your authorized company administrator call Avid to request that Accession be added.