Communication in times of crisis

Microsoft’s Crisis Communication app helps you coordinate information about a crisis

As news of COVID-19 cases spread globally, Microsoft has pulled together a solution to help you coordinate your own information sharing and team collaboration in response to evolving conditions in times of crisis.

Today KPMG can help you with deploying this Crisis Communication app within your Office 365 environment.

What does the app do?

The Crisis Communication app provides a user-friendly experience to connect users with information about a crisis. Through the app you can quickly get updates on internal company news, answers to frequently asked questions and access to important information like links and emergency contacts. This app requires a small amount of setup to make it your own.

The platform, which combines Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, can be used via a web browser, mobile app or Teams to help your staff collaborate during a crisis.

Find the manual here >

The app allows your organization to update your employees with relevant real-time information through push notifications and to share information from organizations such as the World Health Organization or your local government.

As part of this effort, Microsoft is giving all Power Apps users temporary access to a premium feature, Power Apps Push Notifications, so you won't need any premium licenses to use Power Apps to push information to users. We have reclassified Push Notifications as a standard connector for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis.

Key features

Employees can report their work status (e.g., working from home) and make requests. This helps managers coordinate across their teams and helps central response teams track status across an organization.

Admins can use the app to push news, updates, and content specific to their organization and can provide emergency contacts specific to different locations.

The app includes the ability to add RSS feeds of up-to-date information from reputable sources such as the WHO or a local authority.

Benefits

Prerequisites

Sign up for Power Apps
You must have a valid SharePoint Online license and permission to create lists
You must have a public SharePoint site where you can store data for the app
Download the assets from aka.ms/CrisisCommunicationSolution.

Which licenses do I need to run this solution?

The client has an Office 365 environment up & running
KPMG will need an account on Office 365, in the case KPMG needs to assist in deploying the app
The customer can use either their existing Office 365 F1, E1, E3 or E5 licensing for this app.
E1 licensing is sufficient. Microsoft is offering a package available for temporary free E1 licensing during the timing of the crisis

Benjamin De Brabander

Director - Lead Enterprise Solutions

T: + 32 (0) 499 13 19 71

E: bdebrabander@kpmg.com

Kristof Kennes

Senior Manager - Microsoft Solutions

T: + 32 (0) 473 47 24 63

E: kkennes@kpmg.com