Lejeune supports The Virtual Association

Lejeune supports The Virtual Association

Since the start of the (intelligent) lockdowns in various European countries in March, many associations have wanted to postpone or cancel their meetings and gatherings. However, this is also the time that associations are crucial in addressing the challenges posed by the Covid-19 crisis collectively. Associations have therefore found their way to online meetings.

Experience

Over the past few years, Lejeune has gained a lot of experience with our international clients in the field of telephone and online conferencing as well as video conferencing. In response to the outbreak of the crisis, we have expanded our online meeting capacity, including a collective license for Zoom. In our experience, Zoom (founded by the same person who once developed what is now Cisco's Webex) offers superior functionality and bandwidth compared to other systems. Where systems like Microsoft Teams and Google Hangouts are part of integrated office software, Zoom is pre-eminently focused on video conferencing.

Risks revealed

Unfortunately, the exponential increase in the use of video conferencing for private and secondary education purposes has also revealed some risks. Mainly due to inexperience in usage because of newcomers who forwarded meeting links and did not properly shield access and rights to online sessions, participants who shared screenshots with meeting codes on the screen, or the entire content. There was also abuse by bored 'home school pupils' who shared their screen during lessons with inadmissible images. Being a market leader increases your vulnerability. As a result, IT departments and some professional business users also asked questions about privacy and data security. We are pleased with Zoom's quick and adequate response and with the security updates that have been implemented in the past week alone. The Lejeune employees were briefed on the latest updates and tips and tricks to prevent abuse via a Zoom meeting this week. See also this video.