Comcast Business has sweetened the pot for its customers to use Amazon Web Services' video conferencing capabilities by extending a free trial.
Comcast Business customers in the U.S. can take Amazon Web Services' Amazon Chime video conferencing platform for a free trial spin until Oct. 31. Customers who sign up through Comcast Business can tap into Amazon Chime Pro, which is an enterprise-grade communications service.
With millions of employees working remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, video conferencing platform and collaboration tools have been become essential for keeping workforces connected. Similar to Zoom or Microsoft Teams, Amazon Chime enables video conferencing, screen sharing, chat and collaboration from a single application.
Comcast Business customers can add Amazon Chime to their existing communications services while maintaining a single supplier and bill. Businesses that want to take part in the free trial don't need an AWS account or a credit card, nor do they need to be a Comcast Business subscriber to be eligible.
“At Comcast Business, we understand many businesses are still working outside of their offices and may not have access to high-quality, affordable video conferencing and collaboration tools. By offering Amazon Chime directly through Comcast Business, and extending a free trial of Amazon Chime Pro, we’re making it easier for businesses to stay connected and collaborate while their employees work remotely,” said John Guillaume, chief design officer, Comcast Business, in a statement. “Comcast Business is dedicated to providing the technology, tools, and resources needed to help businesses not just bounce back but bounce forward. Our collaboration with AWS further illustrates this deep commitment.”
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Due to shelter in place policies, small businesses in particular were hit hard over the past five months by the coronavirus pandemic with a large number of them unable to re-open once restrictions were lifted.
“At AWS, we want everyone to have access to Amazon Chime and we recognize that for some of our small and medium-sized business customers, working through an existing communications provider like Comcast Business can be an easy way for them to begin using Amazon Chime. Businesses simply sign up with an email and password, invite colleagues to the team, then collaborate,” said Sid Rao, the general manager Amazon Chime, in a statement. “Enterprise customers of all sizes depend on Amazon Chime as their communications service for video conferencing, chat, and collaboration, and we are excited to share its capabilities to help businesses collaborate with teams inside and outside their organizations.”
Last month AWS and Slack announced a partnership that integrated Amazon Chime with Slack’s channel-based messaging platform.