United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with agile solutions to support the UN family, through various services and engagements.
UNICC has also quickly invoked its own business continuity plans so as to fully support, with 100% of its staff teleworking, its Clients and Partner Organizations without missing a single beat.
UNICC has stepped up efforts throughout the crisis to support all managed and shared services, delivering ongoing projects and helping with a significant increase in workload for our Clients.
This includes ensuring that teleworking tools and platforms can sustain an increased number of simultaneous users.
Here are some highlighted support activities across the UNICC services spectrum.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning
UNICC has quickly responded to Client needs during the COVID-19 pandemic with its Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning services, from enterprise and infrastructure controls, remote telecommunications capabilities and scaling and fit-for-purpose user ICT needs around organizational teleworking.
Read the story: Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning
Crisis Communications App
The Microsoft-powered Crisis Communications app provides emergency notifications, geolocation, information gathering and sharing capabilities for crisis management and communications.
Read the story: COVID-19 Support – UNICC’s Crisis Communications App
UN Digital Academy
The UN Digital Academy offers UN Agencies a centralized learning platform to provide digital and technology skills and capabilities to their staff and stakeholders, leveraging their tech investments with innovative productivity tools.
Read the story: UN Digital Academy – A New UNICC Service for UN Digital Literacy
Enterprise Notification System
UNICC’s Enterprise Notification System (ENS) is a communications service that allows Clients and Partner Organizations to connect with their personnel at any time and in any place. This enterprise tool delivers efficient two-way communications to employees during emergencies and unplanned disruptions.
Read the story: Enterprise Notification System, a Tool for Emergency Updates
Cyber Health Precautions
UNICC has been sharing best practices for remote conferencing and for cybersecurity health with its Clients and Partner organizations, through messaging and communications as well as through its Common Secure Threat Intel Network service.
Read the story: UNICC Security Services Provide Tips on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cyber Health Precautions
Secure Virtual Conferencing
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced individuals and organizations to rapidly adapt to an environment where the default mode of communications is virtual. Remote conferencing services have experienced a huge increase in customers as a result. While remote conferencing services are meeting an important societal demand, the surge in popularity has led to increased scrutiny from the security community as well as from malicious threat actors. UNICC’s Common Secure team shares best practices for secure virtual conferencing.
Read the story: UNICC Shares Best Practices for Secure Conferencing Services
UNDP Crisis Bureau Analytics Support
UNICC’s Data and Analytics unit worked with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau to build and deliver in record time a data warehouse solution that sources information from various data sets displaying it in mapping visualization dashboards for early warning and response to the COVID-19 crisis in support of national partners.
Read the story: UNICC Provides Analytics Support to UNDP’s Crisis Bureau for Assessment and Response to COVID-19
3D-Printed Masks for Hospitals
Technology and creativity are always good allies for solving problems. Now, in times of crisis, some UNICC colleagues are leveraging resources and skills and using a bit of imagination to help in the best way they can. Antonio Angelotti, a Service Desk Technician at UNICC, used his 3D printer to produce masks and valves to be used in hospitals.
Read the story: 3D-Printed Masks for Hospitals – UNICC Support for COVID-19 Pandemic Response
Jambo Phone Book App
To facilitate cooperation, especially given the outbreak of COVID-19 with millions of people working remotely from their homes, UNICC has developed for the UN Digital Solutions Centre (UN DSC) a phone book app enabling colleagues from across UN Agencies to find and contact each other.
Read the story: UN DSC and UNICC Deliver Jambo, an Inter-Agency Phone Book App
Business Continuity Planning Webinar for IT Professionals
The British Columbia and National chapters of the Canadian Association of IT Professionals (CIPS) have been hosting a series of webinars on the effects of COVID-19. UNICC’s Lyle McFadyen was invited to present for their first virtual webinar of the series, entitled “COVID-19 Pandemic Overview”.
Read the story: UNICC Presents at Canadian Association of IT Professionals on Business Continuity Planning and COVID-19
Cyber Health Precautions
UNICC has been sharing best practices for remote conferencing and for cybersecurity health with its Clients and Partner organizations, through messaging and communications as well as through its Common Secure Threat Intel Network service.
Read the story: UNICC Security Services Provide Tips on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cyber Health Precautions
Digital Democracy
The Inter-Parliamentary Union brought has brought digital democracy to life during these tough times, conducting a secure and confidential virtual election. UNICC Performed the role of independent auditor for online voting.
Read the story: Inter-Parliamentary Union Brings Democracy to Life
eSignature
While digital transformations unfold around the UN at a record pace, why are signatories out to capture signatures the analogue way? UNICC provides Electronic Signature that guarantees validity of signatures, increases efficiency and reduces errors and risk.
Read the story: Getting it Done, One Signature at a Time
Safe Cities for Women Thinkathon
UN Women and UNICC sponsor a Safe Cities for Women Thinkathon on how digital technologies could make the metropolitan area of the city of Guadalajara, in Jalisco, Mexico, safe for women and girls during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.
Read the story: UN Women and UNICC Sponsor a Safe Cities for Women Thinkathon
Cloud Telephony
Many UN Agencies are transitioning from conventional telephony systems to cloud-based solutions and UNICC is supporting several Clients with customized solutions that help organizations get the best return on investment.
Read the story: UN Agencies Transition to Cloud-based Telephony
PAHO Bots
PAHO has added two acquisitions technicians to their Procurement and Supply Management team who can work 24/7 to support the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. Mia and Max are PAHO’s first ever bots, developed at UNICC’s Robotic Process Automation Centre of Excellence.
Read the story: PAHO Welcomes Mia and Max, Their First ‘Digital Workers’