Cheers to another year celebrating Eid el Fitr with our family and friends, let us all be thankful for our blessings, the food on our tables and our health.

Enjoy some pictures of our homemade dinners for this year’s Eid, nothing too fancy or elaborated, just our team trying to cook delicious food at home!

We all are facing similar circumstances of uncertainty, insecurity, and frustration amid the COVID-19 pandemic! We know that the worldwide economy is crumbling, people are being laid off, and businesses are cutting costs.

We, at Telnet, are not distant from those feelings, yet, we try to remain highly positive! You would wonder how? We live by Antoine Lavoisier quote “Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed”!

Let us both think about the above quote with few examples:

1. Our Digital Event Management Services: Telnet used to complement physical events by offering such services to event organizers, yet when the event industry got affected by Lebanon’s economic downturn, the demand for our online video conferencing management service has increased in the past few months.

2. Computer rental: we thought our computer rental business would struggle amid Lebanon’s banking crisis and currency fluctuations, yet with the Covid-19 stay-home strategy, users are opting for rental as it became harder to actually buy new computers.

3. Internet support: the need for our internet support and troubleshooting services has increased; we are assisting consumers to stay connected with their loved ones and businesses with their partners.

Some may think with worldwide layoffs and people ending up living off their savings that we are entering an unknown phase in history, but the fact is, that new business models are emerging, skill sets are changing, and there is a chance for people to adapt! All it needs is a will, the will to sit back and to clearly think about new opportunities. There will always be enough job openings, remember that nothing is lost, nothing is created, but everything is transformed!

It is an inevitable part of life that whenever one side loses, the other wins. After all, there is that hidden balance that keeps things in such a beautiful ecosystem in equilibrium.

Let’s take today the 15th of May 2020 as an example, humans around the world are still struggling with a new lifestyle amid COVID-19, a tiny virus that forced mankind to be locked down at home, businesses to shut down, and social distancing to become the new norm. More than 90 days have passed and yet no pharmaceutical nor medical corporation was able to find a potential vaccine or cure for this pandemic.

With this new reality, businesses were forced to shift their day to day activities online, using online communication tools to coordinate, collaborate, conduct meetings, and conferences. Critical decisions that were taken in closed, highly secured meeting rooms, are now done online; governments around the globe are adopting Live Video Conferencing platforms to discuss the possible solutions to maintain their societies financially, socially, and economically.

Maybe it is gone the days of physical contacts, handshakes, and business cards exchanges, and indeed, virtual meetings have laid their foundations.

A challenge has begun between physical and virtual, who do you think would win? Will leave you with the following thoughts:

1. Today, more than 15 virtual meeting software exist in affordable packages such as: Zoom, On24, WebinarJam, Demio, GoToMeetings, and more

2. Cost of conducting a conference via an online platform compared to physical ones is almost one-fourth.

3. Do you really want to risk your health and the health of your family by jetting around the world to attend events, conferences, and seminars?

4. Aren’t we all cutting costs of operations, sales, marketing and management after the crippling effects of lock-down across the globe?

5. Is it worth investing in exhibitions, trade shows and physical events? How many times the return on investment of such events were insignificant?

Think about it. Change, such as the one we are witnessing today, could be inevitable, but results are for sure positive.

With the COVID-19 lockdown reaching two months, a new lifestyle is emerging and seems to last for quite some time apparently; it all revolves around social distancing, face masks, gloves, and hand sanitizers… Everyone is responsible for his own safety and the safety of others!

This week, as per the Lebanese government directions, we resumed working from office with the minimum operational staff. Heading back to our chairs and desks seemed strange with all the additional gears and restrictions; keeping safe distance among employees, no handshakes, spraying sanitizers all over the place, wearing masks and gloves, and conducting e-meetings with prospects and clients! A big change from how we used to do things before.

Many of our employees opted to continue working from home, a fact that not only Telnet will have to accept but all companies across the world will have to incorporate within their business models. Will flexible working be the new norm everywhere finally? Maybe yes. After all, it seems that such a model helps in reducing business, personal and social burdens. At the end, we are less commuting, less using our cars, which means less petrol consumption, less pollution, less impact on the environment, less expenses, and much more. Maybe, after all, our earth needed to breathe again and we, humans, needed to shift focus on what is most important in life; how to manage effectively without hurting our beautiful planet, and others...

Keep safe, stay home!