The Makings of a Modern Federal Workspace

While the onset of widespread remote work was novel for a traditionally in-office federal workforce, the experience proved that virtual government work is not only possible, it may even be preferred. Whether you are commuting into Washington D.C. every day or sitting in the comforts of your own home, secure collaboration with colleagues shouldn't change. Federal workers are now armed with a virtual alternative, and inclusivity is at the forefront of this new format.

Now, as some federal agencies return to the office, they’re examining what processes can — and should — stay virtual or hybrid, and what tools are required to operationalize a flexible future for workers. 

To succeed in this next phase of work, federal agencies need solutions that create a flexible workspace for employees — connecting remote, in-person, on-the-go, and in-the-field workers all under one platform. That’s where Zoom Phone and Zoom Rooms come in.

When widespread remote work came into the mix, federal employees were suddenly without the inflexible phone systems omnipresent in an office environment. Now, agencies are trying to replicate the security and familiarity that comes with an on-premise phone solution without feeling tethered to an office. Federal workers in a remote or hybrid environment need a flexible, scalable, and secure phone solution.

Zoom Phone is a cloud telephony solution natively built for the Zoom for Government platform. Reliable, secure, and compliant with major standards and certifications, Zoom Phone streamlines the telecommunications experience with enterprise-class features on a unified platform that includes video and chat. These features include:

• Caller ID masking: If users need to remain mobile but don’t want to sacrifice the privacy of their personal phone number, they can choose to display caller ID as their direct number, a main office number, a call queue, or no caller ID at all. The Zoom mobile app gives Zoom Phone users their corporate phone number, voicemail, SMS, contacts, and more without the cost or inconvenience of a second device.
• Call queue: Managing a heavily trafficked line? Field incoming calls via the call queue feature, which helps you delegate administration across building, departments, and teams.
• Call recordings: Workers can use the call recording feature to keep track of communications that will need a government record.
• Support for analog telephony devices: Zoom Phone customers can directly integrate the technology with common analog devices like fax machines and existing hardware phones, as well as more complicated devices like overhead paging systems and even Sectera vIPer phones.

Zoom Phone users can make and receive phone calls, move a call to a video meeting without requiring participants to hang up or dial into a separate bridge, and send chat messages from Zoom desktop and mobile apps. 

Zoom Rooms powers collaboration-centered, video-enabled offices, conference rooms, and other workspaces that are fundamental for federal officials and employees to meet, work, and address today’s challenges together. This conference room system can help you tailor your modern federal workspace to the needs of your flexible workforce, customizing video-enabled spaces for when and where you have employees coming into the office.

Enabling an equitable meeting experience for a distributed workforce, Zoom Rooms helps connect the right officials, staffers, and policymakers from their offices, homes, and across the country. This reduces travel time limits or scheduling delays, enabling quicker consensus building. Zoom Rooms comes with our Smart Gallery feature, which leverages AI to send multiple video streams from each Zoom Room to improve the display of in-room participants. 

Zoom Rooms also come with free add-ons like Digital Signage and Scheduling Display. Digital Signage can help display announcements and information in federal buildings and organize committee or agency meetings, and Scheduling Display helps users view room availability and schedule new meetings.

Today’s federal workers require a workspace that creates the flexibility to work within any environment, whether that's at home, the office, or mix of the two. Zoom Phone and Zoom Rooms on the Zoom for Government platform enable seamless and secure communications, updating legacy processes and creating a people-centric workspace. 

Zoom for Government has been authorized at the FedRAMP Moderate Level. It has received Provisional Authorization (PA) from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) for the Department of Defense (DoD) at Impact Level 4 (IL4) and an Authorization to Operate (ATO) from the Department of the Air Force for conducting IL4 meetings. Zoom for Government also supports HIPAA, CJIS, and CMMC compliance requirements, and has achieved a StateRAMP Moderate authorization.

Learn more about Zoom for Government by visiting our webpage or find us on the FedRAMP Marketplace.

Editor’s note: This blog post was edited on Sept. 22, 2022 to include the most up to date information on Zoom for Government.