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Max & BIT - Secure video calling within WordPress with Jitsi
12-02-2021 12:42:48
Video calling has become a normal part of our work life in 2020. Without batting an eyelid, you dive into the next Zoom call or Skype meeting. But where do all those video images end up? And who owns your data? Sometimes, it turns out, they end up in the wrong hands. For example, Zoom sent data to Facebook and Skype did not encrypt the data they collected for the purpose of improving their products.
These kinds of practices are certainly not good for the privacy of citizens, but they are out of the question for a political party like the PvdA (which we will call the Labour Party from here on in). Their 400 departments must be able to communicate securely at all times and for that reason they were looking for a safe, open source alternative.
Safe video calling via WordPress
The Dutch Labour Party came across Jitsi. Jitsi is an open source video conferencing platform with many integration options for WordPress. For the Labour Party this was hitting two birds with one stone, because Jitsi could be used within the already standing platform, 'My PvdA'. This platform was developed by Internet agency Max, who also built the main website, and all local branches of it, using the well-known WordPress.
An online consultation platform, with its own virtual space for each Labour Party department, obviously must be solid as a rock. Because, while the world may have come to a standstill due to the pandemic, the
political work at the Labour Party never stopped. This is how the new collaboration between BIT and Internet agency Max came about - because BIT offers with their private hosted Jitsi, hosted within an ISO 27001 and NEN 7510 certified data center, a service that even all departments of the Labour Party will have to be able to use simultaneously.
Christiaan Brans of BIT explains: “BIT provides secure hosting and management of Jitsi and it is great that, by collaborating with Internet agency Max, we can now integrate this directly into WordPress. Video
calling has proven to be of great value this past year and that is something that is not going to change any time soon."
“BIT provides secure hosting and management of Jitsi and it is great that, by collaborating with Internet agency Max, we can now integrate this directly into WordPress. Video calling has proven to be of great value this past year and that is something that is not going to change any time soon."
All systems in sync
For a system that can do so much, Jitsi is still easy for the end user to use via WordPress. Because by integrating Jitsi within existing systems, everything is within reach. Labour Party members log in to 'My
PvdA' and immediately see current meetings or upcoming appointments and guests are also easily invited.
Floris van Trier, strategic data manager at the Labour Party is impressed: “We have more than 400 virtual rooms based on our existing logins, for all members of the party. They can now easily and safely
come into contact with each other. All this without sharing data with major tech giants.”
“We have more than 400 virtual rooms based on our existing logins, for all members of the party. They can now easily and safely come into contact with each other. All this without sharing data with major tech giants.”
The benefits of Jitsi
Hosting a private Jitsi environment, directly integrated into WordPress has many advantages:
- Safe & Trusted - Users work within their trusted environment, systems such as 'My PvdA'.
- Easy authentication - For the virtual rooms, users can be assigned fixed roles, such as moderator or guest.
- All the benefits of Jitsi - Integrated into WordPress, Jitsi is as powerful as it is as a separate instance. It is open source, has no license costs and is easy to integrate due to it being public technology.
A Jitsi integration like this can be used for many different purposes and thus immediately offer ease of use. Consider, for example, how easy it is to organize virtual parent evenings for large school communities. Or how simple calling health care patients suddenly becomes with Jitsi via WordPress. Users no longer need to open a separate tool and can participate via desktop or mobile.
This way, everyone within your organisation can enjoy all the advantages that video calling brings today, without the disadvantages of unclear privacy terms or high costs.
Do you want to know more about a Jitsi integration within WordPress?
Please feel free to contact us or request a quote. We are happy to find a suitable solution for your organisation.
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