Category: Cloud

What Does “Rise Of Everything-as-a-Service” (XaaS) Mean For The CXOs In 2019?

December 14, 2018

Businesses have long toyed with subscription-based models to access and deliver their services and products. Internet-enabled technologies have helped businesses to manage operations, and bring scalable solutions and tangible products to end users, both B2B and B2C, in increasingly flexible patterns. When these disparate services are delivered via cloud on subscription-based models, they are often described as Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS) or Anything as a Service. XaaS has necessitated a paradigm shift among C-level executives. In this article, let us take a look at what XaaS is, and what CXOs need to know about it in 2019 and beyond. We expect decision-makers to adopt a two-pronged approach, in which they use XaaS to run their businesses, and also deliver their own products and services via XaaS to their markets. Understanding the growth of Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS) While the as-a-service model started with SaaS, it quickly branched out beyond Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service as well. XaaS is a simpler way to describe technologies that are delivered over the internet to businesses.  XaaS’s nomenclature does not lie simply in its convenience of verbal use. According to a Deloitte survey, 71% of 1,170 IT professionals admit that XaaS supports more than 50% of enterprise IT requirements. During 2017 and 2018, Gartner predicted SaaS to grow at 21.6 percent and PaaS to grow at 24.6%. The most astonishing growth was to be seen in the Infrastructure-as-a-Service sector, growing at 36.6% per annum. Many solutions that were previously delivered onsite can now be delivered over the cloud. It is these technologies that are collectively called as XaaS. It must be noted that it is increasingly common to deliver tangible services and products on an as-a-service model as well. Evolution of XaaS and its future In the last couple of years, Google, Amazon, Citrix, and others have made Database Platform as a Service (dbPaaS), Function as a Service (FaaS), and Containers as a Service (CaaS) very popular. These specialized solutions have helped enterprises to access technologies that were virtually inaccessible. We are moving towards a situation where anything can be delivered as a service. In the past few years, we have seen these solutions offered by enterprising companies: Analytics as a Service Backup as a Service Content as a Service Energy Storage as a Service Games as a Service Knowledge as a Service Humans as a Service (temporary and permanent staffing solutions) Monitoring as a Service A Robot as a Service Testing as a Service Virtualization as a Service Here are some important services that we expect to gain traction in 2019: Storage as a Service (STaaS): The demand for storing files, data, and libraries will increase exponentially, necessitating specialized storage services. These shall be delivered via Storage as a Service and will include S3 compatible storage solutions. Security as a service (SECaaS): The growing need to comply with GDPR, HIPAA, and other regulatory bodies will ensure the growth of SECaaS. CloudFlare, Cloudbric, and Incapsula are some examples of this model. Disaster Recovery as a service (DRaaS): With DDoS and other threats becoming apparent in 2018, more enterprises will focus on disaster recovery solutions. Millions have been spent on recovering from different kinds of disasters that there is now an entirely new branch of XaaS called DRaaS. This is an area that will grow quickly. AI as a service (AIaaS): With the importance of chatbots and other AI-related functions increasing, there will be a growing need for AI-based solutions delivered over cloud. Some examples include Azure ML, Amazon ML, and Lambda Labs. Payments as a Service (PaaS): Banks and financial institutions are particularly excited about Payments as a Service, as a European bank estimated that costs can be reduced by 60% by eliminating the need to invest in payments hardware and software, their maintenance and teams. Proof of Concept as a Service (POCaaS): Most businesses stop at an initial vision, and rarely move past that, resulting in delayed achievements and growth. Proof of concept solutions helps enterprises to envision their goals and make their visions more tangible. Proofs of concept are delivered as a service too and will see growth. What are the benefits of XaaS? As-a-service models provide users with scalability and the promise of maintenance. Here are some clear benefits of choosing XaaS: As there is no purchase involved, but only a subscription to a service, costs incurred are only a fraction of purchasing an entire service or product. Downgrading and upgrading are easy, as XaaS enables both horizontal and vertical scaling. Maintenance, upgrading, and service delivery are done by the vendor or provider. If you are the service provider, you can expect regular cash flow. As-a-service models catalyze the development of new products and services, which is good for both consumers and businesses. Attending to marketing situations can be quick and razor-sharp. It is easy to combine different as-a-service solutions to create a custom solution that works for each organization. Let us take a look at two use cases to see how XaaS helped them. Use Case 1 A cocktail of cloud services help marketing agency to focus on creative projects Problem: A marketing agency faced difficulties sustaining its projects due to paucities in enterprise IT. Solution: It chose to purchase CRM and HRMS subscriptions on the SaaS model, while Storage as a service (STaaS) helped it to safeguard important files related to projects. Security as a service (SECaaS) helped it to assure its clients that all data would remain confidential. To manage its marketing projects and deliver better services to its clients, the company picked solutions from Video as a Service (VaaS), AI as a Service (AIaaS), and Proof of Concept as a Service (PoCaaS). Results: The agency was able to manage its projects in an agile manner, and focus on its own creativity rather than on technology. Use Case 2 Restaurant enters a difficult market, wins customers’ hearts Problem: A newly launched restaurant found it difficult to manage its operations and grow its customer base in a difficult market. Adopting a XaaS approach

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Growing Potential of Voice Search and Its Implication for Your Business

October 10, 2018

A ComScore estimate recently suggested that by 2020, 50% of searches will be voice-based. To further support that claim, 40% of adults already used voice-based search back in 2016. By the end of 2018, it is not really about why you should implement voice search, but how quickly you can do it. Web browsing is more personalized than ever, and Google has been at the forefront of bringing individualized web browsing experience to its users, including an emphasis on voice search. Google’s Voice Search has necessitated businesses to take voice search seriously and to implement it as quickly as possible. In this article, let us take a look at the implications of voice search on businesses and what you can do it stay ahead in the race. A growing number of people use voice search to find businesses By 2020, the number of people who will use voice search in the US will shoot to 21.4 million, according to Activate. Unfortunately, most businesses are not prepared for the increasing number of voice queries. Business implications: Technologies such as Siri and Google Voice Search learn to recognize keywords and voice commands by using natural language processing. Over time, these technologies learn users’ unique characteristics of voice, how they speak, their behavioral patterns, and even browsing interests. Businesses that are not ready to handle these hyper-personalized voice-based search queries will lose out in the long term. What you should do: Audit your current strategy and ensure that you focus on long-tailed keyword phrases most-likely used by your target audience. Brainstorm new keyword targets, and try to provide the best answer for each possible query. People type keywords but speak out conversational keywords While people type keywords to look for information on browsers, the way they search via voice is different. Search queries tend to be more conversational, and entire sentences or questions are spoken out during voice search. Business implications: Voice search reflects how people really speak a certain language. Their queries tend to reflect real-life usage of a language and thus, keywords tend to be conversational and long-tail+. Long-tail+ indicates that long-tail keywords need to be optimized for conversational queries. Older keywords that are shorter will not be acceptable for voice search optimization. What you should do: Your keyword strategy should be conversational and should mimic the way people talk in real life. Imagine scenarios in which people might search for services and products your business might offer. Document and record queries that your customer service representatives frequently encounter when they speak to customers. Shortlist long-tail+ key phrases and create content pages that focus on these shortlisted key phrases. Increasing requests for specific information As Siri, Google Voice Search and other tools get smarter, people will continue to seek specific information via voice search. Generic web content will not rank very highly in voice search results. Business implications: As discussed above, people tend to speak out sentences or ask questions in a conversational manner when they search for information. Specificity of search queries will render previous content and SEO strategies quite redundant. What you should do: Optimize your Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to reflect long tail and conversational keyword phrases. Natural sounding questions and answers on your FAQ page will tackle hyper-specific queries better. Apply correct schemas and use structured data markup to optimize your web content for voice search devices. Voice search is contributing to queries in the vernacular tongue Most voice searches tend to be local in nature, such as “Where to get the best coffee in Wickham” In addition, local search in vernacular languages other than English will constitute a large number of search queries. Business implication: If you do not optimize your content for local search queries, and if you do not take vernacular languages into account, you may lose out on a number of voice search queries. Most web users will tend to speak English in their vernacular accent or dialect, and they may even use languages other than English, depending on where your business is located. What you should do: Ensure that you claim your Google My Business listing, and enter your phone number, business hours, address, and business description. This helps in your business showing up when someone makes a voice search query. Secondly, optimize your content to suit local languages and dialects, and focus on local SEO. Voice searches mostly come from mobile devices While people prefer to type on their laptops or desktops, they tend to speak to their mobile devices, thanks to improved voice recognition technology. Google Assistant is currently available on more than 400 million devices, most of which are mobile. Business implications: Not being prepared for voice queries emanating from mobile devices can have real consequences on a business’ revenue. If your business is not mobile-optimized, and if the content is not optimized for voice queries, you may lose out on traffic arriving from mobile devices via voice search. What you should do: To begin with, make sure that your website is mobile responsive, and optimize your website for mobile queries. Improve overall user experience on mobile browsers such as fixing slow loading pages, making sure that videos can be played in full-screen when a user holds their smartphone horizontally and reducing the number of interstitials. A few points to remember Voice search is getting more popular than ever, and businesses need to change their current SEO strategy to include voice search. It is important to remember that voice queries tend to be conversational in nature and employ natural language. As the use of natural language results in more specific queries, optimizing FAQ pages with long-tailed keywords is important. In addition, voice search tends to be local and vernacular in nature, which necessitates local SEO, and content optimized for local visitors. Finally, it helps to optimize websites for a rich mobile experience as most voice searches come from mobile devices. If you need assistance implementing voice search strategies, contact us today.

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Implementing Machine Learning Strategies for Business Success

October 10, 2018

With each passing day, machine learning’s business implications are becoming clearer. Machine learning is a branch of artificial learning in which systems identify patterns from data, learn from insights, and make autonomous decisions with very little human intervention. As the number of smart devices connected to internet increase, so will the data generated by them. This deluge of data is also known as Big Data, and machine learning applies complex algorithms to understand patterns in Big Data to make decisions. Machine learning can provide real-time insights based on data, giving businesses a competitive edge over their peers. In this article, let us take a look at how machine learning is going to influence businesses across the spectrum. Where is machine learning used? Currently, machine learning is being used across industry verticals for business success. Here are some examples: In the media, machine learning is used to personalize content and to make recommendations, predict paywall price, and to optimize layouts. In marketing, data insights can be used to make upsell forecasts and churn predictions, while it can also help in lead scoring. Machine learning also assists in making KPI predictions such as CLV (customer lifetime value). The eCommerce industry has begun to use machine learning to promote products in a targeted manner. The retail industry, on the other hand, uses machine learning to make predictions related to inventory and store layout. Financial services use machine learning to predict churn rate and to reduce it. It is also used to predict loan outcomes and identify risky customer behavior patterns. Three scenarios in which you can implement machine learning immediately Make better sales forecasts, improve marketing campaigns, and enhance customer satisfaction You can start using machine learning to consume and analyze data from unlimited sources. You can also rapidly process analyses and make predictions related to sales and marketing campaigns. In addition, you can use machine learning tools to evaluate past behaviors of customers. According to Forbes, 84% of marketing organizations currently use some form of machine learning or AI to enhance their services. Use cases Example 1: Azure Machine Learning can be used to analyze customer churn and minimize it as well. This is more cost-effective than other traditional and time-consuming methods to minimize customer churn. Interactive Pricing Analytics Pre-Configured Solution (PCS) is a Microsoft Azure machine learning solution that helps to determine the pricing elasticity of every product that you may sell. In other words, this tool can be used to offer contextually relevant pricing. Example 2: Salesforce Einstein is a great example of what machine learning and AI can do to enhance existing CRM solutions. Salesforce Einstein can be used to implement predictive lead scoring, and the tool looks at various demographic and behavioral data sets. It can also help recommend products to your customers based on their interests, and to cross-sell and up-sell products more effectively. Offer predictive maintenance and avoid downtime Most businesses rely on corrective maintenance to fix machines and applications. Corrective maintenance requires one to wait until an issue arises, but the costs in downtime, unscheduled maintenance requirements, and labor can increase the overall expenditure exponentially. Some businesses have begun to use preventive maintenance, which urges customers (and their own staff) to replace spare parts regularly or to ensure certain security and upgrading protocols for software tools. Even scheduled downtime and under-utilization of spares before their full lifetime can result in unnecessary losses. Machine learning helps businesses to undertake predictive maintenance at the right time, whether onsite or for customers. It is the smartest way to ensure that equipment and systems are used to their full lifetime and that problems are identified before they cause issues. You can implement predictive maintenance to reduce over-corrective maintenance, scheduled downtime, and labor costs by analyzing user data and identifying when interventions need to be taken. Specific benefits include: Detecting anomalies in system performance or in equipment Predict when an asset may fail Estimate how long an asset may remain useful Recognize the reasons for an asset’s failure Recognize what steps need to be taken to offer maintenance support to Azure Machine Learning and Microsoft Azure AI platform can help in the predictive maintenance of both onsite infrastructures and provide support for customers. Detect fraud and enhance security An important function of machine learning in businesses is to detect fraud and enhance security. Machine learning technology can be used to manage portfolios, engage in algorithmic trading, underwrite loans, and detect financial fraud. Here are a few ways you can implement machine learning to enhance security: eCommerce websites can make use of machine learning to prevent credit card fraud. Create real-time behavioral profiles that interpret the actions of customers, merchants, individuals, and other entities. Supervised machine learning that uses algorithms to detect fraud after having “learned” from innumerable examples of fraudulent and legitimate transactions. Supervised machine learning can only detect fraudulent activity that has taken place previously, and thus, unsupervised machine learning is the next step. This self-learning algorithm predicts fraud and by detecting outlier behavior and transactions. Adaptive analytics helps machine learning models to continuously learn from feedback. These models can be used to detect spam and thwart IT security threats as well. For example, PayPal uses an open-source based homegrown AI and ML engine to detect fraud. After implementing this model, PayPal reduced fraud by 50%. Implementing machine learning in your business Before you implement a machine learning model, follow these steps for a customized solution: Recognize the problems which machine learning will solve Identify the data sets that will help the machine learning model to solve a problem Determine which machine learning platform you will use to build your custom model Consult a data engineer or determine yourself how you will stream data into the machine learning platform Build or choose the right machine learning model to address your issues Continuously test and adjust the model Machine learning does something for every business With proper planning, you can implement machine learning to enhance sales and marketing campaigns, make

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Five Ways to Transform Your Business through Right Digital Infrastructure

September 4, 2018

While most businesses have adopted digital infrastructure to some extent, many still do not have a holistic plan to transform their business using the right digital infrastructure. Studies show that most businesses tend to retain legacy tools while implementing the digital strategy, and what really happens is, there is a complete mismatch between digital and non-digital, leading to subpar organizational performance. In result, companies see results that are satisfying in some areas, while creating new risks and liabilities in others. Businesses need to have a 5-pronged approach towards digital infrastructure. This will help look at their entire business infrastructure as a single entity and build a strategy around it. In fact, the right strategy will help your business to transform itself into a lean and uber-efficient machine that can give your competitors a run for their money. Most importantly, having a digital strategy will help you to focus better on your business and enter new avenues. In this article, we describe our 5-pronged approach to make use of digital infrastructure in the right way and optimize your business to achieve new heights. Evaluate existing hardware and go for a major upgrade One of the first things you need to do in order to assess your hardware situation is to examine how your network infrastructure is. Network infrastructure includes both software and hardware components and is an integral part of IT infrastructure. For your software components to work efficiently, your enterprise network needs to be top notch. Evaluate existing routers, operating systems, network security applications, network operations, IP addressing, wireless protocols, etc. At the same time, evaluate data centers as well, as most businesses use subpar services which are often exorbitant. Consider seeking an external vendor’s help in choosing the right data center for your business requirements. To transform your business using the right data center, begin with creating a strategy. Implementing agile IT organization is crucial to this process, as is virtualization and cloud. Intel’s whitepaper recommends evaluating aging infrastructure by computing various metrics and KPIs. Please bear in mind that agile infrastructure can either be virtualized or nonvirtualized, and this solely depends on your organizational requirements. Nevertheless, virtualization is key to having a successful cloud strategy, which we shall discuss next. Move to the cloud whenever possible Today, you can practically move every legacy technology to the cloud and reap the benefits of reduced costs, increased efficiency, and access to technology which you previously didn’t have. Software as a Service (SaaS) helps you to access and use software programs which were probably out of reach for you if you are a small business. If you are a large business, SaaS is equally important to reduce dependency on physical infrastructure and keep your business agile and scalable. SaaS models offer pay-as-you-go schemes, which allow businesses of all sizes to scale or downscale depending on their situation. In addition, the cloud can also help you to access infrastructure via the cloud. Storage, data centers, and even networks can be used on an infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model. Cloud computing helps businesses to eliminate organizational flab and grow lean and agile. If you are a service provider yourself, consider using PaaS (platform as a Service), which helps you to develop new applications and tools on cloud-based platforms, instead of having to invest in expensive platforms. In short, cloud computing provides the technological impetus required to make your business grow quickly. Integrate what you can With more businesses using tools to automate processes, ERP, CRM, and HRMS tools are almost an integral part of every successful business. However, they create unique problems of duplicate entries, repetitive manual exchange of information, and a continued lack of coordination between departments. Integrating these tools using available APIs is a popular method to reduce duplicate entries and increase automation. Most importantly, data can be shared between integrated tools, leading to richer insight and more accurate predictions. If you have an eCommerce business, for instance, you can integrate your ERP with your CRM, so that purchases made by customers online is immediately reflected the inventory department, which can replenish stocks automatically. The possibilities are endless, and such a heightened level of coordination is only possible when you integrate software tools. Before you decide to integrate, make sure that you have an integration strategy, and that you have spoken to vendors who will be able to do it for you efficiently. Integration strategy also involves training your staff so that they use the new interface effectively. In addition, you will also have to account in for security-related ramifications. Implement Internet of Things, Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence These may seem like disparate terms often used by IT honchos, but they are very important for businesses of all sizes. IoT, or Internet of Things, uses sensors embedded in devices to intelligently communicate with servers and perform functions that ordinary devices cannot. These can further be connected to smartphones so that device-users have more control over how they interact with it. In a business perspective, sales and marketing teams can use IoT-enabled devices during promotional events, while logistics and product-handlers can use IoT enabled product tracking. Blockchain is another digital technology which can help businesses immensely. You can use smart contracts to ensure security, and distributed ledgers allow you to process transactions in a safe and secure manner. Blockchain has a number of applications for businesses, right from identity verification to automated approvals. Artificial intelligence is another emerging technology that has now become mainstream for business use. Regardless of the size of your company, you can use AI-enabled chatbots for customer service, social media management, and certain marketing tasks. These technologies are accessible, affordable, and easy to implement. Businesses only need to decide to embrace them before their competitor does. Focus on digital governance and security To ensure business success, it is not enough to have the best infrastructure in place. Digital infrastructure’s success depends on how secure it is against various kinds of threats, and how wisely you are

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The Accelerator of Growth – Sales Automation

August 24, 2018

Globally, the sales team is crucial in helping businesses succeed and it is often the duty of top-level executives to breathe life into sales teams. Sales teams are often pressurized to identify and gather leads, make contact, manage opportunities and leads, convert them to sales, and prepare sales reports. In between these dreary-sounding tasks, they also need to make calls, write emails, answer queries and engage in a lot of repetitive manual tasks. In fact, across North America and Europe, manual and repetitive tasks take up sales teams’ time much more than actual core sales activities, which leads to reduced sales and conversion rates. Sales automation helps fix this problem and gives your sales team their mojo back. It helps them to get back on track and plan strategies and implement them, instead of writing repetitive reports. In this article, let us take a look at what sales automation is, and how it accelerates your business growth. What is the sales automation? Sales automation is a software tool that helps your business to automate repetitive tasks such as documentation, sending emails, controlling inventory, pricing, and contract management. It often comes as a part of your CRM or can also be purchased separately, if you want a specialized tool. It helps to reduce the burden on your sales team by automating repetitive and manual tasks so that they can focus on core sales activities. In result, your sales team finds it easier to nurture leads, to interact with them, and to help convert them into customers. The reduced time and effort leads to increased productivity at work, and of course, sales automation has a number of other advantages too. Here are its basic features: Close deals easily: Sales automation helps you to close more deals quickly. You can automate content management, collaboration, and use marketing tools that will help you to find leads as well. It is not a surprise that most businesses use sales automation to manage contacts and accounts and to manage sales opportunities. Find more leads: Sales automation also helps you to find more leads. you can track how well your marketing campaigns are doing, and access sales data on demand. This helps you to send out reports to decision makers quickly so that territories can be planned and campaigns can be launched instantly. Enhance productivity: Most sales automation tools are available on mobile devices, and you can perform sales activities while on the go. You can close deals while on the train or while waiting for your business lunch at a cafe. In other words, sales automation helps you to accelerate productivity. You can easily share files, sync data, and access visual workflows. All business processes can be automated using drag and drop features within a mobile app. Make informed decisions: Most importantly, sales automation tools help you to make informed decisions at the right time. You gain access to reports and dashboards from wherever you are, and accessing sales forecasting gets just as easy as well. With real-time access to your team’s forecasts, mailing to and fro and intra-departmental squabbles are a thing of the past. How sales automation accelerates growth In this section of the article, let us take a look at how sales automation accelerates growth and quickly improves your teams’ productivity as well. Identify your customers Sales departments spend a lot of time trying to identify who could be potential leads and customers. The more time they spend on identifying customers, the less time they can actually use to make contact with them. Sales automation helps identify customers and leads quickly using various metrics. This helps sales teams to quickly make contact and engage in actual sales activity to urge the customer to make a purchase. Businesses often waste considerable temporal and financial resources on customer identification and with a good CRM, that can simply be automated. Access customer information There is little wisdom in developing a sales strategy if we do not understand what the customers want. Knowing how the customers think, where they come from, and what their demographic tends to do are more important than blindly developing sales campaigns. Sales automation provides deep and rich insights about target audience so that intricate sales campaigns can be designed and developed. Targeted campaigns help drive up conversion rates and assist in company growth. Create and edit content Writing reports and documenting sales activities are crucial duties a sales team does. However, these activities can take a lot of time, and result in unnecessary delays in performing other core activities. A good sales automation tool readily creates reports and helps you to focus on more important activities that cannot be automated. Why not generate reports and then make a presentation in person, which has a better impact than just mailing the marketing department cold reports? With sales automation, there will be more time for your sales team to engage in such activities that enhance inter-team communication and collaboration. Follow-up with customers and leads Whether it is writing emails or calling customers over the phone, if you do not do it at the right time, you will not be able to keep a lead warm. To make sure that customers are followed and tracked continuously, and to ensure that leads are kept warm, automate the process of follow-ups. Sales automation can automate communication and help you to remain in touch with them. However, do not automate all communication with your leads and customers as that can have unintended effects. Analyze calls, emails and other communication platforms Call analysis provides valuable information about what customers want, and analyzing email texts can be equally important. CRM tools provide exquisite features that help you to track how email newsletters are read, by whom, and when. They also provide information related to how you can improve your email communication to enhances sales growth. Manual analysis is simply too tedious and sometimes not even accurate. Let us not forget about how important analyzing social media communication is for sales. A

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Cloud Technology’s Interoperability and Portability

August 21, 2018

Globally, as more businesses begin to use cloud services, interoperability and portability are terms you will hear quite often. What may seem like very technical concepts are quite business-centric, and understanding how portable or interoperable a particular cloud solution is, and that is very critical to business success. If your business is trying to move from legacy tools to cloud-based solutions, you will need to familiarize yourself with both these concepts and ensure that you make the right decisions before choosing your cloud vendor. The most important advantage of understanding cloud interoperability and portability is that you will be able to avoid vendor lock-ins and pick and choose the services you want. In this article, let us take a look at both cloud interoperability and cloud portability, and how it affects your cloud performance, and what you need to do in order to choose the best services. What is cloud interoperability? Cloud interoperability is the capacity of two or more systems to swap information and use the information that has just been swapped. This means, both public and private cloud applications and services should be able to exchange and understand APIs, data formats, and configuration. Jason Sparapani also lists authorization and forms of configuration as part of the information that can be exchanged. When APIs are exchanged and interoperability is built into cloud systems, customers can switch from one service to another without feeling locked-in or obliged to be with a single vendor. What this really means to you as a business owner is, if your cloud service rates high on interoperability, you will be able to change your vendor if you are not happy with their services, at a minimal cost. Your data and information cannot be locked-in by your vendor for any period of time. This freedom not only allows you to change when you are not happy with the services but will also drive cloud vendors to remain competitive and offer the best in class services. What is cloud portability? Portability offers cloud users a different kind of freedom. Cloud portability refers to your ability to transfer data and apps between legacy and cloud systems, and also between different services provided by different vendors. Cloud data portability helps you transfer data between legacy and cloud systems. APIs help you do that, by allowing you to migrate data from a legacy tool to a cloud tool (or the other way round, if you so choose to do). Cloud application portability helps you to move an actual application from your legacy system to the cloud, or from one cloud service to another. Cloud application portability helps you to use the app you want, in the place where you want to do so. Cloud data and app portability are not the same as interoperability, and this refers to your own freedom to move applications and data around. Interoperability, on the other hand, refers to the application or service’s ability to exchange data and information and also to use it. If the API could solve it all, why don’t we just have one? The main reason interoperability is a challenge at the moment is, there are far too many companies offering cloud services, and they all have different APIs. This means, two applications with different APIs will not be able to read each other, and this is also how many companies indirectly lock you into their cloud-based plans. APIs are not standardized, and businesses often have to seek developers who will build mapping layers to communicate between different APIs. There are also cloud service brokers who will do the mapping for you. Both Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) face the challenge of too many APIs being around. As a business client, you are most likely to use a system delivered via SaaS. Before you sign an agreement with your vendor, make sure that you ask the following questions: Is the data portable? Is the application portable? What are the interoperability challenges that your solution poses? Do we have access to the API if we choose to move the data at a later date? Are we free to unsubscribe from your service and take our data (and application) with us to wherever we want (another cloud vendor)? What you actually need to do You must also bear in mind that not all applications can be readily ported to the cloud. If they depend on legacy technology, and if they actually need on-site machinery in place, porting data to the cloud can prove to be difficult. However, there are hybrid methods that combine both cloud and on-site systems to create portability during future use. To make sure that you are safe nevertheless, you need to make sure of the following factors: Look for scalability Before you choose a cloud service, you need to make sure that it is scalable. If your business grows, you should be able to add or remove features and capacity according to your demand. Do not hesitate to make this is a decisive criteria while choosing your cloud service. Make sure the service is agile Agile cloud applications and services ensure that your business runs smoothly and efficiently. Agile development ensures that cloud-based projects are completed in time and that there are no delays in either porting or moving data to whichever service or application you want. Try to opt for a pay-as-you-go model Do not sign a contract upfront that requires you to pay large amounts of money in the beginning. Make sure that you pay as you go, without getting locked into services or subscription plans. Having an honest conversation with your vendor usually solves this problem. What about security? While everything about interoperability looks good on paper, and in conversations, there are also certain risks. One of the main risks is security. When too many companies, platforms, and applications are involved, the chances of your data being compromised is higher. You should always ensure that your vendor offers top-notch security

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How OTT Will Drive Innovation in 2018 in India

August 2, 2018

With nearly 500 million internet users, a figure that is growing at a rate of 8%, India is one of the largest drivers of digital innovation across the world. India’s potential as a market for global media and entertainment sector is unprecedented, and a liberal investment environment is helping foreign players to enter the Indian market easily. The government’s Digital India Initiative is helping even the most remote villages to stay connected. Indian culture values entertainment and the growth potential for media houses and entertainment giants are enormous. Over-the-top (OTT) media services have already entered India, and services such as Netflix, and Amazon Prime have a growing number of users across the country. Surprisingly, OTT is growing popular even in smaller towns and villages where internet speed has been questionable, to say the least. In such a scenario, OTT is going to drive innovation in India simply because of the sheer value of the market that India offers. In this article, let us take a look at how OTT is set to change the entertainment and digital scene in India. What do the numbers say? When we look at statistics related to internet usage in India, it is quite unavoidable to feel overwhelmed by the sheer figures. These figures indicate that video consumption in India is growing at the speed of light, and much of the aspirational rural and small-town users have already begun to stream media using high-speed mobile internet connections. With a rural to urban migration pattern, accessing high-speed internet connections is not only easy but also a reality already in the making. Of the half a billion internet users, there are at least 180 million active online video viewers. In 2017, the OTT market in India was valued at 37 billion rupees. OTT market in India is expected to grow at 17.3% in the next five years. People have already begun to supplement TV viewing with multiple OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime and Netflix. India is a diverse country with more than 22 official languages. Content in these languages is set to grow at an unprecedented rate. By 2020, there will be more than 700 million smartphone users in India Here are the top 7 areas where OTT is going to spur innovation : Personalized content The concept of personalized content is relatively new in India. However, OTT is set to change all that, and we can see that already happening. Netflix, Apple Music, Amazon Prime, and other OTT-based services have begun to offer personalized content to a market that was mostly used to the hand-me-down equivalent in media content. Personalization spurred by OTT will likely have cultural and social ramifications but in a positive manner. Indian media consumption has been dominated by proscriptive relaying of content without much choice for the actual viewer or consumer. OTT will change that and help Indian users to choose what they want, and watch they will most likely want to watch or listen. Newer players will make use of data insight to change algorithms and develop apps and media content that will actually appeal to individual users. In other words, OTT will help propel the process of individualization of Indian entertainment and media consumption. Streaming of video and audio More than 70% of revenue earned by the Indian music industry now comes from digital streaming. Affordable and high-speed internet connections have helped the music industry to make use of online platforms to offer music as OTT. Similarly, Indian movies and TV shows have a huge potential to reach the market via OTT. Most people in India have begun to replace their televisions with smartphones for media consumption. As smartphones usage tends to be an individual affair, as opposed to a family watching TV, individualization, and personalization of music and movies will grow. There is a potential market for larger screen smartphones in India. Innovation in device manufacturing and accessories is an area that manufacturers and distributors should look at. Accessories such as smart headphones, artificial intelligence, and IoT-based media consumption devices, etc. have a promising future in India, thanks to OTT. Mushrooming of online gaming Video games in India are quite popular, throughout of reach for most ordinary citizens. Xbox, Nintendo, and PlayStation were all out of reach for ordinary and rural Indians, and their usage was limited to affluent urban users. The advent of affordable Android-based smartphones have democratized online gaming and brought gameplay to millions of smartphone users across the country. OTT has a huge role to play in bringing video game content to Indian users. Potential opportunities in online gaming include video games developed in various languages of India, indigenous game development, and streaming of global video games on subscription models. 4G speeds, OTT, and affordable subscriptions have already begun to help users across India play video games. Most video game players use smartphones priced $300 or below, and there is a market for large-screen smartphones in this particular demographic. It is no wonder that the gaming industry in India is expected to become a $1 billion industry. Content in various languages of India Right from sports, music, and movies to online gaming, content in regional languages is likely to be the focus of media houses, whether national or international. SonyLIV, for instance, believes that a large proportion of its OTT offering will depend on media consumption in languages other than English, such as Tamil, Bengali, Kannada, etc. In fact, Sony has plans to attract 200 million users from various linguistic states of India, subverting the idea of homogeneous media consumption. While music and movies already have an OTT presence for various languages of India, OTT-based TV services hold promising opportunities as well. As discussed earlier, the gradual replacement of TVs with smartphones will likely open up opportunities for TV content creators and aggregators as well. Innovation in this area will focus on making TV-streaming in regional content quicker and more accessible. Mobile app streaming via OTT is another area that might open doors to

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Why should you choose a CMS and not a custom development partner?

July 26, 2018

Every business has different needs, and this truism is reflected in deciding the kind of website a particular business must have. Each company’s web development requirements are different too and the only factor that’s common among business websites is that they all need a content management system (CMS) to function. A CMS helps you to add, edit, and manage content on your website. While there are already readymade CMS tools available (Joomla!, Drupal, WordPress, etc.), there is also the option of custom development of CMS, right from scratch. While readymade CMS helps businesses to get their websites up and running in no time, custom development of websites has its own advantages. Highly complex projects require custom development, in order to make sure that all the requirements of a client are met. Yet, even many complex projects can be undertaken with just Drupal if your developers are experienced enough. In this article, let us take an objective look at the differences between CMS and custom development, and what you should choose for your web requirements. What is CMS development and who is it for? A Content Management System (CMS) is uncomplicated and comes with all the features you would expect from a fully-functional website. Without the need to start from scratch, you will be able to choose from a template and set up navigation, file management, databases, libraries, etc. in a short period of time. Third-party plug-ins are always available for all the popular CMS platforms such as WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla!. Drupal, in particular, is suitable for extremely complex websites, while being perfect for simple business websites at the same time. An experienced developer can customise Drupal and program it to run better than any custom developed website at a fraction of the cost. Most importantly, it takes very little time to set up a CMS-based website and get it up and running. Multi-user management is easy and complex graphics can be displayed efficiently with no errors or bugs. Most importantly, regular updates keep your websites safe and secure, without you having to worry too much about security risks. CMS-based websites have very few errors and development community is widely accessible if you need any assistance. Of course, customisation can prove to be difficult if you choose the wrong vendor but when you find the right partner, using a CMS is the quickest, simplest, and the most affordable path to setting up even complex websites. CMS websites are great for just about anything. Whether you want to set up a simple website or a complex web portal that runs a number of online processes, a CMS-based website can handle it all. What is custom development and who is it for? If we are discussing custom development, you can expect your developers to code the website right from scratch to finish. It sounds like an attractive process but it is going to cost a lot more than CMS development. There are obvious benefits to custom coding, such as better control with respect to what you can do with a website or a page, and how quickly you can get it to load. However, the same results can be achieved with CMS as well. Developers will need to be proficient in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, SQL, ASP.net, etc., and should be able to decide if you really need custom development. Custom development costs significantly higher than regular CMS development because developers need to build a new website right from scratch. Most of the times, custom development is not necessary and is a bit of overkill. It also takes a long time to debug errors. If you ever change your development vendor, you might face issues if the next developer isn’t as proficient to read code written by someone else. While it isn’t hard to find agencies that specialise in all the languages required for custom development, the time and skills that they will need to utilise for building a website for you right from scratch will result in exorbitant bills. Most businesses that need a website for corporate or eCommerce purposes do not need custom development. Instead, they can get an open source CMS such as Drupal or Joomla! customised to suit their needs. In fact, we have engaged in Drupal development for some of the most complex projects pertaining to very large enterprises. Does your business need CMS or custom development? In most cases, you will not require custom development. As discussed, custom development takes a longer time to complete the project and is invariably very expensive and difficult to manage. On the other hand, CMS websites are quick to install, can be customised as per your requirements, and there are umpteen number of third-party plugins available if you need complex features. In fact, there are superior plugins that can do a lot more than you might imagine. Unless the situation calls for it, you only need to consider a good partner to set up a CMS-based website. Use Case 1 eCommerce business needs a website that can handle heavy traffic and payments Requirement: An eCommerce business required a website that would not only handle high web traffic but also to ensure that all payments went through in a safe and secure manner. The business wanted a website that looked unique and placed stress on ease of use. Solution: Indus Net Technologies developed a Drupal-based website that was sturdy and stable. Customizing Drupal code was enough to make the website appear the way the client wanted. As Drupal loads quickly, and is particularly suited for heavy traffic, the website we build for the client was a success. Results: The website was easy to use, could handle high web traffic, and payments went through secure PCI DSS-compliant servers. The business saw more people purchasing products due to an increase in customer trust. Use Case 2 A large financial institution needed a web portal to sell its insurance products and help customers manage their accounts. Requirements: The insurance giant needed a web portal which would

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Top Trends in Mobile Games Development

July 16, 2018

Be it in terms of download numbers, revenue, and engagement, mobile games are clearly dominating the app stores.  We are not saying this. A data released by Statista says this. In respect of innovation and latest technology, no other app niche is as happening as mobile games. From virtual reality (VR), extraordinary graphics (2D, 3D, and 4D) to augmented reality and cross-platform mobile games, the latest technology is continuously shaping the mobile games arena keeping user engagement in mind. Moreover, a major part of the users are now playing games on mobile phones, so game development companies are more focused on that. Considering all these evolving traits, there’s been a lot of things happening in the gaming arena.  Let’s take a look at some of the key trends that will continue to shape mobile game development. The rise of Mini Games Mini-games are short games that are often embedded within other games. These games usually do not need any additional installation and are usually integrated to promote sharing and competition among gamers. These are going to be a key factor in improving further user engagement and retention. VR and AR Gaming VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) have tremendous scope in the gaming industry. Both are like a bridge between the virtual and the real world. While VR is a computer-generated simulation that recreates any real-life environment; and in AR you will receive additional information digitally but in real-time. AR/VR games give you an immersive gaming experience as both these technologies have been consolidated and now, these have become mainstream in the gaming world. Wearable Technology Now, this is something that might take over the gaming world in the coming days just next to the smartphones. These offer an extended gaming experience. Majority of this includes smart wearables such as wristbands or watches. For instance, Apple has already stepped into gamification of healthcare with it’s Apple Watch. It allows you to play mobile games with your friend (like a game to lose weight) and such games also offer some incentives to the users for joining the health game! While this is just the beginning. With the evolution of these devices, mobile game developers will look towards incorporating them for a greater user experience. Custom Game Features Customisation is a great way of engaging the users. With custom features in mobile games, the user or the player feels important. This is something that everyone prefers. Mobile games with custom features let the audience choose the features they want or enjoy. This may rely on your past likes and dislikes, the time you devote to a certain game or any other demographic detail. This improves the gaming experience and is obviously a reason for the user to stick to that game. Deep and Interactive Social Features Social gaming is already a hot trend but now, mobile game developers are looking forward to implementing deeper and interactive social features in games. Such games will allow the users to share and invite another gaming friend while they play their games. This helps them to stay engaged with the community and this is the reason multi-player games have flourished. This is the reason most of the games come with social features but in the coming days, this will become a must-have feature for every mobile game. Mobile eSport will be Embraced Popularly eSports is becoming popular than ever. According to the Holmes Report, there will be a massive rise in the number of fans of eSports. Even a research group Newzoo reports that about 1.3 million people across the world are already aware of eSports. There are some eSports games such as Clash Royale and Vainglory that are already doing great in the mobile space. This rise in their popularity can be attributed to the extremely versatile environment that modern mobile devices offer. Cloud-based games These games will redefine the way games are been developed and played. This is an intriguing concept where the player runs the game on cloud server but can stream it in their mobile phones without even downloading or installing it. Now players don’t need to worry about their storage space anymore. Mobile Games for Elderly Most of the games are targeted towards the younger audience. However now, people from all age groups have become or are becoming tech savvy with plenty of time at their disposal. And this is a market segment is yet to be tapped. Mobile games for the elderly or the mature audience is going to be the next big thing in the gaming industry. Offline Games Most of the mobile games need an internet connection.  Without the internet, no gaming app holds any value. In such cases, offline games are quite handy. Offline games allow the user to enjoy the gaming session without internet facilities. In the coming days, this is going to be extremely popular. No doubt, even Google has now added a category of offline games in the play store. In 2020, mobile gaming will capture more than half of the total games market and by 2021, it is projected to be a 100-billion-dollar industry. And these trends will inspire the developers to build unique games across different gaming application development platforms. It will be interesting to see what goes up and what comes down the pike for both the game developers and the users who look forward to new and unique experiences.

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How Internet of Things Is Redefining The Retail Experience

June 19, 2018

While most of us have remained busy discussing how quickly online shopping has gone mainstream, a quiet revolution is growing in the retail sector across the world. Internet of Things is breathing life into dying retail spaces while invigorating newer and more creative retail units. IoT-enabled shopping is taking online e-Commerce space by storm too, enhancing logistics, delivery, and even the shopping experience. With more than 30 billion connected devices available by 2020, IoT is leading all technological innovation in the retail sector. From improving products to reducing energy consumption, and from enhancing marketing outcomes to improving customer experience, IoT is practically all over the place. Most importantly, all the accumulation of data is helping companies to gain new insights, and enhance products and customer experience, while witnessing double-digit growth rate. Amazon Go is a great example of this revolution. In this article, let’s take a look at how IoT is helping both offline retailers. Let us also briefly look at some of the top trends in retail with IoT devices in mind. How Internet of Things is helping brick and mortar stores as well Thousands of stores are shutting down, malls are going out of business, and retail stores simply aren’t able to catch up with the speed of digital shopping. In addition, people themselves have begun to prefer ordering products online than making a trip to the nearest mall or supermarket. Retail sector all around the world has much to worry about and resent. Yet, there is a silver lining in every cloud. IoT is helping retailers across the world to not only thrive but also attract more customers than ever to their stores. Vending machines are being revolutionised across malls and public places as customised orders and products can now be placed. Interactive displays and digital signage are helping customers to shop better and reach out right counter or shelf, depending on the in-store choices they make. Few retailers may offer virtual and smart mirrors, which provide information about the clothes they are trying. If the particular shirt a man is trying is green when compared to the one he just tried earlier, why not urge him to buy that automatically? Beacons and RFID tags can be further enhanced with sensors. IoT-enabled beacons can be used to recognize facial expressions, customer behavior across shopping aisles, and other such information. This can be used to enhance customer experience. IoT most importantly hastens the checkout process. Both retailers and customers can bid goodbye to lengthy queues at the billing counter, thanks to self-checkouts. Hottest trends in the retail sector depend on IoT If there is one thing that is going to sustain retail, it is IoT. Let us take a look at few situations where IoT is helping retail to innovate, sustain, and thrive. Marketing is easier than ever IoT is responsible for making marketing easier than ever. It provides the tools required for making both omnichannel and multichannel marketing successful. Sensors are increasingly being used by retailers to help customers. IoT sensors also help stores to engage in in-store marketing. Coordinate with customers quickly One of the factors that set IoT apart is its ability to communicate not just between devices or sensors, but also enhance communication between the retailer/manufacturer and the user. This helps store owners to coordinate with customers quickly in case products need maintenance services, or if there is an update to be installed. Download our case study on Konvergence’s K-Wallet, which revolutionized retail shopping some time ago. Customising customer experience There are sensors for tracking virtually every behaviour of a customer. When done ethically, sensors can provide valuable data that help manufacturers to enhance customer experience. Whether it is about enhancing certain product features or bringing better customer service, IoT can do it all with an ease and pomp. Create better product ecosystems Manufacturers and retailers have begun to tie up to provide better customer experience, using sensors. This is helping create new opportunities for better product ecosystems. Customers have options for maintenance, servicing, updating, or choosing from related products post-sales as well. Automated orders of spare parts when they need to be replaced is just one example of this ecosystem. Optimise logistics and inventory handling IoT’s is creating improved efficiency inventory handling and logistics management. Businesses are literally growing because they can deliver products quickly, and replenish stocks. IoT is helping businesses to ensure retail never faces a hitch due to product unavailability or delayed shipments. Data-derived insights IoT, as we all know, gathers and processes enormous amounts of data. All this data is fodder for analytics and insight deriving, and that’s exactly how businesses are using IoT data. Insights derived from product usage, product malfunctioning, customer behaviour, and other such situations continually help retailers and manufacturers to enhance customer experience and product enhancement. We had written an article a little while ago, describing how data analytics and AI both are going to influence IoT in the coming months and years. Read More about How to Manage Your Online Store in 2019? IoT-enabled retail is here to stay As you can see, IoT is quietly bringing formidable changes to both online and offline retail spaces. It is also changing the way retail manufacturers manage their business. Considering how quickly IoT is taking over retail, and how it is sustaining all the players in the space, it is worth observing the technology more keenly. In the near future, IoT enabled sensors will help retailers improve marketing, bring better customer experience, and enhance product support to users. Security may seem like an issue with all the IoT related data being generated, but we recently wrote about how to handle those issues. While we are at it, do take a look at some of the most valuable programming languages to learn, if you wish to develop for IoT yourself. Last but not the least, IoT will help businesses of all types to derive useful insights which will help improve products and customer experience at the same time.

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