Category: DigitalSuccess

How Data Influences Media and Marketing Today

September 27, 2018

Market research has always been the basic tool to design and develop strategies and campaigns. However, traditional market research consumes a lot of time and requires special skills to process and analyze and to derive insights. Marketing campaigns in the past weren’t accurate because market samples did not truly represent a population, and both advertising and marketing strategies weren’t quite accurate. Campaign failures and losses can be tied down to incorrect insight or partial insight into a market’s needs and demands. In addition, most marketing agencies depended on print and TV to disperse marketing messages until the recent past. Digital media changed all that and democratized the process of marketing and advertising, while contemporary data techniques have taken digital marketing to the next level. Thankfully, newer data analytics techniques have not only reduced marketers efforts to crunch data but have also ushered in a new era in which marketing campaigns are highly personalized, scalable and democratic. In this article, let us take a look at how data has influenced media and marketing, and how there has been a complete paradigm shift. Integration of tools Software integration has led to richer insights and predictions, as there is a larger sample of data to analyze. Cloud-based solutions have helped companies to implement affordable integration solutions across departments. Integration has also brought together disparate software solutions such as CRM, ERP, and HRMS which help businesses to access more detailed data and predict outcomes accurately even on the go. Current marketing and advertising initiatives depend on such an integrated approach to make the correct move. An increasing number of agencies use MarTech solutions to predict better campaign outcomes, and this is possible because of modern data analytics. MarTech consists of marketing automation tools such as Marketo, HubSpot, MailChimp, SalesForce, and Insightly. It also includes data and intelligence tools such as FullContact, Cloudinary, Decibel, among many others. In addition, predictive analysis tools help us make better predictions and foresee campaigns even before campaigns are launched. This allows us to have defined outcomes in mind. Some of the most important predictive analysis tools used today are Microsoft’s Azure Machine Learning Studio, SAP Predictive Analytics Software, IBM Predictive Insights, among many others.  These tools can be integrated with each other, or with other enterprise software solutions for richer insights. Personalized marketing and advertising Earlier, personalized marketing was a challenge and a number of efforts never yielded the desired results. However, thanks to social media, it is easier to curate customers and people with specific interests and capture their sentiments easily. All this data can now be crunched and analyzed for better insight, leading to highly specific marketing and advertising campaigns. There are a number of marketing automation tools that help you personalize advertising. HubSpot and MailChimp can be used by both small and medium-sized businesses to personalize campaigns, while Marketo is a value addition for larger organizations. All these tools use data to take personalization to the next level. In addition, you can use Google Optimize 360, which helps you create custom segmented customer experiences. Forbes also listed Clearbit, Kickbox, Quickmail, Buzzstream, and other tools in its list of tools that help personalize marketing and advertising. In short, these tools help to gain better insight about customers and market, which helps personalize marketing and ad campaigns even at the micro level. The advent of MarTech and AdTech In the last couple of years, technologies that assist in automating and turbocharging marketing and advertising processes have been given the terms of MarTech and AdTech. Both these technologies have helped thousands of agencies to provide better campaign results, automate most marketing processes, and process data in a useful manner. The advent of MarTech and AdTech has also resulted in marketing Big Data. Various market-related data is constantly added to Big Data, and data analytics continue to derive richer insights. Most importantly, MarTech tools like GetResponse, Autopilot, iContactPro can be integrated with ERP and CRM for more coherent insight. After all, both frontend and backend need to be in sync with marketing campaigns for the message to reach effectively to the right audience. It is important to note that while marketing technology tools can up your data game, it is really up to you how to use the insight your derive. For example, integrating a digital asset management (DAM) with Adobe Creative Cloud can provide insights into how designers influence the marketing process. Or, you can choose to integrate Oracle Eloqua with an ERP like Sage 100 ERP or SAP Business One to better understand how order processing trends can improve future campaigns. Data helps launch hybrid and omnichannel marketing campaigns Most marketing campaigns tend to take a hybrid approach, combining online with offline. A survey conducted by Vistaprint Digital showed that 29% of businesses ignore either offline or online marketing practices, favoring one practice more than the other. However, a hybrid approach that uses both the practices is always more beneficial. Some of the ways you can use data analytics to spur offline marketing success are by analyzing QR code usage, proximity marketing using Bluetooth technology, and tracking URLs and web traffic generated from offline visits to actual stores. Using data analytics to track these behaviors will help to launch more cohesive omnichannel marketing campaigns, which bring an integrated shopping experience to customers. Facebook and Google have come up with tools which help advertisers to understand the effect of online advertising on offline sales. They can predict and track online to offline conversions. Data is here to stay for the long haul As you can see, data tools have changed the game when it comes to marketing and utilizing media tools. While we are no longer reliant on traditional media platforms, and digital platforms have long become mainstream, data analytics has ensured that digital marketing will continue in a forward path in the months to come. All these trends will help agencies to develop and implement marketing and ad campaigns quickly across digital media platforms. Dissemination of marketing communication

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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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Blockchain as the Newest RegTech Application – An Opportunity to Reduce Financial Institutions’ Burden of KYC

August 17, 2018

Regulatory challenges have often caused unnecessary inconvenience and delays within the financial services industry across the world. Compliances issues affect every financial service today, and many businesses have often paid enormous amounts in terms of fines, legal fees, and loss of business. The need for compliance and stringent regulations are necessary, especially in a world that is increasingly becoming prone to fraud, security threats, and cyber threats. Governments and regulatory bodies are right on their part to expect compliance from financial institutions, one of which is the ubiquitous KYC document (Know your Customer document). While financial service providers have meticulously collected KYC documents and ensured that they comply, the process has often been long drawn out, complex, and often mired with bugs and technical issues. Most KYC compliance happens digitally, and companies often repeatedly seek KYC from customers, often leading to opt-outs. Technology can help fix this issue for financial service companies, and one way is using RegTech. RegTech is short for regulatory technology and makes use of cloud computing technology delivered via a Software as a Service (SaaS) model so that businesses can easily process KYC documentation quickly and efficiently, at a lower cost. What is going to change RegTech even further is the use of Blockchain. In this article, let us take a look at how Blockchain is changing RegTech, and helping financial institutions to process KYC documentation quickly and efficiently. What exactly do the RegTech companies do? So far, companies that offer RegTech solutions have been working with regulatory bodies alongside their clients, financial institutions. By combining the goodness of cloud computing and big data, RegTech companies have made available sensitive information often required to validate KYC documents. Many RegTech companies have also used predictive analytics and big data to comb through previous regulatory failures and predict future risks that financial institutions should consider. Most RegTech companies have focused on creating analytical tools that sift through big data to pick sensitive information that could help financial institutions to comply better with regulatory authorities. RegTech companies offer solutions ranging from KYC validation to alerting money laundering activities and preventing cyber hacks and data breaches. Simply put, RegTech companies monitor digital transactions in real time and identify irregularities to prevent fraud and other risky events from taking place. Financial institutions alone cannot identify, predict, or avert these risks, nor will they be able to comply with all the regulations, including KYC processing. Using Blockchain for KYC processing Blockchain, which is a distributed database stored on a particular network, and accessible on all computers authorized to do so, is a technology that is picture-perfect for regulatory compliance. In Blockchain technology, every file is split into parts called blocks, and each block needs to be validated individually by the entire network. Smart contracts are based on this technology, and for a contract to be processed, all parties involved need to provide their digital signatures. As all data is encrypted, security is always ensured. In addition, as data is stored across a network and not just on a single computer, hacking or tampering with data is impossible. Most importantly, Blockchain data is immutable, and all changes made to the original database can be tracked. In the financial services arena, this quality is very important because customers simply cannot make changes to their financial history if something had gone awry previously. KYC documents can be processed in an error-free, encrypted, and automated environment, which simply is not possible in other technologies. RegTech applications using Blockchain can integrate both KYC and anti-money laundering steps for commercial usage, and this can be made available to companies both publicly and privately, depending on regulatory requirements. How Blockchain helps companies to reduce KYC burden Blockchain applications can be delivered as cloud-based RegTech apps via a SaaS model to financial institutions so that they can conduct their KYC operations to meet regulatory compliance. Let us take a look at how Blockchain can help financial institutions to reduce the burden of KYC: Identify and verify client information KYC requires financial institutions to identify their customers’ personal details such as name, address, nationality, birthdate, etc. Such basic data can be verified with the help of an identification card that is approved by regulatory bodies. Blockchain digitalizes information and validates such information by cross-verifying digital identities from various sources already available to the Blockchain. In other words, Blockchain not only helps customers to manage their digital identities, it also helps financial institutions to conduct basic KYC seamlessly. While KYC for individual clients using Blockchain is quite straightforward, it gets a little complex for professional entities. Professional entities require the KYC processing of directors’ identities, and other key persons (or corporations themselves) involved. Avoid risk by screening high-risk individuals Most financial institutions gain access to only the basic information of a customer. This basic KYC is not enough to avert risky situations such as money laundering, payment defaults, frauds, financial bankruptcy, etc. Banks can easily screen high-risk individuals if they subscribe to a Blockchain database that stores and validates information related to previous risky financial behavior. In addition, Blockchain-based RegTech apps can also predict future risky behavior by combining predictive analytics and big data with Blockchain. If a customer has had a questionable financial history, for instance, a Blockchain would confirm this to the bank or insurance company, which can decide not to lend a loan or approve an insurance claim. This mechanism can also help in averting money laundering and fraudulent activities, helping financial institutions to comply with regulations. Determine the inherent risk of customers A number of financial relationships require a much deeper insight about the customer or client. The KYC team will need to process questionnaires that probe negative press releases, criminal activity, political opinions and alliances, and a variety of other publicly available information. However, the KYC team simply cannot put all these unrelated datasets together and arrive at conclusions regarding the risk a customer poses. Regulators often prescribe the criteria for determining a customer’s inherent risk, and

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Digital Success Summit: Learning to Achieve Digital Success in India

August 8, 2018

Digital adoption in India has been phenomenal, and the rate at which emerging technologies are embraced by Indian businesses is equally impressive. Part of the reason why the Indian market is more amenable to digital adoption is the fact that it is the hub of software development and outsourcing since the early 1990s. From those early days of information boom to today’s Blockchain development and mobile eCommerce, India has come a long way and is much ahead of other nations. Yet, digital adoption needs to take place at the grassroots level and most Indian businesses today have not exploited the infrastructure and services available to them to bring their products and services to the global market. There are some important reasons why Indian businesses in general, have not adopted technology to boost their ROI, unlike their tech counterparts who offer technology-related services and products to a global clientele. While the Indian eCommerce industry is growing at a rapid pace, regular businesses, stores, and enterprises are still treading slowly when compared with global peers. This unique dichotomy exists not only in India, but also in other emerging countries where a certain tech-savvy section of the business community adopts digital, while the rest of the business and enterprise community does not make use of the facilities, services, and infrastructure readily available to them. Why are Indian businesses slower in digital adoption? To the casual observer, India seems like the hub of all software and technology related activities. After all, India serves as both the backend and frontend of the world’s technology-based economy. Yet, in its own backyard, businesses are slower in adopting a technology, and a closer inspection will reveal that most small and medium businesses in India’s hinterland are simply not made use of the digital tools available to them easily. This is mostly because : Non-availability of information Much of India is rural, and even in the larger cities, business owners do not have information related to digital technologies available to help boost their businesses. There aren’t many outreach programs for business owners to refresh them about the latest technologies such as IoT, artificial intelligence, Blockchain, or even various facets of cloud computing and automation. The result is, businesses still use outdated marketing techniques, spend more money and time on campaigns that do not fetch the results they seek, and traffic that simply doesn’t convert. Inaccessible services and products While Indian tech companies virtually run much of the global economy, back home, businesses do not have access to services and products available to their international peers. Businesses have still not adopted eCommerce technologies, many still use manual methods in place of automated solutions, and advanced conversion rate optimization techniques, etc. are still unheard of. Making existing digital facilities available to Indian businesses is crucial to digital adoption in India. Both cloud infrastructure and marketing automation solutions are widely available for international businesses, but yet out of reach for most Indian businesses simply because they are not easily accessible. Lack of guidance and support While there are several technical consultants in larger cities of India, the consulting guidance and support available to businesses are not adequate. There simply isn’t a cohesive network of technology service providers dedicated to bringing digital solutions to Indian businesses. Regional digital summits are crucial in helping raise awareness about facilities and infrastructure available to businesses of various statures to lunge forward. Regular summits can help businesses to not only understand the products and services available to help them adopt digital solutions but also to scale quickly. Absence of digital-first culture While lack of information and inaccessibility of digital solutions can be blamed for slower adoption among Indian businesses, there is also an absence of digital-first culture among many businesses. Many businesses still hold on to legacy systems and operations which are not relevant anymore. these methods, tools, and technologies simply hold them back, while their competitors who adopt newer tools and methods achieve success quickly. With this in mind, there need to be more digital events, summits, and conferences which normalize digital adoption among the Indian business community. The Digital Success Summit, 2018 It is with all these reasons in mind that the Digital Success Summit has been organized. The summit brings together a variety of speakers, keynote presenters, and workshops to participating businesses and entrepreneurs, to help them adopt digital solutions quickly and efficiently. The Digital Success Summit 2018 will be held in Kolkata, West Bengal, on the 10th of August. The summit will help business owners to adopt the most useful digital strategies to achieve success and growth. The conference will help businesses to Understand how the internet works and is governed Choosing the right domain name for your business Understanding what cloud computing is all about, and which cloud hosting to choose If you should get a mobile app developed or not Use marketing automation and marketing KPIs to drive more sales Maximize online leads to sales conversion rate Learn how to create viral content and engage in influencer marketing Choosing the right CMS for your website, and using conversion rate optimization (CRO) tricks Using paid marketing to drive eCommerce transactions and creating trust using personal branding How to bring a digital culture shift in organizations, and making sure that every business is safe from cyber attacks Understanding IoT and analytics The Digital Success Summit has been specifically organized to help Indian businesses to overcome the hurdles in adopting digital solutions, and get past their cultural barriers to embrace a brave new world which will lead them along the path of competitive edge, global success and business efficiency. From digital infrastructure to media and advertising, and from business enhancing catalysts to KPIs and analytics, the summit has got all things digital covered for businesses to achieve success.  

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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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7 Things to Consider Before Having a Mobile App for Your Business

July 24, 2018

A couple of years ago, if we asked around, every business would have expressed interest in developing a mobile app. Even today, businesses are eager to develop mobile apps, motivated by a number of factors. With more than 3.5 million Android apps and close to 2.5 million iOS apps, it might seem like you are missing out on a lot of things by not offering an application to your users. Yet, more than just getting a mobile app developed, assessing customer needs, your market strategy, and industry scenario are all more important factors to consider. A successful mobile enhances user satisfaction and brings value to your customers. Sometimes, enhancing a website for mobile use may be a better option. Even more important is the task of finding the right agency which will help you to develop a winning mobile app. To make your mobile app a success, spend some time assessing your needs, market situation, and your customer requirements. In this article, we help you do just that by listing 7 important questions you need to ask before getting a mobile app developed. Do you really need a mobile app? What started out as a game-changing development soon became a trend, leading to businesses developing mobile apps whether they needed it or not. Playing catch-up, or doing what everyone else is doing, is not the way to go when it comes to technology adoption. There may be a good reason why your business does not need mobile applications. If your product or service is more likely to be accessed over a website, investing in mobile-optimised responsive web development might be a better solution. Progressive Web Applications (PWA) and Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) may prove to be better solutions for your need than a mobile app developed for iOS and Android platforms. Progressive Web Applications are also great when your users are located in places where the internet connection is unreliable or slow. Flipkart’s Flipkart Lite is a great example of Progressive Web Applications. Hastily developing a mobile app to impress your target audience or your competitors may have just the opposite of the intended effect. What is the purpose of your app? If you think you do need a mobile app, and that is a matter of concern for your profitability, competitiveness, and customer experience, explore what the purpose of the mobile is going to be. The app could serve the purpose of selling a product or service, or it could simply enhance customer experience. The purpose of developing a mobile can greatly vary. Sometimes, a mobile app may serve multiple purposes. Spend time deliberating on why you want the mobile app, which problems it is going to solve, and what its long-term purpose is going to be. Developing a mobile app without a purpose may cause long-term damage to your brand, and may result in the wasteful expenditure of resources. Many studies indicate that people uninstall or stop using a majority of mobile apps after downloading and installing them. Who is your target user? For a mobile app to be successful, it should be developed with the target user in mind. Always try to understand your audience deeply, and use data insight to do so. Data analytics helps you to test and retest your ideas for efficacy so that your investment in mobile development is not wasted. A mobile application should suit the lifestyle of your target users and should be intimately tied to their personal identities. We recently developed a mobile game for a US veteran who lost his eyesight and wanted to launch a mobile game for people who are visually challenged. There was a clear understanding of who the target audience was, and the challenges they may encounter while playing the mobile game. To compete with the millions of mobile apps that are out there, make sure that you understand your target user at an intimate level. Otherwise, your mobile app will risk being ignored. Will your app solve a customer problem? Every mobile app should not only help you make profits, but also solve a customer problem. If not solve a problem, it should enhance the user experience. If your mobile app is not going to add value to your target users, then it risks being ignored after being downloaded. To help develop a mobile app that truly solves your customer problems, understand their pain points and explore how your mobile app could address those pain points. If there are no pain points to be addressed, explore if you can bring a “wow” factor to the table. If your mobile app is going to present a revolutionary experience or concept to the user, then it is going to be successful. Sometimes, reducing the duration of certain processes and making your customers’ lives simpler are reasons enough to develop mobile apps. However, you will need to back up your reasons with deep data insights. What kind of app do you need? Before you decide on developing a mobile app, consider how and where it is going to be used. You will have to choose between native mobile apps and cross-platform mobile apps. Native mobile apps are developed for iOS and Android (usually) using programming languages that are native to the device’s OS, such as Objective C and Swift for iOS devices, and Java for Android devices. Native mobile apps offer a better user interface and excellent user experience. They also make use of all the features a platform has to offer. However, they tend to be more expensive, challenging, and time-consuming projects. Cross-platform mobile apps can be used on both Android and iOS devices, and multiple versions of the code need not be written, leading to reduced expenditure and saved time. However, the user experience will not be as great as that of native apps and your mobile app will not be able to make use of all the features that each platform offers. How do you plan to monetise your app? A successful mobile app needs

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Why Marketing Automation Matters for Your Business

July 19, 2018

If you are late to the party, marketing automation is a force to reckon with and is the fuel that is driving small and medium-sized agencies and businesses to compete with the top players in the industry. Marketing automation helps a small team to put its marketing strategy on steroids, and use Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions to automate both basic and complex marketing tasks to achieve stellar heights. There are a number of software tools and cloud solutions that help businesses to automate various marketing functions, right from understanding a target market to capturing lead-related data and nurturing long-term customers. While implementing a thorough marketing strategy used to be expensive and time-consuming, it is now accessible even to the smallest of companies thanks to SaaS subscription models. SaaS solutions provide efficient, affordable, and accessible marketing tools on different subscription models. Both big and small businesses have begun to use these SaaS marketing tools to automate various marketing functions, and have begun to see exemplary results. Regardless of the size and nature of your business, the axiomatic truth is, you need marketing automation. To explain why marketing automation matters so much for your business, we have listed 7 reasons. Let us take a look at each of them briefly. Understand your market better Most businesses fail to achieve traction because their marketing strategy is not in touch with the actual realities of the market they are targeting. This is only possible when campaigns are tied around behavioral and demographic variables that are often easy to miss. Marketing automation tools provide rich insights into the market in question and help businesses to design campaigns that are effective. When you subscribe to a MarTech solution, you will be able to compete with large businesses who probably have better resources to conduct market research. Market research can get quite tedious and expensive for those who do not have the resources to carry out large market research campaigns, Data analytics, combined with marketing automation tools can help you to arrive at marketing predictions that are useful and effective, at a fraction of the cost. MarTech is increasingly being used to conduct market research by a large number of companies and is encouraging a metrics-driven culture. Curate high-quality leads New GDPR rules and privacy-related restrictions have severely curtailed most businesses’ ability to capture high-quality leads. Yet, the new developments are positive in nature when assessed objectively. Marketing automation tools can now quickly detect and predict which of your web visitors are going to be hour leads, and which of them will convert to customers. Data analytics and marketing automation tools can be integrated and programmed in such a way that you automate the curation of high-quality leads. There’re a number of tools already available to help you automate both lead generation, and filtering of those leads. However, partnering with an agency which will help you to integrate data analytics with marketing automation tools will help you curate a list of high-quality leads. After all, communicating with high-quality leads, even if they are fewer in numbers, is a better sales strategy than coming up with a digital marketing strategy that involves targeting an exponentially higher number of users. Shortlist the best distribution channels Once you have the list of leads generated and curated automatically, you will also need to assess how you should communicate with them. This decision was earlier left to managers or staff who used their own methods (both objective and subjective) to list the preferred distribution channels. Unfortunately, this is not an effective strategy and is mired with loopholes. Inbound marketing can easily be automated, and a digital marketing strategy should be built around actual facts and figures related to which platforms, social media tools, and channels your target users prefer to use. As such, a strategy that involves marketing automation and data analytics will reveal the cold hard facts about where to reach your target audience, and how best to communicate with them. Use marketing automation to choose the best distribution and communication channels, and to base this choice on insight derived from data analytics. Understand different buyer personas To engage in successful marketing, you need to understand your target audience at an intimate level. This is only possible when the most minute of their behaviours are statistically analyzed. Automating the process of studying user behavior will help you to group them under various buyer personas. Right from what they tweet to how they respond to certain images or news feeds, you can predict exactly how you should develop your marketing strategy to win them over. As consumers tend to be a diverse group, you can develop different marketing campaigns for different buyer personas. Understanding personas are closely linked to creating winning digital content as well. Automating the process of collecting information and using data analytics to process this information helps you to arrive at useful insights related to different personas. Use this insight to create a successful agile marketing strategy. Take personalization to the next level There is a misconception that automation implies lack of personal touch. Any Chief Marketing Technologist (CMT) will tell you that automation, in fact, enhances more personal communication. Automating content distribution and basing content creation on various buyer personas help you to personalize all communication at the micro-level. For example, MarTech products can help you to target communication individually, based on various tastes, quirks, behavioral patterns, personal details, etc. While content distribution and communication can be automated, you can use your free time and man-hours to enhance customer interactions and build valuable relationships. Creating a more personal approach used to be expensive and required hiring more in-house staff. Automating such a personal approach will reduce the need for hiring more employees, and will help you build more meaningful relationships with your customers. Save time and money For most small and medium businesses, marketing is the single most expensive business process. Not only does it cost money, it also requires time and effort, all of

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#VideoMarketing – Is It Viral Yet?

June 22, 2018

Video Marketing is here and in a big way. You must have by now tried your hands on it already. It definitely yields more results than most of the other forms of marketing don’t you think? And don’t we all want our videos to be viral? Well going viral should never be the primary objective of any video marketing campaign. You should rather focus on the content before anything. Here are some of the ongoing discussions on Video Marketing that will help you propel your social media forward. https://twitter.com/mattbertramlive/status/1008746595800604672 YouTube Marketing is a fantastic way to showcase your products and services. Using interesting content will help you build your brand globally. With over 1 billion views a month YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine behind Google. #youtubemarketing #videomarketing — Andrew Lloyd (@AndrewL31763166) June 17, 2018 I love that YouTube is still ranking so high in google search results. Too bad Facebook can’t do that, they would do so much better as a video platform. #socialmediamarketing #VideoMarketing — Jacqueline Jax (@JacquelineJax) June 16, 2018 21 Efficient Video Marketing #Growth Hack for Your #Stratup's Content #Marketing [Infographic] #VideoMarketing #GrowthHacking pic.twitter.com/oeyStv5ks3 — ipfconline (@ipfconline1) June 19, 2018 YouTube Marketing is a fantastic way to showcase your products and services. Using interesting content will help you build your brand globally. With over 1 billion views a month YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine behind Google. #youtubemarketing #videomarketing pic.twitter.com/oKP1xixpvE — Esanz Marketing (@esanz_m) June 19, 2018 Top #socialmedia trends. #VideoMarketing #AR #Chatbots #AI #InfluencerMarketing #SMM #SocialMediaMarketing #AugmentedReality By @Filmora_Editor pic.twitter.com/l3MxUDw9ef — Jonathan Aufray 🚀 (@JonathanAufray) June 18, 2018 A massive infographic of #videomarketing stats and tips (via @irfanahmad1989) #smm https://t.co/qnnEBMCAfx — Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) June 17, 2018 People consume video more than written words. Share short videos on social media and longer versions on your site -via @Brucem67 #AMPlifySocial #VideoMarketing — Holly Chessman (@HollyChessman) June 12, 2018 Video #marketing Tools and Softwareshttps://t.co/e3GJWsejoD#videomarketing #tools #software #videoproduction pic.twitter.com/yjtGIkfK0B — GSG Promotional (@GStarsGreen) June 19, 2018 The AUDIENCE is the new CURRENCY for your #business. Today in this digital age for businesses to engage with their target audience they will need to have a strong engaging online presence to pull such valuable interest to their services & products. #VideoMarketing #namitakabilas — Namita Kabilas (@NamitaKabilas) June 18, 2018 50+ Video Marketing Stats to Guide Your 2018 Strategy [Infographic]#DigitalTransformation #DigitalMarketing #SEO #ContentMarketing#SEOServices #SEOtips #marketingtips #SocialMedia #infographic #makeyourownlane #infosec #finserv #defstar5 #Mpgvip #smm #startups #VideoMarketing pic.twitter.com/bo9B00myl3 — Nitish Sharma☯️ (@Nitish_Sharma23) June 14, 2018 Keep watching this space! We regularly publish similar blogs with current happenings from around the globe in the world of Tech and Digital.To read more Click Here

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#RetailTech For Successful Retail Business

June 1, 2018

With the introduction of emerging technologies and with the advent of digital disruption, the customer shopping experience has seen a major evolution. Online stores, smartphones, dynamic ads, same day deliveries have given the modern day shopper more flexibility. #RetailTech is the new buzzword, and the retail industry around the world has seen a lot when it comes to digital disruption. For any successful retail business, delivering great customer experience is the most important aspect. Here are some new things happening in the #RetailTech. Have a look: Alibaba's futuristic supermarket in #China is light-years ahead of the US. #Alibaba wants to use #data and #technology to transform #retail ft. 30 min. deliveries and #facialrecognition payments [#video] | via @BrettKing#retailtech #innovation pic.twitter.com/lwg52kDHd9 — Dimitris Ioannides (@diioannid) May 24, 2018 The Future of Retail Includes In-store Behavior Tracking, Payments and Re-stocking! #AI #Computervision #Ecommerce #RetailTech #MachineLearning #DeepLearning pic.twitter.com/6sr3pI8G9q — MtN (@FashNerdEditor) May 31, 2018 https://twitter.com/RETTechInsider/status/1001451342425219072 What did Goldman Sachs say about us in their #StoreOfTheFuture report? "PERCH leads with its aesthetic appeal, while providing its retail enterprise customers a full content curation and analytics via cloud." Isn't it time for your store of the future powered by #retailtech? pic.twitter.com/OlXh733bjX — Real World AI – Where Technology Meets Humanity (@RealWorldAINews) May 30, 2018 #AI in #retail is expected to exceed $8bn by 2024 marking it one of the fast growing sub-segment of #retailtech at 40% CAGR#qopius #goQopius #retailoutlock #global #machinelearning #ML #artificialIntelligence #research pic.twitter.com/hUlDDCWN9h — Bedeir (@elbedeir) May 30, 2018 The right #retailtech transforms shopper experience but where to start? @PwC_UK @the_brc webinar https://t.co/GJbIm8mpHA #intelligentdigital pic.twitter.com/ZNOJxzChMq — Madeleine Thomson (@MadsThomson) May 31, 2018 In many ways Starbucks is on the cutting edge of using #BigData and #ArtificialIntelligence to drive business decisions https://t.co/pF3F79x1Zs #InnovationIsNow #RetailTech — Tofugear (@tofugear) May 29, 2018 3000 robots are working in this Chinese delivery warehouse to process 200,000 items per day #retailtech #logistics #Robotics #AI #IoT #Industry40 @rajat_shrimal cc @MikeQuindazzi @evankirstel @kuriharan @debashis_dutta @MHiesboeck @chboursin @jblefevre60pic.twitter.com/jQFial3ICc — Rajat Shrimal (@rajat_shrimal) May 16, 2018 These 10 Retailers Are Leading the Way in Augmented Reality https://t.co/nokIPHwZvt #SneakerTech #FashionTech #FootwearTech #AugmentedReality #AR #RetailTech pic.twitter.com/SM6CTe6wgM — Shape Innovate (@shapeinnovate) May 15, 2018 https://twitter.com/BF_Tech_UK/status/982185154348138496 #RetailTech is here and it is here to disrupt the way we shop and the retailers do their business. Watch this space for more such carefully curated posts, to be updated on all the latest happenings around the globe in Technology and Digital. For updated news visit our Blog

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