Category: Mobile

Does Every Company Need to Have a Mobile App?

Most companies today are moving towards enterprise mobility and many of them seek to have mobile applications of their own. While mobile applications provide a great opportunity to engage the audience and communicate with them, it may not always be the best option for every company. Sometimes, the business of the company might be such that an application may not be required. In a different scenario, a big budget app may not be required but a simple one might do the trick. There is also a tendency these days to erroneously assume that apps replace websites. This is not true. Enterprise mobility is not only about mobile applications but it encompasses a lot of other areas. Yet, companies choose to go the app direction, and it is not always an advisable thing to do. Apps are made with specific purposes under specific circumstances. They need to be viable for the business and its objectives. Unfortunately, too many companies have tried to develop apps that lie ignored and unused by intended target audiences. This does not mean apps are not required, but they may not be necessary for every organization. Consider these questions before settling on a mobile application: Do you have the budget? Apps cost money. It is not easy for a small company to invest in a top notch application and expect that everything is going to go smoothly. Apps need updates, their security needs to be very high, and they also need to be very intuitive. All this costs money and if companies do not have the budget required for an app, it is probably a good idea not to venture into this space, as a sub-standard app is only going to place the company in a poorer position. Do you really need it? A lot of times, you may not need an app. Your company probably just needs to invest in web development. Maybe your website just needs a mobile website and not a mobile app. There are a number of situations where you will not need a mobile application. Consider your situation wisely, and only then must you make a decision. What purpose does your app serve to you or your audience? List all the benefits and advantages of the proposed app. What business purpose does it serve you? Is it going to bring any value to your consumers? How is it going to help them? Can’t this be solved just by adding features to a mobile website? There are a number of questions you need to ask yourself before you decide to have an application. Do not hurry up. As you can see, there are a number of reasons why you may not need mobile applications. Most importantly, you need to consider if you are going to really make any profit from the mobile app. Otherwise, you might just be crossing your budget and investing in something that may not be urgent. However, investing in web development, lead generation, social media campaigns, etc are more urgent. Even more urgent is the need to automate and move most of your data and processes to the cloud.

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Ensuring App Security: An Opportunity and Challenge

The number of people who use mobile phones has dramatically increased, and unsurprisingly, enterprise mobility has grown in size and stature. With enterprise mobility becoming the next big technological spend, mobile security remains one of the thorny issues for most clients and vendors. Mobile app security, which is even less discussed, has been described by some pundits as ‘Wild West’. To look at some facts that are disturbing, almost all apps available on Google Play for the Android platform were hacked at least once. 56% Apple’s iOS apps were hacked. The proportion of free apps that were hacked was marginally lower. This just means, apps are not as secure as most people believe them to be, especially if they have not been developed by reputed technology companies. With BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) being the policy in place, app security is a very important issue that needs to be taken seriously. Let us take a look at some of the things that can be done to keep data and devices safe, especially when an app is compromised. In the best case scenario, the app should be impenetrable but one must always be extra cautious. [php snippet=1] How to ensure app security? The first step should be to secure the app’s code. Mobile malware usually look for vulnerabilities within an app to gain access. A recent report revealed that more than 11.6% mobile devices are infected by malware at any given point. However, there are many tools that can help developers to detect vulnerabilities and seal security loopholes. While business apps pose less of a problem, consumer apps may have more vulnerabilities. The next step would be to secure the devices. You need to bring in policies that will ensure that jailbroken devices are not used at work. Thirdly, data needs to be secured. moving all data to the cloud is actually a good idea, with mobility becoming the new reality.It helps to keep data safe on a third party server where it might be encrypted. Remote wipe facilities can ensure that data is erased before a device gets into wrong hands. Last but not the least, security needs to be ensured while people make purchases on apps. Apps provide a very convenient platform for e-commerce but they also pose security threats. All these can be overcome when developers take the necessary actions. Threats present developers with an opportunity The more enterprises move towards mobility, the more they will have to start thinking about app security. Applications are not always secure and they can pose a mighty challenge to developers to keep them safe from malicious threats. This is also an opportunity for coders to come together and bring solutions that do not have loopholes. While it is indeed a wild world out there, it presents developers with an opportunity to push limits to make applications secure. Mobile and cloud security is already very impressive, if we are talking about premium services. Yet, it is necessary to use these threats as opportunities to make things safer for users.

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10 Reasons for Mobile Enablement of Enterprise

Enterprise mobility is an idea that started out as a suggestion but is not something that even the smallest of companies agree that they can’t do without. More and more companies are lunging forward to include app strategies and mobile websites in their IT policies. This is certainly helping them in almost all respects. By ensuring that mobility is given the respect it deserves, companies are able to reach target audiences which were once invisible. This is especially true in emerging economies such as India and China, where most people access the Internet using mobile devices. Not only this, enabling mobile enterprise helps you to kick start next generation ERP and HRMS modules, all of which help you to become a leaner and better organization. With this reality in background, it makes sense for you to understand why you must go ahead and engage in mobile enablement of enterprise, if you still have not done it. In this article, let us take a look at 10 reasons why you must enable enterprise mobility now. 1. It is 2016 It goes without saying that we are hurtling towards 2016 and beyond. It just makes practical sense to enable mobile enterprise, which includes coming up with a strategy to develop apps, design responsive websites and also using cloud services on your mobile devices. As we move farther into the 21st century, we will realize that it is going to be a truly mobile world. 2. Reduces costs Enterprise mobility is done with a purpose. IT not only increases efficiency but also reduces cost. You will not have to spend money on legacy systems and software programs, all of which also need additional expenses with respect to storage. Enabling mobile enterprise helps you to save costs and even make some profits in the long term. Cost reduction is certainly one of the most important goals of all companies today. 3. Makes data more accessible Data is usually saved and stored in cloud servers. When it comes to mobile applications, all the data generated will be stored in secure servers, which helps to ensure that you have a steady access to whatever you have saved, whenever and wherever you choose to access it. The days of lugging around a storage device are long gone. Making data should be a priority for a number of reasons such as ease of access, reduction of time and increased efficiency. 4. Makes your staff mobile Technologies such as field force management and options such as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) make staff more mobile. They will find themselves freer and more at liberty to concentrate on important tasks. This invaluable freedom translates to enterprise profits in the long term. Certainly, who would want to lose these benefits in days like these? Staffs that are mobile will always be able to reach your target goals easily. 5. Helps you reach your customers better Mobility is one of the best ways to reach your target audience. No matter where they are, you can always reach them on their cellphones and storage devices. This helps you to gain their loyalty and also send notifications when required. At the end of the day, this translates to more leads and converts and better sales. Enterprise mobility will certainly help you to target a larger audience. Customer acquisition is an important part of enterprise mobility. 6. Most people use mobile devices It is becoming increasingly clear that people have begun to use mobile devices more than desktops and laptops. This is because mobile operating systems are vastly superior to what they used to be back in those days. Moreover, mobile devices are more democratic, making computing more accessible to everyone. This means, more people use mobile devices than legacy systems like they used to just a couple of years ago. With Android and iOS taking over the world, you simply can’t afford to be left behind. 7. Internet access is mostly mobile Most traffic that websites receive today originates from mobile devices. This means, most people are accessing your websites on mobile devices. To add to this, people prefer using apps and that means, you need to start investing more in enterprise mobility. This is a trend that is likely to become a pattern in the next couple of years. This habit will likely continue in the years to come. 8. Takes care of security All data is stored on cloud-based servers. Your data and information remain safe and security is taken care of. Moreover, whenever you wish, you can choose options such as remote wipe, which will delete all data on certain or all devices if you choose to do so. Certainly, this is something that will interest most enterprise clients. Security must always be one of the most important priorities for every company. 9. Focuses on encryption Mobility is all about data security, privacy and encryption. Encryption is one of the main reasons why people and companies are choosing to use mobile devices and applications. World class encryption technologies ensure that no information is lost or deleted or accessed by people who do not have permission to do so. This bit of technology is what is making a number of companies to go mobile. Encryption may sound complex, but it is also very important in today’s world. 10. It is the future Last but not the least, mobility is the future. You simply have to do what everyone else is doing, even if you have your own hesitations. By choosing to enable mobile enterprise, you will reduce costs, increase efficiency, automate manual tasks and also gain new leads and customers. After all, this cannot be too bad for your company, could it be? Brace yourself for future and go mobile! Conclusion We have already witnessed a paradigm shift with respect to enterprise mobility. You can choose not to be part of this revolution at your own risk. While you may feel it is something that does not concern you, it is becoming increasingly clear

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What Is Field Force Management?

There are a number of businesses that have a direct sales force or a number of staff working across different locations in various parts of the country or the world. They may be selling products face-to-face to your clients or they may be taking products back or they may even be collecting information or making people fill up forms. How do we manage this huge workforce that is out there on the field and doing their jobs? How do you tally the results with the investment or even better, try and make changes to existing field plans? It is increasingly clear that there needs to be a certain sense of discipline and streamlining of field operations. This is one of the reasons why it is important to automate certain tasks within field sales and operations. This helps you to track your assets remotely and contact with your workforce when required. They may also be able to get in touch with you if it is required. Most importantly, engineers, sales representatives and customer care executives can easily send information, scanned receipts and other crucial information to you in a standardized and streamlined manner. This helps in regulating your business and also bringing some order to what is usually a very chaotic way of working. In this article, let us take a look at what field force management is and how it is going to help you. Why you must choose field force management Field force management tools help you to stay in control all the time. They automate what can be automated and leave only the most human-human interaction left to your staff. This helps you to keep a record of all interactions and important data within a database, without you having to manually go through sales receipts, complaint slips and other such details. In other words, a field force management tool is a godsend to companies. Moreover, these tools help to automate several aspects of your staff’s work, leading to an increase in productivity and motivation. By streamlining operations, you will also ensure that important stakeholders are well informed and management visibility is enhanced. This helps you to make smarter decisions and finally help you to serve your customers better. At the end of the day, field force management is similar to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution but is vastly different. It is specifically targeted at staff that work on the field and is intended to make them and your work more streamlined, transparent and easy to track. Cloud-based solutions help you automate better Field Force Management is usually cloud-based which means all data is stored and accessible on secure cloud servers. There is no question of losing important data or not being able to retrieve something important. If something goes missing, there will usually be a backup available. Field force management tools include the software, the hardware and also the kind of training that is required for users to use it efficiently. The software usually helps in saving and processing information while the hardware helps employees to enter important data into devices while they are on the job. Sometimes, field force solutions can also be a mobile app that negates the need for a specific or special device. This is very important when it comes to field jobs as carrying different devices can prove to be a cumbersome job. At the end of the day, field force solutions are meant to reduce the burden on staff and not actually inadvertently increase it. All the information that is stored on the cloud can be run through analytics software so that you get the kind of reports that you are looking for to improve your business. The actual process of field force management A field force management tool helps you to remain in contact with your staff while they are at work on the field. This helps you to track your personnel in real-time. Field personnel or your staff can log in and enter their attendance using a smartphone. You can assign that particular day’s task remotely using a web console or your own smartphone. Next, they can carry out whatever duties they need to while you get all the alerts that you set to receive. This helps to increase transparency. You can choose to receive alerts on your phone or on your desktop. Finally, staff can tag completed tasks with audio and images, instead of having to type reports. This helps to focus more on the job than on job reporting. Last but not the least, location tags help you to ensure that the job is done in the right place. Your staff will not be able to take your generosity for granted. All in all, a field force management tool helps you to track and control your staff without you having to be physically present with them and this is the beauty of this tool. Looking ahead Finally, we need to remember that field force management helps companies to reduce administration cost and increase production. This helps to automate data integration which is usually done with the help of cloud servers. Moreover, you can set invoice parameters that help you to also keep track of stocks, inventories and engage in P.O. and task management. A number of field force management users also use it as a tool to engage in credit management. Banks and insurance companies particularly find this tool helpful as payments can be received on the job, instead of asking customers to pay online or offline. This also helps in building valuable customer relationships and enhance loyalty. Thirdly, a field force management tool helps to increase planning efficiency. This means you will be able to allocate tasks and optimize routing. All this helps to increase your ROI at the end of the day and get back the money you invest on-field force management. Finally, you will have more control over production and sales thanks to the automation of data collection. You will also have more

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Integrating Barcode Scanning Technology in to Mobile Apps

It doesn’t require a genius to know a little about barcode technology. Barcodes have now existed for a very long time and no one would dispute that this particular technology is not very revolutionary. Yet, this simple and modest technology might have something going when it comes to mobile technology. You may ask, why anyone would use barcode technology when there is near field communication (NFC) and other more advanced tools. The answer is, barcodes are very simple and can easily be integrated within applications rendering them quite useful, especially when you are selling products. A barcode reader can read and output printed barcodes with the help of a computer. All it requires is a light source, a lens and a light sensor that will help in translating optical stimuli to electronic data. Barcode readers also come with decoders that help to analyze barcode data and then send the content to an output port. With this in mind, it should not come as a surprise that barcode technology is simple but useful to use and can easily be integrated into applications that aren’t specifically designed for barcode reading. In other words, barcode technology can help your existing or future ecommerce application to act as if it were on steroids, even while using a technology that has existed for years. Nothing revolutionary but certainly very useful. In this article, let us take a look at why integrating barcode scanning technology into mobile apps may be such a good idea. What are the technological prerequisites for barcode scanning integration? Cellphone cameras that do not have auto-focus are not very suitable for barcode reading or scanning. It is important that a cellphone has at least a minimal camera capability before being able to read the barcode. However, 2D barcodes and codes such as the QR Code and Data Matrix work well with or without auto-focus. This is one of the reasons why so many app developers are using QR codes even when they are quite old-fashioned themselves. Now, NFC is not always supported on every cellphone. However, QR codes can be read on any cellphone that has a functioning camera. For this reason alone, a number of app developers are looking at integrating barcode scanning technology, in the form of QR Code reading so that people can easily read and send information just by taking pictures. This has worked well with most clients who try to keep information secure yet freely available, without users having to enter or type a lot of data. For example, contact cards are shared using QR Codes, while product information can similarly be shared as well. These common barcode formats ensure that codes are quickly and accurately read so that prospects do not lose interest in taking action to your call. Barcode scanning can help you in a number of ways. Some of the applications can be as follows: Movies and music: If you are offering some kind of entertainment related sales, it becomes easier to barcode CD catalogs, MP3 playing, DVD/VHS catalogs and others. This helps to keep a count of titles sold and also, people will not have to physically search for titles. All the information related to a particular title will be visible on their screens. Books and magazines: Similar to music and movies, books and magazines can easily be barcoded as well. Most books have an ISBN number. Books also have other information such as number of pages, weight, volume, hard or paper bound, and other such information. All this can easily be stored in barcodes which consumers can easily read on their mobile devices. Consumer goods: Goods such as groceries, perishables, non-perishables and other products can be barcoded. If you are selling them online, it just becomes easier to repeatedly sell the same goods without having to burden the user to enter information again and again. This also helps to enter nutrition information and even making shopping lists. Life simply becomes easier. Personal property inventory: If you thought this was all that barcodes could do, they can also help in more serious matters such as information that is required to be entered into personal finance software. Scanned receipt images can be associated with appropriate entries and paper copies can slowly be eradicated. This helps in going green as well. Retailers: No matter what you sell, barcodes help in cataloguing and tracking all goods and products that are sold. Moreover, consumers will not have to ask you questions each time they visit your store, online or offline. They simply have to take a picture of the barcode and all the information about that particular product will be available to them. Maintaining barcode experience across devices Of course, you can ensure that the better cellphone your user has, the better your app experience will be. People who use the simplest of camera cellphones may use the simple barcode scanning on your application. However, if it is a smartphone with auto-focus camera, Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile can all be used to scan barcodes. While Apple’s iOS does not have barcode scanning technology built into, there are a number of third party tools that can help in scanning barcodes. Certainly, one only needs to decide upon using barcode scanning within their apps so that there is less burden on both the app owners and the users, when it comes to information collecting and reading. Looking ahead Barcodes are ubiquitous and they make things really easy for consumers to gain information about your product. Similarly, you can use barcodes as a marketing strategy to help consumers get the information they want about the products that you are selling. The best part about all this is that barcode scanning technology can be integrated within applications, even if the app is designed for a different purpose. If you are considering upgrading your existing application with barcode technology or plan to integrate barcode scanning with your brand new app, it is quite easy to do so.

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Optimizing Mobile Content Should Be Your Priority in 2016

A record number of people are moving towards a mobile-centric usage. Not just people, but companies have begun to use mobiles as a way of working too. For instance, PCs and Macs are gradually being phased out while tablets have taken their place in many companies. This is because of the physical mobility they facilitate. Thus, the content that you publish should be focused more towards a mobile-centric audience. In the years ahead, we will see a surge of new Internet users from emerging economies that will begin to use the internet only on mobile devices. PCs and Macs will find their place as niche devices used by professionals and those who really need to work hard. In such a circumstance, it only makes sense for you to be prepared for the future and optimize your mobile content. In this article, let us take a look at why you should be optimizing your mobile content for the year 2016, whether you live in India or elsewhere in the world. After all, Internet is usually the same wherever we live and the larger trends are reflected across the globe. 1.      Moving towards an App-only Strategy It must become clear to you by now that most companies are moving towards a mobile only strategy. This started with Flipkart, an eCommerce giant based in India. Considering their own traffic and user data, they decided to forego their desktop website in favor of mobile application. It seems to be working for them. This is mostly because in poorer countries people cannot afford expensive desktops or laptops. Cellphones are their primary means of accessing the Internet. If you wish to tap this audience, it becomes clear that you will have to go mobile, along with the content that you publish. This ensures that your content is optimized to be visible and readable across platforms, including mobile. Moreover, this is a good opportunity for you to tap into these emerging user-bases. 2.      Emerging Economies Focus on Mobile Internet Emerging economies such as India, countries in Africa and Latin America, and even Russia are more amenable to use cellphones in place of desktops. This is because, as we previously pointed out, they cannot afford desktops and laptops. This must then indicate that more people currently access the Internet through mobile phones and tablets than through desktops and laptops. Similarly, companies have begun to ask their employees to bring their own devices to work, without giving them desktops or laptops to work with. This results in a situation where both consumers and decision makers are using mobile devices to access content. If you want to reach this huge audience, you will have to go mobile or make your existing content mobile-centric. 3.      Mobile Content is Responsive Just because you went mobile or you optimized your content for mobile devices does not mean you will have to forego your desktop website, like Flipkart did. Most websites today are responsive. This means, they can adjust to the screen size of the device a user is using. This means, your content will be optimized for mobile devices but will also be available on desktops and laptops for those who choose it. When you get your website designed, ask for a mobile-first strategy so that your website and content are responsive across devices. You will no longer need to worry about segmenting your audience based on the kind of device they use. All you need to do is to ensure that your content is primarily written for a mobile audience. The rest of them will be taken care of by responsive technology. 4.      Mobility Ensure Greater Interaction Going mobile has its own advantages other than the sheer number of people who use mobile devices. Mobile devices allow for more interaction between you and the user. Moreover, even the user can interact with the application or the website better than he or she can on a desktop website. Of course, Microsoft’s Windows 10 allows touchscreen capabilities on its desktop OS by it is still not enough and not good enough, when compared with mobile applications. When you write or publish content for mobile devices, you will end up helping your audience to interact with your content in a smoother and clearer manner. It is more instinctive than having to click through websites on a desktop or laptop to reach your content. Certainly, by now we all know that interaction is very important. 5.      Better Chances at Sales and Conversions The most impressive quality about mobile content is that one can see a greater number of conversions. People who browse on apps or mobile websites tend to hit the ‘buy’ button more than those who browse on desktops. This is because, there are less distractions and it is easier to land at the sales page. If you are looking for conversions or sales, a good place to start might be to optimize your content to suit mobile devices. Chances are, you will see more people purchasing your goods or services, more than you ever did on a desktop website. With more people using cell phones and tablets than legacy devices, it is also sensible to be on mobile platforms and focus your content on mobile platforms. 6.      The Deluge of Mobile Devices There is no doubt that people prefer mobile devices to legacy computers for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons are economic while a few others are about ease of use, mobility, efficiency and other factors. If you are still wondering why you should go mobile, you only need to look at the total number of mobile devices that are purchased every year. When we compare the number of iPhones and iMacs sold across the world, it becomes quickly clear to you that there is no comparing the numbers between mobile devices and personal computers. This is the main reason why you should optimize your content to suit a mobile platform. Beyond 2016 In 2016 and beyond, these trends will

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How Mobile Devices Are Driving the Future of Search

Back in March 2014, a study conducted by online advertising platform Marin Software revealed that more than 50% of all paid search links would arrive from mobile devices by the end of December, 2015. Jessica Lee wrote that cost per click (CPC) on mobile devices increased at an incredible rate, when compared with CPC on desktops in 2013. Moreover, tablet CPCs outranked desktop CPCs. A lot of naysayers had predicted that tablets would be irrelevant. Throughout 2014, we have only seen people purchasing more tablets and cellphones with which most people access the Internet today. In fact, a majority of search queries come from mobile devices, as opposed to desktops. This fundamental change in the way people access the Internet has contributed to a paradigm shift within SEO circles. Today, SEO professionals understand that the money is in mobile devices. People simply do not use computers anymore, especially, in developing countries where large computers are more expensive and unaffordable for a large number of people. Thus, mobile devices have given the power of using Internet to many people who, otherwise, would not be privileged enough to be online. It is not just the poor who access the Internet using mobile devices. Most affluent people use mobile devices to conduct searches, look for products and also to simply browse. This change in user habits is mostly because of increased screen sizes of mobile devices. In this article, let us take a look at how mobile devices are driving the future of search. What is the status of mobile Internet usage today? Today, it is no longer relevant to describe how important mobile devices are and why we need to focus our SEO strategies on mobile devices. What is important is to understand the statistics so that we are in a position to create targeted search campaigns, which help us to create SEO strategies that are effective and useful. Danyl Bosomworth wrote that a whopping 80% of people used smartphones to search the Internet, whereas, another 47% of those interviewed used tablets as well. 91% of those interviewed still used a PC or a laptop to search the Internet. What this really tells us is, mobile devices cannot be ignored anymore. They are an important part of the search ecosystem and it is crucial to understand how people use their mobile devices when they search so that we can build better websites and come up with more targeted SEO campaigns. Searching begins on search engines but mobile apps are not far behind Danyl also wrote that 48% of them start searching on search engines. Another 33% start searching on branded websites, whereas, 26% of those interviewed searched on branded apps. This piece of data gives us a very valuable piece of information. People have already begun to use branded applications to search for products. For instance, people would download Macy’s application to check which products are available because they trust Macy to sell the best. Likewise, it is becoming increasingly clear that people now use applications to search for not only products but also trivia, information, news and many other things. We have already moved towards an app-centric world, where the browser is slowly losing its significance. This is not really a bad thing to happen. It is just that we need to get used to the new way of browsing and searching for information. The future is the mobile app Mobile apps are going to get bigger this year and this will partly be the reason why it is important to focus our SEO strategies on optimizing applications for search. This will help us to guide users to arrive at information that they want and also help clients in increasing sales. Applications will continue to take precedence over websites in the near future. He also continued to write that 89% of time spent on media by users was through mobile apps. People spent only 11% of their time viewing media on mobile browsers. This leads us to believe that if people are going to look for images or videos on their mobile devices, it is mostly through applications. If you have an e-commerce store, it makes more sense to make it app-friendly, rather than having a completely new mobile website. This also brings us to the topic of responsive websites. Responsive web design for better mobile search With mobile devices coming in different screen sizes, designers need to focus on various screen resolutions. This impacts the way online search takes place. If websites are not optimized for a mobile experience, they will receive very few visitors and search traffic. Responsive design ensures that a website looks good on all screen sizes, thereby, enhancing the stickiness of a website. Responsive design is also SEO-friendly and is a great method to ensure that mobile websites are SEO-friendly too. It also removes the need to design separate mobile websites. Local search and geo-location data If you have ever used one of those taxi-hailing applications, you will know the importance of geo-location data. Dating applications have mushroomed over recent years, thanks to GPS and the ability to locate like-minded people nearby. Searching on mobile phones is more local than ever. In fact, local search is the singular most unique feature of mobile search. Businesses can now optimize their physical stores to appear in the search results of mobile users who are in the vicinity. If you run a restaurant that sells Thai food and someone who likes Thai food is nearby, you will probably end up in the search results. All that you need to do is optimize your store locator pages in order to help the searcher locate you. GPS has, in fact, changed the way we search completely. Searching has truly gone local, thanks to geo-location information. One does not need to describe one’s physical presence in detail. Turning on the GPS needs to be enough to help customers locate your office or store. Moreover, a mobile user’s geo-location data gives you

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H’Ble CM Of West Bengal Launches ‘Smart Bardhaman’ Mobile App: Indus Net Technologies(INT.), a Proud Technology Partner

Yet another moment for all of us at Indus Net Technologies(INT.) to bag the pride! As it is rightly said by our Founder and CEO, Mr. Abhishek Rungta, “Digital media will soon empower each one of us to participate and act in the governance of our nation.” Team INT has once again given a new shape to the notion of citizens taking an active hand in governing themselves after the successful development of SMS based Poll Management System for Chief Electoral Office of West Bengal and MyGov app for the Government of India. As more cities and towns are exploring the benefits of digital gadgets, such tools are fast becoming a platform for civic engagement as well. The rolling innovation of mobile apps is radically lowering the cost of collaboration and the distance between the government and the citizens they serve. To help the society of Bardhaman utilize such technological advancements, we have designed and developed the ‘Smart Bardhaman’ mobile app to enable citizens of Bardhaman to smoothly interact with their local Governments without the need to step into the municipal buildings. This Citizen Governance Mobile App is launched by none other than our Hon’ble Chief Minister Smt. Mamata Banerjee at her 100th administrative meeting at the district of Bardhaman. The app is designed as a single point for accessing information of all citizen governance departments of Bardhaman District. It intends to help public make their voice heard against departments including the Panchayat Samiti, Block and Sub-Divisional offices, Municipalities or PWD regarding the management of primary infrastructures as roads, street lights, drainage issues, water supply and many more to add. Citizens’ grievances related to construction of Rural Housing, 100 days work, Panchayat, Elections, SC/ST/OBC Certificates, Ration Card and Ration Supply,  Social Pension or Motor Vehicles can also be lodged through the ‘Grievance Registration Form’ in this application. Besides, one can also view their grievance status through a unique registration User ID that is auto-generated once a complaint is lodged. In addition, information on different Government schemes including ‘Minority Scholarships’, ‘Vocational and Industrial Training’ or ‘Kanyashree’ can be accessed through this extremely user-friendly mobile app. Without a shadow of doubt, the citizens of Bardhaman now have better transparency, when it comes to reporting their concerns about the problems in the district. To add to this, Mr. Rungta also mentioned about how Smartphone applications are becoming crucial in conveying public welfare plans and bringing transparency in the administrative sector. Citizens of Bardhaman District can now download this free app from Google Play Store and exercise their rights for fair and accountable governance in the Public Utility Domain. Here’s now Bardhaman getting smarter!

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The Five M-Learning Myths that You Need to Move Past

M-learning, the most widely used name for Mobile Learning, is believed to be the emerging trend in the e-learning sector. Though it has gained enough popularity since the starting of the 21st Century but still the industry experts consider it to be in the nascent stage; and the sole reason behind this being the myths of mobile learning, which are hindering learners from embracing the new opportunities related to this relatively new mode of learning. Hence, it’s time for you, as a learner, to move past these myths and take a step forward towards the technologically advanced world. Here are some of the most significant myths that you are expected to rule out at the earliest: 1. M-learning means “learning on the go” It’s just an assumption. Instead, m-learning is much more than “learning on the go”. In fact, through mobile learning, you are accompanied by learning tools even in the static places. Though most of the learners resort to m-learning to learn on the move but it’s certainly not restricted to this. It’s just that it makes learning more flexible. 2. M-learning points at learning through mobile phone It is surely a misconception. Mobile phones aren’t the sole device used for mobile learning. M-learning even includes into its periphery the devices like laptops, notebooks and tablets. To be precise, any device that does not restrict a learner’s mobility is considered suitable for mobile learning. However, mobile phones are among the most widely used devices for m-learning as these handheld devices can be used by a learner without any inconvenience. 3. M-learning is actually related to mobile devices It’s off course about mobile devices but not just about that. Instead, it’s all about technology. After all, technology is the enabler of learning activities, which some people misperceive to be the driver. In fact, it is the integration of educational technologies into the learning sphere that enhances the overall mobile learning experience. Hence, it has nothing to do with just mobile devices. 4. M-learning is mobile-based e-learning Some people are of the opinion that mobile learning is nothing but e-learning through mobile devices and that it offers just snippets of the learning materials. Though it is true to some extent but still m-learning is something more than this. This view does not actually take into account the fact that mobile devices have a number of additional affordances like location awareness, collaborative communication etc. 5. M-learning caters to distance learning and not classroom based trainings It is absolutely a misinterpretation of mobile learning. M-learning does not restrict itself to distance learning. It is equally effective for classroom based learning, if the homework, museum visits, field trips etc. are taken into account. Mobile learning helps you review learning materials, collect and analyze course related details through a handheld device, which is not just easy to carry but is even easy to store information in. Now, as you know that mobile learning is not a “15 minutes of fame” categorized learning support system and has already been projected by the industry experts to be a predominant learning method in the near future, it is advisable that you move past the aforementioned m-learning myths at the earliest. After all, mobile learning wouldn’t be a choice anymore; rather, it would emerge as a compulsive learning mode to stand apart.

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Indus Net Technologies(INT.) Proudly Contributes to “Digital India”

Yet another proud moment for all of us at Indus Net Technologies(INT.)! Team INT. is proud to be a part of the much talked-of campaign “Digital India”, initiated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. Held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium of New Delhi on 1st July, 2015, this is the visionary program of Shri Narendra Modi, organized to present the Government of India’s initiative for digitizing the country. This initiative is believed to take India to a new height where the country would have an economy with connected knowledge and strong leadership. This Digital India initiative is even expected to enhance the collaboration between the Government and tech companies. In fact, many of the big players like the Aditya Birla Group, the Bharti Group etc. have already started playing a significant role in the digitalization of the country of India. As the entire IT industry is highly banking on this visionary program of Shri Narendra Modi, Indus Net Technologies(INT.), in association with the National Informatics Centre, proudly contributes to this initiative by developing the mobile app for MyGov.in. Though we have got a number of Government projects like the development of websites for Lok Sabha, Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Ministry of Tourism, NIMHANS and many more to our credit, however, being a part of the Digital Media initiative is a bit more special. As our Founder and CEO, Mr. Abhishek Rungta said, “The current engagement will empower the citizens with the mobile app for MyGov, thus allowing people to act and participate on the move.” The MyGov app is a crowd sourcing platform that allows the Indian Government to connect directly with the citizens of India and vice-versa. Launched at the aforementioned event, this mobile application will allow Indian citizens to directly contribute to decision making of the Government, thus, enabling good governance. Through this application, citizens of India would be able to make their voice heard on several important social initiatives of the India Government like Clean Ganga, Clean India, Girl Child Education, Skilled India, Job Creation, Digital India etc. Aimed at offering a seamless mobile user experience, the app, thus developed by us, includes a number of sections like My Activities, Creative Corners, My Updates, In-App Alerts, Push Notifications etc., each of which would flash details about the different social initiatives of the Government of India and would even allow the users to share views and participate in online discussions and debates. The Android based app would even enable users to take pictures on a real time basis using the phone camera and use the photo gallery of the phone used for attaching images while posting comments. Additionally, to quote Mr. Rungta, “The app would have Google Mobile Analytics code residing within the APIs so as to enable tracking of usage patterns and behavior of users, as well as for other analytics.” All in all, the MyGov app is foresighted to be invaluable for getting public feedback on government initiatives and team Indus Net Technologies is proud to be the development partner for such a noble mobile app. Download this app for free and be an empowered citizen of India.

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