Category: Technology

The marketing department of a company is known for being creative, proactive and the kind that can take a bull by the horns, but little do we realize the challenges faced by this department. To keep up with its glorified reputation people in this department constantly push their limits, but that is not quite necessary if they plan to follow a different approach. Change in attitude and approach can breath life into any domain be it marketing or finance, and for which it is very essential for them to try different thinking approaches like lateral thinking. This thinking process prompts you to think “out of the box” and break the bounds of vertical thinking. Importance of Lateral Thinking A constant push to formulate strategies and develop ideas can be extremely exhausting, creativity has been commoditized and the demand is constantly increasing, in such situations lateral thinking is very important to come up with fresh ideas. Corporate biggies have understood this demand very well and they frequently conduct workshops to train their employees to follow a different approach in generating ideas and solving problems. The need for lateral thinking gets even direr in advertising agencies where almost everybody is instigated to give up vertical thinking to avoid a regular pattern of ideas, which is fair enough considering the diverse demands of their clients. Almost every client wants a ground breaking advertisement which is not possible if the think tank of the advertising agency follows a regular approach in generation of ideas. What really is Lateral Thinking? Lateral thinking is pretty much about standing back and looking at the big pictures without going into details of falling prey to heuristic thinking. This theory can be well explained by one little story that is widely used to give people a firm understanding of it. A greedy moneylender forces a farmer to gamble with him, the farmer being awfully poor has nothing to gamble but his daughter is known for her wits and smartness gambles herself in exchange for heir freedom. The shrewd money lender puts pretends to put a white pebble and a black pebble in a bag and promises to grant them freedom if she pulls out the white pebble, but he cleverly replaces the white pebble with another black pebble and the daughter notices this transaction. Now a heuristic or a vertical thinker would ideally go around telling people about the unfair deal and ask for a fair re-match, in which case her chances of winning will slim down to fifty percent. This girl chooses to ‘think outside the box’ and does not ask for a re-match rather she pull out a pebble and throws it far away where it cannot be found. Now, the pebble which is left in the bag is a black pebble which proves that she had pulled out a white pebble and is granted freedom. The benefits of lateral thinking are many, but most importantly it breaks the conventional methods and paves ground for innovative ways. Provocative operation is a part of lateral thinking which propels thinking to a place where new ideas or solutions can be found. It refers to generation of an idea which in turn prompts an individual to think in the lines of that generated idea. An example of provocative operations will definitely help you get a firm grip on the subject. An owner of a apparel design house decides to get rid of his entire existing collection of bridal gowns and instead he wants to showcase his brand new spring collection. A lot of money will go down the drain if he chooses to discard his existing line of bridal gowns, so he frantically starts thinking about ways to save his invested money and comes up the following ideas: • Print bold patterns on the dress and sell them as regular gowns, since most of the wedding   dresses are white in color no one would be able to tell a difference. • Remove the seam from all the dresses and use the fabric in some other apparel. • Put up a stock clearance sale. • Convince all the unmarried female friends to get married and buy the gowns. • Open another shop to showcase these gowns. As you can see, some ideas are not sensible, not prudent and impractical, but all of these ideas are capable of initiating thought process. Now, from scratching his hair in despair the designer has five ideas to chew upon, he does that in following ways: • First option, to decide the prints a lot of time and energy would be consumed, which is not   feasible as the designer has to make way for his new collection. • Second option, again, a lot of time and effort will go in doing unnecessary work besides the   fabric won’t be of much use since it has already been cut in predefined shape. • Third option, this would attract a lot of customers to his design house and while they are        busy picking their discounted bridal gowns he can also showcase his brand new collection    to them. • Fourth option sounds completely daft • Fifth option, the cost of opening another shop could be huge and economically not           suitable. After thinking in the lines of the five ideas he realizes that the third idea is fairly worthwhile and goes ahead with it. In this example we observed that Provocative operations can seem quite silly and unnecessary but is if followed it may lead to a good idea. This technique is extremely helpful to proceed case of an impasse, where the possibility of an existing solution in seemingly impossible. This theory was brought forward by Edward de Bono and ever since it has been extensively used in many avenues of creativity. This approach can be incorporated in marketing and business development to obtain solutions for deadlock problems and optimize results. We will discuss few ways which can help you find

A feature story is very different from any regular article that is replete with information pertaining to news in that it uses a novel concoction of style, delivery, wordplay and interaction with the user. The author uses all these to create a light, interesting and informative read. These articles give the writer more creative freedom in expressing one’s writing style through tackling the topic in quite a bit of an informal manner. A good feature article is the one which scores more on originality that the writer builds from his vast experience. For aspiring or less experienced writers here are a few basic steps that need to be incorporated to make it a best feature article and help the author gain recognition for his work: • Brainstorming Keep a brainstorming notebook handy with a pen so that you can carry it anywhere and pen down your thoughts. Inspiration can hit us anywhere and you should not be ill equipped to record what comes to your mind. If you are stuck in some areas that make you reaching a pen and paper impossible such as on a long journey, stuck in a traffic jam, a long stroll in the park, running errands for your family, you may be at a loss for recording your thoughts. So, better be equipped to handle such emergencies. This tip is vital as you may fail to recollect the ideas and thoughts you came up with during your above mentioned busy session and relate them to the ideas that you remember after returning back from these activities and connect them to form a story. As writing is a creative field, it demands a lot of exertions from you in ideating and coming up with interesting thoughts and words that make the story in your article interesting to read. • Choose topics wisely Is there a topic that you have wanted to write for a long time – a topic that you have thought of and prepared an outline or have come up with some fancy or hard hitting words? Is there a particular publication that you want to write for? Plan a working theme for your article. It should be concise, preferably put in a sentence or two. Let the title be catchy enough to engage the readers in it. It should give an overview of the article as to what the readers can expect from you. It should reflect your views on the topic and be something that the readers can relate to. For example, ‘What are the entrepreneurial skills that are necessary to make it big as a business tycoon?’ • Research Research for enough information that can help you to block out the article into definitive paragraphs to accommodate specific content for your article. Research is a key step that demarcates necessary stages in writing an article. This early stage of research demands that you huddle up to outline your content. This also helps you in writing a coherent and convincing query letter. • Write a good query letter  Write a good query letter to an editor of a magazine who you think is sportive enough to respond to your proposition. Though it is rare that an editor calls you, the query letter should be convincing enough to him to include your article in his magazine. As editors are inundated with calls and emails, any query letter should have five parts and each part of the content succinctly put in preferably, a paragraph. Here are the five parts of the query letter: a. The first paragraph is your introduction. It lets an editor know who you are, why you want his attention and the subject of your proposed article. Use all the ingenuity that you gather in highlighting your cause. As an editor sifts through the mails in his inbox by having a look at this subject, be convincing enough. Don’t exaggerate in this profile of you, be formal. b. The second paragraph focuses on the editor’s needs and you should get acquainted with the general editorial policy of the publication and specifically the target audience you are aiming to reach for. This tip is better addressed if you have researched well to probe the magazine’s needs from every angle. You can use well directed flattery in this paragraph that results the editor in favoring you over a number of other contenders queuing for the feature post. c. The third paragraph concentrates on briefly describing the content and the appropriateness of the article and why readers would want this information. Use your impeccable writing skills in describing the content. Use your sublime sense of vocabulary to come with an interesting choice of words that hit hard on the editor’s conscience so much so that he should have a go at having the article written for him without hesitation. Through the research you have done on the readers’ habits and their needs, enchant the editor with the notion of satisfactorily attending the readers’ needs in the article. Use all the creativity at your disposal and come up with a pair of sentences that convince the editor that your article is good and utilizable from the reader’s perspective. d. The fourth paragraph addresses the editor’s concern regarding your credentials and how you are uniquely qualified much better than your peers. It also shows the editor your understanding regarding the aims of the publication. Make the editor familiar with your writing style and the articles that you have worked on. It is good if you let him know your deep understanding of the subject in question. Let him get an insight of the seriousness of your talent and if other articles you have written on the subject. e. The final paragraph should be very short. It lets the editor of the publication know what mode of communication you will use to follow up regarding the status of your query letter – was it duly accepted or not. Keep it to the point as to what time your will

The migration from Legacy, which is a term used to refer collectively to obsolete software and computer systems to SaaS (Software as a Service) is a mammoth task to accomplish because it calls for revamping on a big scale. In this article, this migration from Legacy to SaaS is dealt with methodically in subsequent paragraphs, but before having a peek into the migration let us introduce you to both the models. This is necessary as a thorough knowledge of both the models is required to understand and execute the whole process of migration. The Legacy System The legacy system is anything that can qualify as an old method used in technology, computer system or application program. This system is an old method or technology that is not in use and the very mention of it can raise issues plaguing it, such as it being not at par with the existing advancements in technology. This outdated technology can pose a lot of challenges that are of grave concern. What are the handicaps faced by users of the Legacy System? As the Legacy System is obsolete and still being used, there can be a lot of compromises the users have to live with. Here are a few of them you can take cognizance of: 1. Lack of trained staff to bank upon 2. Support and maintenance issues 3. Security and compatibility issues Let’s look at a few of these issues that an organization using the Legacy System has to put up with, in more depth: 1. Lack of trained staff to bank upon As the organization uses software and systems of a bygone era, it is obvious that the staff it had trained to be acquainted with these systems no longer render their services. The staff that are hired recently, being familiar with the new generation systems, can be at their wit’s end dealing with the less-familiar setup. These problems faced by the new generation staff with the interface can mean there is a danger of inability in meeting the deadlines looming large over the organization. Moreover, the stranglehold of many of such risks on the organization generated by being over-dependent on the Legacy System can leave an irreparable dent on its reputation. 2. Support and maintenance issues As many of the vendors of these systems may have phased out the manufacturing of these erstwhile products, they are in all likelihood less interested in providing support for these. This can mean that these organizations are left stranded in the middle of nowhere and have to run from pillar to post at the prospect of finding support for these obsolete systems. Maintenance and overhauling of the systems can be absolutely challenging as the possibility of finding people with the necessary expertise is almost nil. Lack of software maintenance can mean that business opportunities are lost as there is less possibility of changing the software quickly and reliably. 3. Security and compatibility issues Legacy systems are very vulnerable to hacking, viruses, malicious programs and other security threats as the versions currently used in these systems are very old. This rules out the possibility of fortifying them by way of security patches in that their vendor may have stopped supplying them with these or may have shifted base to other lucrative business ventures. This is the prevalent scenario in the organizations using Legacy systems. When the going gets tough with the many newer systems vying for a place in the organization’s systems by advertising their slick operating systems, their integration with these can prove to be very troublesome. The bridge hardware and software are designed specifically for the technologies prevalent at their time and are out-of-bounds for these sluggish systems. SaaS (Software as a Service) Model SaaS or ‘on-demand software’ is supplied by Application Service Providers. It is a software delivery model wherein the software and all the associated data are centrally hosted on the cloud. The users supplied with SaaS can access it using a thin client via a web browser. SaaS has established itself as a common delivery model in a host of business applications. Many of the leading enterprise software companies have incorporated SaaS into their strategy. Benefits of migrating to SaaS SaaS is suitable for a wide range of businesses ranging from the small ones to the considerably huge types. It is accepted with wide open arms by many businesses mainly because it has the potential to reduce IT support costs exponentially by outsourcing hardware and software maintenance and support to the SaaS provider. This being the main highlight of SaaS, there are other benefits too. The main prerequisite to make the most out of SaaS is a reliable internet connection from a reputed service provider. After you have installed a good connection, you can reap many benefits from SaaS. Here are some of the benefits listed: 1. Affordability 2. Quick deployment 3. Painless upgradation with no compatibility issues 4. Work portability Let’s delve a little deeper into each one of these benefits: 1. Affordability SaaS subscription models operate on a monthly subscription basis and this covers a lot of services like upgrades, maintenance and customer support in its package. This is in stark contrast to the traditional software models in that the companies incorporating them in their businesses are not required to shell out extra money for these. 2. Quick deployment The SaaS solutions are deployed over the internet and do not require any supporting software to be installed. This makes it easier for you as your new software can be used almost instantly after installation. Traditional software take weeks or even months to deploy. 3. Painless upgradation with no compatibility issues As the SaaS provider manages all updates and upgrades necessary, there is no need for the customers to download and install security patches and the like. The user can also keep his mind free from all the hassles relating to the compatibility with respective software. 4. Work portability Working is not restricted to the desktop alone but

There are a lot of excellent articles around the web about the easy procedure to upgrade from Sharepoint 2010 to Sharepoint 2013. This article aims to simplify the procedure through 8 clearly demarcated steps, thus aiding you in successfully migrating your data. After your Sharepoint 2013 is installed and ready to use, migrating your content is no big task as explained in the subsequent paragraphs. This approach to migration is quite methodical in nature. 1. Prepare The web is full of technical resources about the migration process. Get yourself acquainted with the necessary terminologies involved in the description of the process. The Microsoft website can help you a lot but it won’t hurt to know more though through other references. Explore forums on the internet rich in content that provide exquisite details of the process often garnered from the experts in this field. You may stumble upon a good number of reliable information by way of the discussions in these forums. If you don’t find the information credible you can validate it from other reliable sources such as the Microsoft website itself. It is recommended that you find a suitable person who has a reputation of nitpicking such information and making it palatable for you. 2. Survey your existing farm Frankly, this step would have been more fruitful if attended to a while back. A vague idea of what anomalies you have to be cautious about in taking note of the resources is discussed in the next few paragraphs. a. Farm solutions Before you begin the process of actual migration, you should have a clear idea of the farm solutions that are installed on your Sharepoint 2010 servers. Be informed whether you have a plan for every custom or 3rd party package. Are they present in the 2013 versions? The features that you had failed to take account of during the upgrade can cause you serious issues in the migration process. Don’t forget to have a look at Sandbox solutions, if they are present in your farm. Have a thoroughly maintained record of who, which and what in the inventory regarding the site collection and websites in question. They are bound to be interlinked and less knowledge about them can be frustrating for you later on. Though this act may be time consuming, you are highly recommended to adhere to it. b. Web Apps Be informed about some select web applications that need to be migrated. Take particular note of their authentication methods such as any web app still in Classic mode should be upgraded to Claims on Sharepoint 2013. You can also change it while it is still running on your 2010 farm, if you feel doing so. 3. Copy your content database from 2010 to 2013 This can be done in two ways: you can either pause your 2010 farm to take a cold copy of the content databases or perform a live copy. Since this requires to be tested with minimal downtime, the second choice with the help of SQL Server’s Copy-only backup feature is preferred. After you have created a live backup of your database, restore that backup to your SharePoint 2013 SQL Server, optionally under a new name. 4. Create a target web application Make a brand new web application and just remove its content database (through Central Administration). This makes sure you steer clear of any obstacles resulting from not adhering to this rule. 5. Test and upgrade your migrated database This can be done by executing PowerShell. Now, you can install all third party and in-house customizations. Retest and repeat until no errors are found. 6. Mount your new database Run the upgrade as you attach it to your web app. Use PowerShell command Mount-SPContentDatabase. 7. Browse your upgraded sites The link embedded in the color banner at the top with ‘Start now’ will lead you to Site Collection Upgrade Process. 8. Index your new content Take advantage of SharePoint 2013 Search Center. Conclusion These 8 listed tips make a sincere effort to provide the uninitiated with the basic knowledge needed to migrate their databases from SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint 2013 with less fuss. After going through these instructions you are free to use it.

SharePoint 2013 comes loaded with a number of features that make it second to none. Most of its earlier features are polished to cater to the needs of tech savvy individuals or in a larger sense, to keep up with the latest advancements in technology. This effort of SharePoint 2013 to keep itself in tune with the changing times has helped it to strike the right chord with a large section of people. Let us take a look at the various changes incorporated in this version and how they are beneficial to businesses. 1. Device Manager This new web-based tool helps you manage Master Pages, Composed Looks, Devices, Reusable style templates and a lot of things at your fingertips. This tool, in a way, comes in the ambit of a wide variety of designers’ expertise so that they can render their services promptly. While it is far-fetched to say that novices are thoroughly encouraged, this tool helps in a way. The services of a seasoned SharePoint designer are not rendered ineffectual as the knowledge gained by them and skills honed over the years are irreplaceable. To have a peek into the device manager tool’s usability, here is an example. It simplifies the process involved in the transformation of an HTML page into a Master Page. This reduces your dependency on an expert designer in that you can have him create an HTML and CSS design and pass on the remaining work of integrating the HTML into a functional master page by using the Device Manager to your lesser skilled team. a. Device Channels The Design Manager provides your team with enough tools to make SharePoint available on many portable devices that are available in the market. They can specify different master pages for different types of devices such as Windows Phone, iPhone, Surface and iPad. There are no issues of compatibility surfacing in this version of SharePoint. 2. HTML5, CSS3 and other good stuff Cross browser and device support are the main requirement nowadays. SharePoint 2013 works great on all the recent browsers in the market such as Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome. The device channels in the Design Manager make device support a reality and the native use of HTML5 is also encouraged. 3. Community Site and Community Portal A new site template called Community Site is a new feature added to SharePoint 2013. This is something on the lines of Yahoo Answers, wherein discussion is promoted among the members. The top answerers to the various questions posed on this Community Site get the privileges of badges and points. This rating system promotes healthy discussions among the members on various topics relating to SharePoint. The discussion in this forum can be informative. The Community Portal Site Collection template automatically aggregates community sites for easy viewing and access. You can create Community Sites (Groups) for each subject matter and then create the Portal to see and access them. In each of these groups you are likely to have engaging discussions and be acquainted with the Subject Matter Experts that you were oblivious of. 4. The new Search experience A noticeable difference in SharePoint 2013 is the new ‘Continuous Crawl’ option for Search. This translates into your leveraging search all the time and you can trust the results for accuracy. The issues that were endemic to SharePoint 2007 and SharePoint 2010 are sorted out in the 2013 version. The earlier versions of SharePoint were not user-friendly in that the user had to style the content aggregated from different location using XSLT language, it being difficult. SharePoint 2013 uses a friendly interface by using the Content Search to create a search based query to aggregate unlimited content. Using continuous crawl, the results appear almost instantly. 5. Apps and apps store SharePoint 2013 introduces the concept of apps and users are welcome to add an app on their SharePoint site and easily access other applications or backend. Conclusion The overall experience combining the Apps, Search, Devices, Design Manager really enhances the user’s ability to manage a publishing of pages environment. This is irrefutable evidence to the fact that the euphoria surrounding SharePoint 2013 is not hype and it lives up to the technological wizardry and business benefits that was expected from it.