Category: Web Development

Indian Programmers Need Nurturing, Not Arbitrary Judgments

June 17, 2015

A few weeks ago, Snapdeal cheerfully declared that “right programmers are rare in India” and the tech world went abuzz about how right or wrong that statement was. Javed Anwar, in an article published on the India Today, a leading Indian magazine, came to certain arbitrary conclusions that many faculty members in India with great CVs did not know even the basics of what they were teaching and that they also lacked insight about the implications of plagiarizing research. The author concluded that Snapdeal had to look for people from outside and that “that is the only way for it to grow”. How much of these conclusions are valid and how many of these claims are without biases and prejudices? If we scratched the surface, it is quite evident that a single company’s decision to recruit programmers from abroad does not say anything about the actual situation in hand. To begin with, some of the largest and most important companies of the world have recruited Indian programmers. For example, Zoho built its entire product team from the scratch in India. Whether in India or in the U.S. or just about any country in the world, what is truly important is nurturing talent where it is found, taking corporate culture seriously and shouldering industry responsibility. These factors can be religiously followed by companies who are in the game for long haul, as we do at Indus Net Technologies. Existing problems and possible solutions It is an often repeated attempt at humor that Indians first become engineers, and then proceed further toward planning their futures and careers. This is mostly because of affordable education because of which more people can access higher education even if they do not have passion for certain subjects. Moreover, software engineering has always been the surest ticket out of poverty, as The Atlantic magazine noted way back in October, 2013. In an insightful article titled “Behind the ‘Bad Indian Coder’”, The Atlantic discussed what is now being discussed post-Snapdeal fiasco – that Indian education system has failed its citizens. It is not the Indian programmers that lack skills but the way they are taught that makes them think in slightly different ways than their western counterparts. This includes rote-learning, lack of researching and Gestalt skills & an inability to be innovative even while they possess the talent. While overhauling Indian education system is going to take time, what really needs to be understood is that the responsibility of nurturing talent falls squarely upon Indian service providers. Indian IT companies that recruit these poorly paid programmers are often in a hurry to churn out codes rather than encourage real talent to grow from within organically. What really happens at the end of the day is, Indian programmers are fired by their Indian employers if they do not meet or achieve targets. Consequently, there is no real room for innovation or nurturing talent. The companies that really excel in India are those that actually take time to nurture their employees and sort of provide a second education. Indian companies that realize the problems are focusing more on polishing and nurturing their existing employees, instead of forcing them to produce code, just as they were forced to produce homework in school. Thankfully, companies that nurture talent, speak for themselves and their employees are in demand internationally, whether they are Indian or not. What do we do at Indus Net Technologies to nurture talent? If companies feel there is a dearth of quality programmers, it is often their own responsibility to train their employees and nurture existing talents. At Indus Net, we nurture skilled resources and use that as a differentiator from the persistent noise in the industry. With more than 550 talented employees in two distinct units, we are able to focus on encouraging each individual to achieve a sort of self-actualization in their professional field. Among the two groups, one focuses on SMBs and the other on the enterprise grade projects. We follow a protocol when it comes to quality bench-marking. This process involves training new recruits and allowing them to form internal teams & build something on their own, under the leadership and guidance of a seasoned project manager. The project manager ensures that skilled resources are individually trained and nurtured before they interact or start working on client projects. The process includes cross-cultural sensitization, technical skills, focus on innovation and creativity & honing one’s existing skills and talents. Indus Net Labs is one of our unique ways to encourage our employees to spend 20% of their time creating something on their own. This is inspired by Google’s similar projects. Some of the products that resulted from Indus Net Labs initiative are SocialFire (a WhatsApp for businesses and organizations), Mobileafs (a digital publishing solution) and InfraFix (an eGovernance and maintenance solution). Let us not be prejudiced and biased To say that Indian programmers are not talented is a prejudiced and biased way of looking at things, to the point of sounding colonial. What really is ailing today’s programmers is lack of opportunities to innovate and nurture their own talent. This can be made possible by following our example of allowing individuality, creativity and ideas to be nurtured. While there are certain cultural problems that seem to portray Indian programmers in an unfavorable light, the onus remains on companies to hire and nurture promising IT talent. With a keen sense of technology and already-existing English skills, Indian programmers can be groomed into world class professionals, just like we have been doing for several years at Indus Net Technologies.

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Infrastructure as a Service: A Beginner’s Guide

June 15, 2015

The way computers and data storage work are very different from what how it used to be. The way storage works, has changed drastically since the emergence of cloud. The cloud has literally changed the way we do business, connect with people and deploy IT solutions. It has also reduced cost burden and increased productivity among companies. This has helped companies to focus on their core competencies, while using services on a shared platform. Most importantly, the cloud evolution has helped companies to establish themselves firmly in the IT sector, which earlier was too expensive. Finally, cloud computing has helped companies to access software and infrastructure which otherwise could not have been possible. There are various services a company can purchase through cloud computing models. One of those is Infrastructure as a Service or IaaS. What is IaaS? Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a kind of cloud computing where a 3rd party provider hosts internet based virtualized computing resources. It has started to replace the server you might have once used happily. The trend has changed so much that now you can see companies, who host these servers and allow you to pay for the use of the hardware that they house. IaaS is seen as a cost-efficient and scalable solution as it doesn’t require the same hardware that was previously required. For instance, servers are very expensive to purchase and maintain. Smaller and medium companies simply cannot afford to have an entire server setup built for themselves. It is also quite unnecessary for larger companies to have their own servers when much of their infrastructural needs can be outsourced. Whilst IaaS cuts costs and ensures good service, you need to pay attention to the platforms and software you are using as well. Let us look at some advantages of installing IaaS: 1. No maintenance costs Yes, you heard it right. It is not low maintenance cost but no maintenance cost altogether. Since, cloud computing is done over the Internet, companies don’t have to invest in the hardware required. All of it is handled by the IaaS vendor the company chooses. It also means that companies don’t have to worry about maintenance and replacing old equipment. When there is no maintenance cost, the companies can invest in other things. It also saves on the time to check maintenance and when it comes to business, then time equals to money. This is a very interesting aspect of cloud computing as most companies find it difficult to maintain infrastructure. It costs a lot and is very time consuming. Companies simply cannot take the responsibility of hiring maintenance staff full-time as that is going to cost a lot. The obvious choice is then to outsource to a cloud vendor. 2. Pay-as -you-go model As we discussed earlier, investing in infrastructure can be a very expensive affair. No company can afford to invest so much money in infrastructure when it can be used on a safe and secure shared platform. If need be, cloud computing also allows dedicated servers, which need not be bought. It will be maintained and allotted by the vendor and the client only has to pay for renting the services. This is one of the biggest advantages of IaaS and the pay-as-you-go model essentially means that the use of IaaS is metered in such a way that companies only pay for the services they use & how much they use it. There is no fixed monthly price tag, which is a welcome. Enterprises will know exactly where and how much are they spending & whether it is worth it. If you have used less of IaaS, your costs will match that. If you have used it excessively, your bill reflects that. The payment charges are transparent and therefore, you don’t have to doubt the credibility of the service. 3. Multiple user access IaaS provides multiple user access, which acts as one of its key points. In an era that has to make do with virtual teams, this aspect of IaaS comes in handy. Multiple User Access ensures that the confusion and the chaotic situation where a single user trying to handle multiple responsibilities is avoided. It also helps in improving the efficiency and the speed of work & definitely contributes in reduction of cost. It offers a great solution to start-ups that can’t afford to pay separately for each user. At the end of the day, it boosts flexibility and versatility within an organization. This is important to maintain the cohesiveness that exists within a company. 4. Strong reliability and performance IaaS is a very reliable option and its performance is, without a doubt, excellent. As IaaS reduces cost and time in maintenance & provides multiple user access, the performance of the company increases too. The IT team won’t have to worry about maintaining the hardware or keeping a track of it. It can concentrate on improving and adding new contributions to the company. This also brings us to the question of IT teams innovating and adding value to their home organizations. Instead of spending precious man-hours on infrastructure, they can focus their time on more complex and valuable tasks. 5. Scalability When it comes to business, nothing is the same as the previous day. The work structure can change from week to week, which demands for a dynamic infrastructure that can handle a large variety of requirements that are placed upon it. With IaaS, resources can be made instantly available for the ever so fluctuating activities. It also effectively eliminates any kind of downtime needed to add to or adjust infrastructure requirements. For example, if there are some new demands that suddenly arise, IaaS services can upscale quickly and easily to meet the growth. If there is a drop in demand, services can scale downward and save resources from being wasted unnecessarily. This shows how IaaS can mold itself to fit the company’s needs. 6. Easier access IaaS also provides easier access for employees and entrepreneurs who

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Website Navigation Trends to Implement in 2015

June 3, 2015

A website’s most important function is to help people navigate to different parts of a website and access information or media. A good website is easy to use, is attractive and makes information published accessible easily. It needs to be easy to navigate around the website and one need not be left wondering where they need to click, in order to find something. Also, navigation plays an important role in the sense of aesthetics. A navigation bar that does not look appealing will not really impact the visitor much. Instead, such a navigation style might drive away the visitor to another website. It is becoming very important to focus more on navigation styles as they are known for ensuring better quality of traffic who might even convert because of the ease of use of the website. Thus, navigation is one of the most important functions of a website. Naturally, in the year ahead, we will likely see a few important trends that will dominate, when it comes to navigation. We might feel that we have taken a look at all the available navigation options but certain trends are more important than the others. In 2015, we will likely see a few trends that will dominate throughout the year. In this article, let us take a look at those trends: 1. Navicon and its resurgence The navicon has been used by a number of web designers to make space for content and to keep the navigation bar clutter-free. This has been a hot favorite of many people but there have been some critics as well. Facebook was the one who came up with the concept of navicons and popularizing it. It was able to hide all the navigation buttons within an icon, off the screen. This helped to bring a better focus on actual content. After Facebook, a number of websites were influenced by Facebook and their designers began to design navicons in place of regular navigation bars. In 2015, this trend is likely to continue. However, it depends on what kind of website we are talking about. If it is a complex website with a lot of information to share, it makes sense to create a website with navicons. However, if the website is not large enough, one might avoid navicons altogether. 2. Full-screen navigation Another trend that we might see in 2015 is the full-screen navigation. These are used with the help of buttons or links. Navicons are, usually, a part of this as well. The difference in this navigation style is that there is, usually, a small panel that sticks out and the whole screen becomes a space to navigate. This is a good concept to use on the mobile phone but might not be a good idea on desktops. This brings us to a changing world where we cannot decide just for desktops or mobile phones. Desktops, mobile phones and tablets are all used by people to navigate & design process needs to take into account these differences in form factor and screen size. 3. Oversized navigation bars With e-commerce stores coming into foray, oversized menu buttons have become the norm. When we look at the Amazon website or its competitors Alibaba or Flipkart, both come with large navigation bars. 2015 will be a year that would be dominated by new e-commerce retail stores. An increasing number of people have begun to shop online, which is also contributing to the demand for oversized navigation bars on e-commerce sites. This will be another trend that will continue to persist throughout 2015. Navigation trends that will persist It would be interesting to see how these larger sized navigation bars would be used on mobile devices as they have little place to display so many icons. It is probably difficult to surmise that mobile phones will have a full-page navigation bar, whereas, others will either have navicons or oversized navigation bars. There might also be other forms of navigation, which will continue to dominate this year but the three that are listed here are more likely to be important throughout the year 2015. If you have any opinion about which navigation trend needs to be implemented in 2015, do let us know in the comments section below.

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How to Build the Perfect Landing Page which Won’t Let Your Visitors Go

May 27, 2015

Landing page is the first page seen by your visitors on your website or blog. Landing page needs to be built in such a manner that it stimulates the visitors to take an action as expected by you. Suitable landing page enhances user experience and your marketing goals are very likely to get accomplished. If your traffic goes to unsuitable landing page, visitors will abandon you and you will hardly get any conversion. Marketers need to be wary of committing such a mistake. Before we discuss how to build a perfect landing page, you need to know what goes into planning a perfect landing page. Clarity of goals What do you expect visitors to do when they land on your webpage? Is it subscription to newsletter? Download an e-book? Submit their basic information? Buy? Follow your social media profile? Whatever it is, it needs to be directed through your landing page. If your landing page is irrelevant, customers will get confused. Having clarity of goals is must and they will further help you to track conversion rate of your marketing campaign. Know your competition Which kind of landing pages are being used by your competitors? You have to build upon that. Anything less is unsatisfactory. Are they offering better experience for the visitors? If they do something new, try to imitate that. Customers are flooded with choices today, knowing your competition, their strategy and campaign is crucial to take a lead. Also, follow your industry leaders and see what they are doing. This will inspire you to think big. Know your audience The reason for you to be in business is your target audience. Once the segmentation part is over, how do you position your company, product and brand in front of the audience? For that, you need to understand a lot more. As a marketer, you should know that most of the decisions made by consumers are driven by emotions. Do you empathize with their expectations and aspirations? Understand the variation required in landing page Your target audience could be spread across the globe. Traffic could come to you through social media networks, ads, emails or blogs. Try experimenting with the message depending upon the source of the user to offer a unique experience. Businesses with different landing pages often get more results than others. In the beginning, try to find out the sources from where majority of your traffic comes. Make a variation on those sources first before moving ahead. How to build a perfect landing page? 1. Collect contact information on landing page itself People always think twice before giving their contact information online. You will augment their dilemma by forcing them to navigate. The result is that you lose out on customers. So, when you are directing them to a page to get their contact information, always use a strong headline stating the benefits to be offered by you. For instance, is it a subscription to newsletter, eBook download or anything else? Use a strong call-to-action. While offering a free download, it is advisable to use an image to enhance visual appeal of your digital product. The opt-in form needs to be short and simple & seek minimum personal details. 2. Content-specific landing page If you are creating a lot of interesting content with a large shelf life, it is a great idea to create content-specific landing page. Delivering the information sought-after by customers on landing page itself will save their time in navigation. Take a call on which topics you want to be featured on landing page and then create one for each topic. Including a short introduction to each post gives it more attention. The landing page, thence, can be promoted on social media networks and emails. 3. Landing page for first-time visitors A first-time visitor might not be sure which part to navigate first on your website or blog. It is quite possible that they land on a page where they don’t find anything interesting. By creating a custom landing page driving them to information necessary for first-time visitors, a lasting impression will be created. Even if a new visitor lands on an unsuitable landing page, include an option of “start here” in the navigation. The introduction page can share about your product USP and how you’ve managed to keep your customers happy. Direct your visitors thereafter to a page where they can seek more information relevant to them. 4. Landing page for visitors on guest post It is always good to write guest posts to tap the audience on popular blogs. Most marketers send that traffic to their home page, which is not a very good thing to do. To maintain the relevance of the guest post, visitors need to be directed to suitable landing page that provides them additional information. This helps in maintaining consistency of the information being shared. It intrigues the visitors to take further action depending upon your call-to-action. 5. Short, sweet and conversion-friendly An ideal landing page is the one that contains just enough information for the visitors. Don’t expose too much information on the landing page that it just shoo the visitors away. The goal of the landing page should be to convert the visitors. Your desired conversion goal could be anything. Visitors need to feel encouraged to go ahead with it through visual appeal, sound design and relevant links. 6. Videos and images A landing page loaded with bright and easy to load images creates more attraction for the visitors. Many times simple links don’t work. Images embedded with links prompt the visitors to take action. Similarly, if a nice self-explanatory video is uploaded on the landing page, it will help the visitors to understand your product and its features. Videos can also be used in place of text to state a point as they carry more weight when it comes to convincing. 7. It needs to be in line with your ad text The keywords used on your landing page should match with

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10 Ways You Can Maximize Cloud Outsourcing Success

May 13, 2015

Outsourcing anything can have its own share of worries ranging from cost cutting to quality. But without a doubt, outsourcing has been proven to be very beneficial. The same applies to cloud outsourcing too, and a successful, well thought-out and realistic plan can take your company to higher peaks of benefit & cost-savings. The number of benefits are plenty and to name a few, process improvements, expanded talent pools, cost containment, improved focus on core business and reduced time-to-market are essential. Even though, the benefits might seem luring enough to consider cloud outsourcing, you cannot turn a blind eye towards the inherent risks involved. An unsuccessful outsourcing project might have to compromise with the anticipated benefits. How about minimizing possible risks and maximizing the success? Just remember that no plan will give you a magical gain, you have to initiate a plan and wait for it to reap good results. The most important thing is to make a well-informed choice. Do not choose a plan only for the reason that it was successful for someone else as it might not work for you. Choose something that is perfect for your company and once you have chosen it, stick to it & follow the ten important steps below. 1. Clear objectives Before starting any kind of plan, your objectives need to be clear. A successful outsourcing strategy always begins with clearly defined objectives and measurable goals. As these objectives state the reasons for choosing an outsourcing program, throws light upon its business value and also provides a working framework of which vendor to choose, which model to use and to estimate the risks ahead, they also provide the context, which will help you to evaluate how successful or unsuccessful your strategy is. You can use these objectives as a scale to measure your performance and improve on it. 2. Realistic expectations The importance of setting realistic expectations cannot be stressed upon enough, while realistic expectations can motivate you. The brunt of unrealistic expectations can depress you. If you are a startup, you tend to decide ROI of the first year as a determinant of your plan’s success and this is the biggest blunder you can commit. Don’t be tensed by the high percent savings claimed by others. Forty percent savings or greater are rare and there are many costs like vendor selection costs, increased communication costs, redundant oversight, lessons learned, infrastructure and other “hidden” costs that will minimize your first-year performance. 3. Estimate the costs Like maintaining realistic expectations, it’s very important to estimate the costs accurately. The pressure to find a low cost plan hangs like a knife over your head but you cannot avoid certain costs. Some costs that cannot be avoided are the costs pertaining while selecting a vendor. This can take several people several months. Transitioning work and business processes, all the knowledge about the current work and the previous work need to be transferred. Maintaining of existing workforce, you can’t forget the people who are already working for you. Can you? 4. Assess your risks A risk-mitigation plan is a touchstone to check the viability of your outsourcing plan. It is not enough if you have a list of potential risks. You need to have a plan to face risks and not let them harm your outsourcing plan in an irreversible way. An aggressive risk-mitigation plan, which is thorough and well-thought-out can be time-consuming to produce & manage but it is worth to the last penny and minute spent on it. There are certain important things to consider while planning such as the impact, probability of the risk, your ability to control it and how effectively can you control it. 5. Objectivity in tracking benefits Don’t go overboard with the result estimation. Don’t show the results more than what they are just to maintain the expectations. Let the numbers tell the true story. If you have received lesser than expected, you need to find solutions to avoid these shortcomings. If you have gained more than expected, don’t underplay it. Wrong estimation of the results can be catastrophic for your company’s growth. While calculating the results, don’t separate overhead costs and project cost, as overall results matter in the end. You need to be able to find and use practices that will give you maximum results for a long term. 6. Correct outsourcing model While ensuring that all aspects of your outsourcing plan is important, choosing the correct model for your company needs to be kept at the pinnacle. When it comes to choosing the correct model, don’t jump on horses and choose something that you have heard great things about. You need to be sure that the model you choose will meet your company’s requirements, will be successful and fits your current circumstances. Learn about different models, go through its pros and cons & make an informed decision. Finally, choose one after you know its contractual flexibility, scope and distribution of responsibility. 7. Choose the right business partners If choosing the correct plan is the first step, the right business partners come right after it. The right business partners can compliment your company and make the model successful. The business partners you choose need to felicitate your objectives. Many vendors offer predefined structure of working, irrespective of how tempting it is. Don’t choose partners just at that. While trying to find a partner, ensure you follow request for information and request for process. These are very important steps. Find out about all the vendors available and then decide on who is perfect for you. 8. One step at a time Do not get into a frenzy mode about wanting a breakthrough with your very first project. Your first project needs to be treated as a way to get other projects. The beginning needs to be slow and cautious. Remember that the growth of your model depends on the success charts of the projects. Each successful or failed project is important to assess the growth of

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Understanding Dynamic Cloud and Its Future

March 23, 2015

Even as we struggle to understand what cloud is, there is already a new term that has been doing rounds – dynamic cloud. What could dynamic cloud be and how could it be different from the regular cloud computing that many people are still trying to understand? It turns out, dynamic cloud is really dynamic. It is the way things are going to be and the way we shall use software, hardware, cloud and even business processes on the cloud. It is a flexible, adaptable and scalable model that will outlive most of the other models that we are seeing currently. Dynamic cloud is not really a hybrid model of cloud computing but something that is unique. It is the freedom that a company or organization will have to use any application on any platform to do any given job without having to worry about different businesses and technological ramifications. In fact, dynamic cloud has almost become a revolution of sorts. It has helped businesses to become more agile and the ones that are at the forefront of innovations have already embraced the concept of dynamic cloud. In short, we can describe dynamic cloud as a barrierless method of doing business and meet customer needs as soon as possible. With an enormous opportunity to use software, infrastructure, platform and human resources as & when we want, dynamic cloud presents a new paradigm shift that was long-awaited. In this article, let us take a look at some of the most important characteristics of dynamic cloud, with its future in context. We shall look at dynamic cloud as if we were looking at our own futures, in the near and the distant future. Innovation We are at the forefront of something that is changing dramatically. Even as we try to understand cloud computing and try to sell it to our clients in the easiest baby-speak possible, we ourselves are confronted with the changes that the juggernaut of technology presents with. Technology is changing so fast and the world in which we live in is changing even faster that we have to innovate or perish, to use a cliché. Innovation and coming up with newer ideas to solve existing problems have always been the focus of science and technology. With dynamic cloud, this involves fixing existing loopholes within cloud computing and searching for deeper meaning, as it were. This means, understanding how cloud could grow, how we could bring cloud computing to the most difficult of customers, how to provide a seamless experience to our customers and clients when they begin to use our applications & last but not the least, how to innovate when it comes to using information technology. The spirit of innovation will be central to cloud computing and dynamic cloud in general. Integration When we speak about integration, we speak about various technologies, software programs and methods that can be integrated to form a hybrid solution. Integration happens at many levels. Today, it is happening at the platform level where cloud services are provided in a hybrid format. However, integration will have to go to a newer level. Integration of cloud services will have to be so deep-rooted that we need not be speaking about the cloud at all. It needs to be just the way we do business and the way we run our applications. We are moving towards a reality where all this is going to happen, including integrating cloud computing at the most structural and basic level. This might take time but dynamic cloud is all about waiting for those changes and paradigm shifts to take place. Sooner or later, cloud integration will take place at the very basic level. This top-down approach is what we, usually, see in most new technologies and cloud computing is not an exception. It will be interesting to see how cloud computing will be integrated at a structural level so that it can become truly dynamic. Cooperation While our societies have fragmented and we are moving away from cooperation, the cloud is getting evermore cooperative. The cloud has become so cooperative that it is offering new platforms for both proprietary and open source developers to come together. Both these often-differing communities are now learning to learn from each other. Companies that are rivals often share the same cloud space and sometimes, even learn from each other. Software programs that are debated for and against are used by both the proponents & the critics. Thus, we are seeing cooperation at every level even as our societies are becoming fragmented. The kind of cooperation that we are about to witness on the dynamic cloud is going to be phenomenal. It is going to be even more rooted in the concepts of helping thy neighbor and learning from your community members. This means, while businesses compete with each other, the dynamic cloud will also open up space to new cooperation, collaborations, partnerships and boost existing relationships. This might come at the business, technical or human-human level. Experimentation The dynamic cloud is one that will be based on experimentation. The cloud will be a place where companies will experiment with technologies, ideas, methods, structures and strategies. Each of these experiments will be replicated, if found successful. This might involve using a lesser known software app on a platform that is not really the usual choice. If this works, they will learn from the original experiment and be open to more adventurous ideas. In software development and cloud computing, this sort of experimentation is required. This is similar to using metformin, an anti-diabetes drug, for halting the ageing process or to increase longevity. Pharmaceutical companies have begun to toy with the idea of using an existing drug for a health issue for which it still hasn’t been experimented upon. Similarly, we might begin to use software, platform and infrastructural remedies for issues that we didn’t know could be treated with existing methods. Experimentations might go wrong but they are required to remain scientific and

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How to Achieve a User-Centered Website

March 16, 2015

If you are designing a website, do not just look at the business objections, design, technology or fancy features. A website should primarily be user-centric. Users need to find it easy to use a website and needs to feel like coming back to the website. All the stated elements do not take user-centric design into focus. Just great design does not make it usable enough. Great design needs to also have usability embedded into it. In fact, usability is all about designing it for the user experience. User-centered web design ensures that websites are useful and usable. There are major differences between the two. What might seem like a useful feature for you might not correlate with actual usability, from a user’s point of view. With this in mind, you need to ensure that websites are not only useful but also usable. Efficient information retrieval, navigability and good typography – all contribute towards user-centered design. Most importantly, user-centered websites place emphasis on the users, which helps you to build a better rapport with them, ultimately leading to more bookmarks and increased visits. In this article, let us take a look at how we can improve usability of a website. 1. Is the website’s visibility good? Make sure that your visitors can see information correctly. This involves taking care of the layout, typography and menu bars. Navigational bars need to be accessible and the search button needs to be visible. Moreover, typography needs to be carefully chosen so that there is no difficulty when it comes to reading text. Typography needs to be simple and user-centric. Always ensure that the navigation bar is omnipresent. This ensures that no matter where the user goes, he can always find his way back to the homepage. 2. Focus on generating feedback Users need to be able to give you feedback instantaneously. They need not find it difficult to look for a telephone number or an e-mail address. There are a number of websites, which make it difficult to find contact information. Do not do that. A good website always has contact information that is easily accessible. This is very important if you have an e-commerce website. During all stages of the purchase, until the checkout process is completed, you need to ensure that you are available and that users can reach you if they need something. 3. Make your website look pleasing Nothing is worse than having to browse through a website that looks ugly. Websites that are not visually attractive or that which look cluttered lose their appeal quickly. Users begin to move on to more aesthetically pleasing websites. Make sure that you use the right color combinations and do not make your website look garish. It is important to understand the psychology of colors before choosing a particular color combination. In order to ensure that this does not happen to your website, make sure that you focus on the aesthetics of the website as well. This will help you in the long term. 4. Fix glitches Usability involves the quality of a website to be browsed well. This means, a user need not feel that he is waiting for the website to load for a long time, that there are always broken links and that there are bugs, which make the experience of using the website an unpleasant experience. Make sure that fix all the glitches including error pages, broken links, slow loading pages and wrong titles and descriptions. This will ensure that users find your website useful and attractive. Nothing is more attractive than a website that seems to be well-designed but has a number of software and other problems, causing the user to close the tab in desperation. 5. Engage your users Once you design the website, make sure that it can engage your users with valuable content and communication. You can use content marketing and social media strategies to engage them in good content and conversations. After all, usability also involves retaining people who will use your website. This is why, we believe that user-centered websites also have a strong social media and content marketing strategies. If you are unable to improve the usability of your website, seek the advice or consult our professional web designers and developers who are into user-centered design.

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How to Handle a Failed Web Project

March 9, 2015

Most of the times, web development projects succeed and they match the clients’ expectations. When they do not match the clients’ expectations, we can usually make the changes that are required. However, there are certain smaller companies who probably do not have necessary resources or experience to deal with web development failures. When a project fails, it is not the end of the world. There are a number of reasons why a project could fail. It could be because you did not understand what the client wanted from the beginning or it could be because your client is just too difficult and simply does not understand what is a good website & what is not. No matter what the case is, even the best among us end up having a few failed projects in our list that we rather not talk about. Yet, we need to. Failure isn’t something that we need to be wary about. Instead, we need to learn from our failures, try to undo the damage and if possible, seek another chance. In this article, let us take a look at how we can deal with failures without feeling terrible. 1. Accept that you are not perfect Most of the time, web designers and developers have this unfailing confidence, which makes it difficult for them to admit that they can make mistakes & that they are not infallible. By admitting that we are not perfect and that projects can fail, we will be in a better position to actually handle the project. When the sense of invincibility is gone, we will be more humble and amenable to suggestions & criticisms. 2. Communicate with your client When you realize that a project is headed for disaster, speak to the client. Do not be dishonest and give them false hopes. Also, communicate the fact that the project is headed towards failure in the most succinct manner possible. It is not necessary to beat around the bush. Politely, firmly and honestly communicate what really has been happening & where things are going wrong. Sometimes, a client can actually see a doomed project by suggesting changes or even giving ideas. 3. Give up when you cannot continue There are other times when we desperately cling to projects even when we know they are destined to be a failure. This sort of thinking, usually, hampers not only our professional success but also the way we decide to do things. Projects need to be handled with tenacity and we should not give up until it is a hopeless case; and sometimes, we continue to cling to projects even when they are hopeless cases. This is where the problem arises. If you realize that there is no way in which you can save a project, just give it up. 4. Speak to a lawyer Always speak to a lawyer about how you need to refund and what you had agreed upon in the contract. If the fault was yours, you need to ethically go a step forward and admit this to your lawyer as well as your client. There are other times when it was not really your fault and yet, the project will fail. In such a case, you might want to know where you stand legally. As we live in a very litigious society, it is better to be prepared and know where we stand. 5. Accept responsibility This is one of the most difficult things to do. When it is your fault, just admit it. Accept that it is your fault and you have to bear the consequences. When you admit that you made mistakes during the project cycle, you will be in a better position to offer compensation or whatever you choose is the right thing. By communicating the true status of your problem, you will be able to gain respect and probably even get an extension for a new project. Parting on good terms Try to avoid litigious situations and solve the matter without letting it get escalated. If you are even slightly at fault, accept your responsibility and try to retain the client. Unless you are being unfairly targeted or you are being threatened unreasonably, there is no explanation or support for going to the court. Always part in good terms and make sure that you are consulting a good PR team to ensure that this doesn’t affect your business.  

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SaaS Integration Explained – A Beginner’s Guide

February 27, 2015

The dependency on cloud model is on a rise as many organizations use it to manage billing, marketing, CRM and analytics in order to streamlines processes. Though organizations across the globe are rapidly introducing cloud-based applications, platforms and infrastructure in their operation portfolio, on-premise applications still play an essential role to manage critical business information. Among all this, a huge amount of disintegrated data gets accumulated across the departments and multiple applications. Due to this, the investment in cloud applications does not reap expected benefits and targeted return on investment. The solution lies in SaaS integration. Integration of cloud applications and on-premise applications is crucial to run your business successfully. How SaaS is changing companies By building, buying or subscribing to an integration solution, many organizations are trying to overcome the inefficiencies and gaps created by using disintegrated systems. SaaS integration can be done at a reasonable price for small-scale organizations. It can also provide departmental solutions for larger enterprises. Addressing the challenges of orchestration, security, data transformation, data migration, application synchronization, data cleansing and data replication is establishing SaaS integration as a powerful phenomenon. Moreover, customized SaaS integration applications allow integration across social sources and databases as well. According to Mulesoft/Think strategies survey, 90% of SaaS vendors out of 200 find integration critical for driving their revenue and 89% vendors find it extremely important to win new customers. 31% executives out of 674 surveyed find it challenging to integrate cloud applications with existing on-premise infrastructure according to KPMG research while 33% said the integration cost of SaaS and cloud are too high. The statistics clearly show the rising importance of SaaS integration. It also indicates a rapid growth of cloud infrastructure that created a need for integration. The article below will serve as a guide for beginners to understand SaaS integration. Common misconceptions about integration Every cloud provider has an API with auto-capable integration. On the contrary, cloud-APIs are long and complicated impeding SaaS integration. SaaS integration can be done with traditional integration capabilities like extract, transform etc without knowing that traditional tools are expensive, demands a lot of skill and incompatible with the cloud interface. Integration is not necessary until you have a couple of cloud-based applications. It is often too late to act as you unnecessarily pile up uncontrollable amount of data. Complexities in integration SaaS integration is easier said than done for many inexperienced business owners as most of them consider custom coding as a viable option. Custom coding does help to create connections quickly with an added flexibility to meet specific business requirements. For smaller businesses, it may sound correct. But as the business starts growing, custom coding makes integration a challenge. Point-to-point infrastructure increases in complexity leading to a loss of business agility and scalability. Multiple point connections become difficult to manage owing to their frequent update requirement to newer versions of API. Apart from that, for most businesses, integration is never the core competency. Hiring talent and resources to manage integration significantly adds to your cost of production. Other challenges may include: Smooth transformation of data from on-premise system to cloud Maintaining equivalent data security as in on-premise system Compatible connections to facilitate data movement and interaction between the two systems Maneuvering data flow to maintain system integrity and availability of right data at the right time Cloud silos Information silos are created across the organization when data is stored on different servers and data centers unable to interact with each other. As the data multiplies due to new applications, the efficiency of the organization and resource utilization reduces. Though the problem of silos is not new to developers as seen in on-premise system, silos are beginning to emerge in the cloud now. Cloud silos are prone to massive multiplication due to easy deployment of cloud applications resulting in loads of fragmented data. Cloud applications supporting social media and other web-based applications have made non IT-staff of the organization highly capable to take advantage of cloud-based services. Unfortunately, they are unaware of the nuances of data sharing, security and integration. Overtime, the amount of data created grows to an uncontrollable level, creating what we call cloud silos. And they can only be dealt through a consistent approach towards integration. Key considerations for SaaS integration Developers should adopt standard integration practices rather than ad hoc practices for a smoother integration. Always follow a strict disciplinary code to integrate a complex application portfolio. The integration does not have to be comprehensive at the start. Many organizations take it gradually by moving on-premise departmental functions to SaaS model. Form a well-planned strategy and standardized methodology to overcome the challenges of integration. Integration strategy should work for all sources of application data whether in-house or cloud, behind or outside the enterprise firewall. Thoroughly inspect the integration capabilities before buying a service. Use multi-technology approach towards integration based on predefined criteria. Document the integration approach every time you integrate for consultation for subsequent projects. SaaS vendor technology should be evaluated for its capability to transform and secure data and provide solutions. Vendor should be able to expose data in a standardized format for use by integration service provider. What’s in store for your business with SaaS integration? SaaS integration is extremely useful to your organization for the following ways: 1. It helps you in updating and synchronizing specific business processes such as customer/product master synchronization or opportunity to order. 2. It can integrate data between cloud applications and SaaS platforms with your on-premise application databases and files. 3. It delivers self-service cloud integration and SaaS integration while still allowing your organization to keep a control. 4. SaaS integration helps you to maximize value of your cloud computing investment by ensuring the timeliness of data delivery. 5. It ensures that your data is readily available wherever and whenever required irrespective of the original location of the data. 6. It ensures that your data is fully synchronized across the cloud and on-premise systems. 7. It helps in minimizing risk

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How Cloud Is Set To Revolutionize Higher Education

February 20, 2015

Cloud computing, a revolutionary technology, today has empowered businesses and individuals to store, manage & process their data through online applications. It has made it far too easy to collaborate in real-time at a humongous level with the help of a simple and a cheap mode of communication network – Internet. Similarly, education is not bound by geographic barriers in the world of cloud computing. Educational institutions across the world are using cloud computing for administration, teaching and enhancing the learning experience for the students. Though the effort is still at a nascent stage, let us explore the potential of cloud computing in supporting higher education. 1. Virtual classrooms Instead of traditional classrooms, cloud computing facilitates online teaching through virtual classrooms. There are many courses that can be taught online. There are a plenty of tools and applications available that assist in online teaching. Students from different corners of the world can be taught together. They can easily share notes, discuss ideas, work on assignments and projects. 2. Reduce operating cost and increase efficiency Cloud provides an opportunity to administrators for deploying applications and deliver web-based services to students. Quite often, such capability is added without proportionate increase in budget for hardware, software and human resources. It helps in reducing overhead expenditure of the university as the demand for infrastructure is cut down. It helps both teachers and students to save cost by avoiding physical presence in the campus, which might be located in a different country altogether. The teaching process becomes highly efficient through state-of-the-art communication tools. Thus, it can resolve many problems often associated with traditional ways of classroom teaching. 3. Online demonstration Even the demonstration process has become easier. If the teacher requires making some product demonstration or explaining a certain process through gestures, it can easily be accomplished with cloud video conferencing tools. The students can use these tools to pin-point the problems and clarify their doubts. Teachers seek help of online video platforms like YouTube to share explainer videos with the students. The overwhelming experience of learning is way too advanced than traditional teaching. 4. Information durability Cloud storage enables the information and lessons to be stored online & accessible to all the parties as and when required. For instance, students can be provided with digital campus storage for class notes, papers and projects. The huge online database can be created to share, download and read the material. The whole system of teaching becomes paperless. The use of paper is costly not only in monetary terms but also a threat to the environment. Cloud computing ensures the longevity of data till the time you want to keep it. 5. Mobile access Students flood the campus with multiple internet-connected devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops. All these personal gadgets can be used to take advantage of cloud computing. Faculties and students can easily collaborate with each other from the device of their choice. Universities and colleges need to make sure that the cloud application is accessible on multiple platforms & has a responsive design. The traditional IT infrastructure needs to be replaced with upgraded hardware and software to accommodate growing number of personal gadgets. Therefore, the bandwidth offered should also be enough to manage peak loads in network usage. 6. Administration Enrollment and admission processes are both costly & time-consuming for universities and students. Cloud technology will allow them to work swiftly without passing through multiple levels of processing from one department to another. The data can be processed, stored and shared through a common platform without involving any paper. It will also help the administration to maintain transparency in the admission process. Thus, removing the admin burden will allow educational institutions to concentrate on their core business and be more productive. Furthermore, the IT administration like licensing issues, software updates and IT security management will all be handled by the cloud service provider. 7. Security Security is the key concern for universities to prevent breaches and leakage of student information. Traditional storage systems like hard disk, pen drives and other storage devices are prone to thefts & crashes leading to complete loss of confidential and critical data. In contrast to that, cloud storage allows the users to have password protected files stored safely on a distant data server and access them from any device over internet. 8. Competition Universities across the world are rapidly adopting student-friendly technology to differentiate themselves from competitors. The better the services, the higher is the marketability of the university. The upcoming generation is already aware of the cloud technology; so, universities need to do their best to understand the students’ need. They can choose subscription packages that are scalable and provide options to be flexible. Cloud computing offers schools, colleges and universities a low cost option for using high-tech technology. The low cost internet requires minimum investment but provides maximum returns. 9. Boon for small institutions Public cloud computing has tremendous scope for small educational institutions that do not have strong IT infrastructure and personnel. With cloud technology, their worry is arising due to inadequate computerization, lack of data security and insufficient IT skills can be eliminated. Small colleges can adopt cloud technology with ease by contracting with the cloud services of a larger university. This helps them to save a lot of time and money, otherwise, invested in complex computing techniques. 10. Plan of action for education managers Higher education managers need to attain a thorough understanding of cloud computing technology, follow the trends and find out how it can help to redefine the concept of education. There are a variety of cloud services available including applications, computing and storage. Besides email and document creation, managers need to think of out-of-the-box solutions like investing in private clouds for core applications in partnership with other institutions to save cost and get maximum value. They need to engage faculty members, a student group and the cloud service provider to share ideas to provide quality education in the best interests of

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