Today's  evolutionary world makes it vital for the enterprises to keep their environment in tune with the changing technology landscape. With technology becoming   more  open from the interoperability perspective, enterprises use  technology as a critical business enabler. Mobile phones which were initially developed for easy communication when on the move  have today evolved into devices that offer communications in various forms from text messaging, email, Internet access, Blue-tooth communications to business applications, gaming and photography and other  general computing capabilities.

With the development of  smartphones  the days of monolithic applications left behind. Technology has surged ahead today with  software applications as modular components. The  spectrum of new devices made available in the market paves way  for  customers to look forward to new applications that can be loaded on these devices to meet their ever-changing demands. The new technology landscape being a vibrant space full of opportunities, creating simple and effective applications while maintaining the need for safe and secure data access, mobile apps  development has  now become  a challenge for the mobile application developer.

Wikipedia defines mobile application development as - “the process by which application software is developed for low-power handheld devices, such as personal digital assistants, enterprise digital assistants or mobile phones". These applications which can either  be pre-installed on phones during manufacture or  can be downloaded by customers from various mobile software distribution platforms, or delivered as web applications  to provide an "application-like" experience within a Web browser.  However,with the exponential growth of the mobile market, and the availability of next-generation technology based platforms, the end-users today look for mobile applications with more processing power,  flexibility, reliability, security and ability to integrate  with other applications.

The leading service providers and IT giants have developed software tools and process to help the application development teams to  develop cost-effective applications  that can enhance e-commerce solutions. However, being focused on mobile apps development, the developers with an in-depth domain understanding work on areas such as Location-Based Services (LBS),  Mobile Media Streaming, social networking, messaging & syncing, mobile ad engines, Mobile VoIP  and Gaming.

The mobile applications developed by the leaders in the sector enhances the mobile ecosystem functioning by effectively performing the tasks such as

·         Developing mobile applications for various platforms along with quality analysis testing

·         Conceptualizing mobile applications and eliciting requirements of user interface design, prototype etc.

·         Interfacing mobile applications between platforms and devices

·    Developing server-side and infrastructure, including for location & mapping services

·    Integrating third-party components and carrier for SMS, MMS, billing systems

·    Coordinating with carriers and device manufacturers for  testing and certification

·    Launching and distributing mobile applications

·    providing carrier catalogs

Besides these tasks, the  mobile application development teams while working through with various layers of the mobile device, either directly or in collaboration with third-party providers also ensure  maintenance and product support services leading to  enhanced customer satisfaction.


Related Links:  product engineering

 
Webinars help to generate warm leads in B2B marketing. Here are some important pointers to conduct a webinar.

Before the Webinar

  • Upload the presentation slides a day ahead of the webinar. In case they don’t render correctly on the webinar platform you have time to fix things.
  • Add a technical note at the bottom of the screen with instructions on how to listen to the webinar via the computer and / phone so late comers don’t interrupt the presentation.
  • Do not use cell phones or speakerphones to deliver the presentation.  This is because speakerphones pick up ambient noise. Cell phones tend to drop calls and have fluctuating volume levels.
  • Use a traditional telephone handset with a good set of headphones to deliver the presentation. Alternatively use Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) with computer-connected headphones.
  • Mute his computer during the webinar so you are not distracted by any sounds. Shut down unnecessary applications such as IM and email so that you are not distracted by pop-up windows during the presentation.
  • Be comfortable with webinar technology. The speaker screen can be quite overwhelming with several boxes.
  • Have a hard copy of the presentation.
  • Choose a quiet room to conduct the webinar. Make sure nobody disturbs the recording of the live event. Turn off all cell phones in the room.
  • Check all the equipment, audio settings, computer settings etc ahead of the live event.

On the webinar day the speaker should identify the audience. Arrange an audio feed via telephone, online chat, and video conferencing via webcam apart from the central online meeting location. This not only makes participants more comfortable it also works as a backup in case of any interruptions.

Ideally the speaker should identify each of the attendees and their companies. This gives a personal touch. A round of introductions by each of the attendees would also be nice. But this may not be feasible for large webinars.  The speaker should never rush through the webinar. Let the internal audience signal to him if he is too fast.

Allot time for a QA session. A practical approach is to mute the audience until the interactive Q&A session at the end. If your webinar platform supports it, allow the audience to submit written questions during the presentation. The moderator should introduce the speaker.

Post the webinar

  • Post a recorded video of the webinar on your website.
  • Share the link via social media. Post the presentation on SlideShare.
  • Share the presentation with your sales folks so they can send it to hot leads.
  • Repurpose the content from the webinar to create an eBook
  • URLs shared through webinars can tracked with marketing automation tools that can be used for lead generationand lead nurturing.


Read more on - Drip CampaignsLead Management
 
While an organization needs to protect its business IT systems infrastructure, confidential data and their critical assets from being compromised, how it manages its significant risk areas is important to its overall success. Risk management is an important part of planning for businesses. To be able to manage the risks, it is important to ascertain the risk scenario and assess the risk faced by the business, only then it be ‘treated’ or ‘mitigated’ to acceptable levels. Bearing in mind the present business environment and the varying regulations, organizations ought to secure efforts and boost the visibility of risk throughout the enterprise. Risks are a part of doing business and having a procedure in place to deal with them does make a difference to their impact, as exposure to risk without counter measures spell disaster.

Measuring and reporting adherence to security policies is a vital element of your security program and must never be taken lightly or ignored. Risk management frameworks, is not just about managing physical threats, it is a multifaceted discipline that in a fully developed system, is applied across the entire enterprise. The fundamental goal of implementing risk management practices is to safeguard businesses from being vulnerable. Regardless of the size, all companies could experience risks of fraud activity and identity theft. The Risk Management Framework provides a structured, yet flexible approach for managing the portion of risk, resulting from the incorporation of information systems into the mission and business processes of the organization.

With an effective risk management solution, a business can ensure data protection, control risks by performing regular assessments and making suitable treatment decisions.  The process of risk management is designed to reduce or eliminate the risk of certain kinds of events happening or having an impact on the business. The key elements of an effective risk management program include policy, procedures and standards and this can help companies control their level of risk effectively. These integrated frameworks provide the ability for organizations to make ‘risk intelligent’ control decisions, thus helping them provide assurance to the business on the choice or controls  implementation.

Effective implementation of risk management frameworks within the organization, along with a powerful risk-awareness built into the teams across the business can ensure the complete elimination of risks. Make risk management a part of business continuity plan and enable your business to meet current and emerging risks with reliable risk management frameworks.

Read more on - data protection solutions, cloud security

 
B2B blogs can be used as a good source of leads. Here are some tips to help B2B marketers generate sales-ready leads through this inbound marketing strategy.
B2B blogs need to be updated often (at least once a week). Blogging with fresh content increases indexed pages and helps you top the search results as well.  Provide your blog a professional look with your company logo and a brief bio of the blogger. Blog topics must be written around popular SEO keywords in your industry. This increases the odds that your prospect will see your post when he’s actively searching the Internet.

Insert internal links of earlier posts and other resources such as white papers. Place external links wherever relevant because both help with rankings. Try to build inbound links. Research on other sites that links to sites like yours using Open Site Explorer and reach out to them and offer them a compelling reason.

Write blogs on new and trending topics. It gets picked up during searches. Use images with relevant captions using keywords. This is not just to break the monotony but because Google images picks it up during searches.

Place a powerful call to action button prominently along with every blog post offering your latest white paper or eBook for free. The accompanying form helps to capture your prospect’s background information.

Have a blog roll on your sidebar. Here, you can recommend others’ blogs and links. They might return the favour.

Promote the blog – As part of your social media campaigns, every time you put out a blog, promote it across social media. Download social sharing plug-ins such as Google+’s “+1”, LinkedIn’s “inShare” and Twitter’s “Tweet”. This makes it easy for people to share your content in just a click. Social sharing helps you climb search results post Google’s Penguin update.

Syndicate your blog content to blog syndication sites. These sites will simultaneously publish your every blog post for free, link to your original post and help you reach a wider audience. Seek out influential bloggers in your business. Mention them/ their posts in your posts. Influence them to promote your blog. Provide an RSS feed button on your blog so interested readers can read all your posts. Invite industry experts to be a guest bloggers on your blog. It can help drive traffic. Use a pop up email subscription option. This way you capture interested visitors’ email IDs and build a dedicated readership as well.

Blogs can be popularized using email marketing techniques. Leads tracked from blog URLs can be scored using a suitable lead scoring model and be converted to sales-ready leads for lead nurturing.


Read more on - Search Engine Optimization Tools, Sales Intelligence

 
Cloud computing is ushering a new era of computing globally, with powerful technologies being used to deliver convenient technology solutions cost-effectively and hassle-free over the cloud.

Moving to the cloud has its own set of challenges, as it involves moving the data that you have been protecting for last three decades in a self owned environment to an internet based environment.   Although data in the cloud is more secure than on-premise solutions, security and associated risks  is an  important criterion. In order to maximize cloud's advantages, businesses must build secure cloud applications and services. It is important to understand the implication of security breaches and organizations need to change the data protection solutions policies.

·         Be prepared for a data  breach
Moving to the cloud brings its own sets of risks such as data leaks, threats from APT and insiders and regulations. Organizations need to plan, as there are significant changes in their information lifecycle, business continuity; apart from that they need to address legal and regulatory issues. Planning has to be a major part of cloud security   

·         Incorporate security in your cloud model
A completely logical and well structured model based on an understanding of your needs and policies is the key to a robust security system. Such a cloud model needs to take into account essentials like data value, compliance, attitude to risk, and potential exposure points, etc. It is also important to identify the business priorities for moving into the cloud, as an understanding of the business context will help you weigh security concerns more accurately.

·         Reinforce your security at the hardware level
Security need not only be a software matter but can be included at the most basic hardware level to reinforce defenses. Edge devices that are more exposed to compromise, and attacks are those devices that are increasingly being mounted on at the deepest levels, below those of the application or operating system.  Providing security in hardware at the processor level allows you to start your security chain with a root of trust.

·         Protect Data with Encryption
Encryption ensures data protection for data that is at rest, in process and in flight because, even if it gets lost, it remains unusable without the right keys. You should consider encrypting data in flight over networks, using protocols. Despite the concerns of some IT managers about the computational burden of encryption, the advances in today's hardware can reduce these complexities.

·         Authenticate identities before going into the cloud
Authentication ensures that people and machines can be trusted. The process of verification of individuals and devices is critical to any security process. When moving to the cloud, you are implementing a new set of entities, which makes it imperative to ensure that the starting point is secure. This requires a trusted root of security that can measure the compliance of platform components.

Cloud security is not a process that can be completed in single step. It requires constant innovation; building new methods to overcome traditional security issues with every feature enabling the easy and secure usage. Partner with a service provider that uses new technologies to ensure a secure cloud application.

Also read on - risk management frameworks, identity access management

 


If you have a newly developed an online shopping and e-commerce website and have been looking for a comprehensive solution, then it is essential to know that if implemented efficiently it can do wonders to your newly launched website. A compact e-commerce solution will add to your ROI manifold.



Today there are several e-commerce solution providers in the market having the expertise to create a wide portfolio of e-commerce sites that have revolutionized the form of business in the modern day economy making it easy and quick. However the increased competition and the fast changing market trends have elevated the requirement of effective shopping cart software that would lead to the following:



·         Guaranteed safe and secure transaction

·         Minimizing operational expenses

·         Simple and smooth functioning of the transaction process

·         Unbeaten promotion of goods

·         High-end communication with the new visitors as well as regular consumers

·         Smooth and easy running of the transaction process



Any effective e-commerce solution must have the capacity to create an impressive e-Commerce website with well incorporated shopping cart software and use-friendly features that would help consumers to easily complete their transactions. Today there are esteemed solution providers specializing in open source software development have come up with innovative eCommerce solutions. These companies have worked with several BPM workflows modeling tools such as Appian, JBPM, OS Workflow and reporting tools that comprise Jasper, BIRT, Appian, Kettle, Microstrategy to offer comprehensive eCommerce software product development solutions that are cost-efficient, reliable and fast. Some of the features of high-end eCommerce solutions are as follows:



·         There are online storefronts, catalogs and shopping carts

·         There is a web-based administration of products for monitoring inventory, coupon codes and gift certificates

·         There are Point of sales (POS) and payment processing solutions

·         There are Web portals for travel, ticketing and event management

·         The online auction engines based on open source libraries

·         The websites optimized for the user content generation

·         There is a location-based shopping services for mobile phones

·         Presence of a robust, scalable platforms for digital content delivery

·         Next-generation ad servers



That is not all. Eminent market players in eCommerce solutions have their in-house engineers having the expertise in working with leading industry players to establish and assist in innovative retail goods. Their focus areas mainly comprise of interactive advertising, web portals for specialized services and online, social and mobile commerce.





Related Links: financial software services, banking software solutions



 
With the number of online stores increasing in the recent years, the Internet has become  a competitive  marketplace.  A growing strategy that businesses are realizing is an absolute necessary, e-commerce has become a part of their business model. Shopping online has evolved greatly over the last few years. Earlier  many people were apprehensive about online shopping  mostly due to security issues. Now millions of people shop online every day, buying almost anything. Advanced solutions ensure that  your website is secure  make your site more credible and keep shoppers happy.

Advanced e-commerce solutions are changing the way the world does business, and have become the sure shot way to success for a business of any magnitude and more so for the small businesses. The increase of mobile application technologies has also brought a new channel to the retail sector by allowing consumers to shop directly from their phones. An efficient e-commerce solution features a vast variety of easy online shopping cart accessibility allowing online business owners to build, operate, and maintain online stores with little effort and with no additional costs, added fees, or limits.

The latest technology also provides functionality for options such as mouse-over (which is moving the mouse over an image, where the  description is displayed without the users having to click on the image), drag and drop, and one-page checkout. The key is determining which online shopping cart best suites your needs based on the technical resources you have available, how much web selling experience you have, and your web development skills.

To gain a competitive edge in these growing eCommerce markets it is essential to ensure a great customer experience. This includes a sharp user interface, secure data management, a solid POS, rapid performance and the ability to handle large amounts of traffic. When you're researching e-commerce companies, you want to find a solution provider who will work actively with your business. As setting up an e-commerce solution can be a task in itself, it is necessary to make certain that the product that is chosen is compatible with the currently being used hardware, Web server software and operating system

With the right e-commerce solution, you can save money by reducing time and labor costs while improving customer communication. These solutions are a gateway to sales for your company. They hold an important value as they help in making a business operate smoothly. Choosing the best solution along with excellent advisory services is important in making your business a success.


Related Links: financial software services, mobile application development companies

 
A MarketingProfs report states that “Across the various platforms, brands cited the following adoption levels: Facebook (87%), Twitter (83%), LinkedIn (76%), YouTube (66%), and blogs (57%).”There are many new social media channels rolling in every day and marketers are continuously pressurized to engage prospects that are active on each of them.  In social media marketing, one solution does not apply to all channels, is a known fact. Example: a Facebook marketing strategy is completely different from a marketing strategy executed in LinkedIn or Pinterest.However, there are some best practices that have to be followed when it comes to executing social media B2B marketing strategies.

While marketing is only a part of the activity, it should always be remembered that marketers need to first build a community of prospects, partners and customers who will be evangelists for their company some day.Step 1: Identify Target AudienceThe first step for social media success is to identify your target audience. First, join social networks, where peers are already on board. Applying some smart brand building techniques combined with personalized nurturing of prospects, based on their interest levels, is the first best practice to adopt for social media campaigns to be effective.  It is important to find out the top social applications used by your target segment. They, analyze forums for offers and promotions that have worked very well with your target audience to assess how they respond to them.Step 2: Personalize Marketing StrategyEvery social networking site is different and hence marketing strategies must be planned and executed accordingly. Some important pointers for personalization of marketing strategy are:

  • Find out who the key social media influencers are with the help of free search tools such as Technorati, Twitter Search or Google Blog search.
  • Design and execute marketing campaigns to reach out to these purchasing influencers.
  • Determine the key business objectives that are to be met with social media marketing, first.
  • Allocate manpower to dedicatedly create, track and monitor social media campaigns.
  • Use marketing automation tools to track website visitor intent and use that intelligence to create personalized campaigns.
  • Devise a social media marketing strategy based on your revenue targets, product releases, upcoming events, etc.
  • Prioritize your social media campaigns activities based on how fast your brand image gets established on the social site. Example: If your Twitter stream is going  great guns vs. your Facebook presence that is still lacklustre, it makes sense to spend more time and campaign money on Twitter than Facebook.

Leads procured through social media can be scored using lead scoring model and nurtured through smart drip marketing campaigns.


Read more on - Search Engine Optimization Tools, Drip Marketing
 
With the number of online stores increasing in the recent years, the Internet has become  a competitive  marketplace.  A growing strategy that businesses are realizing is an absolute necessary, e-commerce has become a part of their business model. Shopping online has evolved greatly over the last few years. Earlier  many people were apprehensive about online shopping  mostly due to security issues. Now millions of people shop online every day, buying almost anything. Advanced solutions ensure that  your website is secure  make your site more credible and keep shoppers happy.

Advanced e-commerce solutions are changing the way the world does business, and have become the sure shot way to success for a business of any magnitude and more so for the small businesses. The increase of mobile application technologies has also brought a new channel to the retail sector by allowing consumers to shop directly from their phones. An efficient e-commerce solution features a vast variety of easy online shopping cart accessibility allowing online business owners to build, operate, and maintain online stores with little effort and with no additional costs, added fees, or limits.

The latest technology also provides functionality for options such as mouse-over (which is moving the mouse over an image, where the  description is displayed without the users having to click on the image), drag and drop, and one-page checkout. The key is determining which online shopping cart best suites your needs based on the technical resources you have available, how much web selling experience you have, and your web development skills.

To gain a competitive edge in these growing eCommerce markets it is essential to ensure a great customer experience. This includes a sharp user interface, secure data management, a solid POS, rapid performance and the ability to handle large amounts of traffic. When you're researching e-commerce companies, you want to find a solution provider who will work actively with your business. As setting up an e-commerce solution can be a task in itself, it is necessary to make certain that the product that is chosen is compatible with the currently being used hardware, Web server software and operating system

With the right e-commerce solution, you can save money by reducing time and labor costs while improving customer communication. These solutions are a gateway to sales for your company. They hold an important value as they help in making a business operate smoothly. Choosing the best solution along with excellent advisory services is important in making your business a success.


Related Links: financial software services, mobile application development companies