Category: Insights

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ICU Designs Launches Indiegogo Campaign for New Mirrored Cell Phone Case

In the current digital dynamic where everyone and their pets wants to become a social media influencer, the main thing that sets successful influencers apart from the rest is high-quality content. Those who are active on Instagram know that a lot has changed since the early years when it was a lot easier to grow a following, even with low-quality images and sporadic posting. Nowadays, high-quality content and consistency are essential if anyone is trying to grow their brand on the platform.

ICU Designs has created a new cell phone case with a built-in, high-quality, scratch-resistant mirror and an adjustable two-tone light diffuser that can be used in any lighting situation. With the two-tone diffuser, you can set the lighting to your comfort level using the built-in light from your cell phone. The translucent and opaque diffuser mechanism is ideal for both day and night needs. The diffuser mechanism prevents the light from being intrusive to others around you while you are using the light feature from your phone in low-light settings.

Made out of high-quality, robust, and durable thermoplastic polyurethane and polycarbonate, the ICU cellphone case has all the features listed above, along with bumpers on all four corners to protect against any accidents and drops. The case is also compatible with 5G, 4G, all other standard networks, and all wireless charging devices.

Initially created out of the need for a mirror when going to job interviews and auditions, the phone case also provides the perfect lighting for people who want to take that flawless photo. With ICU Designs, you can waste less time snapping one shot after another, only to delete them all because you had something in your teeth, or your hair wasn’t lying just the way you like it. This cellphone case helps you see yourself clearly in any lighting situation so that you can be confident that you look your best when you snap that picture. Whether you’re in the night club, a dark restaurant, an Uber or the theatre, you can be sure that you look picture-ready. When you’re already happy with the way you look, you’ll have less editing to do on the photos you take.

Along with creating great lighting opportunities, the scratch-resistant mirror helps you apply makeup, check for food in your teeth, or check your general appearance, keeping you prepared for any situation that may arise throughout your day. In a highly competitive business world making an excellent first impression is key to landing a new job opportunity or a new project. ICU Designs hopes to provide its users with a product that is multi-functional and easy to use.

Several apps already offer a lighting system to help users take the perfect photo. ICU Designs complements these apps by offering something slightly different. With this mirror, users can check their appearance in any lighting situation prior to taking the perfect photo. The cellphone case will be launching on Indiegogo on June 28th. ICU Designs will be done with production of their cellphone case by late August for both the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12, after which they will ship it by air to Los Angeles. Once the product has been received, the company will ship out orders to their Indiegogo supporters. All orders for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 case will be fulfilled between late September and early October.

To fully understand the need for their cell phone case, ICU Designs also created prototypes to distribute to their community to see whether their product fits the needs and wants of their target consumer. The initial distribution process proved to be a success among different industries, from real estate to film and TV. Users have stated that since they are constantly on the go in addition to meeting clients and many influential people, the ICU Designs mirror and diffuser mechanism was a discreet way to make sure that they were looking their best in any situation, go on with their day with confidence, and make a great impression no matter what time of day.

The ICU Designs cellphone case is more than just an accessory to protect your phone. It is also an accessory to the user because it complements existing apps and lighting mechanisms to help you look your best whether you’re stepping into an interview or you want to take the perfect photo.

With decades of experience in the customer service and sales industry, husband and wife duo Antonio and Morgan Cullari has made their product easy for anyone of any age to use. After all, we are all a little vain. With their mirrored cellphone case, ICU Designs hopes to give people an easier way to make sure they look great and have the best lighting to take that perfect photo.

While apps and other photography tools will never be rendered obsolete, a cellphone case which helps you take the perfect photo in addition to protecting your phone can be useful for anyone. What’s more, you can now get this multi-functional phone case at an affordable price.

For more information about their cell phone case and their upcoming Indiegogo campaign, people can check out their website and social media channels for updates and additional information.  For more information about this cellphone case and the upcoming Indiegogo campaign, you can check out their website and social media channels below:

Sitecore
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What All You Need To Know About Sitecore Support Service

There are many content management systems out there in the market that help in easy content management. However, in this article, we will discuss one of the most reliable content management systems that help in easy integration with other platforms. Moreover, it offers the necessary characteristics for your project to be successful. Read the article out to know about the Sitecore content management system in detail and how it can meet your business goals with a Sitecore Content Management System consultant.

Why You Should Choose a Sitecore Content Management for Your Business

There is no doubt about the hundreds of options you will have while choosing a content management system in the market. However, Sitecore Content Management offers some unique features that allow e-commerce business owners to provide products and services to them. Moreover, the combination of quality content and comprehensive user data to deliver outstanding results to the marketers make Sitecore Content Management one of the best for e-commerce business owners. The flexibility of the system offers IT professionals to collaborate and integrate the project across the channel. All this makes troubleshooting and website update several times easier as compared to other content management systems.

Some Additional Benefits of Using Sitecore Content Management

The previous section has discussed why Sitecore supports Content Management as one of the best for e-commerce marketers. Read the passage to know about the additional benefits of using Sitecore CMS. It offers dozens of services to users and business owners of all sizes. One of the essential elements is keeping an eye on the customers’ behavior, as this helps marketers develop an effective content strategy to target the right customer. Check out some of the essential features of using the CMS below.

Web content management: The content management system offers multilingual content and functions at a global level.

Customer Insights: The content management system offers the marketers a holistic view of the customers with the help of an experienced database

Digital Analytics: Apart from the user profiles, the CMS platform offers contextual insights by determining the trends in the user behavior

Experience Accelerator: the experience accelerator feature in the Sitecore CMS offers a faster flow of project using the content team

All these features of Sitecore Content Management help the marketers to get a robust understanding of the customer. Moreover, as a business owner, you will also know how you can use the information for your marketing campaign.

Why You Should Hire a Sitecore CMS Consultant

If you do not know about content management systems, then the best option is to hire a CMS consultant as their collaboration with clients will help you focus on a comprehensive site. Moreover, their proven and structured methodology will help you to reach business goals with the CMS. The consultant will take time to evaluate your goals and select a web technology solution based on your model.

The technical Sitecore premium support that you will be provided based on your discovery model requires feature support and potential restrictions. If required, the Sitecore Content Management consultant might go for custom development of your website. Moreover, you must look up to the budget requirements and carefully determine the cost and advantages of the technology solutions scalability. All this will help your project to fit perfectly and make your business thrive in no time.

Knowing About Sitecore Content Management Professional and Success Services

If you want your website to perform at the top level and keep track of it, Sitecore Content Management professional and success services are worth going on. A couple of services aims towards your implementation’s success and assures that the user gets a message on time.

Sitecore Maintenance Support of Your Website Using Site Content Management

One of the most important things of a Sitecore Content Management professional and success services consultant is to assure comprehensive maintenance to their clients. While opting for CMS service, you must ensure that the CMS consultant can significantly simplify your site’s Sitecore maintenance and support. There should be no hindrance in publishing content on your website. If the system is integrated correctly, it will enhance usability and customer loyalty. Moreover, displaying organized content will help in attracting potential customers to your business.

Business requires two types of content management integration: web content management integration and enterprise content management solution. However, Sitecore integration services can cater to all needs. The consultants adhere to the practices followed over the years. Moreover, the CMS integration services focus on the workflow, user behavior as well as taxonomy. The consultant also emphasizes efficiency, scalability, and proper design to assure the user with the best Sitecore support 24/7 Content Management solution support. Choosing the right Sitecore support service is not at all easy; make sure to perform your thorough research before going with any consultant.

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A Guide to Cryptocurrencies in 2021

The usage of paper cash is declining year to year. Most prefer using credit and debit cards, as they are more convenient, and you don’t have to worry about the cashier counting exact change. But at the beginning of the 2010s, another form of payment was developed: Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies have exploded in popularity since the mid-2010s, and many Internet users today are raving about the latest developments of other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Dogecoin. Even public figures are getting in on the action, the biggest supporter of cryptocurrency being Elon Musk.

But what, exactly, is cryptocurrency? And how would you even use it? Today, let’s answer those questions and dig deep into the world of crypto.

What Cryptocurrency is

The best way to describe cryptocurrency is by calling it a digital currency. Think of it like cash, but instead of handling paper and coins, you’re using an online ledger to make transactions.

And just like how every country has its own unique currency, there are dozens of types of cryptocurrency available on the market. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Litecoin, etc.: they are all available for you to purchase, sell, and use in your transactions.

One unique trait of crypto is that each type of crypto (or coin) is volatile. After all, there’s no regulation affecting crypto. This means that your Bitcoin that was worth $16,000 a day ago could suddenly drop into the low thousands by tomorrow. Crypto is an investment more than it is a flat currency.

How Cryptocurrency is Used

So how does someone gain crypto without buying some off someone else? And how would someone go about using crypto? Let’s start by discussing “mining,” the process someone would go through in order to gain cryptocurrency.

Mining involves someone using their computer (typically packed with a specialized graphics card and tons of RAM) to solve complex math problems that only machines can solve. Solving said math problems help verify the legitimacy of transactions (crypto trades) that take place. In other words, solving the math problem gets the user crypto and helps secure transactions.

Once a user gets their hands on some crypto, they are free to spend it however they wish. Some cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, can be linked to a debit card from certain issuers. Others can only be used on sites that directly offer crypto-payment services.

They could also go through a trading platform like Coinbase and sell their earned cryptocurrencies for cash.

How to Stay Secure When Using Cryptocurrency

All that said, the world of cryptocurrency isn’t perfect, and security is often an issue. From nonsecure trading platforms to basic user error, it’s easy to have your crypto stolen or have your information leaked.

So, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when trading crypto. One, use a VPN for security so that your information isn’t visible to anyone. After all, mining isn’t an entirely secure process.

Two, when storing your cryptocurrency, typically in a digital wallet, make sure you’re using a wallet that uses two-factor authentication. And always keep your wallet code on you, but never give it to anyone else!

Conclusion

It’s apparent from all the fanfare cryptocurrency has received the last few years that crypto is here to stay. So, it’s good to keep up with cryptocurrency’s latest developments and learn how to start trading!

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The Impact and Importance of New Technologies in the Oil & Gas Industry

According to Pew research Center, the majority of Americans seem to favor renewable energy sources. Over 80% of them support the expansion of solar panel and wind turbine farms, with support for offshore drilling, fracking, and coal mining declining more and more with each passing year. 

It’s no longer the question of whether the oil and gas industry needs to change – the question is how to do it. The slow downturn that started back in 2014 is still influencing many companies, and even though signs of possible recovery are becoming apparent, only the smartest, most adaptable of businesses are likely to succeed. 

So, what’s the key to triumph? It’s simple – new technology. Technological advancements can quickly lead to growth if you utilize them right. We’re here to show you how to do that. 

Consider AI technology 

Using AI isn’t just about doing things faster. The potential to improve processes is practically endless if you invest enough. You can make the entire supply chain exceptionally efficient with the help of AI programming that will quickly solve various development, production, and transportation issues that you’ve been struggling with. 

This doesn’t mean that AI will replace your people, either. Your most competent workers will now be free to use their creativity to think of new business solutions. The oil and gas industry is generally struggling with lack of new talents right now. Too many experienced workers (especially engineers) are retiring with not enough fresh young blood to replace them – the youth are simply shifting their focus to IT skills. Using AI in your company could actually attract these young talents and help you fill up your workforce with competent and eager workers. 

AI can also be used to measure seismic activity and analyze subsurface levels, minimize downtime for predictive maintenance, and predict risks of oil corrosion. Basically, if you’re not investing in AI right now, you’re bound to fail. All your competitors are doing it, and you need to beat them to the punch. 

Invest in the latest equipment

Outdated equipment is not only slow, but dangerous. Keeping old pieces around is a big hazard, so you need to assess every piece you own and figure out when was the last time you did maintenance or changed necessary parts.  

Something as simple as investing in new gate valves can make a huge impact on your business, especially if you get equipment made out of quality materials that are resistant to corrosion. If you haven’t taken stock of your inventory now would certainly be a good time – see which pieces need to be repaired, which needs some basic maintenance, and which need to be completely replaced with newer, faster, and sturdier models. 

Infographic created by Smartcorr Systems, a corrosion monitoring equipment supplier

Rely on robotics

Investing in robotics can turn jobs that were previously extremely difficult and dangerous into a breeze. For example, connecting and disconnecting drill pipes is something a robot can do with ease. This dangerous operation is crucial to the whole process, and with proper robotic advancements you can make sure no person ever has to risk their life to do it. 

Try out drone technology

A droid is small and it can fly – two characteristics that make it the perfect little soldier that you can send to all those places a human would have a hard time reaching or even find them inaccessible. This can make it a lot easier to monitor every single part of your operation and make sure everything is in order. 

You can carry out every inspection remotely and then have your drone take a high-resolution picture of anything you need. The drone will give you feedback in real time, and you can quickly react if you notice that anything is amiss. 

A drone can also help you map out rock outcrops and then have them be used to create 3D models that can act as a learning aid for new workers. 

Minimize the impact on the environment

The oil and gas industry, same as any big industry, needs to find ways to become more environmentally aware if it wants to meet the ever-increasing demands for a greener Earth. More efficient equipment, automation, and progressive air pollution control technologies can go a long way to helping you minimize the impact of your business on the suffering environment. 

The only way to improve public opinion of your operations is to keep these things in mind. 

Investing in the technologies we mentioned can help your business thrive. Not only will you make the whole process faster, smoother, and more effective, you can also minimize your impact on the environment. With AI, robotics, drones, and good equipment you will lessen the chances of oil spills, which are generally still one of the biggest and most dangerous ways the oil and gas industry causes harm. Find a way to make your business cleaner, safer, and smarter, and you’ll stay on top.

Tips to Improve Your Core Web Vitals Scores and Page Experience Signals new banner
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Top 6 Tips to Improve Your Core Web Vitals Scores & Page Experience Signals

The deadline for improving Core Web Vitals Scores & Page Experience Signals is nearing for eCommerce Website Design Service providers all over the world. From the 1st of May 2021, Google is going to introduce core web vitals scores metrics on its algorithm as the vital contributors to predict the page experience of the eCommerce sites.

It is too early to predict how it is going to create an impact on the website performing organically or its search engine results. However, it is assured that the upcoming Google algorithm update with Core Web Vitals & Page Experience Signals will create a significant impact on boosting the ranks of eCommerce or retail sites.

Here this article is dealing with the top 6 effective ways to boost core web vitals scores & page experience signals. Before going to the core topic, let us brush up with the basics.

What are Core Web Vitals Scores?

It is a set of metrics specially created by the search engine giant Google to measure the page load performances of a website. When these metrics combined with the existing Google Page Experience Signals, it will provide an important contributing factor to predict the User Experience of a particular website.

Here are the 3 key core web vitals metrics that predict the user experience of a site.• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Metrics that measure the loading performances of the large image/videos/animations of a website.• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Metrics measuring the visual stability of a website that can disturb users to access the page/site content.• First Input Delay (FID): Metrics that measure how a website responds to the first user interaction.

Elements That Determines Page Experience of a Website 

Web Development Company offering custom PHP development services for eCommerce sites must take care of these elements for boosting its overall page experience.• Core Web Vitals• Mobile Friendliness• Safe Browsing• HTTPS• Non-Intrusive Interstitials

To improve the core web vitals scores and page experience signals of the site and to lineup according to the upcoming Google Algorithm update from 1st of May, implement these 6 tips.

Tips to Boost Core Web Vitals Scores & Page Experience Signals 

1. Reduce & Optimize JavaScript (JS)

Optimizing JavaScript (JS) or removing unused JavaScript (JS) will reduce the time taken by the browser to execute the website’s JS code; as a result, the loading time of a website improves a lot. As per the Google Algorithm report, a site has more than 300 milliseconds for interacting with users marked with poor FID score.

2. Implement Lazy Loading 

The lazy loading technique avoids images of the site loading when the site opened and loads them during the exact moment when a user views it. Implementing lazy loading won’t harm the site’s UX or web vitals scores, instead, it will boost the site’s loading time. In addition, lazy loading restricts bandwidth usage and restricts the site’s bounce rate.  

3. Image Optimization

Optimizing & compressing images of a website can significantly boost the loading speed of a website. Many may convey as compressing an image will affect the image quality, but the quality of the may differ only if it zoomed or saved in the wrong format. Always use .jpg format for images in landscape and .png format for graphical images.

4. Improve Server Response Time

Server Response Time plays a crucial role in displaying content/images on the browser when a user opens a website. The server response time will directly affect the site’s loading metrics. So, it’s better to choose a web hosting service that offers faster server response time. Google suggests using hosting servers that offer server response time below 600 milliseconds.  

5. Avoid Intrusive Interstitials

Having intrusive interstitials will create a negative impact on users while accessing the important on-page content. Intrusive interstitials will consume a significant amount of screen space causing frustration among users on accessing the site content. To avoid such negative UX, redesign site pop-ups and other interstitials in such a way that they do not obstruct users to access site content.

6. Incorporate HTTPS Connection

Implementing HTTPS secure connections to a website will be a promising way to boost the page experience signal. The internet giant Google always tries to ensure its users accessing safe and secure websites through its search engine results. So, having a site with an HTTPS secure connection will improve the site’s SEO score and creates more trust among the users.

Apart from that make sure to use Mobile-Friendly Page Templates, as mobile traffic is going to be the key aspect for driving more visitors to the website when compared with desktop traffic.

Conclusion

Incorporate all the above-listed page experience optimizing techniques to improve the web vital scores of a website and experience the positive effect on the upcoming Google Algorithm update.  

Guide to Protecting Different Types of Sensitive Data
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Guide to Protecting Different Types of Sensitive Data

Proper methods for keeping your data safe can help prevent breaches that hurt businesses. They also allow organizations to meet compliance requirements, increase brand value, and support an ethical business model.

In the business world, it’s all about trust, but how can you expect someone to trust you if you can’t keep their (or your own) personal information safe? Still, there are many different forms of data and ways in which this data can be compromised. Let’s find out what are some of the most reliable methods for keeping it all safe!

Infographic created by MXOtech

Problems Caused by Data Leakage

Data breaches and leaks can cause a number of rather serious consequences. Some of them involve corruption or destruction of databases, which are bad in their own right. However, the idea of a leak of confidential information can be far more catastrophic.

First of all, it puts a permanent dent in your reputation. Second, in a scenario where the data theft involved a sensitive piece of intellectual property, the financial damage caused could be immeasurable.

Potential targets of a data breach can be subjects like:

  • Personal information
  • Financial information
  • Intellectual property
  • Competition information
  • Legal information
  • Health information
  • IT security data

In either of these scenarios, the injured party suffers direct damage, while a malicious third party can gain a competitive advantage or a direct financial gain. Both of these serve as an excellent motivator.

Most Infamous Examples of Data Leakage

Even the top-dogs of the industry aren’t spared of a potential data leak. During the infamous Facebook data breach, as many as 267 million records were compromised. At the time of the Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube breach, there were 235 million compromised records. There are countless similar examples out there.

There are two major misconceptions that one has to deal with in order to protect their records in the digital environment. The first one is that no target is big enough to be 100% secure. The second one is that no one is too small/insignificant to be a target.

Data Leakage Categories

In terms of ways in which data leakage can occur, there are three major categories. These categories are:

  • In transit: The method known as encryption is supposed to protect the data in transit (in the form of an email, as well as data shared through chats, web traffic, and other sources).
  • At rest: Even in databases, data is far from secure. The same goes for data on laptops (which can be stolen) and desktops (which can be accessed while you’re not around).
  •  In use: Data currently used is also not 100% secure, seeing as how people can capture screenshots or take photographs of the screen. Needless to say, the latter is almost impossible to detect or prevent other than through screening people you’re sharing data with.

To keep your data leak-proof, you would have to find a way to cover all three of these categories.

Safer In-House Data Management

The safest way for in-house data handling is through IIM tools like M-Files. When it comes to integrating it with the rest of your cybersecurity measures, the versatility of this method is second to none. The automation of workflows and integration with security solutions are just two methods used to ensure data security and integrity.

Today, most businesses perform regular audits and need to present their clients and users with regulatory compliance. Keeping all of this safe and accessible are the prerequisites to running an efficient organization in the digital world.

The Use of Encryption

In order to protect your data in transit, you need to be smarter about your use of encryption. The biggest challenge here lies in the fact that the workforce is always on the move.

Therefore, devices leave the company network, and there are also numerous instances where employees access secure company data from unsecured devices. Fortunately, if the data is encrypted, it’s inaccessible to outsiders even when it’s lost. This acts as an additional safety net that you can count on in the worst-case scenario.

Secure Backups

Theft of data is not the only worst-case scenario that you will have to deal with. In some situations, a breach will result in a loss of corruption of vital data. This alone can ruin hours and days of hard work, thus costing your organization dearly. To avoid this, it’s vital that you introduce regular secure backups.

These backups can be risky on their own, seeing as how they contain a lot of essential data in a single place. So, the best way to protect it is to make sure that these backup servers are not publicly visible. This is also an area where an IIM can be incredibly useful since it can restrict access to certain files based on their credentials.

Employee Education

All the above-listed ideas and concepts are irrelevant if your employees are not careful enough. If their laptop gets stolen while they’re logged into company tools, platforms, and accounts, there’s not much you can do before the data gets compromised.

If passwords used by your staff members are weak or obvious (pet names, children’s birthdays, anniversaries, etc.), someone can just log in and appropriate private data that you’re safekeeping.

To avoid the majority of these nightmare scenarios, you need to educate your employees about safe behavior in the digital environment. Make sure that they know how, when, and which devices/networks are safe to use for work.

 Teach them about the concept of phishing and its hazards. Tell them a thing or two about staying logged in and ask them if they know how to make a strong password. Some platforms have a strong password requirement (multiple character types, capitalization, etc.), but this won’t always be the case.

There’s a reason why some of the highest-paid IT jobs require certifications that promote best security practices. We are, after all, living in a time of cybercrime and security theft.

One of the most important tasks here is the BYOD policy of your company. In the scenario where your employees are bringing their own devices to work, you need to make sure they know how to protect sensitive company data. This way, you’re giving your staff a choice – either comply with all these rules while using their personal devices or use a device provided by the company.

Endpoint Protection

The protection of devices that receive or handle sensitive data (desktop, laptop, tablets, mobile devices, etc.) is often overlooked, which is a significant mistake. Strong passwords and screen locks (ideally with biometric identification) are highly advised. Still, the hardware in your office needs to be protected, as well. The security of the perimeter (for the hardware that your on-spot workforce uses) comes in the form of a security guard or a surveillance system.

Wrap Up

To sum it all up, data breaches cause loss of trustworthiness and revenue. It compromises the personal information of your clients and portrays your entire organization as either negligent or incompetent. In order to avoid this, you need to understand some of the most common sources of this threat. From here, you can take measures to prevent these data breaks or leaks from ever happening. While this is easier said than done, it’s far from impossible. Most importantly, it’s more than worth your time and resources.

What Are The Highest-Paid IT Certifications
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What Are The Highest-Paid IT Certifications

A certification program in any domain is a way to enhance credibility, self-image and encourage life-long learning and professional development. Achieving an IT certification extends your knowledge and skills and prepares you for more job responsibilities. It can help enrich your self-image and reputation among peers. Having an IT certification can improve career opportunities-promotion, job probability, and pay increase.

An IT certification is a quick and readily recognized benchmark for a specific skill set based on standardized testing. It demonstrates your motivation, dedication, and technical knowledge on a related platform. So if you earn an IT certification, you can join a selected group of experts- a peer group with demonstrated skills. Achieving an IT certification shows that you not only have comprehensive knowledge of that technology, but you are also serious about your career to spend the time and money to get the certification.

It can also give you an advantage when hiring managers look at your portfolio as employers always give preference to the certified candidates compared to the non-certified ones. Having an IT certification can make the difference between keeping your job and having an opportunity to find a new one. So the bottom line is you must invest in yourself to make a career difference.

This article will tell you about the highest-paid IT certifications that can make your portfolio strong.

Highest Paid IT Certifications

IT certifications can bolster your skillset and help you perform your tasks more efficiently and with more confidence. Following are some of the highest-paying IT certifications that can help boom your career graph.

  • AWS Solution Architect Course- This cloud computing certification can help you gain an in-depth understanding of AWS (Amazon Web Services) architectural services and principles such as VPC, IAM, EBS, EC2, and more. It helps you learn how to design and scale AWS Cloud implementation with best-practice through Amazon. Professionals who are having AWS solution Architect certification can earn an average salary of around $155,000 per year.
  • Google-Certified Professional Cloud Architect- This course is considered one of the highest-paying certifications in the IT industry. It can help you develop the ability to design, create, develop, and manage a cloud-based architecture on the GCP (Google Cloud Platform). It also helps you in designing the business and technical process and the security around them. You can also manage business solutions by leveraging Google Cloud technologies. Nowadays, the need for professional-level cloud architects has increased as all kinds of companies want to store and manage large quantities of digital data through the cloud. It is estimated that a GCP Cloud Architect earns an annual average salary of $176,000.
  • Project Management Professionals (PMP)-  This certification is the most respected level of standardized proficiency in the project management profession. It is the gold standard for project management professionals and is designed to help you master managing project phases like initiation, execution, and stakeholder communication. Earning this certification showcases the capability of delivering a quality service by effectively designing and implementing projects to a high standard. The average salary for a PMP certification holder is around $135,798 annually.
  • AWS Certified Developer- Associate- This certification can help you master your skills in developing and maintaining applications on AWS. Applicants required experience working with one or more programming languages and AWS before taking the test for the certification. It covers the topics such as SDKs (Software Development Kits) to work with AWS services, choosing the best AWS service for a provided situation, and writing code to focus on performance optimization of an application. An AWS Certified developer can earn around $130,369 per year.
  • Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)- This certification is designed to promote security best practices as in the present world of malware and identify theft, information security has never been critical. Candidates who hold this certification grasp the safe and secure digital environment for the hiring company. A certified Information security manager can earn an average salary of $117,395 annually. This certification helps you switch from a technical job to a managerial role. It will enrich your knowledge of Information Risk Management, Information security Governance, Information Security Incident management, and Information security program development and management.
  • CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor- It is an advanced auditing certification that is ideal for auditors. If you want to become an expert in audit, monitoring, control, and assessment of IT and business processes, CISA is the certification for you. It covers domains like Information system auditing process, Information systems acquisition development and implementation, Governance and management of IT, Information system operation and business resilience, and Protection of information assets. This certification equips you to secure sensitive information and technology assets within an organization. It is considered one of the most popular certification programs for IT professionals who work in information security auditing, controlling, and assurance domains.
  • Certified In Risk and Information System Control (CRISC)- This certification gives you the ability to manage risk across technology-related and IT-enabled business processes. It can help you learn how to evaluate the alignment of risk mitigation and management with your business framework for change and growth. It also makes you understand how risk-based decisions can maximize an organization’s business potential as they compete with agile, innovative startups.
  • AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner- This certification is provided by Amazon that validates your overall understanding of AWS cloud technology. It suits developers, DevOps, IT Ops, administrators, and cloud solution architects. It will teach you to identify documentation sources and understand core characteristics and technical assistance of AWS technologies.

IT certifications are in high demand as certified professionals stand to gain better and increased job opportunities and bigger paychecks. Choose any course that suits your requirements and enroll to polish your career.

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How to improve e-commerce conversions for your stores.

Conversion optimization is an essential aspect to consider when you’re running an eCommerce store. 

After all, if you’re investing so much time and money into your store, you’re going to want the users coming to your website to not bounce off. 

But how can you ensure that they don’t bounce off? Well, there are plenty of strategies that you can try to that end. 

In this post, we’ll be explaining how eCommerce store owners can implement conversion rate optimization strategies for their eCommerce processes. 

So, let’s start.                                                       

#1: Discount Coupons and Points on Referrals 

In the long run, your goals should not only be more customers but also returning and referral customers. 

By introducing points and rewards on the referrals system, you can gamify the eCommerce experience for your website users. This will not only improve the conversion rates of your eCommerce store but also get more eyes on your products whom you can later convert.

Okay, let’s try to explain the benefits you can gain from referrals.

Referrals create a win-win situation. When a referral is complete, you (the referee) get a discount, the person joining up gets a discount, and for the store, it means a double sale. In the long run, the discount costs on referrals can be covered since you have brand loyalty and superior conversion rates. 

The only thing that you need to take care of from your end is the product quality. If the quality of the product is bad, then you’re going to have a bad time getting more customers back to your store. 

#2: User Reviews, Suggestions, and Ratings

User reviews, suggestions, and ratings are one of the most important aspects of social proof indicating a user’s experience with an eCommerce website. 

These metrics are “on the ground” so to speak and give you a gauge of the performance of your eCommerce store and its associated products. 

Now, let’s explain each of these three:

Reviews: Detailed product reviews give you an idea of where you need to improve with your product offering. It also shows others users how satisfied they were with the purchase.

Suggestions: These types of reviews are aimed at providing the website owner with input on how he/she can improve the performance of a website. The prime benefit of suggestions is that they help you build your product quality. 

Rating: The quickest way to gauge the performance of a product, ratings are a bird’s eye view for a product. They indicate whether or not the product is good. 

Now, how do these reviews help in improving conversion optimization? Well, user reviews optimization helps you improve the performance of your store. This leads to better performance overall and can improve customer’s eCommerce experience by a significant margin. 

#3: Minimize Load Times for Your Store

Suppose you’re running an eCommerce store. Things are going well, and your site is gaining more and more customers. However, you’re not getting the amount of traffic that you got before because your site’s load time, for one reason or another, increased. 

This is a problem.

Load times matter a lot and can mean a lot in conversion rate optimization. Think of it from a user perspective. Would you ever visit a slow-loading website if you have a lot of other options available? 

Unless necessary, you’re not going to do that. you can have the best-designed website, but if you haven’t optimized it for load-times, then you’re going to lose a chunk of your customers to the competition. 

Besides losing the competition, slow loading websites have a disadvantage in terms of the Google ranking. Yes, Google penalizes sites that have a slow loading speed. 

To improve the load times of your eCommerce stores, you can use a tool like GTMetrix to check the current performance of your website. Afterward, you can perform the fixes.         

#4: Your Product Descriptions Should Add Value

If you’re running an eCommerce store, your product description content should be optimized to entice the user into converting. 

You see, the product page is where the customer decides to enter or exit your store. If you can persuade the user to purchase the product at that point, then you’ve got yourself a conversion. 

The product copy and the visual content of the product description should be tailored to the users-intent. It should provide benefits that the user can avail. 

How you display your product visually matters a lot as well. You can add custom carousels, infographics, video content, and more. The end goal of all these marketing materials is to ensure that the customer is persuaded enough to convert. 

#5: Multi-Payment Gateways 

If you’re running an eCommerce store, then you need to invest in having multiple payment platforms on your store. 

You see, your users are distributed over a particular geographical area and demographic profile. Because of that, you must understand that not everyone is willing to pay for your products/services similarly. 

Some users are going to pay through credit card, and some might prefer PayPal, and some might just prefer Stripe or any other payment for your eCommerce platform. Whatever their selection is, you need to have those payment gateways present as support for your eCommerce operations. 

Now, why does that matter?                    

If a certain user is satisfied with paying through a credit card, they can do so. If they want to pay through PayPal, they can do so with PayPal. Whatever method they choose, what they won’t do is exit your store.

The CRO Journey is Tough

Now, we’re going to conclude this article by just saying this:

E-Commerce is a perilous journey with many hurdles coming to stop your progress. To avoid these hurdles, you need to follow the best practices for conversion optimization discussed in this article. They are only a few which should be easy to understand. 

We would suggest that you A/B test your offerings as much as possible to ensure that you have multiple strategies. Going with a single strategy is always counterintuitive. It’s always best to diversify. 

So, keep pushing, you’ll get there! 

Insights

How to Improve the CRM App’s Performance?

Companies have access to various customer related information and data that were unimaginable a few years ago.   

The high-quality and usable information requires extraction abilities in a marketing environment of fragmented communications media with trailblazing technologies like e-commerce, web-based supply chains, and mobile messaging.   

Due to advancement, companies are relied on software because it helps them convert information into actionable intelligence and lets them communicate this intelligence to customers at the right time.   

Customer management software is an essential component of analytical and operational CRM (Customer Relationship Management) implementations.  

Yet, how companies are using CRM software to support their customer management processes and activities and how they satisfy them with results and experiences depends on the software implementation related to improved business performance.   

Maintaining good relationships with customers is necessary for the overall company’s growth. Thus, if you have invested a lot of money in CRM-based software, it’s time to think about its performance.   

Must-Know Tips to Improve the CRM App’s Performance   

 
Select the Right Performance Testing Tool   

Performance testing tools play a significant role in improving the CRM application’s performance, so the first step is to choose the appropriate performance testing tool to initiate the CRM app testing.   

Usually, companies use some advanced levels of tools for CRM testing, such as Selenium, Cucumber, LoadStorm, CloudHarmony, and Blazemeter. With such tools, it becomes easy to check the sensitive data and information of businesses without compromising with quality.   

Apart from that, many automated and paid tools are available online to check the performance of CRM applications.   

For instance, StresStimulus is a paid tool that one can use to examine the performance of websites or web applications and any kind of CRM applications.   

This tool is designed for recording different web application scenarios, and it allows to replay those scenarios with load patterns produced through Virtual Users during performance monitoring.   

The purpose of automated CRM performance testing tools is to provide the utmost ease for managing the entire life cycle.   

The different phases for the performance testing life cycle are as follows:  

  • Non-functional Requirements Elicitation and Analysis.   
  • Performance Test Strategy.   
  • Performance Test Design.   
  • Performance Test Execution.   
  • Performance Test Result Analysis.   
  • Benchmarks and Recommendations.   

With the CRM performance monitoring tool, one can easily record the end-user activity and use the data as scripts that are further used to create performance testing scenarios or sessions that define a combination of typical end-users’ activities.   

Moreover, these end users’ activities are actual performance tests that can be executed at any time or until any app’s performance testing needs are not correctly met.   

With the best CRM performance testing tool, you can ensure that the application responds quickly in terms of speed. It can handle the maximum user load in terms of scalability, and it works with stability with varying loads.  

Choose the Well-Trained Workforce   

 
The stringent testing is requisite for the CRM app’s performance testing with pre-built test cases, testing procedures, and automated test frameworks as it helps your business improve customer loyalty, insights, and customer satisfaction.   

Therefore, always choose the well-trained workforce for CRM performance testing as the qualified experts can help satisfy your business needs.  

They focus on eliminating performance bottlenecks that influence the accuracy, speed, stability, and overall quality of the CRM software.   

With an experienced workforce, you can enhance the app’s performance and experience ROI-generated customers and profits.   

Check Functional Stability   

 
Before taking the step for CRM performance measurement, it is crucial to ensure that the application is working as expected and functionally stable.   

All the bugs or defects should be identified and removed in the functional testing of the CRM application.   

The CRM performance testing role is to analyze the software behavior under continuous and peak load conditions.   

For example, if the application is developing for 100 users, then chances are high there will be more users in the future who will interact with you in your CRM platform.   

To make this application for multiple users, it is a must option to check the load time, response time, along with getting the app ready for the maximum number of users.   

Understand the Major Types of Performance Monitoring/Testing  

 
In SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle), there are six major types of performance testing for any application.  

Likewise, Stress Testing, Spike Testing, Load Testing, Endurance, Volume & Scalability Testing. Based on your application’s requirements, you can consider different types of CRM performance measurement steps.   

However, load testing is vital for the CRM application because it confirms that it will give a higher number of user’s satisfaction and fulfill the required needs of the web design and optimization process.   

Running load tests during any system customization or upgrade is suggested to validate stability, performance, and end-user experience.   

Also Read: Best Practices and Checklist For CRM Testing

Create a Timeline   

 
In the competitive era, providing quality-made, error-free, and faster software is the basic step that we keep in mind while improving the CRM app’s performance.   

However, the most important task is to set or create a timeline to deliver the project on time. If you already have a dedicated test environment for CRM performance monitoring, you can start this activity in quick minutes.   

On the other hand, if you don’t have any test environment, you may have to build the environment first, and it can consume you a lot of time and money.   

You must have sufficient time and resources to inject the load, identify and prepare use cases, test creation, and final execution.   

Don’t forget to check the CRM app’s performance against different servers, databases, networks, and devices.   

Furthermore, if you are integrating your CRM software with other applications or adding some new themes, you still have to check its performance and get ready your document at each step without showing ambiguity in the scripting process.   

Other than that, CRM performance monitoring should be done through the identification of all input data requirements with expected responses.   

Determine the different user types and check the performance of the application accordingly. You need to decide whether the use cases are at an active stage or a passive stage.  

To obtain the benefits as Devs or Architects, you need to validate design goals, establish scalability patterns and validate the capacity requirements.   

Besides, you need to optimize both hardware and software configurations for increased throughput.   

You even need to measure the metrics of your CRM, such as customer churn, product usage, closure rates, retention percentage, and recurring revenue.   

After improving the app’s performance of your CRM, you can analyze how many loyal customers you have obtained for your brand.   

CRM software is an integrated suite of cloud applications such as sales cloud, marketing cloud, and service cloud to gather and store all customers’ data.   

It provides a centralized solution for sales teams to manage customer interactions and prioritize activities that helps in boosting the customer’s experience.   

It is the most needed tool nowadays to spend valuable time with customers and bring loyalty to them. The more time customers will spend on your CRM, the better sales and the faster growth you can experience in your business.   

Conclusion   

There is no magic trick to enhance the CRM app’s performance. For this, you need to check the tips that we have given above. With the right performance testing tools, experience, best testing metrics, checklist of non-functional requirements, you can ensure that your CRM software is responsive, stable, reliable, speedy, scalability, and can work under a particular workload. 

5 useful gadgets for gaming beginners
Insights

5 useful gadgets for gaming beginners

When you start gaming, there are many things to buy for making your games more interesting. These gadgets can be very useful and easy to apply. They are available in the market and some of these accessories are highly recommended by professionals.

In addition to these gadgets, it is advisable to use VPN when playing video games. By making a secure connection you are protected from different security threats, and by hiding your location, you can also play the games that are restricted in your area! Take some time to research and find the best VPN service for gaming so you can fully enjoy your favorite game.

Below are some of the essential gaming accessories that you should consider for a better gaming experience.

Gaming laptop

The very basic and the most important thing is a gaming laptop. You can also play your games on a simple laptop but having a gaming laptop is much be a better option.

Many laptops come along with the best specifications and they are basically meant to do official tasks but you can easily use them for gaming also due to their high-end specifications.

But there are some laptops which have below the average specifications and these laptops cannot be used as a gaming laptop.

You can play light games or older games on a simple laptop. We recommend you to buy a gaming laptop that meets your needs and your needs decide which device is suitable for you. Budget also plays a great role in choosing the best one. You can easily search on Google about gaming laptop under 300 dollars and will get a great number of suitable laptops for gaming.

But we cannot decide or determine which device is suitable without recognizing our needs and requirements.

Gaming mouse

Most of the games are mouse-dependent. We can say that a mouse is a very basic thing to be used in games. Some games can only be played by keyboards.

But having a mouse is still very important. You can get a mouse from the market and there is a variety of mouse available in the market.

But we are talking about gaming mouse, gaming mouse is meant to be something advance than a simple mouse. There are some extra options in the gaming mouse that can be a good choice for gamers.

Moreover, we can say that a gaming mouse is smoother than a simple mouse. These accessories are somehow more sensitive than a simple one.

Again, having gaming doesn’t mean having a huge cost required for it, there are many under-budget gaming mouses you can easily go for them.

Many manufacturers are available in the market who are offering their products at a very reasonable price and there is no problem using a cheap mouse.

Gaming keyboard

The more your keyboard is smooth, the more you enjoy your games. Some games require an instant response and for instant response, you must need a smooth keyboard.

You can play games on a simple keyboard but if you want some extra fun then you must go for a gaming keyboard. The gaming keyboard will give you access to some extra options that can make

your games more interesting.

But these accessories are all about your budget. if you cannot afford to use a very expensive keyboard, you can go for a simple or cheap keyboard.

A cheap keyboard will also work the same so, go for a budget keyboard. It is very important to stay on a budget while playing the games

Gaming keyboards are meant to be used for gaming specifically but you can also use them for other tasks. these keyboards are flexible and easy to use.

There are two options used for gaming keyboards; one is having a wireless keyboard and the other one is using a wired and typical keyboard.

Gaming headset

Sound is very important for gaming. Like today, we are used to playing real-time games that are using multiplayer so, having a good sound system is very important.

Instead of using a heavy speaker that can be disturbing for others, you must use a gaming headset. Using a simple headset is not a good option especially for gaming.

A gaming headset is a good option due to its base and the quality of sound. So, having a gaming headset is important for gaming.

Having a good light

Having a colorful room always attract you towards gaming. This is the best option for using good lights when you are playing games.

You must have a good atmosphere while playing games. There are a variety of lights, if you are fond of colorful atmosphere then you can go for colorful lights but if you don’t want to be very colorful then you can go for simple one tone lights.

You can buy affordable lights from the market and these lights are not that expensive but they will give you complete joy and make your games more interesting.

Wrap up

Everything looks good when it is properly executed. When we talk about gaming, we need proper equipment for gaming.

We always mention that gaming is not about spending too much. You can make the requirements your priority so you can easily decide what to buy or whatnot.

Having these accessories along with a cheap gaming laptop will blow your mind and give you the best fun ever. You can also play games without using this equipment but having these can make your games more interesting and easier too.