Daily Cup of Tech

Retail Test automation benefits that are generally neglected

Miley on August 11, 2021

One of the most influenced industries with digital transformations is none other than the retail industry. The overall reputation of a retail organization is at stake and customer experience is at high risk when it comes to online commerce. But have you ever thought about what retail has to do with software and test automation solution? Well, this makes sense. The importance of security testing either by manual or automation means is essential in order to prevent the high tech systems, software, applications, and websites from any malicious activity.

Developing, testing, deploying, and maintaining IT-based solutions that can provide today’s shoppers with a seamless customer experience has become a very critical requirement of this modern age. E-commerce websites need to be constantly transformed to meet the demands of a highly competitive market.

Many retailers are now heading towards online stores because they think of online stores as a big financial hit for their respective businesses, yet they are unaware that online stores cannot guarantee success because these are the platforms or applications that are designed and run by imperfect creatures called humans. But if a business is successful in implementing best software testing policies and practices either via partnering with third parties for testing purposes.

No doubt testing is essential but automation testing can bring wonders to your business if done accordingly. Various IT companies are providing automation testing services and selenium alternatives in this regard but you need to have an owl’s eye while deciding to partner with a third-party service provider. Because the more your application is safe, the more benefits you can reap.

Now let us direct you towards what automation has for retail businesses which many companies may neglect;

Cost-cutting and time-saving – Retailers of today, are under increasing pressure to innovate quickly and deploy reliable and effective digital solutions. Software testing must be repeated frequently during the development cycle to ensure quality. Each time the source gets updated, software testing must be repeated on all supported operating systems and hardware configurations. Repeating these tests manually demands heavy costs and long durations as well.

However, test automation drastically reduces the time and therefore results in relatively low costs.

Enhanced precision – Even most serious testers make mistakes in dull and boring manual testing. Each time test automation is executed, it performs exactly the same steps and records detailed results.

Testers freed from repeated manual testing have more time to create new test automation software scripts. For retailers, this means a few mistakes, better customer experience, and valuable brand protection, and potential sales growth.

Deployment of seamless omnichannel – To improve the quality of software, the depth and scope of test scripts can be raised via automation testing. With the help of it, one can have an inside picture of the application and can also view the memory contents, data tables, file contents, and internal program status for the purpose of determining if the product is working as it was expected or not.

Improved Security

Mobile payment solutions, POS applications, and credit card mobile applications make retail companies easily exploitable to security threats. Hence, testers must pay attention to the performance analysis, authentication, and encryption of application to prevent these threats. Testers introduce a testing framework to increase security checks and used automated testing for this purpose.

Integration across platforms and different parties

A successful digital retail system demands integration between different parties and across various platforms. It is very challenging for testers to integrate several devices, applications, and networks. These challenges can vary from managing promotions on digital and physical platforms.

Enabling Quick Feedback

In the verification phase of any software project, automated testing is essential. It heavily improves the communication between developers, designers, and product merchants, and leaves room for immediate resolution of potential failures, thereby improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the development team.

Conclusion

With the transformation in the digital world, the retail business has become too complicated. Every feature of the digital system or software application requires careful and rigorous testing. That’s why automation testing has a prominent and significant role. Automation aids in the improvement of user experience reduces threats and security vulnerabilities and enables high-quality software development to gain as much as possible from the retail sector. There is an utmost need to utilize automated testing as the top-notch preferred method to defeat the challenges faced by testers. It can be absolutely concluded that automation testing has revived the retail sector and is of great importance for testers to help them to achieve their objectives without any hassle of heavy investments.

Products

How Can Microsoft Office 365 Power Your Business

Miley on July 29, 2021

Businesses had an eventful year in 2020. In the face of change and disruptions, companies that had a strong digital infrastructure not only survived the year but many also soared exponentially. Microsoft Office 365 led the way by bolstering the backend ecosystems of enterprises and enabling them to facilitate remote work environments.

If you haven’t yet adopted the comprehensive and scalable suite of Microsoft Office 365 services, now’s a good time to do so. Here’s how Microsoft is ushering the next generation of business productivity:

Collaboration

Collaboration has always been a critical aspect of businesses and Microsoft Office 365 has taken the challenges head-on. Microsoft SharePoint along with OneDrive and Exchange create a seamless ecosystem that’s always accessible in the cloud. Businesses can use SharePoint to build an intranet of different parties, delegate tasks, stay on top of updates, and handle file sharing and email communications. The web-based versions of classic apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint empower teammates to collaborate in real-time and share documents to work in real-time with third-party teams.

Traditionally known for their classic desktop installed versions, Microsoft 365 today gives you the freedom to tweak the services however you want and access them from wherever you want.

Communication

With remote work finding a strong foothold in business operations, collaboration is not the only issue anymore. The lack of physical presence in an office makes efficient communication a key factor in success. Microsoft has led the remote communication revolution during the pandemic with Teams. With the hardest days now behind them, businesses look to leverage the true power of Microsoft Teams to redefine their internal communication structure.

Microsoft Teams offers a streamlined UI for users to navigate elements quickly. The chat groups have granular threads, powerful search control, cross-channel communications, OneDrive, SharePoint, Calendar, and popular third-party integrations. In terms of calling, features like breakout rooms, data loss prevention, dynamic view, intelligent capture, and Microsoft Whiteboard support make it the most powerful collaborative tool for remote teams.

Security

With the rising case of cybercrimes in virtual workplaces, security has become a cause for concern for businesses. Microsoft has rolled out a state-of-the-art enterprise solution that’s end-to-end secure. All the files being uploaded in the OneDrive cloud are encrypted and the security center gives you a detailed analysis of security status so that you can control the activities on a granular level. Administrators can also activate multi factor-authentications with the Azure Active Directory Admin Center and the Authenticator app. Microsoft regularly pushes out security patches to keep the systems secure for all businesses.

Flexibility

At the end of the day, Microsoft Office 365 gives you peace of mind. Thanks to a host of plans, ranging from Microsoft 365 Business Basic to Microsoft 365 E5, you can pay only for the services your business needs and not for additional features you don’t need.

With each new week, Microsoft is rolling out new features and services that aim to make business operations simpler, seamless and entertaining. To know more about how you can make Microsoft Office 365 work for your business, get in touch with certified Microsoft partners today!

Development

How to Setup and Use a VPN in Windows 10

Miley on July 21, 2021

Microsoft Windows operating system has evolved a lot with lots of privacy and security features. One of them is the inbuilt VPN client that offers advanced privacy protection. Before subscribing to a VPN service, it is better to try out the free VPN for Windows that comes inbuilt with the OS. Here in this article, you’ll explore, why and how to use a VPN client.

What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an extended private network that connects to a public network and allows the user to connect to the internet. You can send and receive data across any public or shared networks with secured encryption.

Benefits of Using a VPN

There are several benefits of using a VPN and most of them are related to enhanced privacy and security. Here is why you should configure a VPN for Windows.

Enhanced Security on Public Networks: VPN offers additional security on public Wi-Fi connections or hotspots. If you travel a lot and connect to free Wi-Fi at airports, coffee shops, or restaurants, your confidential information can be compromised. Your online activity, browsing history, banking password and more can be accessed by someone.

Hides Your Data from ISP: When you connect to your private connection or to your home network, your ISP knows everything about your internet activity. Hide your interest, activity, data, from your ISP as it can always be accessed by your ISP.

Avoid Apps Tracking Data: There are several apps that track your personal interest, activity, location, browsing history, etc. A VPN works as a shield to prevent this confidential information to be tracked by different apps installed on your computer.

Helps you Go Anonymous: A VPN not only hides your IP Address, Subnet Mask, DNS but also helps you go anonymous by changing your location and masking your PC information.

Keeps Cybercriminals Out: VON enables advanced security and privacy features and keeps hackers and cybercriminals out of your network.

Allows Access on Unlimited Streaming: There are country-specific limitations on different streaming websites like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, YouTube, and others.

How to Set up a VPN on Windows

Windows inbuilt utility can help you set up a VPN however you always need a VPN client or service to configure. A free VPN for Windows may not offer you a lot of security features or services however if you consider connecting to the best VPN for Windows 10, you can add up additional security to your device. Alternatively, you can also check out the Microsoft Store for a free VPN for Windows.

Step 1. Check for the Best Free VPN for Windows on Microsoft Store.

Step 2. Go to the VPN provider’s website and collect the connection settings.

Step 3. Press (Win + I) to get into System Settings and go to Network & Internet.

Step 4. Click on the VPN tab in the left-hand side panel.

Step 5. Toggle ON the ‘Allow VPN over metered networks’ & ‘Allow VPN while roaming’ options.

Step 6. Click on the + Plus sign for ‘Add a VPN connection’ on the top of the Settings page.

Step 7. Enter all the required fields like VPN provider, Connection Name, Server Name, VPN Type, etc.

Step 8. Click on the Save button once done to save settings. If your company has provided you with network settings, you can enter that or edit using the Advanced option.

Connect to a VPN

If you have configured the VPN, now it’s time to figure out how to use a VPN. Connecting to a VPN is just a toggle key away!

Step 1. Once you have configured a VPN client, it will list up in the available networks list. Click on the Wi-Fi icon or the network icon at the right bottom on the Task Bar.

Step 2. Click on the configured VPN client to connect. Click on the Connect button next to it.

Step 3. You can also click on the Notification button at the right-bottom and click on VPN. It will take you back to the VPN settings page to configure or select the VPN to use.

Configure the Best VPN for Windows 10

We have tested, compared and reviewed dozens of the best VPN clients available in 2021 and ranked Systweak VPN as the best VPN service based on multiple parameters.

Systweak VPN

Number of Servers: 4,500+

Max Connections: Unlimited

OS Supported: Windows All Versions

Price: $9.95/Monthly or $5.95/Yearly

Moneyback Guarantee: 30-days

Download Link: Get it Here

24/7 support: Yes

Systweak VPN is a great tool to keep you connected through a secured tunnel and offer AES-256-bit military-grade encryption for high-end security. Its biggest USP is its vast coverage throughout the globe that never let the connection drop or gets weak. You can connect through 4500 plus network servers in over 200 plus locations in 53 plus countries worldwide.

Systweak VPN hides your IP, DNS, Server, device details, and makes you go anonymous. You can bypass ISP throttling, censorship to different websites, bypass global content, maintains a no-logs policy, opens restricted websites, Kill Switch & DNS leak protection, and more features. You can connect to Open VPN & Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKev2) to keep your IP address masked all the time.

Summing Up

If you were not aware of how to set up a VPN or how to use a VPN, this article is a summary of the manual methods to configure a free VPN for Windows and use the best VPN for Windows 10 in 2021. It is always safe to use VPN all the time to hide your identity, privacy and enhance security measures. VPN for Windows is a necessary utility to keep your confidentiality private!

Products

8 Features Every Graphic Designer Should Seek in iMac Alternative Options

Miley on July 16, 2021

Apple has remained the No. 1 choice for graphic designers and digital artists due to its fantastic product range and iMac is one of them.

But what if you want to switch from Apple product and buy a non-Apple PC? What particular features you’d want to have or how you’d rate a PC in comparison to iMac?

Don’t worry! If you don’t know what exactly to seek into the iMac alternatives, this post is a perfect place to be. Below, you can find all the essential features that make your iMac alternative selection a worthy choice. Come, let us explain how you can pick the best iMac alternative!

Price

In order to pick the best iMac alternative, you must seek out the price, first.

Since an iMac costs you around $1.5K or more, your selection criterion should be lesser than that. But before you select an AIO, be sure to check if it matches the kind of features that an iMac offers.

Because there’s no gain in buying a PC that doesn’t keep up with an iMac as this would ultimately impact on your creative work.

Screen Size

As a graphics designer, it is the screen size that matters the most when it comes to buying a PC. Since you’re comparing all the prospective options with iMac, be sure that you pick a PC that is close to its 27” screen size.

It’s because as a graphic designer you wouldn’t want to attach a second monitor with your PC to view everything that you need during the work.

Graphics Card

When we talk about an iMac alternative from a graphic designer’s point of view, the option must have a stronger graphics card that offers an awesome picture quality near to Radeon Pro 5300.

For example, Microsoft Surface Studio 2 uses NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or you must seek an AIO that uses Intel HD Graphics 520 or its later releases. Because doing so would help you have a sharper, quick picture load time.

Storage Space

There’s one particular reason of iMac’s popularity amongst the creative beings and that’s because of its storage space.

It offers minimum 512GB storage space!

Now, if you truly want a worthy iMac alternative, you have to pick a PC that matches this storage capacity.

Processor

Every computer has a brain that ensures a user’s swift processing experience so does the iMac with its Intel Core i9. Now, if you’re seeking an iMac alternative for creative work, you must pick an AIO that has a strong processor, too. Be sure to check its cores and also ensure that its either by Intel or AMD.

RAM

The iMac uses 8GB RAM which enables it to store and show temporary data in a fraction of a second. Since your work mostly involves heavy editing programs and you’ll be accessing various webpages, it is important that you pick a PC that comes closer to iMac’s 8GB RAM.

Connectivity

In order to pick the best iMac alternative, you must seek what kind of connectivity options are there. Since you’re performing creative work, mostly, on your PC so pick a PC that comes with more USB ports, WIFI connectivity and Bluetooth options, too.

Because these are a few of the connectivity options that would constitute your smooth usage when you connect your wireless keyboard, mouse or integrate a touchpad for more control especially when doodling.

Weight

Last, but not the least, you must pick an AIO (iMac alternative to be specific) that weighs comparatively lesser. It’d help you in many ways especially when you rearrange your work station, you won’t need to rely on another person’s help.

Development

7 Key Points To Make Attractive Application Layout In 2021

Miley on July 1, 2021

If your web app doesn’t look modern, it isn’t trendy. That is why staying on top of the latest app design trends, especially what’s in store for 2021, is critical. Mobile UI and layout design are essential for the app designing process, and here you can check the practical tips for an attractive and best mobile app design. For starters, try taking some app design inspirations from the trendy applications for better results.

Modern app design trends

Before looking into how to design an app, it is essential to look at these modern mobile app design trends now.

1. Neumorphism

In recent years, icons and button design ideas have gotten increasingly simple. Designers hope to make them more engaging in 2021. What are their plans to do this? The solution is known as “neumorphism,” which stands for “new skeumorphism,” and is a practical tip to design an attractive application layout.

This popular new app design trend takes the early 2010s aesthetic and updates it for the twenty-first century, keeping the same principle of using real-life pictures but with new and improved 3D-like visuals. Neumorphism generally gives flat icons and buttons a lush dimensional makeover. It preserves much of the childlike simplicity of flat design but with an eye-popping reality that makes it leap off the screen. So if you want to adopt this trend, contact the best Mobile App Development Company for an attractive layout.

2. Swiping experiences that are fun to use

A significant advantage of mobile over desktop has always been swiping. Although clicking is quick and straightforward, swiping is simply more enjoyable! Swiping becomes more intriguing, engaging, and memorable in 2021, thanks to modern app design trends that encourage playing to that advantage.

There are numerous ways to improve your swipe experience; the only limit is your imagination. This may be as simple as adding an animation to your swipes to give users a more satisfying “turning the page” experience, or it could be something more deeply ingrained in your app’s logic to speed user chores.

3. The use of shadows and layering achieves depth.

Try pushing everything else back if you can’t get a graphic to peek out of the screen. Techniques like shadows and layering are one approach to producing the dramatic depth impression currently prevalent in cool app layouts. It’s not about nuance in this app design trend. Designers are embracing dramatic, black shadows to their hearts’ content.

An easy way to add visual depth to photos, graphics, and other design components is to use dramatic shadows and contrast. Layering your items, with parts overlapping each other to form an internal hierarchy, is an equally powerful strategy. Furthermore, you may apply shadows to your layers to enhance the effect, giving your app a whole new level.

4. Inspiration from the past

The norm used to be that the more modern the app, the better. However, in 2021, app designers will go against the grain and reintroduce analog inspiration into their app design process. Paper and cardboard textures, collage-inspired layouts, somewhat yellowed backdrops instead of spotless whites, retro typography, and button designs are among the design features used in these apps.

Apps that look like newspapers and periodicals and old-school calculators and board games are becoming popular, giving high-tech apps a more approachable feel. The warmth and comfort that this app design trend evokes is what makes it so appealing. It’s all about creating apps that feel more natural, comfortable, and tactilely pleasant.

5. Geometric and abstract art

Even though many of the app design trends for 2021 favor realism and three-dimensional effects, certain firms will profit from more abstract and artistic approaches. As an alternative to photography, this style is widely employed for startups and apps. Bright colors and simple abstract forms attract attention, and it allows for easy viewing without detracting from the app’s functionality.

This app design style attempts to balance rich detail and simplicity while still incorporating a great deal of variation and artistry. More app designers will try with more complicated abstract imagery in 2021, which will be both incredibly basic and intriguingly delicate at the same time.

6. Unusual perspectives

The days of apps that only have right angles are long gone. In 2021, app designers are using unique perspectives in their designs to make things more intriguing. This app design trend is luring users’ eyes in new ways, whether it’s design elements put at an angle or backdrops that don’t follow the traditional right angle standards.

To stand out, designers are literally and figuratively breaking free from the limits of tradition. Unexpected angles bring intrigue to app designs and make them more lively. As a result, an app design style emerges that is exploratory, whimsical, and a little rebellious.

7. Immersion via virtual reality and augmented reality

Virtual reality and augmented reality become more than just entertainment in lockdowns when leaving the house isn’t a possibility, as they provide a much-needed vacation. In 2021, the immersive app design trend is expected to continue, with a greater focus on the interactive, immersive experiences that can be had with just a mobile device.

Designers build app designs that make you feel like you’re within the app through subtle yet engaging design features, useful supporting information in the correct places, and gamification of the entire experience. Using these apps is designed to feel like playing an immersive game that pulls you in. Consider new and innovative ways to use it and strive to improve the visual experience and the utility for the user.

Conclusion:

Follow these latest designing trends for an attractive application layout. Utilize the best-suited ones according to your applications’ needs and get the best and most engaging experience for your app users.

Development

4 Reasons Why You Should Adopt Microservices Architecture for Faster Development?

Miley on June 25, 2021

Introduction:

Microservices architecture is the very resource to get a perfect architect for consistent delivery. Microservices are the method of developing software applications that are created with independently deployed services. Each of the microservice works with a different procedure followed by communication with a ground-breaking yet lightweight mechanism.

Businesses are frequently looking forward to working with services oriented architecture. Speaking of microservices, let us talk about how it is beneficial to you in different ways.

So, here you go.

4 Reasons why should you adopt microservices architecture for faster development?

1. Improved Productivity With The Services Oriented Architecture

Breaking down an application into smaller autonomous fragments enables it to run easier and faster. Each service can be deployed, developed, and managed in an equal manner. Also, you can make use of different technologies, different programming languages, and different software development environments based on the requirements of each of the services.

As the module element codebase is reduced from an application, it makes releasing, deploying, scaling, and testing different services pretty reasonable and achievable. Moreover, you can bifurcate associated tasks into the team of developers to get it all done simultaneously.

2. Get Better Scalability With Microservices Frameworks Architecture

As we have mentioned earlier, each service can be written in a different language, this allows DevOps teams to go for the most popular and workable module without having to think about the incompatibility later.

We can add new components to the individual services without any need for downtime and redeployment of the whole system. They can also be scaled independently.

Moreover, these services can also be availed in the other different servers that decreases the impact of the performance of more demanding components.

Having said that, Netflix is a quintessential example of using microservices architecture to get over scaling issues and challenges. Back then in 2008, Netflix experienced a three-day failure of the services due to rapidly increasing demands on its servers. After coming across this plight, Netflix decided to refactor its monolithic application into a horizontally scalable, distributed system of microservices frameworks architecture running on Amazon AWS cloud servers.

3. Get better data security and compliance with the microservices architecture

Services Oriented Architecture carries and protects all the sensitive and confidential data inside it. However, when developers do generate data connections between the microservices architecture, securing confidential data becomes a major concern. Although, it is good to learn that most of the developers use secure APIs to connect the microservices architecture.

A secure API shields the data it processes by ensuring it is only accessible to specifically authorized applications, servers, and users.

If your microservices architecture manages sensitive health, financial updates, or some other kind of data, safe and secured APIs allow developers to control the data that is accessible.

4. Greater business agility with services oriented architecture

You can experiment with new features (that could or could not be fruitful for your business) if you are working with service oriented architecture. Moreover, if you are trying out the new and fresh features and rolling back the changes, by any chance if it does not work out, organizations have substantial agility to give response to new business demands.

Besides that, microservices architecture also supports the DevOps mindset. As businesses are able to rapidly develop and use new features, users are bound to receive feedback with prompt action.

10 Best Practices for Building a Microservices Architecture

Determine if the microservices architecture is a good fit based on your requirements.
Get everyone on board with the idea.
Build teams around microservices.
Differentiate your microservices from your business functions and services.
Design your services to be loosely coupled, have high cohesion, and cover a single bounded context.
Use APIs and events to communicate between services.
Consider security vulnerabilities within a microservice architecture.
Have a separate version control strategy for each service.
Development environments should be consistent across machines.
Have different databases or data stores for each microservice.

What are your thoughts?

So here is what you have learnt about Microservices Architecture so far, what you have thought about this ball of scalability and evolution? Services Oriented Architecture has been in place for a long period with businesses consistently adopting the same. If you are in the same frame of mind, you are in the right frame of mind! Moreover, being one of the top Java development companies, you must take a special not on microservices architecture frameworks to get the rapid business development.

Insights

Rwazi Unlocks Africa’s Business Potential With a Network of Mappers

Miley on June 24, 2021

Since the African continent is home to more than 1.1 billion people, it has the potential to account for one-fifth of the world’s population by 2025. As a result, many businesses and investors have become aware of Africa’s consumer market potential. Despite this potential, many obstacles can make companies hesitate to enter the market. Even so, there are quite a few multinational companies that have managed to capture the opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer markets.

One of the main reasons for this potential is that a big part of the African population is young, urban, and connected. Currently, the working population in Africa is growing at 2.7 percent each year. At this rate, nearly two-thirds of the estimated 300 million African households will have some discretionary income by 2025. Additionally, a big part of African’s consumer market is filled with the younger generation who are aged between 16 and 34 years old. These people are willing to spend and tend to be more eager to try new products.

The two trends driving this rapid growth are urbanization and the rise of mobile communications. The continent already has many cities with more than 1 million inhabitants; this means that many companies can secure distribution in Africa’s fast-growing cities due to the concentration of consumers. Moreover, mobile technology is completely changing the game. In fact, by the end of 2014, mobile penetration in Africa was estimated at 89 percent and continued to proliferate and enable money transfers and microfinance transactions.

However, just as the potential of the African has become widely acknowledged, so have the obstacles of potential business endeavors. Some of these include political instability and conflict, poor infrastructure, language barriers, differences in consumer behavior, a fragmented retail market, and low data availability and quality. Wars and authoritarian governments continue to affect businesses as well as policies in many countries. According to the world freedom index that measures political and civil liberties, of the 54 countries in the African continent, only 10 are considered free, 22 are partially free, and 22 are not. Second, many African cities currently have modern road systems. However, only one-third of the population lives within 2 kilometers of a paved road that is stable year-round. Furthermore, travel within the continent is quite expensive and challenging.

Along with that, a high percentage of the population has no access to electricity. These problems do not just constrain consumer demand but supply as well. While linguistic diversity is excellent, it can get complicated when companies need to deliver their marketing messages in multiple languages to communicate effectively with African consumers. Another factor that could be an obstacle is that Africans in different countries make purchase decisions differently. For example, research has shown that while most Angolans look at ads and compare stores to get the best prices, only about 27 percent of Kenyans do the same.

Opinions about brands differ by country and region as well and the continent has a fragmented retail market. For example, most consumers will buy their groceries primarily from the neighborhood or independently owned convenience stores. On the other hand, few consumers will go to supermarkets for these items. Finally, except for the largest cities, there has been a disparity in economic data and market research. As a result, companies which look at existing data and extrapolate it to a national and regional level get inaccurate insights.

Regardless of some serious challenges, many companies have made the African continent a part of their success story. The reason that consumer companies like Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Unilever have succeeded in Africa is four-fold; they took a granular view of growth, tailored their offers to local needs and preferences, created a route-to-market model based on geography and channel, and built a large well-equipped sales force.

According to research, the most successful companies on the continent have been selective about the markets they want to enter. Rather than building a presence across entire countries, they opt to target the fastest-growing cities and city clusters where per capita income and spending exceeds the national average. Moreover, companies need to understand each target audience’s local needs and preferences to drive mass adoption of their products or services. As mentioned previously, it is not just about local product preferences but also local buying behaviors. Once companies have prioritized the highest-growth cities and have defined a portfolio of products for them, the next step is to ensure that the products are available for sale in those cities. To do so, successful companies tend to develop route-to-market models that primarily focus on the most attractive channels.

Rwazi is a data services company that is dedicated to helping businesses around the world collect and analyze on-ground data from African countries. They provide organizations with new on-ground data on products, services, and activities from the African continent by utilizing a network of mappers and data collectors spread across urban and rural areas in Africa. While the company is based in Mauritius, Rwazi serves customers across the globe in different industries, including healthcare, consumer goods, automotive, education, finance, agriculture, energy, transport, and media.

The team behind Rwazi understands that organizations need near real-time, on-ground data to make effective decisions on activities such as expansion, investments, distribution, new product/service offerings, and reach target beneficiaries. For this reason, they’ve developed a network of 5,000+ mappers are spread across cities, municipalities, towns, and villages in 40 African countries. This network is expected to reach 50,000+ mappers by the end of the year.

Customers can utilize the Rwazi network to gain data from target areas and personas. Given the travel limitations that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, organizations can execute on-ground activities even in the regions that are difficult to reach.

Currently, Rwazi is the first and only company in the world with a large and growing network of mappers spread all over sub-Saharan Africa. They want to help organizations get the data they need to make informed decisions, in addition to helping millions of young people in Africa who need more opportunities to earn an income.

For more information about Rwazi’s data services and their platform, check out their social media platforms.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RwaziLtd/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwaziltd/?hl=en

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rwazi

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rwaziltd?lang=en

Insights

ICU Designs Launches Indiegogo Campaign for New Mirrored Cell Phone Case

Miley on June 23, 2021

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 28^th. 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:

SEO

Top 7 Ways SEO Can Help Businesses Grow in 2021

Miley on June 7, 2021

Search Engine Optimization and Local listing activity have proved to be some of the most prominent ways to help your business build a brand identity. Media Search Group – A renowned SEO company India, believes 93% of Internet experiences start with a search engine. So, what happens when someone searches?

Google’s top search results have a 33% chance of clicking. That means if you’re not number one on the page, you’ve squandered a third of potential visitors. What is even more surprising is that 75% of people do not even click on the second page of the search results.

SEO is one of the crucial elements in reaching more people when you have your business online. If you apply proper SEO strategies, you have the chance of reaching more people online than any traditional advertising.

Can a professional SEO person help?

Any SEO company India will help you with SEO strategies that will get your business the traffic that matters. The SEO packages of these companies are also affordable for a small business, who is starting and planning to reach a substantial amount of customers.

Top 7 Ways SEO Can Help Businesses Grow in 2021

Any SEO company India you approach will tell you about these seven tips on how you can help your business to grow in 2021: a. Core Web Vitals: Along with all other existing factors, Google recently added three new metrics to determine user experience. Known as Core Web Vitals, these new metrics will consider the loading speed, interactivity, and how stable your visual is while the screen loads. So now, your page will rank higher among many businesses similar to yours if you have good Core web Vitals.

According to a study, 40% of visitors exit the page if the loading takes longer than three seconds. What is even more surprising is that 80% of these visitors will never return to the website. This isn’t good for your SEO ranking because it reduces traffic to your site.b. Keywords: Any SEO package you choose will have keywords research and implementation as one of the impartial parts of it. The right amount of keywords that perfectly describe your business in the right places will make your business reach thousands in no time.c. Metadata: Metadata is a crucial part of SEO strategy as it is the paragraph that appears on top when you search a topic. Well-written meta data with the right keywords will coax the audience to open your websites’ link and help your business grow.d. Back-links: When you create unique and engaging content, there is a high chance that other writers will include links to your content on their blogs and articles. Organic link-building helps a business grow exponentially when they use your content’s link in trusted websites.

Experts Tip – To fix any problem, 68% of customers would rather watch an explanatory video. The content of your website should be more than just words on a page. Photos are excellent, but there’s more you can do to increase your SEO rating.Consider adding other multimedia features such as movies, slideshows, or audio to your website. All of this can contribute to an overall better user experience.e. User experience: Improvement in user experience (UX) like fast data loading, user-friendly website, easier navigation, high-quality images makes your business grow faster. No one wants to keep visiting your website that they don’t find easy to use. f. Mobile-friendly: Make your business site user-friendly. More than half of the internet users prefer to surf the internet on mobile devices. When you make your website mobile and tablet-friendly, the visitors will navigate through it easily, and the site will have better speed.g. Featured snippets: Another one of the SEO strategies that work best for any business is featured snippets. A highlighted answer box appears on top of the google search page when you query something. Featured snippets raise your brand awareness, make potential customers click on your website.

Takeaway

When you don’t know what you’re doing with SEO, organizations like Media Search Group, well known for being the best SEO company in India, can help you. Experts will assist your brand in reaching more customers and growing your business in 2021 with affordable SEO packages.

Products

How to Choose the Right Field Service Management Software

Miley on June 7, 2021

Field service management is the key for all those enterprises that exceed the size of a single in-field team led by an entrepreneur themselves.

With the right tool, it’s a lot easier to manage all your teams in the form of field service management software (FSM).

This way, you get to reduce costs, increase efficiency and make sure that all your teams fulfill their duty.

How to find the best solution?

In order to do this efficiently, you need to pick the right FSM software. There are two ways to do so. The first one is relatively simple, just go to the list of top field service management tools and pick one from the very top of the list.

Second, you can also try reading some reviews; just keep in mind that you need to have a point of reference to understand them. Any offer can sound either impressive or underwhelming, depending on whether you have something to compare it to.

To help you figure out what you’re looking for, as well as whether the tool in question has what you’re looking for, you need to understand what makes a good FSM tool. Here are several essential factors for FSM evaluation and comparison.

Handling Business Operations

In order to provide you with the necessary assistance, field software needs to be able to handle relevant business operation services. The most common ones are:

● Contract management

● Work order management

● Scheduling and dispatch

Aside from this, FSMs need to be able to handle budgeting issues, as well as customer service issues like estimates and quotes. Those tools that can handle all of these tasks can provide your organization with a scalable end-to-end system that you can really come to rely on.

While you may not feel like some of these things are a priority at the moment (you can still do it all manually), as your business grows, this might be harder and harder to manage.

Consulting Your Field Technicians

The very point of the field services system is the fact that it is supposed to manage a larger organization. In other words, making a decision on your own, without consulting anyone else on the subject matter, is never a good idea.

Instead, you should consult your field service technicians and ask them for their opinion. You can even put this decision up to a vote. For those who still feel like they should be the ones spearheading such a pivotal decision, you can always narrow it down to two or three choices and let your teams vote it out.

Available on All Devices

Nowadays, people use all sorts of devices for work. This is why you need to ensure that any tool you pick (not just FSM) is supported on all devices.

First, check which operating systems it supports. Ideally, you’re looking for Windows, Android, and iOS.

Second, if your employees use their personal devices for work (which is highly likely), you might also have to introduce a BYOD (bring your own device) policy. This is a basic step of precaution that you need to take to ensure the security of your data.

Future-proofing Your Business

As it seems, the business world is currently moving towards AI integration at a rapid pace. Going for FSM software will make this integration even easier, seeing as how these automated processes will be more reliable and take even fewer resources.

Through machine learning and deep learning processes, the concept of managing, scheduling, and coordinating teams in the field might make your business’s overall logistical structure even more dependable. The concept of machine learning has a chance to revolutionize the world of tech that we know today.

Documentation and Records Keeping

The next issue you need to take into consideration is the importance of keeping records and documenting every single one of these processes. This is important for several reasons like:

● Legal reasons

● Statistics and analytics

● Diagnostics

Even if everything is done right, you still might want to do a bit of analytical work afterward. If not, you may need to determine who the culprits are or where things went wrong. This way, you can improve your operational model and prevent these events from occurring in the future.

Supporting Hardware

When budgeting for your new FSM software, it’s essential that you understand that your expenses don’t end with purchasing the software licenses.

You also need the hardware capable of running it. This includes a sufficient number of terminals in your employ, either provided by you or through your BYOD model (accompanied with a suitable policy).

Some tools are so advanced that they’ll require specific minimum system requirements of your hardware. Keep this in mind before committing to a specific hardware purchase.

FSM Software Alternatives

Keep in mind that while an FSM is a great solution for many businesses, there are some alternatives depending on your current status or industry. For instance, you can go for fleet management software instead if you’re running a delivery chain.

In reality, however, FSM can be quite helpful with fleet management, as well. A CMS (content management system) can be more efficient for businesses mostly working in the digital environment.

In other words, it all depends on whether you need a holistic end-to-end system that covers a broad field of services or if you actually need a specialized tool.

Keep the Training Process in Mind

The FMS tool is software, and, like any other platform, it’s usually evaluated based on its intuitiveness, target audience (beginner, intermediate, expert, etc.), and its UI. What you need to do is identify your key pilot users and know exactly who is going to spend the most time handling these tools.

Then, you need to adjust your decision-making and choose the tool based on your own personal aptitudes. Bear in mind that this is fairly subjective and incredibly hard to do. Still, it is something to weigh in if you want to ensure that you’re making the right call.

Free Plan or Trial Period

Another great thing to look out for is whether the platform has a free plan or a trial period. This would provide you with a unique opportunity to either test or learn how to use FSM before you commit to it.

Remember, once you make a decision, it is by no means final but switching to a different platform is not just an issue of a cost – you also lose precious time. You also make your team have to adjust to a new system, just as they’ve mastered the old one.

All in all, having a chance to try it out for free (even though not a deal-breaker) is a great thing.

In Conclusion

Now that you are (at least partially) aware of all the fields in which FSM needs to excel to be a great asset for your enterprise, you can efficiently make an FSM comparison.

Look for the features they offer, compare costs of various tools, and, most importantly, make sure to base your decisions on customer reviews, as well.

Only then will your decision be data-based and objective. Still, like with any other business tool, there’s nothing wrong with adding personal preference into your decision-making process.