A lot is written about the effect that the streaming era might have on television. The widespread assumption is that a growing variety of streaming options are giving birth to a generation of “cord-cutters” who will ultimately dismiss television (and perhaps movie theaters as well) entirely. The data backs up the idea. A 2017 analysis revealed that while the transition is somewhat slow (a predicted decline of 1.5% a year in cable subscriptions over the next decade), it is happening. The notion of conventional viewing entertainment may look very different in a matter of years.

What we don’t spend as much time writing or talking about however is that the emergence of “streaming” as its own portion of the Internet is also spawning new entertainment industries altogether. It allows those who enjoy television, film, gaming, etc. to have more control over what content they access, and in some cases, it even enables closer interaction with that content.

The clearest examples of this can be found in some of the newer streaming options that have become available to consumers. YouTube TV may be the first that comes to mind – a platform that essentially operates as a more comprehensive version of Sling, providing a variety of cable channels, as well as a very robust DVR system to its users. However, while YouTube TV is certainly one of the more competitive alternatives to cable, it’s also a fairly basic concept already. It’s an adaptation more than a new concept.

We can look to more niche streaming options as indications of new industries, per se. For instance, one of the most recent to come about is ESPN+. Faced with a rapid change base of consumers with a variety of different preferences, ESPN introduced this platform not as an app version of its TV network, but rather as a sort of catch-all for interesting, streamed sports content. Users signing up for the service can enjoy everything from live games to, for instance, a new exclusive program in which ex-NBA star Kobe Bryant breaks down the tactics of a recent basketball game. Again, it’s less a version of the ESPN you can get with a basic cable package (or YouTube TV or Sling for that matter), and more an alternative form of streaming sports content.

In other areas, streaming platforms are also enabling fans to take part in the action rather than simply choose what action they’re seeing. Most notably, live streaming has become a very significant part of the online betting Singapore and others in that industry. Through platforms like YouTube and Stitch, as well as those dedicated to specific sports, games, or activities (like, say, horse racing or poker), live streaming is able to create a gaming experience that’s almost as good as being in the thick of it. In this instance, not only can fans choose their content and access it live – they can use that real-time access to make informed betting decisions on the content, should they so choose.

Taking all of these developments together, we begin to see the emergence of new industries spinning would-be television content (or in some cases events that are simulated or would never have been on TV before) into specialized and/or interactive entertainment. Streaming platforms, ultimately, have the power to give each individual almost exactly what he or she wants out of viewing entertainment. And we’re starting to see things moving slowly but surely in that direction.

Time and Tide wait for none and so is the case with the increasing trend of purchases from an eCommerce website.  According to an estimation, there have been 1.66 billion people from across the globe who made the online purchases from a different eCommerce website. Based on this trend, there has been a projected growth of 4.48 trillion USD by the year of 2021. Obviously, these figures are capable enough to enchant the big names to go live to expand the reach of the customers but it is equally important to ponder over some criterion that makes your eCommerce website development a successful and fruitful venture be it the user experience or the overall performance of your website when it goes live.

Here are some intuitive tips that will definitely help you create a custom e-commerce website of your dream.

• Enchanting Design responding exactly to the visitors:

The simple message that I wish to convey here is that while you are planning to create an eCommerce website, it is inevitably crucial to take care of the Responsiveness of your website be it to a mobile device, desktop, or a tablet. It has to be so mainly because, according to a survey, 62% of mobile devices users have preferred to make their purchases through Smartphone in the past few months and the same trend are still expected to grow in numbers.

Hence it is more advisable to equip your website responsive using effective CMS platforms to make your website Smartphone user-friendly in order to grab a maximum number of customers for the products or services you are offering online.

• Checkouts:

The most successful online businesses are expected to have the complete details of the visitors visiting their websites and for it, they need to create an ideal checkout funnel with which one can access to the information of the visitors for future follow-up and/or for the communication of new products launches.

However, every customer may not prefer to register at your website or may avoid the filling up process. And hence, it would be ideal to design the Purchase Process in such a way that the customer is required to fill the necessary details and creating an account on your website (guest purchase).

• Ideal Site Search Options to glide through the website:

It is interesting to note here that when a visitor lands on your website, he would first prefer to go to the Search Option to select the product of his/her choice. Hence, it is desirable to equip your e-commerce website with Product Search Option with automated details filling facility which will ease the comfort of the visitors. This functionality will definitely reduce the pain of their search in terms of the size of the product, color, category, price range, availability etc.

• Strong Security Checks:

Before you boost your e-commerce website marketing strategy, this aspect is very crucial to be taken care of. Because every individual making an online purchase expects that his/her personal information relating to his debit/credit card, bank account number, and password are secured with proper encryption of the data he is submitting online. For this, your website is required to be equipped with SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) which ensures the encryption of the data. This feature on your online website will help you earn the trust and loyalty of your customers.

• Well Optimized Performance:

What if your e-commerce website does not act as it is expected to perform. It is the most common experience of major website handlers that when it takes too long to load a website, then the possibility of the switching over to another is always greater. And you need to take care of this element mainly because of the multi-tasking trend prevailing among today’s mobile devices users.

This load time issues can be eliminated by:

• Combining the CSS files to boost the speed of the website in respect of the load time your website is taking.
• In the same, graphics or images should be compressed to a comparatively small size as it would also help in reducing the load time.
• Proper management of the data transportation between the website server and database server.

There is a law in economics, that as the demand increases, the price for the same goes down and I would love to add to it considering the current mindset and time that as the Demand increases the multiplicity of choices increases and every business needs to cope with this with an ideal e-commerce website that matches rightly with the expectations of an end-user.

Legal professionals have pervaded every aspect of the lives of the common man, from businesses, or writing a will to going through a divorce or buying a home. However, this traditional image of legal services is all set to change with large scale disruptions through in the introduction of innovation and the growth of automation. The rise of the Internet has made consumers go online to seek advice and guidance on legal matters that were hitherto given by experienced lawyers. Hence to stay relevant it is necessary that the legal luminaries adapt themselves to the changing times.

What has made things easy for technology to bond with the current legal setup; is the tremendous scope for innovation in this field. Legal services that have recently changed little is now being forced to come out of its comfort zone. The rise in communication technology has led lawyers to outsource legal services and upload documents to experienced agencies seamlessly and in a fully secured environment. Consumers too have gained a better insight into the legal profession through online searches giving rise to concerns about fee structures especially among low-income groups. This has led to pressures for reduction of existing charges.

These factors have led to law firms exploring the legal support services market so that new innovations and automation can streamline the legal sector.

One of the ways that automation and advanced technologies will take over the legal industry will be the manner in which the courts function, in fact, the whole legal profession. The focus now is on local jurisdiction or domestic jurisdiction and even national jurisdiction. In the modern era of globalization all that is set to change. Businesses operate in a global environment and they would want a network where they can have easy local access to arbitration or dispute resolution. This is regardless of the country they are operating from.

The key here is that courts of the future will be connected and the concept of standalone courts will slowly pass into oblivion. A somewhat similar exposure of the legal profession to international levels was witnessed with the rise of external legal support services that provided impeccable and top quality legal backup to law firms from around the world. This was when these firms realized that to improve the bottom line, there was no alternative to outsurcing.

Today, a great deal of thought is being given to use Blockchain technologies and increase operating efficiencies of the legal sector. What will be embedded into the Blockchain; will be for example smart contracts, smart laws, smart regulations. It is quite possible that the judge might have to be an expert in coding apart from being an expert in law. The point then is that if innovation and automation have to walk together, a new set of training programmes and courses have to be structured that takes all these things into account.

However, implementing these new changes requires a radical and paradigm shift in the manner in which courts and the legal profession function today. Hence, the movers and shakers of the profession have to come together and decide on the future of law, future of courts, future of arbitrations and how these issues can be addressed.

Some of the areas where legal professionals have been forced to acknowledge current realities of innovation and automation are –

• Ranking and review information – This was previously a very difficult proposition. But today, all details about the legal profession are increasingly available and clients can before retaining them assess the quality of their work. Similarly, law firms can evaluate the worth of external agencies before deciding to outsource legal services.
• Online service delivery – The legal profession is increasingly taking the benefit of several online digital platforms currently available to serve clients based in remote locations with the same level of efficiency as before.

Summing up, it can be said that innovations in and automation the legal sector is not about minor process improvements only. There is potential to redefine the practice of law and take it beyond international borders in keeping with the modern globalization trend prevailing in all industries around the world.

Image Credit:

Shutter Stock

Summary:

Innovation in technology is driving every business process and legal sector is no exception in this regards. After so many decades, working with piles of paperwork, researching for information in the library; legal companies have left behind their traditional models and embracing advanced automating tools.

Tags:

Legal, Automation, Blockchain, Outsourcing, Technology, Law Firms, Lawyers

Author Bio:

Alika Cooper writes about outsourcing, technology and the business. She is passionate about customers and building products that change the way people run their business. She is also a big supporter of the startup community and teach professionals how to think about and use technology in their business and does regularly for her clients at Cogneesol.com.

Android apps are famous for inadequacies when it comes to security. For this reason, it is the responsibility of each Android app development company to take some assured security measure to guarantee that they develop safe apps.

So, here are seven ways they can do this:

1. HTTPS Security Is the Key

Secure Socket Layer, also known as, Transport Layer Security (TLS), is utilized very often as an essential component of communications between serves and users that are encrypted. Nevertheless, it has been witnessed that the Android app developers sometimes utilize this security measure the wrong way. This makes an Android app’s data vulnerable to interception by hackers. For this reason, it is suggested that an Android app development company must incorporate security measures carefully.

Rather than using HTTP or SSL, HTTPS is a great way to go. Android app developers can guarantee the app is protected from malicious attacks over the network, by using this connection on a server that is set up with a certification that’s been allotted by a licensing authority that is trusted.

Installing a code signing certificate is the best option for Android Apps and software because it allows developers to add a layer of assurance. It indicates users that application can be trusted. Code Signing Certificates help to protect software script and code without any security breach or modification. Want to buy one for your Application? Here is a list of cheap code signing certificate providers that provide the highest security at less price.

2. “Threat Modeling” Ensures Data Isn’t Leaked

The data leakage is one of the biggest ambiguities that all Android app developers face. They often fail to understand that the data saved on the app is perhaps read by other apps. Additionally, app data that has been kept on various devices is perhaps retrieved without one’s knowledge. Threat Modelling is very important when an Android app is being tested.

This procedure assists an Android app development company to guarantee that data that is confidential is not being leaked and stolen by malicious bodies. One of the most important steps while developing an app is aggressive testing. This is to guarantee that app is secure.

3. Limit Permissions

It is always a better idea to keep the permissions your app to just minimum when you are developing an Android app. It is good for Android app developers to circumvent asking the user access to private permissions, for enhanced security. The logic is very simple; there are lesser chances of users trusting you if there are the higher number of permission you request access.

It is clear that a user would not feel relaxed giving an app access to things like their calls, contacts, and photos etc. In this way, Android app development companies will follow the tracks of iOS like placing high limitations on apps and having the aptitude to interfere with users’ confidential data. For example, a security measure like restricting approvals encompasses teaching users to physically remove data when they are utilizing an app that permits them to get freedom from unwanted images on their SD card.

4. Use ProGuard

The information of an Android app can be completely negotiated if hackers in some way manage to attain hold of the source code. That is the point where ProGuard comes into play. This tool, which comes with the Android SDK, can be utilized to obscure the source code so that it stays safe from malicious security outbreaks.

5. Encrypt Every Last Bit of Saved Data

If confidential data really requires being protected, it is the responsibility of an Android app development company to encode this information by incorporating AES. In this scenario, passwords are required to be stored locally. It is best to permanently store a hotchpotch, and then draw a comparison between new password’s hash value and resultant. Android application developers must always guarantee to do this. This is because it is their obligation to develop the secure app and keep confidential data protected.

6. Validation Is More Important Than You Think

It is the duty of an Android app development company to authenticate input fields like usernames and passwords. With the assistance of SQL injection queries, intruders can simply attain private data which is the serious concern. It is very easy for this to occur, and yet — all it takes are Android application developers who do not authenticate fields. Yes, that is it. For this reason, it is imperative to incorporate technologies like DEP and ASLR to comprehend the security concerns of an Android app.

7. Wrap Your App

‘App wrapping’ is one of the quickest and easiest methods of carefully positioning an Android app. If Android app developers wrap the app from everything else of the gadget and summarize it, it will flourish better in an environment that is its own and will be secure and safer.

Author Bio:

Ray Parker is an entrepreneur and internet marketer with over 15 years of experience in Search Engine Optimization, Creative Writing and Digital Marketing with IQVIS. He has worked with several clients from all over the globe to offer his services in various domains with a proven track record of success.

The technologically advanced, digital age that we are experiencing has led to an exponential multiplication of data, generated by sensors, online transactions, smartphones, and social media channels amongst other things.

Consequently, big data, the term used to describe the inundation of data, is creating a stir around organizations and becoming the latest buzz word, but is the hype is well-justified?Absolutely!

Look around you; the changing business dynamics have resulted in stiff competition in almost every industry; competition between thriving e-commerce businesses and the conventional brick-and-mortar stores, increasing accessibility to international markets leading to declining revenues for local businesses, multitudes of online businesses offering top-notch services at competitive prices.

In a drastically changing economic environment where companies are vying to gain traction, big data analytics could be the game-changer for your organization.

Smart companies utilize the massive accumulation of data for keen analysis to gain valuable insights into the changing trends, both positive and negative.This crucial information enables companies to make strategic business decisions leading to higher profits, something which was not possible previously with small, isolated sets of data.

Unfortunately, only 23% of organizations are ’smart’ and have a viable big data-strategy, while just19% have access to high-quality data, and almost 15% of the marketers surveyed in Crain’s B2B magazines are still unsure of what is big data.

To make matters worse, most businesses analyze only 12% of their data while the rest of the transient digital information is lost, taking along with it the many valuable insights.

Therefore, to keep abreast with the innovations and gain leverage as an entrepreneur you need to implement a big data strategy to revolutionize your business model and increase profits:

1. Well-informed decision making

Businesses thrive on the astute judgment of their leaders, who try to make smart, objective decisions that are most beneficial for their organizations. However, they are bound to experience an occasional error in judgment and make mistakes.

Moreover, when different individuals are involved in the decision-making process, there are conflicts and difference of opinion.

Predictive analysis of big data enables business owners to come to a definitive solution backed by hard evidence. Also, as the companies analyze more and more data, the actual outcomes are compared against the predictive results which further enhance the analytics engines.

When decisions are based upon concrete evidence, as opposed to personal intuitions, they are more productive for the company in both the short and long term.

2. Gauge customer behavior

Businesses are all about profitability, and profits are acquired by attracting customers. Big data allows you to understand what really captures a customers’ attention.

When consumers interact with a business through emails, websites, phone calls, social media, etc. they provide significant information about their experience with your product or service. They share their expectations with your company and positive and negative feedback about your products; a wealth of knowledge pertinent to customer satisfaction waiting to be explored. However, much of this data is unstructured and unanalyzable by traditional means.

Big data is revolutionizing how companies gain greater insights about customers’ responsiveness by analyzing the accumulated customers’ communications. This helps companies understand their customers intimately and provide them with better services.

According to a Forrester study, 44% of the B2C marketers are using big data and analytics to improve responsiveness while 36% are utilizing it to establish more relationship-driven strategies.

3. Improved marketing campaign

In recent times, marketing strategies have evolved tremendously, and businesses utilize a varied number of tools and platforms to engage customers.

Terminologies like click-through rates, browsing behaviors, social media interactions, online purchase data, etc. have an immense impact on marketing campaigns and the sheer size of customer data collected every day is unimaginable and incomparable to anything marketers had to deal with previously.

Big data can facilitate marketing practices in some ways:

• It provides insights into the customers; where they are, what their expectations are, how they prefer to be contacted, and much more, leading to a marketing campaign which revolves around customer satisfaction
• It enables you to understand what drives customer loyalty and retention so you can implement it in your marketing techniques
• It allows you to divide your marketing techniques amongst the different marketing platforms, depending on the previous effectiveness of each channel, to gain an optimal You can also continuously test and analyze your methods for improved efforts

According to research, 54% of the Chief Marketing Officials (CMOs) believe that, in the long term, big data and analytics will be integral to their marketing strategy, thus, signifying the proficiency of the system.

Hire a marketing leader with a pristine CMO resume.

4. Successful customer relationship

We have already discussed how big data helps expedite marketing efforts and enables businesses to gain valuable customer insights to enhance the overall buying experience. When companies shape their efforts according to the customers’ requirements, they ensure improved customer relationships, with increased loyalty and greater customer lifetime value.

Moreover, Forrester also concluded in a study that big data analytics enhances a marketer’s ability to go beyond campaign executions and focus on establishing abetter customer relationship. Try not to spam your users with a lot of ads on their mobile phones. Subsequently, companies enjoy repeat business, better customer acquisition, and retention rates, leading to increased profits.

5. Consistent business performance

A business’s success depends largely on its employees and their performance. Whether they function individually or as a team, their competence at their jobs directly affects the scalability of the business.

Big data can help drive productivity through evaluation of the employees’ work habits and activities and indicate the areas that require improvements. It can be used to provide constant feedback and create opportunities for continuous performance improvements.

In an interview with the NewYork Times, Google’s head of people’s operation, Laszlo Bock, explained how they accumulate feedback to promote self-motivation. He said,

“One of the applications of Big Data is giving people the facts, and getting them to understand that their own decision-making is not perfect. And that in itself causes them to change their behavior.”

Use of big data to endorse self-improvement is far better than a one-off training seminar, as it is an on-going resource for optimized performance.

6. Smarter hiring choices

As mentioned above, big data allows for informed decision-making; one such scenario is when you are hiring new employees.

The tough hiring landscape makes it extremely challenging for the hiring team to choose the most proficient staff. In the current economy, brimming with technological revolutions, highly qualified individuals are integral to a company’s growth yet they are a scarce commodity.

Josh Bersin of Deloitte Consulting highlights this issue in his report on corporate talent, leadership, and human resources and explains that data-driven companies like Google employ big data to develop algorithms which predict the engagement of prospective employees and assists the management in hiring the most competent individuals.

Hard-working, skilled employees, are the backbone of any enterprise, and one of the key components essential to yield amplified profits.

7. Right pricing

Product pricing is an extremely critical aspect which requires great consideration. It is estimated that on average, a 1 percent increase in price results in 8.7 percent increase in operating profits (assuming there is no loss in volume).

In addition, 75% of the revenues generated by a company are from its standard products. However, 30% of the pricing decisions made by businesses fail to deliver the right price resulting in a massive loss of revenues.

When pricing a product, companies decide on an optimal price that the customers are willing to pay. Ideally, they also take into consideration the cost of the competitive products and the value they offer to consumers. But for large enterprises, producing thousands of products, assessing the numerous pricing variables for each product becomes too complicated and overwhelming.

Enter big data. Harnessing the power of big data available in the form of customer interactions enables the companies to price their products, appropriately, resulting in increased profits.

The evaluation of pricing variables is automated to expedite the process. Despite that, the entire process may not be easy and highly complex but ignoring the deluge of accumulated, valuable data is akin to forfeiting the rights to acquire hundreds of millions dollars in profits.

Big data is the next big thing. Employing big data strategy and analytics can supplement your business transactions and expedite every aspect of your business model from staffing to marketing to customer acquisition and retention.

Moreover, studies suggest that the average Fortune 1000 company can:

• Improve their revenue generations by more than $2 billion per annum by increasing data usability by only 10%
• Increase return on equity by 16% by enhancing the data quality and improving the ability of the salespeople to access it by just 10%
• Increase return on investment (ROI) by 0.7%, which equals to $2.87 million, by enhancing the intelligence and accessibility of the data by only 10%

To conclude, if you want to acquire better profits, you should jump on the big data bandwagon to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Author Bio:

About Alma Causey:

Alma is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs. You can find her on

@AlmaCausey.