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Role Analytics Play in the Digital Product Experience

Role Analytics Play

Analytic data plays a big role in the digital product experience and digital advertising. In this guide, you’ll learn how it impacts a company’s success.

Monitor Customers in Various Channels

In order to grow a tech business, a company must be able to reach customers in a variety of channels. The only problem is that relying on multiple channels can be somewhat challenging without help because strategic tracking is required throughout the process. A great analytic tool can monitor data from the following channels:

  • Call centers
  • Kiosks
  • Social media
  • E-commerce stores
  • Websites
  • Software applications

Once the software is set up, you can easily access it in order to integrate customer data. Then, you can begin analyzing everything throughout daily operations. This could include everything from where a customer first clicks within specific software, to the number of calls received in a given period.

Enhanced Efficiency

Efficiency in the business world is only achieved consistently when a marketing team is able to determine how customers will behave. Analytic data gives marketers opportunities to achieve this by compiling information about each customer’s path. By using the data, a strategic team never has to guess while developing marketing blueprints. Instead, everyone can make changes according to the data, and most of these tweaks usually lead to consistent sales.

Influence the Customer Experience

To influence every customer’s experience, you must understand how different segments of your business make an impact. The most important things that should be considered when tailoring a store for customers is timing and the content. If they don’t suit your customers’ preferences, you won’t get many opportunities to generate sales.

Marketing analytics software compiles data around the clock, so you can easily define segments by using this information. For example, if you study the data before seasonal promotional events, you may be able to predict how new customers will behave. Then, you can update different preferences on specific channels.

Effective Social Media Strategies

Social media is a very strategic marketing resource that’s driven by analytic data. On most platforms, advanced software gathers information about audiences, interests, and more.

If you want to sharpen your social media promotions, you’ll need accurate data to determine customer value. The best way to use analytic data on reputable, high-traffic platforms is by pinpointing influencers in your industry. These people have audiences that consist of thousands of fans, which is why many businesses that provide digital products constantly reach out to influencers on social media.

Interact with Customers in a Tactical Way

The process of generating sales on most platforms isn’t always simple because it requires a complex set of skills. This is why most sales teams strive to pursue sales regularly over the phone. When pitches are done on a phone call, a sales representative has opportunities to make tactical decisions in order to increase the chances of completing a transaction. The big benefit is that these decisions can impact all marketing channels. This means that sales could increase dramatically if every sales agent begins a pitch properly prepared with up-to-date analytic data.

Each customer’s time is valuable, so a sales team shouldn’t waste it. To avoid missed opportunities, hold sales meetings with your team about pitches. Throughout the meeting, everyone should study analytic charts and graphs as this strategy will make the process of enhancing the sales pitch easier.

Increased Success

Business teams that consist of non-marketers can take advantage of data visualization. This type of analytic data is useful because it allows teams to collaborate and share, which leads to more beneficial decisions that reflect sales.

Gainsight PX product analytics offer multiple ways to determine the value, impact, usage, and more, of your company’s products. Having data to back up all departments, from sales to marketing, is invaluable. For example, the software could notice that customers continue to access a certain report in a convoluted way, instead of clicking on the button that leads them directly to the report they’re searching. Now the sales/account management team can reach out to the client pointing out a way to simplify that process, and the software development team can look into the potential for placing the reporting button in a more recognizable location within the software.

Better Company Value

All analytic data has value because it has information about a customer’s habits, interests, finances, and more. If you gather enough data about your customers, you may gain many opportunities to build partnerships with other businesses in your field. Partners who work with digital product companies typically use analytic data to design supporting solutions that will benefit their customer base.

How to Get the Most from Your USB-C Ports

USB-C Ports

As device designs evolve, there are bound to be new hardware to demand from the market every now and then in order to keep up with the ever-present requirements for device connectivity. One example of such is the beginning of the era of USB-C ports. Gone is the heyday of large rectangular Type A USB ports. Enter the golden age of small oblong USB-C connectors to usher in the new age of computing.

What Exactly Is This USB-C?

Connectors and ports work together to help push the flow of data from one device to another. During the early days of device networking, the more familiar Type A USB ports provided the solution, followed up by newer standards.

But as more demand for data flow increases, it has to be improved. The USB-C port is the result of that improvement and is now on its way to become a powerful tool of the future.

What Makes USB-C Special?

Compared to traditional Type A ports, with which it can be frustrating to try and fail yet again to connect the cable to the port due to its irreversible design, the USB-C sports a symmetrical design, so you can plug it without the familiar annoyance.

If that “flippability” alone doesn’t make it a winner, these ports are supported with advanced computing technologies.

That includes the USB 3.1-second gen standard, which enables the flow of data speed to reach up to 10 gigabytes per second, twice as fast as the previous generations. Paired with Intel’s Thunderbolt 3 data transfer technology, it can push data and boost it to a staggering 40 gigabytes per second.

It comes also equipped with an Alt Mode capability in which you can use the USB-C to provide video output to HDMI, VGA, and other types of connectors.

Charging is definitely taken to a whole new level with the USB Power Delivery (PD) specification that the USB-C also supports. A USB 3.1 can deliver 15 watts of power, but the PD Technology amps that up to an impressive 100 watts.

With this tool in your power, the possibilities are exciting. Don’t let it just go underappreciated. Experiment with its potential using the following tips on how to make the most out of your USB-C ports.

Always Be Ready with Your USB-C Travel Kit

This is especially true if you travel for business and have to make plenty of presentations and instant connections on the go.

But while USB-C has become widely used, you can’t always be sure that you’ll find the right connectors to establish a connection.

A great solution to this, and one that you will really thank yourself for, is to prepare your own armada of USB-C cables. This should include adapters and connectors that can answer any pairing proposition so you don’t have to ruin your presentation with a simple technical lack or glitch.

Aside from your cables, always pack a reliable USB hub that features the most common ports.

Switch to USB-C Flash and Hard Drives

If you want portable large data vessels transferrable on fast speeds, the USB-C flash drives and hard drives are great options.

Flash drives may still be using previous generation tech, but it won’t be long before they catch up with hard drives that can push up to 4 gigabytes per second.

Upgrade Into Powerful Devices

Benefitting from the power of USB-C technology, devices with improved features are beginning to sprout like mushrooms in the market. These devices promise faster data and power delivery, connecting the world faster than ever before.

If you want to keep up, you may want to start investing now.

Final Word

The USB-C era is the future. Get retooled, and harvest the benefits of harnessing the power of USB-C technology.

5 Benefits of Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency

Digital Marketing

Creating an idea, setting up a start-up and gathering funds for it is the easy part. Now, how to make an awesome idea into an awesome product? For starters, gather a sufficient inventory, and then take your product to the masses. Preferably, in a creative way that is alluring and appealing to the customers. Basically, marketing!

All great businesses that earn millions today, started out in a small garage, with zero to ten customers. These companies are where they are today, solely on their expert marketing techniques. With the advent of this beautiful thing called the internet, digital marketing has come into the forefront for all these major companies. Investing in the right digital marketing agency can result in huge returns on your initial investment because you are hiring professionals, who are passionate about meeting your marketing requirements.

1. A Varied Skillset

Digital marketing has multiple varied subcategories and hiring an in-house team with members proficient in all of the skills required, is both difficult and financially burdening. Moreover, one person can only do so much in a day. It is difficult to master all the techniques and execute it in a single day.

Hiring a digital marketing agency presents you with a range of employees, who are experts in their respective fields. Moreover, it turns out to be cheaper than hiring an in-house team. There are more output and professionalism, as well as experience in dealing with different campaigns, different times of the year.

2. Budget

Outsourced agencies are going to be responsible for the entire marketing spend of your company. An in-house team is not as cost-effective and tracking spends for marketing across so many digital platforms becomes even more complicated. An agency will manage your budget responsibly and effectively. They act like a chartered accountant specializing only in your digital marketing needs. All you have to do is set a budget and tell them what you except. Then you can sit back and relax as you see your company grow.

3. Growth

One of the major hurdles a newly rising company faces is scalability. The transition from a small fish to a big shark is tedious and painful. Many companies fail because they aren’t able to scale as fast as their customers require them to. A digital marketing agency will be quick to respond to these changes simply because they have seen it all before with another company, in another sector. They will be able to apply these same software solutions to your company’s growing needs.

4. Dividing Workload

Knowing how to hire a digital marketing agency makes it so that your internal marketing team can focus on upscaling the growing business for a growing customer base. For example, now that digital marketing is taken off their hands and put into more responsible ones, they can turn their attention to establishing more stores, updating the inventory, and engaging in employee training and their work efficiency. This gives a larger revenue generation from your marketing spends. The minimal financial commitment makes it worth investing in a digital agency.

5. A Broader Perspective

A digital marketing agency works with numerous industries and business types. Different sectors require different innovative marketing techniques, but that doesn’t mean what is applied to one cannot be modified to suit another. After all, they are experts in their fields and they know exactly what will work for your company. An in-house team, on the other hand, will constitute of people limited in experience because they are only exposed to the industry you deal in. Hence, they don’t have a wider insight and lack the amount of expertise an agency can provide you with.

‘Marketing’ is usually the number one criterion which makes or breaks a company, only listed after ‘product quality’. Digital marketing can be intimidating, with its various categories and the amount of skill required to execute each one perfectly. It is important for all businesses to bring in a pro; someone who offers a range of services, can assuredly increase overall revenue, build a wide customer base, and provide a great return on your investment.

Digital marketing agencies can give you all this, and more! So, think smart, and invest even more smartly.

Cloud Platform Development: Why Cloud Computing Is Critical For Tech Startups

Cloud Platform Development

If you don’t want to waste the time of maintaining your own app’s infrastructure, then start looking towards cloud platform development. Long gone are the days of traditional data storage, where everything had to be stored on floppy disks or other hard to share procedures.

Thanks to cloud computing, we can find it easier to share data, collaborate on projects, or help with daily business operations better. And in this guide, you’ll find out how using cloud computing is beneficial not only to you, but your team, and the longevity of your business.

What is Cloud Computing?

Before knowing how cloud computing is useful for small to large-scale tech businesses, it’s important to get a grasp on what it means.

Cloud computing is a method of delivering computing services. This includes databases, server storage, intelligence, analytics, and software throughout the internet. As a result, you and your team will experience flexible resources, economies of scale, and innovation.

Most of the time, you will have to pay for the cloud services for your business, which helps lower operating costs, and continue to scale as your business needs change and grow over time.

Why Should I Use Cloud Computing?

It’s crucial to cloud platform development for one. Also, you’re probably using some form of cloud computing, even if you are unable to realize it. If you use online services to send an email, watch TVs, listen to music, then its a high chance that cloud computing is the behind the scenes framework that allows for these activities to be performed.

Data Security

The last thing you’ll want to hear is that your teammate has lost important data for a project. With cloud computing, your developers won’t have to worry about hardware failures because they have there.

Embed Intelligence

You can use intelligent models to help get valuable insights into the data that’s captured. This makes it easier for your cloud computing software to run automatically and require less maintenance on your part.

Stream Video and Audio

With cloud platform development, you can connect to anywhere, on any device with high definition video and audio via global distribution. You can stream movies and have audiences on your sites view your video content without a long buffering time.

Analyze Data

You can unify data across multiple teams, locations, and divisions within the cloud. Then you can use the cloud for specific services, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. By doing this, you’ll be able to learn to discover insights for more accurate and informed decisions.

Conclusion

We understand cloud platform development can be costly at first. But think of all of the utility it provides. Not only will your team be able to share data in any location, but you also won’t have to wait hours to deploy software updates either.

No matter the size of your organization, you’ll use cloud computing to make your daily tasks easier. Consider using cloud computing if you want to find faster solutions to IT problems while also giving your business the chance to evolve into a functional and tech-savvy one.

3 Forms of Software Licensing

Software Licensing

When people create a product, it’s only right that they get paid for their work, and this is the main goal of software licensing. By ensuring that a piece of software is properly licensed before it will work, it’s a lot easier to ensure that an individual or business has paid for the program that they’re using.

There are a few different strategies that are used when licensing software, including doing away with a licensing requirement altogether. We’re going to look at three of the main approaches that are used by software developers and publishers when they’re licensing a particular application.

Individual Licenses

The most basic form of software license is the one that is sold to individuals, and it’s likely the one that you’re most acquainted with. When a license of this type is sold, it will typically come with a single authentication key that will allow for it to be installed on a single machine.

Some licenses are more advanced than others, and can possibly be reinstalled on another computer if they are first uninstalled from the machine that you used them on initially. Typically, individual licenses are more expensive than those which are sold in bulk, and this leads us to the next type.

Bulk Licensing

When it comes to the sheer number of licenses sold, nothing can beat bulk licensing plans. These typically consist of groups of licenses that are sold from the developer or publisher to a business or a corporation that needs the program on several of their machines.

Purchasing bulk licenses can often get confusing, especially when different pieces of software have varying expiration and renewal dates. This is where software licensing management comes in handy, and there are entire programs dedicated to helping businesses keep track of their software licenses across their devices.

No License Requirement

Some programs don’t require a license, like open-source software, though some smaller paid applications don’t even have rudimentary licensing. Most of the time, licensing is excluded because it wouldn’t be worth it due to the relatively low value of a program.

Other developers choose to exclude licensing from their software for the convenience of the user. However, due to the constantly growing prevalence of piracy and file sharing, software that is sold without a license requirement is becoming rarer and rarer.

Conclusion

In the end, software licensing helps ensure that the people who do the work to create and publish programs get paid for what they do. There are many ways to approach software licensing, and we’ve only covered the most basic methods, focusing on the difference they will make for the end user.

Whether you run a business that needs to manage hundreds of pieces of software and their licenses or if you’re an individual who is installing a program, you’ve likely had to input a serial code. We hope that this guide has helped shed some light on the world of software licensing.

Top 5 Safe Browsing Tips That Reduce Malware Attacks

Safe Browsing Tips That Reduce Malware Attacks

Have you ever been a victim of a malware attack? Everywhere we go, we see people glued to their electronic devices; smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, etc. The internet and interconnectivity have permeated almost every aspect of our lives. So much of who we are is part of our internet presence, and that’s why it’s essential to make sure that your valuable information is as secure as possible.

There are thousands of different forms of malware – software that causes computer malfunctions and often steals and shares personal information – that can interfere with your business. Here are some simple and straightforward, safe browsing tips to help preempt a malware attack.

Install and Update Your Anti-Malware Software

Protection is probably the most glaringly obvious tip on our list. That’s why we’ve put it first. It’s easy to forget the obvious, and even easier to forget to do these simple but important things. After all, what are the chances of your computer getting a virus?

Quite high, actually.

Installing anti-malware is the first and most crucial step for keeping your files safe from malignant software. There are also many anti-virus programs you can purchase, and some you can even get for free.

Be Wary of File-Sharing Sites

File-sharing sites can seem like a necessity. They provide you with the ability to move information from all over the world peer-to-peer, as well as storing your data online. For many of us, this is more secure than using external hard-drives. And most of the bigger players (such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) are as reliable as they come.

But other sites, particularly torrenting sites like PirateBay and RARBG, are notoriously susceptible to viruses and the like. Each file is only as trustworthy as the strangers who are sharing it with you, so be careful.

Safe Browsing Tips That Reduce Malware Attacks

Watch What You Click

We’re so inundated by information when it comes to our online lives that it can be easy to click without precaution. But this is one of the quickest and easiest ways that you can open yourself up to malware. This can happen if you’re not paying enough attention while you browse.

Be careful not to click on scam sites while you scroll through your Facebook feed. Never open suspicious links sent through anonymous emails. And be wary of the wi-fi networks you log in to in public. An open network doesn’t necessarily mean a secure network; in fact, it usually means the opposite. Paying close attention to your browsing behavior will save you trouble in the long run.

Stronger and Longer Passwords

Do you know what one of the most commonly used passwords is? It’s “password1234”. People tend to reuse the same simple password for every site they sign up to, often the same passwords they’ve been using for years.

It can be challenging to make a unique password for every site and remember it. Keeping all your passwords written down is not secure either. But, maintaining this password behavior can easily lead to trouble.

A way of combating this might be to use a password manager – a key that stores all of your passwords and encrypts them. That way, you only need to remember one master password to access them all.

Take Care of Your Online Safety and Confidential Data

At the end of the day, cyber-security is essential in today’s world. And if you fail to preempt malware attacks, there are ways to protect yourself even in the aftermath of a severe security breach.

It is also good to remember that data safety is not only ensured by protecting your computer. Any obsolete hardware you own, such as hard drives, flash drives, mobile phones, and other devices that you no longer use most likely will still store confidential data that can be stolen.

There are companies like AGR that help with this; they completely wipe any sensitive information left on old devices.

So How Do You Protect Yourself?

It’s easy to underestimate the sensitivity of online information, but just remember that everything you put into the ‘webisphere’ is being stored. You wouldn’t leave your wallet or your high school diary in a public place and expect no one to take or read them.

Download and install anti-virus software. Be very careful which file sharing sites you use. Update your passwords to be stronger. Choose smarter ways to dispose of your old devices. As long as you keep these simple steps in mind, you should be safe from any malware attacks on your personal information.

How Easy It Can Be To Transfer To A New PCB Designer Software Package

PCB Designer Software

There are a number of different software packages on the market for many individuals and companies to consider using. However, a lot of people are not making this transition and using the same old software package that they have done for the past decade. There are real risks around sticking to the old packages which include not getting the optimum experience and efficiency of the modern toolset.

As technology has changed drastically over the last decade, so has the software packages. The most recent changes are usually as a result of the voice of the end user and include many different upgrades to the toolset. This can include, improved viewing schemes, schematic capture and even some element of error proofing incorporated into the toolkit. Companies such as Altium are a great example of how they have incorporated a lot of these changes into their updated software packages making any transition to their product as simple as possible.

Integration

The best design PCB software packages allow for easy integration of files as they have taken into account the large variety of different software packages in the market. This has allowed companies to then view and edit the different files very easily. There is nothing worse than if your company is using one particular software package and your customers or supply chain are using a completely different one that is not compatible to yours and you require to do some transforming of files in order to view or edit.

Training

With the latest design software packages, there is a comprehensive option for training. Many people may think that they do not need the training (especially if they have used similar packages before) however, it is important to not allow complacency to settle in as the packages are so full of opportunity that there may be some specific tools or techniques that the end user is not aware of that will help with the efficiency of the design. The training can include many different forms with the face to face sessions being the most popular. Here, an expert from the company will run a specific course designed for whatever level is applicable – this could be beginners, intermediate or experts. There is then ample opportunity to not only hear it face to face from the experts but to ask direct questions to the people in the know if there are queries to be answered.

Download

Gone are the days where you required to download such complex packages by inserting multiple discs into your computer and sit back for many hours whilst watching the progress bar move a millimeter every minute. Even these large designer software packages allow for online downloads that is far more efficient and easy. Any updates to the software packages are also notified also to the user and can be downloaded online.

These things make it very easy to make the switch.

How to Beef Up Your Website’s Security

Website Security

Website security provides multiple layers of protection against cyber attacks like hacking, data breaches, and malware infestation. One of the worst cases that can happen is for fraudulent transactions on your e-commerce site or having your data, especially confidential information, held hostage. Check your site to make sure you have implemented the basic and necessary security protocols that keep your website and all data on it safe and free from all forms of risks.

There have been several of the biggest and worst data breaches in the history of the Internet splashed all over the news. In 2016, a cyberheist dubbed the Bangladesh Bank Robbery shocked the world with an illegal bank transfer by security hackers of around US$1 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to several accounts. In 2018, the social media giant Facebook admitted that almost 50 million accounts have been accessed by cyber attackers, exposing personal information, direct messages, and other private data.

If these nightmares can happen to the business mammoths that have multi-million dollar budgets for their own IT department and cybersecurity measures, then the odds are even worse for small and medium-sized entities which only outsource tech services occasionally. A simple malware program can immediately take your website down for hours, or even weeks. An experienced hacker can easily purchase goods from your online shop by using fraudulent bank or credit card info. And a bored cyber attacker may instantly redirect your domain to a porn site or phishing landing pages that collects financial data.

The good thing is that it is so much you can do to strengthen your website’s security and protect your data by investing a little money. You’ve already spent time searching for the best SEO service providers from a reliable review site like BestSEOCompanies.com and making sure your website can be found by your target audience. Now you need to make sure that your clients’ information is safe when they click on your website. Here are several measures to keep you and your clients secure online.

The first thing is to keep all your software updated. Just like your smartphone constantly reminding you to download the latest software updates, it is also vital to keep the third-party software you use for your website, server and various plug-ins up-to-date. An update is usually more of fixing bugs and glitches, and enhancing security. Check if your hosting service provider can also update your software so you won’t have to hire another company to handle other web services.

Next is to use a web application firewall. A firewall acts as your defensive sentinel and blocks any untrustworthy online content or a cyber attack that tries to penetrate your server or website. For both hardware and software, you should make sure your third-party service provider is using a firewall.

Another basic security measure is to use HTTPS, short for Hypertext Transfer Protocol with Secure Sockets Layer, which is actually the secure version of HTTP. It increases security during transfers of sensitive data such as online banking or email sign-in. This allows additional layers of data protection against hackers who want to snoop on servers or networks. Also, browsers including Google Chrome flag non-HTTPS websites as not secure, which may discourage web users or potential buyers.

An equally important web security measure is to get an SSL certificate which is a digital certificate that ensures private information sent to your website is secure and encrypted. When a client signs up or pays through credit card or other payment channels, the information sent travels through different hardware before reaching the destination server. With this, hackers can’t easily steal private information they can use for illegal means.

Then, get a website scanner that checks any potential threats or risks to your website security. This web application looks for malware, detection of SQL injection and any security concerns like server configuration issues in your website so you can address them immediately and thwart an impending online hacking. Also, it performs simulation tests, from simple to complex, to check if a website is vulnerable to cyber attacks and shows the technical details of the results.

From the moment you publish your website to the Internet, you need to be on top of security measures to keep your data safe. These keep your worries away that someone might target your website and make off with your data. More importantly, web visitors and potential clients will feel confident that they can trust your website as they browse through the pages and eventually make a purchase.