How the Google Hummingbird Changes Business Rules for Content Writers.

Content writers will be one large community touched by the Hummingbird, Google’s new algorithm.  Suddenly unleashed (said to have been in the oven just for a month,) the search engine algorithm is likely to change the way digital content writers will be asked to write.

This bird flew in from the Wikipedia

Google picks up your search string, the words you have entered in the search box, searches through some trillion pieces of information on the Worldwide Web, tracks down results and presto, pulls out thousands of ‘pages’ that are most likely to tell you what you want to know. That’s algorithm in plain terms and the search string is the handle in the whole process, as far as visitors are concerned.  

For the SEO experts, mining ‘key words’ the magic mantras expected to help push up PageRank was one of the important activities. There were ‘good’ SEO experts who saw that the content should be intelligible and there were mechanical minded chaps, who stuck to convoluted key words.                                                            

Imagine the life of a content writer. And, then imagine a keyword like “2014 Chevy Malibu Tampa.” If tasked to construct a meaningful sentence using that phrase, a writer has little to do except pound her/his head. The mechanical SEO, I alluded to never settled for even a comma in between “Malibu” and “Tampa.”

Google’s Panda itself drove a bit of sense into information written for the web. It frowned upon tortuous or artificial key words, more so when they were referring to a particular geography. It’s said, it’s enough if the place name and the product/ service appeared in the same sentence. Dear old Google (15 years old!)  was savvy enough to figure out what the visitor wanted.

The Hummingbird is expected to matters even simpler. But then, the technical writers have to now truly slog and create high quality information that would be useful to the reader. Not just PageRank, but holding the interest will be the crux. We can write peacefully, focussing on research and product/Service utility.  

I expect business owners will re-discover revenue flows on the net with elegantly market-oriented content.

That’s a great news for digital content writers who are“Too restless to settle too wild to tame.” (Don Robertson in his wildly famous song “Hummingbird.”)

Get Involved: That’s How to ensure that your Website is the Best.

If you are planning to have a new website developed or revamping an existing site, pay more than a decent amount of attention to the activity. Even though familiar with the basics of project management, and knowing that client involvement makes or breaks a project, quite a number of business owners leave the task  totally to the outsourcing company.

True, the web development company is the expert, gets paid for the job and should deliver results. But, they will never know your business as well as you and there lies the crux. Unless, you look at web presence as just a “we too have a web site,” it’s better to plan and oversee the project closely.

What you want from the website:

Plan the Website for your prospective customers. Go through competitors’ sites meticulously as if you are a customer and jot down the points which prompt you to click the “add to cart” button and note down the points which drive you away from the site. This gives you a fairly efficient roadmap. Now, think how your USPs can be built in and how your website can be entirely different from the other websites.

Risking being preachy, I would urge you to prepare a thorough document which outlines your goals, expectations, strengths and weakness of your products etc.

Interacting with the Web Development Company:

Liaising with the web development company obviously is not about coding. It’s ideating with the developer.

Ideas are hidden behind thoughts and fruits behind the leaves.

It’s an idea sparking session; once the web designer catches on, they will be able to come up with superb layouts, color schemes, navigation, data bases, payment gateways and the dozen other things required for the Ecommerce site or web site.

You can be sure of one of the efficient sites on the web.

Talk to a Web Developer!

If there is a tone of surprise in that query, it’s understandable. Not all web designing companies are comfortable with putting their designers directly on the line and allow them to talk with you. Mostly, it’s a ‘project manager’ (thinly disguised sales person.) Since the actual developer hears everything secondhand and a watered version, the chances are your thoughts are lost somewhere down the pipeline.

A few outsourcing web designers facilitate direct interaction with the developers throughout the project and naturally ideas flow, things are done right the first time and fast. The cost of web design is cut down dramatically in many cases.

If you want to speak to a web development company that offers this facility, just send an Email to vvsarma51@gmail.com

How to Increase Data Center Performance while reducing Costs?

DevOps + NetOps process is the latest philosophy that’s working exceptionally well in managing IT Infrastructure. 

SaaS Companies for whom Data Center Colocation is a compelling requirement can achieve significant cost reduction in by synchronizing their development teams, Network Operation teams. And within NetOps, ensuring that networks teams and the Security Teams operate in tandem is the trick of the trade.

Bundled APMs, NPMs

Are you auditing IT Infrastructure costs with a view to reduce wastage and duplication of effort? Then have a second look at the security analytics tools, Application Performance Management solutions and Network Performance Management applications. The chances are the vendors have bundled Network Recording facility with any of these tools/ applications. The vendor may be offering such integrated packet capture solution purely out of friendly intentions.

But the overload on rack space, hardware increases costs and drives up power consumption many times.    

Duplication of Packet Capture:

The duplication of packet capture tools actually occurs as the networks teams and the Security Teams buy their own NPM or APMs each of which comes with its own packet capture tools, which in turn is overloading the system as discussed.

Then it should be a simple matter of tracking these applications at the time of purchasing or subscribing to them. Given the pace at which SaaS Companies need to work, you may not find enough time and even if you do, evaluating different software calls for expertise.

Remote Managed IT Infrastructure Services:

Focus on Core Activity

If you want to be free to focus on your core activity and leave essential but standard tasks, think of a Remote IT Infrastructure Management. A provider with DevOps specialization can assess your needs objectively, evaluate applications from an independent point of view (say without being constrained by platforms, technologies and so on,) and recommend what would be best for you.

Here in the simplest scenario, DevOps is nothing but knowing both sides of the table; the client that is you and the vendor of the application.

DevOps goes beyond Agile Development in the sense that while Agile provides a holistic framework, DevOps solves the day-to-day problems which brings practical returns in dollar terms.

If you would like to learn more about providers of Remote IT Infrastructure Management Services, just shoot off an Email: vvsarma51@gmail.com. 

Cloud Storage Solutions for Data Backup: Asigra.

Asigra is the industry-leading, agentless network-based data backup solutionfor SaaS ompanies. It helps you to store data locally or at an off-site central repository; alternatively, you can opt for data storage on the public or private cloud. At the last count, Asigra is protecting over 550,000 sites worldwide.

Asigra saves more than 90% of time and reduces costs substantially; and, it provides the most robust security for your data. It is available as software and also on SaaS- software as a service model.

Data backup, the art and science of making a copy of data and preserving it safely is indispensable for every business. And, in fact, the crux of the exercise lies in being able to retrieve the data immediately on demand.

Many Issues and Storing Data in the Cloud:

You need earlier data for audit, taxation, and mandatory reasons. Further, you need data analysis to identify factors that contributed to success, failures and to plan future. Given the importance, the chief elements and issues concerning data backup are:

• Ø  Protecting data at central office, remote offices, and individual laptops/desktops.
  
  
• Ø  Technology
• Ø  Infrastructure
• Ø  Staff
• Ø  Security
• Ø  Mandatory regulations
• Ø  Cost

The data backup costs seem to be rising relentlessly, harassing even wealthy companies. And, the security appears to be menaced from more and newer quarters. And the irony is that, senior IT professionals are compelled to devote excessive attention to what should but be a routine process.

Single Solution:

As an economical and efficient Cloud storage solution  Asigra is a truly ‘one stop’ solution that addresses all

the issues involved in data backup. You do not need different technologies and expensive infrastructure; or fritter senior talent away on a crucial but mechanical task.

Endless Possibilities

You can deploy on Windows, Linux or MAC platforms; and back up data, operating systems, applications, and file systems from Servers, Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, and smart phones. Asigra is the effective answer in grid configuration for failover protection and increased performance.

The Cloud Backup is vendor and hardware  independent.

Asigra has an impeccable record in data storage solutions.

1. Robust Security: in over 26 years, no company that has deployed Asigra for data backup has suffered a breach.
2. Significant Time saver: It has proven track record of having reduced data backup time by as much as 97% for some clients.
3. Agentless: Asigra is an automatic data backup solution that performs independently; it does not wait for people to send commands.

As can be easily seen, these advantages boost each other and produce substantial savings of costs, time, and effort. How does Asigra achieve these benefits for you?

Single Point Installation:

Asigra needs to be installed only on the local sever; it uses industry standard programming interfaces to backup data, operating systems, file systems, and applications from all the individual client stations through the network.

The advantages are immense. All potential security risks are eliminated since there is no open port.

The backup mode is asynchronous; the data is back up happens each time a change is made and copies are available in real time. This helps you to restore data to any point of time immediately, in case of a crash.

Since you are not deploying Asigra on each desktop or laptop, you save installation and maintenance costs.

Remote and Agentless:

Asigra Cloud solution is independent in every sense and in every situation. At your head office or at remote offices, IT staff need not set schedules and manually operate any systems and disks for taking a data backup.

It will copy and protect the data even from laptops carried by the field personnel, the notorious weak links in the data chain. Wide area network connection is all that is needed for this process.

Data Compression: Making it Cloud Ready:

A matchless Deduplication method helps Asigra to score over traditional data backup techniques. It saves only unique instances of each piece of data. Each time a data change takes place, the software checks the changed data against the stored data and saves only the fresh change. All this happens in real-time leaving only the barest minimum and fresh data to be transmitted or stored.

The net effect of such data compression is incredible; time to transmit data is reduced drastically and you would need far lesser data storage space.

The savings on WAN bandwidth costs will be significant for service providers; they can improve profitability and serve the customers better.

In Flight Encryption and Security in the Cloud:

Trademarked Asigra Cloud Backup and Recovery (BUR) is the most secure agentless data protection platform in the industry for cloud storage and onsite data protection.

Asigra encrypts the data in-flight and data at-rest and provides Key escrow management, and Password rotation support.

There is a broad range of encryption strengths, from triple DES 56-bit with an 8-character key, to AES 256-bit with a 32-character key.

Finally, when data completes the mandatory or storage time limits set by you, it is destroyed, with certificate of destruction.

Your data is decisively protected against SQL injection, packet sniffing, router vulnerability, unauthorized copying of data and other breaches.

What do these rigorous security measures mean; they ensure that you can comply with:

·         Sarbanes Oxley (SOX),

·         U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

·         Gram-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA),

·         Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS),

·         Basel II,

·         Safe Harbor,

·         Patriot Act

·         American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

·         and other data protection directives

Asigra is a versatile Cloud storage solution ; it works best whether you have 2.8 terabytes of information on a database or 129 remote offices working 24x7 or a SOHO. It is the solution for service providers to improve profitability; and it is the cost-effective answer for enterprise data backup. 

Why Certified pre-owned Chevys top the popularity list of used cars.

In the used cars segment, Chevys top the list for a good reason. GM builds them not just to last but to render perfect service from day 1 till the day you wish it goodbye. Even when you buy a pre-owned Chevy, you can be sure of a fuel efficient, sturdy, functional, and at the same time a lovely car.

If you had read an earlier post, you would know why this is the best time for buying a used car and the facilities BMW and Audi are offering. Here are some of the perks General Motors is offering on pre-owned Chevys.

Used GM Car Models:

The special offers described apply to the wonder series comprising Buick (Lucerne, Regal, and Verano),

Guess which model is this Yellow Beauty*

Chevrolet (Aveo5,  Camaro,  Captiva Sport,   Cobalt,   Colorado,  Corvette,  and Cruze), GMC, Pontiac, and G3 and Saturn range of GM vehicles.

Until October, CPO Chevy offers:

CPO Chevy by the way stands for Certified pre-owned Chevy and if you one before this October, the used car comes with 2-Year or 30,000-Mile maintenance plan. The Standard plan includes free oil changes and tire rotations. The cinch is the Multi-Point Vehicle Inspection program under which a qualified dealer puts the car through a series of ‘point’ checks before tagging it as a certified pre-owned.  The inspection ensures that from tires up to the engine and transmission as well as the safety equipment is up to Chevy standard.

You can be generally sure of miles of happy driving.

Pre-owned Chevrolet Satisfaction Guarantee

Once you have picked out a pre-owned Chevy, try it for 3 days or 150 miles (which is ever less of course) and be doubly sure that it’s the right vehicle for you. And, for subsequent peace of mind,    two $0 deductible manufacturer warranties, roadside assistance on 24/7 basis with complimentary transportation are bundled with the sales plan.

Finance on Certified pre-owned cars

While the trade-in value would depend on the condition of your current set of wheels, one of the finance options on CPO Chevys is an attractive 1.9% APR. Of course, there is a short list of qualifications and credit ratings a buyer  needs to fulfill for catching hold of these finance plan.

Fueling the choice:

What with the gas prices threatening the wallet every time you go to the pump, it’s better to think twice while choosing the used car you are about to buy. Particularly so, if you travel long miles often. Here is a guide of miles/gallon which is purely approximate and is the combined MPG for city+ highway driving.   

Cobalt XFE Coupe or Sedan- 37 MPG, Aveo5 Sedan- 34 MPG, Malibu Hybrid 34 MPG, Camaro- 29 MPG, Chevy Corvette coupe 26 MPG.

Use the 3 day satisfaction trial to test the actual mileage that the car you are about to buy gives.

A Pre-owned Hot-favorite:

The much storied and much admired Chevrolet Corvette combines all the performance, beauty, comfort and power you expect in a super cool car. It continues to be the original American classic in this segment. The fiberglass build makes Corvette light in

weight and its raw-power packed V8 engine lets you touch the 60 mph mark in 5 seconds (though you must be a responsible driver and touch the top speeds strictly when the conditions are safe.)

Corvette’s steering ability and handling capability give you safe and comfortable driving; it’s almost like driving a race car. Check out with your nearest dealer; you may be able to pick up a pre-owned Corvette at a price that would surprise your friends.


* Sorry no prizes for "Guess which model is this Yellow Beauty." Camaro is too famous around the Americas. 

How to get a Good Deal on Used car?

Why just a good deal, you can get the best deal on used cars provided you spend a patient day or two. Here are a few tips that you may well know but which are still worth a recap.

Timing the Used Car Market:

The later part of the year presents an opportune moment for not just for ‘discovering’ the dream car but it’s also the season for availing a loan on used car on surprisingly attractive terms. Manufacturers would have released their next years’ models and quite a number of people trade-in their vehicles for a new one. Meaning, there is a good supply of used Audis, BMWs, Chevys and other popular cars allowing a good selection. The dealers too are in a hurry to clear the inventories and so don’t mind bending the interest rates a bit.

Just to give you an idea, you can get anywhere between 25% and 40% off on a pre-owned 2013 Audi S5 in excellent condition.

Pre-owned car loan:

Gone are the days when you had to shell out cash on the barrel for second-hand cars. Pre-owned car loans terms are now so flexible that you can trade-in your present set of wheels and opt for a loan for the balance of cost.

Talking about flexibility, a New Jersey pre-owned car dealer is offering loans to people even with a bad credit history and promises to process the application in just 24 hours. The rickety economy has a few benefits after all!

Pre-owned car from manufacturers:

Authorized dealers buy back cars, inspect, recondition and put them back in the market as certified pre-owned cars. The significant advantage here is this: the dealer puts the car through a manufacturer-specified inspection program and scrutinizes something like over 200 checkpoints of the car. And, any parts that are replaced will be genuine ones. There is a catch however; these certified used cars cost a bit more compared to the vehicles sold by the so called ‘non-authorized’ car dealers, but Audi and BMW are offering several advantages that offset the higher price.

Pre-owned BMW ideas:

Remember, this is the right time to buy the car. If you buy a certified pre-owned BMW before the end of October 2013, the manufacturer is backing it up with up to six-year/100,000 mile protection plan, 24/7 free roadside assistance and an incredible 0.9% APR and payment credit option on certain select models. And, there is little to argue about prices what with say a 2013 BMW X3 xDrive35i that has done a little below 9,000 miles costing about $48,946. This ‘ultimate driving machine’ (that’s what BMW calls its range) is an AWD 4-door SUV that takes you approximately 19 miles in the city and 26 miles on the highways.

Options on Pre-owned Audi cars

S5 Audi Coupe along with S5 Cabriolet is leading the popularity charts for a good reason. The car drives sports a unitized steel body that carries 12-year limited warranty against perforation due to corrosion.

The certified Pre-owned Audi car loan offers are difficult to believe; depending on the model you are currently driving, the area you live in and credit rating, it’s possible that you drive away a used Audi with $0 down payment. Or drive the latest model with lower monthly payments by opting for lease a CPO Audi.

Two final tips, if you are buying  from the regular secondhand car market; check to what extent the accessories in the pre-owned car are original ones. This helps you to bargain on the price. And, make sure to spend on full-fledged detailing, the used car will not only look new, but it will last more miles.

How to select your Outsourcing HR Services provider?

You must have come across this fairly common opening gambit of HR service providers: “We are providers of a complete array of HR solutions.” What exactly is meant by “complete array of HR solutions?” Does it imply that your organisation can give up the entire personnel department? Obviously, that not being the case, an ideal HR Services Outsourcing Company is the one with these qualifications.

• ØClose relationship with leading employers and premium recruitment agencies
• Ø  A vast database of qualified job seekers
• Ø  Expert Councillors in recruiting, assessing CV s, domain experience, behavioral analysis
• Ø  A pan-American presence,
• Ø  Cutting-edge infrastructure
• Ø  And, most importantly, commitment to the best in HR practices.

Here is how the services provide a competitive edge for you as an employer.

Hire on the Fast-Track:

There is nothing like a ready access to a huge database of job seekers located across the States. A professional HR Services company would intelligently index the job seekers’ data base making it easy for you to shortlist candidates with the right educational qualifications, levels of experience- freshers and professionals- a perfect match for the job description. You will be able to find appropriate candidates to fill permanent, temporary or on-contract positions.

Employee Salary:

If your Human Resources Services Outsourcing Company has meaningful connexions and a true USA presence, you have caught hold of highly practical adviser, an intelligence tool that can save you thousands of dollars.

Given the rickety economy, salary structures have changed (dramatically in certain sectors,) and it’s difficult for you to estimate what you need to pay a good and qualified candidate in some far-off State. It’s like this; you won’t be paying a sales representative covering the rural territory in a State as much as you pay a salesman handling New York City market. Two innovative tools can resolve the issue: 

1. compensation bench-marking 

2. Employee engagement survey.

HR Solutions providers track the salaries current in different domains, States and professions. The information helps you to gauze and match the salaries according to the market.

More Recruitment Services:

That employees create the success for a company is an endlessly debated topic but the conclusion every employer agrees with is that a people with talent, can add business value. The crick in the works is finding that model employee with the requisite amount of brains. Considering that over 50% of American companies have reported bad hires, mull over how helpful improved hiring process would be; it not only saves money spent on non-performers but prevents failure of aspirations.

Executive Search, Lateral Recruitment and similar customized recruitment services have the potential to reinforce hiring process. Of course, you have to assess the capabilities of the Outsourcing Company before entrusting them with the Recruitment Process.

Payroll Services:

Payroll services are not just a software-driven activity. A number of possibilities in saving expense, time devoted to a routine but essential task and improving employee satisfaction are open to Small and Medium businesses. For instance, deciding whether to treat a payment made to a person as payment to a contractor or as salary to an employee could be tricky. The payroll services Outsourcing Company assists you in complying with tax laws and further advises you on the available tax credits. The idea is simply this: merely buying payroll software may not keep your accounting in ship shape.  

Assigning such back office needs to a professional HR service team achieves accuracy and operational speed at a fraction of cost.

Add-on HR Solutions:

Mobility Services are a cost-effective and convenient method of relocating your executives, offices or equipment. The Human Resources Company will be able to locate appropriate housing and schools for the children and ensure that the employee settles in comfortably at the new location.

Organizing employee training, overseeing security needs, travel arrangements, organizing corporate events, and managing insurance formalities – well, the list of what a capable HR Services Company can handle for you is endless.  

 

Reduce Cost of Operating IT Infrastructure By 25%.

Operational Expenses of managing IT Infrastructure is a huge component of budget, more so for SaaS companies. In addition to operational expenses, SaaS developers need to scale up IT infrastructure almost continuously. As such, any possibility of reducing the opex and the capital expenses on additional IT facilities sounds a highly welcome note for those in the Cloud sector. Rather, it’s imperative if the companies want to fight off competition.

Competing with Competition:

You have seen how quickly competition moves in with a similar product and at painfully low price, leaving you facing the proverbial Hobson’s choice. Manage IT Infrastructure intelligently and slash the maintenance costs – this should allow you to compete on the price front till the competition is driven away.

Co-Location Architecture

 Following the sun and global delivery being the mantra, SaaS Companies have a tough job on hand. They have to ensure that the Data Centers are not just up 24x7 but perform at their peak all through the 365 days and round the clock. Allow a minor glitch, the effect cascades down on thousands of end users. Something simply not affordable; since the whole business is based on subscription model, customer retention is not just a catchword, but an absolute and abject necessity.

Given this situation and having to monitor DCs across time-zones, Remote Infrastructure Management Services alone can do the trick for SaaS companies. Here are some imperatives?

Global delivery demands locating Data Centers across the globe and because of cost-constraints SaaS companies have only one option: co-location. Remote management of the IT infrastructure is the sole choice in this scenario.

Real time detection and protection

 Data Centers attract hostile attacks on a 24x7 basis. Or, they may suffer breakdowns due to natural causes. In either case, the impact is same; unsavory response from the customers. Given that no one trusts a rickety architecture, you may face a flight of customers in no time.

  

Ø  IDS meaning Intrusion Detection System screens leak of personally identifiable information, ex-fill of sensitive information and similar hostile activity over the network in real-time. IDS, enforces security policy automatically and helps you to detect violations.

 Ø  IPS meaning the Intrusion Prevention System goes a step ahead and counters threats by isolating and eradicating them even before an incident can occur.

The threat management ensures uptime of 99.99% and more, which is crucial while delivering software as a service.

Choosing the right RIMs provider:

Software development environment calls for a dozen kinds of support from third parties. Dealing with different service providers has inherent headaches not to speak of costs. Think how convenient it would be to ally with one single professional team that comes in with expertise in a host of fields. Ideally your Remote IT Infrastructure Management should take care of all the angles, right from basic administration of NOC and DC-Operations, IMAC, Advanced administration, Performance tuning, Backup and recovery, Life cycle management to holistic Network management.

And, if the provider is proficient in Release Engineering, they are all the more welcome. A team with DevOps expertise (the latest process) helps SaaS companies to develop world-class products and move them to the market faster than anticipated.

Choosing the right IT Infrastructure Managements services provider is the smart move  that slashes up to 25% (and in some cases, even more) on your IT operational costs. To know more or to tell me about any other solutions, do post a comment here.