Archives 2021

Benefits of Using AI Optimized Video Messaging at Work

Benefits of Using AI Optimized Video Messaging at Work

Artificial intelligence has become an invaluable form of technology for fostering better communications in the workplace. Artificial intelligence has been a beneficial changing force for many forms of communication technology. Video messaging is just one example.

Video technology is becoming much more sophisticated. More video messaging services are dependent on data analytics, as the analytics in video market is growing over 20% a year. This is leading to further developments in AI technology, which is also driving the future of video messaging technology.

AI advances have also made it easier to integrate video messaging into the cloud. This is important, because there are a lot of benefits of cloud computing based video streaming.

This can be very helpful for companies trying to improve communication both within the workplace and with people outside of work. They are becoming even more dependent on video messaging as more employees are working from home due to changes brought on by COVID-19.

AI Technology Has Made Video Messaging a Far More Effective Form of Technology in 2022

There is no question that AI technology has led to a number of improvements in organizational communication. Companies investing in AI have been able to become less reliant on email and other primitive forms of communication.

The tradition in the office environment is to use email for business correspondence. The email has been desirable for use in the office due to its low cost, convenience, and the ability to write detailed information. Email remains a critical tool of communication today.

Whereas email has its set of advantages, it does not facilitate clear and detailed communication. It is particularly wanting in ensuring that communication with the parties involved shows a human touch. Again, the email is not a real-time communication strategy, and therefore, it does not allow instant clarification of issues at hand. Other challenges to the use of email include the emails going to spam and emails not being read.

However, new developments in AI technology have helped create better communication mediums. This new technology can help people communicate more effortlessly with their peers at work.

Nvidia talked about some of the benefits that AI has created for video conferencing. The biggest benefits is that it helps streamline the process and save employees time.

Nvidia author Isha Salian said that AI technology allows people to change their appearance while on a video conference. They can actually be in their pajamas, while making it look like they are actually wearing their work clothes.

Of course, this is on the tip of the iceberg of the benefits that AI technology offers. People using video conferencing tools can also improve bandwidth capabilities. This gives a smoother video streaming experience for anybody using these tools.

Given the benefits that AI has created for video conferencing, it would be silly not to take advantage of it. Rather than sticking to the email for your communication, you need to evaluate the use of more effective methods in driving your communication agenda. You should consider other better options of communication including video messaging, screen recording, and voice messaging. AI capabilities have made this much easier. This is going to ensure better office efficiency and cost-effectiveness in both the short term and the long term.

One of the best platforms for the use of video is provided by Loom. Loom is freely available that relies heavily on AI technology. It can be downloaded in Android, IOS, or mac. One can use it at home, in the office, or both the office and the home. An increasing number of companies are appreciating the use of loom in their communication.

Benefits of Video Messaging with AI Capabilities

There are a plethora of reasons why you should start using video messaging. To start with, it enables you to capture facial expressions, something that you would otherwise not do in an email. With this platform, you are going to articulate and express complex ideas in a short time. Moreover, with this strategy, you can comfortably handle difficult or technical information.

With video messaging, you can have one-on-one communication with another person. This is going to ensure that you bring in a human touch to your business communication. At the same time, parties involved in the communication can seek clarification if need be leading to data clarity.

The use of loom for video messaging allows the user to share the information to be recorded and shared at any time. Loom can be used in chrome extension, desktop app, iOS app, or iPhone screen. In addition to that, Loom can be integrated in Slack, Gmail, and Jira, among other options.

Using loom for your video will ensure that you are updated about the communication between you and the others. For instance, when your message is viewed, you are going to receive a notification about the same. As a matter of fact, you can know the amount of your video that has already been viewed.

In order to achieve high performance at the workplace and optimal productivity, you ought to use various communication strategies including video, voice messaging, and screen messaging. This is going to help in streamlining the communication process and will ensure that everyone in the company is involved in the day-to-day running of the company.

With the use of video messaging by loom, you are going to save time. This is because, naturally, one talks faster than one does typing. In the modern busy working environment, the ability to save timer could determine the success of a company or lack thereof.

Loom continues to improve its features and is keen on using the feedback by the clients as a tool of constant improvement. It is hoped that in the future, more features will be made available by loom in order to better serve the users and help companies to realize optimal productivity.

Stork.ai

Video messaging tool Stork.ai, provides an online workspace that provides video as well as voice messenger services. With this online working space, you are not going to experience missed meetings. You can have a meeting in real-time, or alternatively, you can catch up with the meeting at a later time. The app records all the meetings automatically thereby giving you the much-needed convenience in the process of working. With this app, one can start a conversation using any channel and there is an opportunity for spontaneous conversation. Overall, Stork is an ideal tool for office communication.

AI has Led to Major Breakthroughs in Video Conferencing Technology

Artificial intelligence technology has been very helpful in modern businesses. More companies are resorting to AI-driven video conferencing tools to improve communication.

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Data-Driven Business Applications Businesses Can’t Live Without in 2022

Data-Driven Business Applications Businesses Can’t Live Without in 2022

There is no question that big data is changing the nature of business in spectacular ways. A growing number of companies are discovering new data analytics applications, which can help them streamline many aspects of their operations.

Data-driven businesses can develop their own infrastructure and handle all of their data management processes in-house. However, there are a lot of third-party big data applications worth investing in.

Businesses Must Use the Right Applications to Facilitate their Big Data Strategy in 2022

Today, there are many software applications available for businesses to leverage big data to solve their unique challenges, streamline their various processes, and automate everyday tasks. Regardless of their size and industries, businesses depend on software solutions to enhance operational efficiency and data management. These efficiency-boosting applications for business are what we refer to as “business apps”.

Business apps can take many shapes and forms depending on their functions and features. Some of these software solutions are commercially available, meaning these are software products that are readily available for businesses to use, these are known as “off-the-shelf software”. Companies can either choose an off-the-shelf software solution or go down the route of business application software development. Instead of using an existing software product to implement their data management strategy, businesses invest in developing a custom software application from scratch that is built according to their unique business requirements and challenges.

Four Major Types of Apps for Businesses Using Big Data

In general, business software can be broadly categorized into four groups. These include software solutions meant for file management, task management, customer relationship management, and internal and external data management.

1. File Management

With the advent of computers and the Internet, businesses have moved away from on-paper communication and documentation, but managing digital documentation is challenging for companies. File management applications allow businesses to manage their digital documents and provide them with the tools to easily create, save, share, and collaborate on business documents. In addition, they streamline the process of sharing important files and document access management within the organization.

These file management systems can store much larger amounts of data these days. This is ideal for companies trying to make the most of big data. File management applications are examples of big data tools that can be useful for creating a digital workplace.

2. Task Management

Big data technology is also making task management much easier. For a business to function smoothly, it is crucial that its employees are on top of their priorities and performing their tasks on time. Therefore, many companies rely on software applications for efficient task management. These data-driven task management applications integrate with calendar and email apps, allowing employees to stay on track with their work schedules and be informed about the tasks and sub-tasks that other team members are working on. Task management apps are beneficial for project management since they help project managers manage the workflow and project timeline.

3. Customer Relationship Management

Customers are one of the most important stakeholders for all businesses. Businesses with a growing and diverse customer base use specialized business applications to manage the exchange of information and interactions between them and their customers. With the help of customer relationship management (CRM) software, businesses can gain important insights into customer behaviour and use them to improve their customer service. Despite the myriad of CRM software solutions available on the market, many businesses invest in custom software solutions for customer relationship management that fit their business model and unique needs. Bespoke business software developers can analyze the gaps in your existing system and workflow pain points and develop a custom system that addresses all your needs.

Read more about this, see https://www.goodcore.co.uk/services/business-applications/.

4. Information management

Businesses depend on the efficient exchange of information between the different business stakeholders across the enterprise. Business applications that allow instant and secure communication among internal employees are a must for all organizations regardless of their size and industry. Communication apps help businesses streamline their information management process and increase organizational productivity.

Benefits of Bespoke Business Software

From sales to administration, business apps are a way to streamline processes and improve work efficiency through data management, but why bespoke software? Why should businesses consider bespoke business software over off-the-shelf software solutions?

There are many benefits of implementing bespoke management systems that leverage big data, including:

Custom-built for Business – Often, off-the-shelf software offers a one-size-fits-all solution with generic features and functionalities that are too rigid for businesses. Many businesses fail to find a single software product that caters to all their requirements. With custom-built business software, companies can get a solution for their unique needs.Quality and Consistency – Bespoke business applications can bring quality and consistency in the operations and results of the organization. They make the workflows uniform and efficient, reducing the chances of errors and inaccuracies.Time Savings – Businesses can reduce their reliance on manual and mundane tasks with the help of bespoke business apps that automate repetitive procedures. Business software can also reduce the need to maintain physical records and paperwork thus saving time and chances of human error.Free from Licensing Cost – With off-the-shelf software, paying licensing fees can be a hassle for businesses. With bespoke software, companies own the intellectual property rights to the software and save themselves from the ongoing licensing costs.Scalability – A bespoke software allows businesses the flexibility to scale up as they grow over the years. As the business grows and its needs evolve, bespoke software can be scaled up easily to adapt to the changing business requirements.Data Insights- Business software gathers real-time data from various tasks and workflows, which can be compiled and analyzed to gain valuable insights about employee performance and productivity. Businesses can make informed decisions based on this data.

8 types of bespoke software solutions to consider for a business

Now that we know the benefits of bespoke business applications and the main business software categories, let’s take a look at some of the real-life examples of business software.

Human Resource Information System (HRIS): A software solution to streamline mundane administrative tasks such as employee record management, payroll, onboarding, recruitment, and attendance.Inventory Control System: Supply chain management system that can monitor stock levels, sales, production and show real-time stock quantities.Customer Relationship Management Systems: Software to manage interaction with customers, provide customer service, and administer marketing campaigns.Booking Software: A management software for appointment-based businesses that allow clients to book appointments and for the business to keep track of their booking schedule.Event and Meeting Management Software: A software system for large organizations to manage meetings and corporate events across the enterprise.Demand Forecasting Software: A software system to project future demand using historical sales and stock data.Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): A bespoke system to manage the day-to-day business activities and resources.Vendor Management Software: A management software to streamline your collaboration with your suppliers and vendors.

Data-Driven Businesses Must Use the Right Applications

Smart companies can’t afford to ignore the merits of big data in 2022. They should take advantage of the best applications that help them get the benefits of big data. The aforementioned applications can be very helpful.

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How To Use Data For Smarter Business Decisions

How To Use Data For Smarter Business Decisions

Big data technology has become an invaluable asset to so many organizations around the world. There are a lot of benefits of utilizing data technology, such as improving financial reporting, forecasting marketing trends and efficient human resource allocation. It is crucial to business growth, as companies transition to more digital business models.

Companies around the world are projected to spend over $684 billion on big data by 2030. You will want to be aware of the benefits that it offers to your own business, so you can use it to your advantage.

Big Data Technology Has Become a Nontrivial Element of Modern Business

If you intend to start resting your case with investing in data, analytics and more insightful business forecasts, stop. Instead, shift your focus toward prioritizing the business investment categories that would bring you the biggest bang for the buck in terms of both revenue and bottom line.

Most of your competitors are probably relying on data to run their businesses for a while now. They use data to automate their processes by turning some of their operational and transactional data into alerts that help them make better business decisions in the quest for income. While this is an intelligent thing to do, that’s where most of these efforts to use data in the process of running a business come to an end. The so-called insights-driven business transformation is the next level of making the most out of data. This is the ability to morph enterprise data into insights and then use these insights to spark actions that directly impact the outcome of a business. The evolution process then loops over and over again, in a continuous stream of learning and improving. This is how customer-centric companies operate. Also, this has become the top priority for many CIOs and business analysts. You should know that almost 70% of CIOs consider their company has changed or is currently changing its management culture to make quantitative decisions one of their highest priorities.

Developing great IDB skills requires tactical moves and significant investments into processes, technology, data, and people. This process involves a lot of effort and significant expenses, hence the need for enterprises to find justifications for spending millions of dollars. Unfortunately, it’s virtually impossible to find a direct correlation between the level of investment and the outcome of these efforts.

You need to know how to utilize it properly. As we stated in the past, sensible data management is essential to the management of any business. Companies need to think about the ways to use it properly.

Nevertheless, there’s solid indirect evidence that investment in IDB is well worth it. For example, businesses with advanced IDB capabilities are almost 3 times more likely to score year-over-year growth figures in the range of two digits by comparison to very young enterprises. Our latest research report will show you the following:

How to split your investment between process, strategy, data, people and technology for advanced vs. young companies.The significant benefits an advanced IDB enterprise can expect compared to beginner competitors.What kind of ROI you can expect should you decide to go for IDB investments.

The benefits it provides are virtually endless!

Big Data is Crucial for Companies in All Industries

By relying on data, analytics and insights and bridge lending when you make your business investments, you can make smarter business decisions that will make everyone happy, from employees and business partners to end-consumers.

You can’t afford to ignore the advantages of utilizing big data in modern business. The applications outlined in this article illustrate the reasons the market for big data technology is rising so rapidly.

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Startups Must Take Advantage of Big Data to Gain a Competitive Edge

Startups Must Take Advantage of Big Data to Gain a Competitive Edge

Startups need to take advantage of the latest technology in order to remain competitive. Big data technology is one of the most important forms of technology that new startups must use to gain a competitive edge.

The success of your startup might depend on your ability to use big data to your full advantage. But you have to know how to do so effectively. The right data strategy can help your startup become profitable.

Big Data is Invaluable to Modern Business

There’s no denying that running a startup can be a challenging process of trial and error. Unfortunately, startup management is not lenient when it comes to mistakes. All it takes is a single altercation with online users to cause a new company’s online reputation to go on a downward spiral.

Therefore, more businesses need to take advantage of technology that can help them offset these issues. Big data can make or break a startup.

Unfortunately, big data has been a buzzword, so many companies don’t know how to use it appropriately. They will need to find ways to take advantage of the right tools that are predicated on data technology.

The tricky thing is that most startups are run by inexperienced business owners. Another issue is that many business owners don’t understand the latest developments in technology, so figuring out how to use big data seems like an insurmountable task.

It might seem like a recipe for disaster, but startup owners have modern tech to help make up for the lack of experience. Here are a few ways new company owners can use big data technology to make the most out of their opportunities in a competitive industry.

1. Research on the best possible data-driven software applications for your company

No matter which industry you choose, there will always be ways to help streamline various processes. The good news is that big data is able to help with many of these issues. For example, a construction business can utilize project management software with sophisticated AI and data analytics algorithms to help lower the risk of construction projects going awry.

Likewise, a business in the call center industry would benefit heavily from various digital tools, such as predictive dialer software from Convoso. It is an analytics and cloud-based software that significantly improves productivity for lead generation outbound campaigns and high-volume sales. The trick for new companies is to find the best digital tools as early as possible to get a great head start.

2. Getting the attention of your audience with audience analytics

It’s not going to be easy to get the attention of your target demographic, especially in an industry where so many businesses are clamoring for their attention. Fortunately, the process will be easier if you know how to use analytics technology to better understand your audience.

There are a lot of tools that can help you learn more about your demographic. You can even try using data from networks like Facebook, Google and other advertising networks with information on audience. This data can help startups assess the potential market size and reach of their strategies.

Some company owners might try to widen the audience as much as possible, but such a tactic is rarely successful. Instead, it’s much better to focus on the local audience, as startups do not have the necessary staying power to compete with much bigger companies regarding brand exposure and overall popularity.

Fortunately, there are various marketing strategies you can use to help get the attention of your demographic. The best example is search engine optimization (SEO), as it offers a little something for everyone. It tends to be a one-size-fits-all service, as it aims to get the attention of search algorithms to increase brand exposure. It’s also a slow and steady rise to popularity, allowing company owners to pace themselves on the road to success.

3. Building your website the right way with data analytics and AI tools

Big data has also become very important in the context of web design. More companies have started using data analytics and AI tools to make the process a lot easier.

Data analytics is especially useful for UX optimization. You can use analytics tools to conduct split-testing to see how visitors respond to various messages, which makes it a lot easier to improve the general layout of your design.

If you want to take advantage of modern tech, it’s all about optimization — specifically web optimization. There have been many improvements in the accessibility and convenience of web design that have brought on by data analytics, which makes it easier than ever to design a website. That said, keeping it simple is the trick to ensuring that your online users are satisfied. Remember that most people give a business website only fifteen seconds to catch their attention, which means it’s best to have a quick route between the landing page and the checkout page.

4. Keep track of trends in your industry with predictive analytics and data mining

Last but certainly not least, ensure that you keep an eye on the many trends related to your chosen industry. You can use data mining to learn more about industry trends by researching various publications related to your industry. You can also use tools like Google Trends to monitor interest in various products, services, brands and concepts related to your industry. Predictive analytics tools make it a lot easier to forecast directions in your industry if you know how to interlink them with Google Trends data.

You never know when the information might come in handy, as the latest trends typically concern various breakthroughs in the industry. As a new company owner, it’s up to you to make a difference!

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Big Data Drives Office Productivity into Overdrive

Big Data Drives Office Productivity into Overdrive

Big data is playing a massive role in countless industries. It is changing the landscape of commerce as we know it. As we pointed out in the past, it is the key to business growth.

We recently interviewed many entrepreneurs to understand their big data priorities. One of the most significant benefits is with office productivity.

Many offices are using big data to lift productivity. This is one of the reasons the market for big data is expected to be worth $103 billion by 2027.

Big Data is the Key to Office Productivity

With regards to big data in back offices, the large amount of information that various applications can manage makes them an essential tool for improving productivity. Some of these tools include using machine learning to improve the lighting of small businesses. There are a number of picture lighting tools that can improve the aesthetics of offices that show off pictures to their clients. Similar tools can offer superior lighting to keep the office illuminated in a way that maximizes employee engagement by adjusting with machine learning algorithms.

These big data tools are used to enhance the performance of employees and optimize the management of personnel and supplies. A number of data-driven employee tracking tools help boost performance. They are even used to help choose the format of the premises according to the data analyzed.

The founder of TechFood Consult discussed this recently, stating:

“Only by having more granular management is it possible to increase productivity”. And for this, catering companies have the best possible resource in Big Data.

Pablo Settineri made a similar statement. “We measure everything in case it can be improved,” said Settineri.

Currently, Big Data’s tools are geared towards designing new products, marketing actions, and the launch of promotions in real-time, followed by space planning and the location of new establishments, and the personalization of the offer.

However, companies like Goiko Grill have found it invaluable for employee management as well. Goiko Grill’s experience is being very positive in this regard. “Back office tools that leverage big data help us make employees work better. So that there is transparency and they feel more motivated”, says Daniela Goicoechea.

For example, geolocation tools are becoming particularly relevant.

“These, along with other big data tools, are being used both for the redesign of restaurant networks and for finding the best locations for new openings,” describes Carlos Peregrina. This technology is what is called Location Intelligence. This technology analyzes information on the location and movements of consumers to find the best site for a business, among other applications.

We couldn’t foresee a future without big data. But, neither could many of these companies. Big data is going to change the world in unimaginable ways as many experts are predicting.

Without a doubt, the use of data analysis tools and direct communication with the client in social networks and other platforms are part of the sector’s transformation. As well as the development of services that provide real added value to consumers.

Among the keys to achieving this, Big Data is emerging as an essential resource. Thanks to it, restaurateurs will know their customers better, diagnose business problems and propose solutions, and predict demand and trends.

“In companies with a clear data analysis strategy, the conclusions based on the data should affect the whole company. And this applies to both the business side and the support functions,” says Carlos Peregrina.

Currently, these tools are mainly oriented to designing new products, marketing actions, and the launch of promotions in real-time. These benefits are followed by advances in technology dedicated to space planning, the location of new stores, and the personalization of the offer. These priorities will change in two years, as reflected in the aforementioned KPMG report.

In 2020, data analysis will be applied primarily to real-time marketing and promotions, followed by personalizing the customer experience and predicting customer behavior and needs.

As can be seen, the growing potential of these tools means that their use is spreading across the various functions of companies, going beyond the study of historical data, and moving towards increasingly accurate forecasting models. For example, the preparation of menus, the organization of personnel, or the choice of location of a restaurant will inevitably go through an analysis of the most relevant data to obtain the best possible results for the business.

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Google Cloud Data Analytics 2021: The year in review

Google Cloud Data Analytics 2021: The year in review

As I look back on 2021 I’m proud to see a fast growing number of companies use our data platform to unlock new insights, build new business models and help improve their employees’ and their customers’ experience.

Data itself is just inactive information, useless without activation. The true power of data comes when it’s being used to build intelligent applications, help people make better decisions, increase automation and ultimately change how value is being created.

This year, tens of thousands of  customers unlocked their data advantage with Google Cloud’s unified data platform. From breaking down data silos, building internet-scale applications, building smart processes with AI, building data meshes that span beyond their enterprise and turn data into an asset.

These customers all used Google Cloud’s unified data platform to remove barriers across data silos, accelerate existing analytic investments, and achieve business outcomes faster. 

I’m truly honored to share some of the most important moments from our partners, customers, and practitioners this year. Thank you for your trust and commitment and for choosing Google Cloud as your innovation partner — to break down silos and turn data into value.

One retailer using these solutions is Carrefour, one of the largest grocery retailers in France. Carrefour needed to ensure it had the right products, in front of the right shoppers, at the right store location. With Google Cloud, Carrefour developed an assortment recommendation tool that helped the chain support a more personalized selection at the store level, giving store directors the autonomy to influence inventory needs. The tool also gives Carrefour headquarters visibility into the merchandising decisions by each of their franchise stores.

Enabling the real-time enterprise 

In 2021, more customers looked to shift to real-time data processing and insights with Google Cloud so that they could make decisions at the speed of their business and deliver excellent customer experiences. For example, Twitter’s data platform ingests trillions of events, processes hundreds of petabytes of data, and runs tens of thousands of jobs on over a dozen clusters every day. With this expanded partnership, Twitter is adopting Google’s Data Cloud including BigQuery, Dataflow, Cloud Bigtable and machine learning (ML) tools. These tools not only power the company’s rapidly growing data ecosystem to enable faster data-informed decisions, but also to enable deeper ML-driven product innovation.

Another great example is the story of Verizon Media, who switched to the Google Cloud from another provider to ingest 200TB Daily, store 100PB in BigQuery, stream 300MB per second and achieve a 90+% productivity improvement by combining Looker, BigQuery and the rest of our Data Platform.

Finally, another great journey is that of ATB Financial who migrated its extensive SAP backbone that supports its 800,000+ customers to Google Cloud, and built a system on BigQuery for real-time data acquisition, enrichment, and AI assisted and self-service analytics

Going BIG with healthcare and life sciences

HCA Healthcare is using BigQuery to analyze data from its 32 million annual encounters and identify opportunities to improve clinical care. I was particularly pleased about our partnership and how  Sam Hazen, the company’s CEO explained that “Next-generation care demands data science-informed decision support and how he described our partnership and shared passion for ”innovation and continual improvement as foundational to our efforts.”

Moderna relies on data to respond to the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on minority groups, utilizing insights from Looker to increase diversity in their COVID-19 vaccine trials to improve representation. “Looker has a depth to it — it’s not just a visualization that you look at. People can go deeper as they learn more,” Dave Johnson, VP of Informatics, Data Science, and AI at Moderna.

We were also incredibly honored to work with the National Cancer Institute’s in order to support breast cancer research with fast and secure data sharing.  Combining our AI Platform and BigQuery to work with large and heterogeneous data, the team was able to successfully demonstrate that “researchers can inexpensively analyze large amounts of data, and do so faster than ever before.”

Increasing enterprise agility

Niantic Labs built a globally scalable game for millions of users on Google Cloud. In this video, they share their experience scaling with Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and Spanner, and describe how their data science team works with BigQuery, Dataflow, and Pub/Sub for their data analytics needs.

Finally, Telefónica partnered with Google Cloud to foster Spain’s digital transformation and advance 5G mobile edge computing. As part of this partnership, Google Cloud will launch a new cloud region in Spain to assist the country in economic recovery amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Telefónica will also use Google Cloud services to boost its own digital capabilities—in areas such as machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and application development—to continue to provide new services and tools to its global customer base. 

2021 Data Cloud momentum, thanks to all our customers

Some of my favorite customer stories of this year describe how our customers inspired and pushed us to take our products and offerings to new heights. 

For me, this was most apparent at our inaugural Data Cloud Summit in late May, where we were able to unveil to our customers the latest product and feature announcements of everything having to do with data. We launched Dataplex, allowing customers and users to centrally manage, monitor, and govern data across data lakes, warehouses, and marts – all from one single viewpoint. We also announced Datastream, our serverless change data capture (CDC) and replication service, as well as Analytics Hub, a fully-managed service built on BigQuery that allows our customers to create safe and governable data sharing ecosystems. We’ve made migrations to Cloud SQL easier and faster with the Database Migration Service. More than 85% of all migrations are underway in under an hour, with the majority of customers migrating their databases from other clouds. 

At Google Cloud Next ‘21, we also had devoted space to share our product improvements and iterations back to our customers. Amidst many announcements, I was most proud to speak about Spark on Google Cloud, the world’s first autoscaling and serverless Spark service for the Google Cloud data platform, BigQuery Omni, our cross-cloud analytics solution, Google Earth Engine on Google Cloud, a launch that brings together Google Earth Engine’s 50+ petabyte catalog of satellite imagery and geospatial datasets for planetary-scale analysis, and Spanner PostgreSQL interface, which allows enterprises to take advantage of Spanner’s unmatched global scale, 99.999% availability, and strong consistency using skills and tools from the popular PostgreSQL ecosystem. 

We also held the sixth edition of JOIN, Looker’s annual user conference which included 3 days of live educational content with over 15 customers and partners participating spanning 5 keynotes, 33 breakouts, 12 how-to’s, 27 Data Circles of Success, and our popular Hackathon. Content focused on activating users with data experiences, composable analytics, and our unifiedsemantic model. All sessions from JOIN are now available on-demand.

Tapping into the data ecosystem

One of our customers’ most recurring themes was an interest in expanding their data aperture and tapping into the data ecosystem around them. We addressed this feedback in three main ways. 

First, we activated an ecosystem for collective intelligence on BigQuery. Now, more than 3,000 organizations shared more than 250 petabytes of data and Google Cloud shared more than 150 public datasets that can be used across a myriad of use cases.

Second, We also leaned into this spirit of knowledge sharing by packaging over 30 architecture design patterns which include code, data models, and industry best practices. We’ve also increased industry domain expertise in areas such as retail, financial services, healthcare, and gaming and are continuing to develop industry white papers such as this one – How to develop Global Multiplayer Games using Cloud Spanner to reduce the time to value for customers.

Third, we continue to support an open ecosystem of data partners including; Neo4j, Databricks, MongoDB, Informatica, Tableau, and C3.ai giving customers the flexibility of choice to build their data clouds without being locked into a single approach.  

Going further than we imagined, together

We are incredibly grateful to our customers for choosing Google Cloud to write their data story, and we can’t wait to see what you do next. Learn more about how organizations are building their data clouds with Google Cloud solutions.

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Turn data into value with a unified and open data cloud

At Google Cloud Next we announced Google Earth Engine with Bigquery, Spark on Google Cloud and Vertex AI Workbench

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Understanding Data Restoration Options for Disaster Management

Understanding Data Restoration Options for Disaster Management

Customers around the world are expected to spend over $11 billion on data recovery tools next year. One of the reasons that the market for these services is growing so much is due to the growing range of disasters causing data loss.

Disasters can cause all kinds of long-term problems for countless organizations. One of the biggest issues that a natural disaster or workplace tragedy can lead to is data loss.

If your computer has suffered from data loss after a disaster, then you need to have a plan in place to restore it. The good news is that there are a lot of reliable data restoration tools, which can work after even a horrific accident.

Data Restoration Tools Are Important After a Major Disaster

Any active computer user is familiar with such problems as accidentally deleted files or hard drive crashes that lead to data loss. There are a number of major disasters that can lead to these types of problems and destroy some of your vulnerable data. No matter what type of information you lose – documents, photos, or essential software, you want to get all your files back.

If you have ever tried doing a Google search for “data recovery tools”, you are familiar with Recuva. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that this software symbolizes data recovery. You had this program on your school or college computer. Modern users state that they face various problems when using Recuva. This can do a lot to help restore data that has been lost after an accident or disaster.

The most common issues when running Recuva to restore data include the following points:

The program is unable to open data.

Just imagine a situation. You launch the recovery tool, the scanning process is finished, you see the file you need, click on it – and nothing happens. This is because Recuva has not been updated for several years, and it doesn’t support some formats. 

The app is unable to review restored data.

The same is true about reviewing files. Thus, you can’t understand what files you have to undelete.    

The data scanning process is too long.

Nobody wants to wait for ages to recover deleted data. Yet, the process is time-consuming. It may be somewhat annoying.

 It’s high time to look for efficient Recuva alternatives. Luckily, these days the number of possible variations is enormous. The following full-fledged Disk Drill review is to demonstrate to you that nowadays, Recuva is not the best solution for modern users anymore. It’s possible to get more perks when using Disk Drill. Do you want to know more? Keep reading!

Why Is Disk Drill a Good Data Restoration Alternative to Recuva?     

There are lots of available software like Recuva if your data has been lost during a disaster. It’s not easy to make the right choice. Disk Drill stands out among its competitors, thanks to the following features:

It’s easy to use.

The interface of the program is intuitive. It doesn’t matter whether you work with Windows or iOS. You are to face no difficulties. Moreover, you are to contact customer support managers if something goes wrong. You may count on fast and competent assistance. 

You can run an app on both Mac and Windows devices.

There are good versions for both operating systems. They are of top quality and regularly updated. 

It supports copious formats.

The primary reason why it’s a good idea to prefer Disk Drill is the possibility to work with copious formats without any restrictions. 

The speed of work is relatively quick.

Of course, if you have to scan and retrieve the whole hard drive of your Macbook, it may take several hours. Yet, if it’s necessary to undelete a couple of photos from your smartphone or a report from a UDB drive, it’ll take only a few minutes.  

The prices are reasonable.

There is one significant advantage of Recuva you can’t but appreciate. This application is free for everyone. You can explore all its features without any payments. For example, disk Drill allows you to recover 500 MB for free. Then, you are to buy a subscription. It should be noticed that prices are pretty affordable.       

Moreover, it’s necessary to highlight that Recuva does not work on Mac devices of newer generations. Although it’s still possible to retrieve data from old models of iPods or iPhones, you are unlikely to be satisfied with the results.

Look for Alternatives When You Need to Recover Data After a Disaster

There have been a number of major changes in the data recovery industry in recent years. So, nowadays, Recuva is not an indisputable leader among data recovery tools. Technologies are developing so fast. More new samples appear. They are to meet the needs and requirements of the time. Of course, you can still use Recuva or choose a more practical alternative – there are many available solutions.

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How to Choose the Perfect Fleet Maintenance Software for Your Business

How to Choose the Perfect Fleet Maintenance Software for Your Business

If you want your fleet to operate in the safest and most efficient manner possible, you can’t afford to take a 100 percent manual approach. You need to automate and streamline with fleet maintenance software. The question is, how do you choose the right option?

Do You Need Fleet Maintenance Software?

Fleet maintenance software is a next-level management application that companies use to streamline the responsibility of maintaining fleet vehicles. Every fleet maintenance software solution is slightly unique, but they all focus on reducing the overall cost of managing vehicles through strategic preventive maintenance. Common features include vehicle maintenance recommendations, telematics, tracking, vehicle diagnostics, fuel management, vehicle mileage auditing, and fleet driver management.

Not every fleet needs fleet maintenance software. However, as you add more vehicles and more drivers, it should certainly be something you consider. The proper software helps the fleet manager automate time-consuming tasks like work order management, preventive maintenance scheduling, safety and compliance standards, scheduling, benchmarking labor with codified standard repairs, and auditing work completed.

Tips for Choosing Fleet Maintenance Software

There are dozens of fleet maintenance solutions on the market. As you search for the perfect option for your business, there are a few factors to consider. Here are some tips:

1. Ease of Use

How intuitive is the software? Does it simplify processes, or does it confuse your team to the point of becoming a deterrent?

There are plenty of fleet maintenance systems with robust features. However, this doesn’t mean anything if the software isn’t easy to use. This is why we recommend trying a demo of the product before making any significant investment. This will help you get a feel for how it works.

2. Features

You’ll find that most fleet maintenance solutions have very thorough preventive maintenance features. But it’s important to look beyond basic maintenance components and to also consider additional features like warranty capture and third-party integration.

Software platforms like Cetaris prioritize these components. They make it easy to increase warranty reimbursements through better tracking. This includes features like reporting on missed warranties, tracking failure patterns, tracking chronic repairs, and expediting supplier payments.

As far as third-party integration, they work with other mission-critical systems like ERP and telematics to make sure all key applications communicate the right information. After all, the last thing you want is to have a fleet maintenance system that’s incapable of sending or receiving data from the rest of your organization’s technology stack.

3. Cost

Cost is not the most critical issue, but it is an important one. You should certainly set a budget and stick with it during the process.

When it comes to analyzing cost, make sure you’re looking at both sides of the coin. In other words, it’s not just the amount it costs you per month. You also have to think about how much it’s potentially saving you. Look at these numbers in unison to properly determine how much you’re willing to spend.

4. Mobility

Today’s technology is mobile. Any fleet management process that you’re tracking manually and/or with paper is a process that’s holding you back from being as efficient as you otherwise could be. Your fleet maintenance software should empower you to collaborate remotely with ease.

Mobile-first fleet management software helps you stay connected to both your drivers, assets, and parts. It frees up lines of communication and simplifies things to the point that most of your management is hands-off.

5. Scalability

When vetting fleet maintenance software, think about it in terms of where you’ll be in 12 to 36 months. Because while you might have 100 vehicles right now, it’s possible that you could have 200 or 300 by then. And the last thing you want is to be forced to change systems just because your current software doesn’t have the ability to manage this many vehicles efficiently. This is why it’s so important to keep scalability in mind.

Making the Right Selection for Your Business

As you think about ways to improve efficiency, lower costs, and streamline your approach to managing your fleet, make sure you’re doing your due diligence on fleet maintenance software. There are plenty of options on the market, but only a few are worth your consideration. Use these tips to zero in on the right fit.

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Protecting Your Clients From Online Risks With Your Public WiFi

Protecting Your Clients From Online Risks With Your Public WiFi

From work and business to social media, browsing shows, and shopping, so much of what we do today is through online sources. However, how we connect online can be both highly beneficial (such as fast 5G speeds) and expose us to risks that we were unaware of in the first place. With so much of our daily activities conducted online, taking stock of your security and privacy controls is an obviously crucial step to take. 

Understanding The Sources People Access Online 

Think about the volume of online activity that takes place on a given day, at any moment. In that case, it is believed that over 60% of the world’s population is online and that 74 zettabytes of data will be over the internet by the end of 2021. For comparison, a zettabyte is equal to a billion terabytes or a trillion gigabytes. 

In other words, it is a tremendous amount of data that is online and potentially exposed at any given point. The amount of data online at any given time in 2021 is astounding. For example, according to a report from Statista, it was estimated that every 60 seconds of online activity produces the following outcome:

28,000 streamers on Netflix695,000 stories shared on Instagram9,132 connections made on LinkedInOver 69 million messages sent on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp5,000 downloads on TikTokOver 2 million swipes on Tinder197 million emails sent500 hours of content uploaded to YouTube$1.6 million in online sales

As you can see, with that much activity going on, it doesn’t matter how much security your organization may provide for employees and users. Every external connection a user has is simply another way hackers can infiltrate a system.

How These Statistics Matter To Your Online Security

As you take stock of the volume of people online and their types of behaviors, ask yourself why these statistics are vital for your organization. First, there are bound to be loopholes that hackers can seek to exploit. Second, it shows how much online activity occurs every minute, meaning that someone in your organization is inadvertently bound to be online, whether on your system or through your WiFi. 

Third, every transaction opens your system up to vulnerabilities. Think about it this way. If you allow customers to access your WiFi, you may be exposing your organization to outside hacker threats. This exposure can lead to some serious risks for your customer’s information as well as your business. 

The challenge is to have enough safeguards and firewalls in place to allow you to protect sensitive data while allowing your customers access to WiFi and other services. This is especially important if you operate a waiting room or other general services area. 

With so many chances of being exposed, your organization needs to consider alternatives to storing sensitive and personal information within your own system. To protect your clients’ and employees’ data, you should consider using compliance automation services that specialize in keeping personal information and data secure. 

Keeping Your Customers And Users Data Secure Online

While no WiFi is 100% secure, offering a few safeguards for users also has the added benefit of providing your organization and business protection from unwanted intrusions and threats. That said, the FTC has a list of suggestions to keep users on public WiFi safe. Furthermore, these tips can be applied fairly cheaply, saving you and your organization a ton of potential headaches down the road. 

First, understand that WiFI isn’t fully protected, even with passwords and a HTTPS setup. Encryption for most WiFi is only to access it. It doesn’t actually protect or cover activities once a device is using the services. 

Next, consider setting up a VPN (Virtual Private Network). What a VPN does is encrypt activities within the network, and it has enough firewalls and other securities to help safeguard the system. When a person or device goes outside the network (or in this instance, when a person goes onto Instagram from your VPN), outside activities are blocked or require additional access. 

You’ll then want to have devices automatically sign out when passive for more than a short amount of time, such as a minute of non-use. This setting will help break any hacking attempts, and although signing back in every time you step away or stop typing may be a nuisance, it will create an added barrier of protection for your devices and your network. 

If possible, don’t provide WiFI and be sure to require private mobile data over a public WiFi source. Mobile data has a lot more built-in encryption and protection software than most run-of-the-mill WiFi routers (even with a VPN) and could add a layer of protection for the user and the organization. 

Protecting your organization from online threats is more than just putting safeguards and firewalls in place. It also understands the outside risks associated with connected devices and brings external threats into the network unknowingly. This exposure can have severe ramifications to your network security, the data, and the privacy of your clients and employees. And to avoid unwanted breaches, you must consider all of the best practices available to help to safeguard this data.

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Huge Benefits of Business Intelligence for Your Company

Huge Benefits of Business Intelligence for Your Company

Introduction: What is Business Intelligence?

Business Intelligence is the collection, storage, analysis, and reporting of data to make better business decisions. It can refer to predictive analytics or even “big data.”

Many companies realize the power of BI to improve their business results. They are taking advantage of a number of BI tools. However, the use cases for BI can vary from company to company, depending on their goals.

Business Intelligence is the process of using raw data and analyzing it to get insights into a company’s performance. The insights provide valuable information for managers who want to take actionable steps towards improving their business performance. It also includes information for decision-makers who want a clear vision of what’s going on with their company and how to proceed with plans accordingly.

How Do I Digitize My Data to Get the Most Out of My BI Strategy?

Data is powering today’s organizations, and it has become the lifeblood of an organization. It helps decision-makers understand their audiences and create better products and services that meet their needs, thereby boosting organizational performance and delivering a competitive advantage.

Without it, decisions are made in the dark. Business Intelligence provides organizations with insights into their data that they would not otherwise have access to if they relied only on their understanding and intuition. It helps them make informed decisions regularly by showing them what is happening in their organizations at any given time.

Business Intelligence (BI) is all about making big data work for you, not the other way around. You can use BI to visualize trends, discover patterns and uncover relationships that can improve your decision-making skills at every level of your company. In addition, BI offers business executives a one-stop shop for all the information they need to keep their organizations running smoothly with its ability to combine data from multiple sources, including social media streams and mobile devices. 

The term digitization is used to describe converting paper-based records into electronic data. Data digitization involves taking an existing document or dataset and converting it into digital format, typically using optical scanning or data entry.

To get the most out of your BI strategy, you need to convert your data into a digital format. It is a complex process that can be broken down into a series of steps that need to be done in the correct order.

There are many ways that you can digitize your data. For example, you can use spreadsheet templates to simplify management or use programming languages with a more customized approach. Of course, there is no perfect approach, but finding out which solution suits your needs best is essential.

There are many benefits of digitizing your data to get the most out of your BI strategy. First, it will make it easier for managers and decision-makers to access their information when they need it the most.

What are the Best Features in a Business Intelligence Program?

We will describe the best features in a business intelligence program and how they can help you achieve your goals. It will also provide insight into the many different types of reports that you can create with analytics software.

Types of Reports:

1) Dashboard: These customized analytical tools provide an overview that displays vital information about a particular function or process in real-time.

A dashboard is a customized analytical tool that provides an overview of crucial information about a particular function or process in real-time. The dashboard is designed to help decision-makers better understand what’s happening right now, why it’s happening, and how to react.

2) Interactive Report: Interactive reports are interactive and data-driven, making it easy for users to drill down into specific details and/or segments of data without having to download the information or other files.

Interactive reports are the future of business intelligence. These interactive documents aim to provide more insight into data, making it easier for companies to make strategic decisions. Interactive reports can be used in many ways, including dashboards, data exploration, and storytelling. They allow organizations to get ahead of trends and act accordingly – giving them the competitive edge they need in this fast-paced world.

3) Geographic Map Reports: These reports map attributes such as demographics, household income, and unemployment rates over geographical regions like counties and municipalities.

Maps are an essential tool for understanding the geography of where we live. These maps are helping us understand the current state of our country; they can help us see trends in our communities and how certain regions are faring.

What is the ROI of BI Solutions in 2022?

According to the analysis conducted by Gartner, the ROI of BI Solutions can be difficult to measure. BI is not one-size-fits-all, and the benefits of BI solutions are typically latent and not readily apparent to individuals, driving companies that rely on BI to make hard decisions about how much to invest in these tools.

With the proliferation of different kinds of BI solutions in recent years, it’s easy to find oneself investing without really knowing what the benefits will be. The idea of “not knowing what you don’t know” is difficult to avoid in business, but with so many choices today, it becomes all the more important to understand the nuances of each solution.

Neal Taparia, an entrepreneur and the creator of I’m a Puzzle, thinks that ignoring the options available today is common and counterproductive, but it’s also inevitable. With more and more choices in front of an individual, it becomes difficult to know where to start. However, with each new choice comes increased understanding. It is only through understanding what each solution offers that a person can decide which solution to use. Neal has built his digital properties by applying and following these concepts.

Conclusion: Why More Companies Should Leverage BI for Competitive Advantage

It is widely accepted that BI can be used to gain a competitive advantage. The benefits of BI are numerous and include better decision-making, reduced costs, and increased efficiency.

Business Intelligence (BI) has become an essential part of any company’s strategy. It doesn’t matter what industry, size, or location a company is in—everyone can benefit from BI. This makes it more critical than ever to understand the benefits of BI and how you can implement it at your company.

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