In an increasingly connected world, data drives decision making within organizations, from the world’s most significant to the smallest. The Internet of Things (IoT) – an ever-expanding network of devices – promises to offer business leaders even greater insight, but that means original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must seize the opportunities and the challenges that are presented.

To realize the potential of the IoT, new technologies must be enabled by reliable wireless connectivity.

Cellular connectivity provides precisely that. Cellular devices can be deployed anywhere, seamlessly provisioned, and just work. WiFi devices require complicated configuration for the nearest hotspot.

Cellular networks are established, trusted, and secure. They also require a subscriber identity module, or SIM, to authenticate a device so it can be connected to a mobile network, and to store and process sensitive subscriber information.

A SIM needs to be found and installed for each country or region a device ships to.

However, a traditional SIM card can create challenges for OEMs that are trying to meet the needs of data-hungry organizations and make their previously ‘dumb’ devices smart. A SIM needs to be procured and installed for each country or region a device ships to, which complicates manufacturing and logistics. For customers, who have to physically swap the SIM card when they want to switch providers to improve connectivity or control costs, it’s inconvenient and prohibitively expensive in the case of large-scale deployments.

The embedded SIM (eSIM) or eUICC addresses all these concerns and enables seamless connectivity and invaluable data insights.

The Benefits of eSIM

The eSIM is still a physical SIM, but it’s not removable, it’s soldered into a device. The eUICC element, as outlined in the GSMA specifications, allows for the carrier provider to be changed remotely without any physical swapping of SIMs. As a result, it offers significant advantages over traditional cards:

Smaller size: the chip is approximately half the size of a nano-SIM. Also, the space that would have been allocated to a card tray and contacts is no longer needed, so the size of a device could be reduced. Additionally, connectivity could be added to smaller products, or space could be used for value-adding features such as a larger battery or more components.

Remote management: SIM profiles can now be updated digitally using remote SIM provisioning (RSP), which eliminates complex SIM sourcing and logistics for OEMs. It also means that device makers can offer enterprises IoT devices that can be deployed across businesses, cities, or countries with a more cost-effective way of managing them at scale.

Lower costs: the smaller form factor lowers costs, while the total cost of ownership can be reduced as a result of reduced complexity in the supply chain and in device management.

Maintains security: according to the GSMA, eSIM provides an equivalent level of security as the removable SIM card. You can’t damage it as easily, tamper with it or steal it, and it’s better able to withstand harsh environments.

Faster deployment: connectivity is built into the device from the outset so that IoT projects can get off the ground quicker. Cellular devices can be deployed ANYWHERE, seamlessly provisioned, and work. Wifi devices require complicated configuration for the nearest hotspot.

Differentiation: in a world where data are increasingly driving decision making, the seamless connectivity that eSIMs enable can be a point of differentiation for device makers (for example, versus WiFi counterparts), and will help us realize the potential of the IoT.

The Industry’s Response to eSIM

Recently, Arm asked a range of partners from across the Arm ecosystem for their views on new SIM technology. Eighty-eight percent of OEMs said they were aware of eSIM and understood the potential benefits and the opportunities it offers. However, they also had concerns.

1. More than two-thirds (68%) of people believed their more established stakeholders would be reluctant to move away from traditional SIM technology.
2. Nearly half (44%) said the complexity of delivering eSIM projects worried them.
3. And more than half of respondents (57%) said they were concerned about the cost of adoption.

Confidence in the technology will grow as more OEMs embrace it and an increase in the number of products with seamless connectivity will lead to lower manufacturing and implementation costs. The total cost of ownership for eSIM, as described earlier, is much lower than for the traditional SIM, and the savings will filter through the value chain as eSIM becomes more popular.

For now, though, much of the awareness comes from within larger manufacturers involved in the automotive sector, or through organizations developing consumer connected devices such as smartphones, watches, or laptops. More support and information will need to be provided to OEMs, in particular, small- and medium-sized organizations if we want to boost confidence in the market and accelerate adoption.

For that reason, we’ve produced a white paper to make building cellular connectivity into an IoT device simpler. It outlines the top seven considerations for every project. They are:

1. Selecting a Cellular Technology

In addition to the widely used 3G and 4G networks, and emerging 5G technology, Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) specifications compete for large-scale IoT deployment. The use case and other factors such as power, performance and mobility requirements should inform the choice of technology.

2. Finding the right SIM

The eSIM has been developed to meet the needs of two distinct markets: machine-to-machine or IoT (e.g., smart meters) and consumers (e.g., mobile phones). Besides, the physical form can come in different grades, providing greater robustness for applications such as the automotive industry.

3. Choosing an Operating System

The components that make up an operating system (OS) and connect a SIM to a network are defined in global standards. They enable a device to move seamlessly between networks and carriers. To select an OS, several essential criteria should be considered, including compliance, network support, and footprint.

4. Establishing Initial Connectivity

An eSIM must be configured with a bootstrap profile so a device can connect to a network from the outset. The choice of profile will be determined by cost, and the coverage and flexibility required.

5. Personalization

When a SIM is created, it’s given a unique identity and loaded with the data that enables it to authenticate to a network. This process is called personalization. The business relationships, certification, and RSP platform used by the personalization partner should be considered before moving forward.

6. Deployment and Remote Management

The GSMA’s standard structures and processes set out the requirements for the remote management of devices using RSP. To enable that functionality, module and device manufacturers must upload information about the eSIM to an RSP platform. Accreditation, ease of integration, and interoperability are all crucial factors to consider before an RSP partner is selected.

7. Standards and Certification

Global specifications have been developed to ensure manufacturing, security, personalization, and RSP meet agreed standards. It further is agreed that devices operate effectively across networks, carriers, and vendors. OEMs should be familiar with these requirements.

A number of eSIM solution providers exist to help OEMs realize the benefits of the IoT. Many will take manufacturers through all of the steps highlighted above, either in a consultancy capacity or by offering an end-to-end service. Arm provides flexible support and is one of the few to suggest OEMs take advantage of a free trial period before making a longer-term commitment.

In a recent blog, Arm outlined the extraordinary potential for growth in the cellular IoT technology market, where revenue is estimated to reach almost £8 billion by 2025. eSIM, and the emerging technology iSIM or integrated eUICC, which puts SIM functionality into the system-on-chip (SoC), enable us to reach more people, move into hard-to-access areas and cross borders while reducing the cost and complexity of IoT.

For more information on building cellular connectivity into your next IoT design, please download the white paper from the Arm website.

Image Credit — GettyImages #149081218

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From medical breakthroughs to energy savings to increased crop yields, IoT is opening doors to new opportunities across every industry. In fact, according to the IoT Signals report, 88 percent of the companies surveyed said IoT is critical to their success.

As technology advances, IoT is becoming easier and more cost effective to deploy.  Microsoft Azure IoT continues to release enhancements designed to reduce complexity, enable repeatable solutions, and simplify provisioning at scale.

Below, we’ll explore how IoT is evolving and highlight some significant industry trends that are helping businesses transform and compete. To learn more, be sure to register for an IoT in Action event near you, and join the Microsoft AI@Edge community. Our next stop is on March 3/9 in Orlando. Register now!

The three waves of IoT evolution

Robyn Dunn, Principal Program Manager, Microsoft IoT, says that over the next three to five years, we’ll be seeing three waves of IoT evolution. The first wave, from which many companies are already benefitting, is connected devices that are gathering data from the surrounding environment and sending that data back up to the cloud. Innovations are making these implementations faster, simpler, and more secure.

The second wave, which is also currently underway, is the marrying of traditional IoT experiences with artificial intelligence (AI). According to Dunn, “One of the best predictors for getting ROI out of your IoT solution is the use of AI to generate insights from that data.” A good example is predictive maintenance which combines IoT and AI to help companies avoid equipment failures, increase uptime, boost productivity, and save money, among other benefits.

The third wave, which Dunn says is on the horizon, is devices interacting autonomously. Getting insights in an automated way lays the foundation for this third wave. But there’s a lot of cost and complexity. So, right now, Microsoft is focusing on creating solutions that require less customization and that are simpler and more affordable.

AI at the edge

One of the biggest trends right now is AI at the edge. Rather than relying solely on AI in the cloud, edge devices can now run AI locally to analyze and act on data, transmitting only what’s needed to the cloud for further analysis. AI at the edge offers multiple advantages, such as reduced latency and bandwidth requirements as well as real-time decision making.

The ability to perform inferencing on edge devices also helps solve privacy and regulatory challenges that arise when dealing with sensitive data sets, such as video data around retail shopper analytics. For example, retailers can IoT-connect security cameras that analyze and blur images locally, eliminating privacy concerns while also saving bandwidth by minimizing the data that’s uploaded to the cloud for further processing.

AI at the edge can even enable offline operations, which means, for instance, a farmer in a remote locale can use AI-enabled edge devices to monitor crops and take actions such as applying water or fertilizer without being cloud-connected. Together, AI at the edge and the cloud power expanded IoT usage scenarios, and by taking advantage of both, customers can achieve optimal solutions that maximize ROI.

Perception AI

Perception AI is all about detecting, analyzing, and acting on sensory inputs such as visual or audible signals. When combined with edge computing, perception AI can provide powerful benefits such as detecting issues in real time.

Today, vision AI is being used to analyze business data to make more informed decisions and is on track toward becoming commonplace within the next ten years. For example, vision AI can help retailers optimize in-store traffic flows. In security scenarios, vision AI can help identify and alert personnel to safety hazards and persons of interest.

Brownfield IoT

In many instances, it’s simply not feasible to replace existing infrastructure investments. Which is why many organizations are retrofitting their equipment with IoT sensors. These “brownfield” installations can save substantial money while accelerating return on investment.

Microsoft recently released a new guardian module that brings Azure Sphere security to brownfield IoT installations. The module facilitates secured operations between the device and the cloud. With a guardian module enabled by Azure Sphere, brownfield devices can deliver most of the security benefits of a device that has Azure Sphere embedded into its design. This means that companies can connect their existing equipment to the cloud with greater confidence and unlock scenarios related to areas like preventive maintenance and optimization. 

Expanding use cases

Businesses are leveraging IoT and AI technologies to deliver greater value, optimize operations, and increase security. For instance, cities are adopting solutions to keep citizens safer and manage infrastructure, facilities, and assets more cost effectively. The City of Houston is a prime example. They’re on a mission to create a safer, more connected, more resilient city.  Projects span transportation, public safety, disaster response, smart buildings, and more.

Healthcare is one of many industries that is taking advantage of IoT and AI. According to the IoT Signals report, 66% of all IoT initiatives in healthcare involve tracking patients, staff, and inventory. Other common use cases include remote device monitoring and service as well as remote health monitoring and assistance. For example, Children’s Mercy Hospital built an IoT solution on Azure Sphere that provides a more proactive way to remotely monitor babies born with congenital heart disease. Their solution collects vital signs and sends alerts if there are issues, enabling healthcare providers to deliver proactive care securely.

For more information regarding how IoT is enabling smart cities and smart healthcare, be sure to attend IoT in Action in Washington and Orlando.

Learn more at IoT in Action and join the Microsoft AI@Edge community

Are you ready to embrace the competitive benefits of IoT and AI at the edge? Register for IoT in Action, at a location near you, and discover how IoT is helping transform business across every industry. You’ll learn about the latest trends and future direction of IoT solutions. You’ll also connect with partners that can help you create a secure, sovereign, and flexible IoT solution that will position your business for success for years to come.

If you can’t make it in person, check out this collection of IoT in Action webinars. And be sure to join the Microsoft AI@Edge community which bundles together hardware, machine learning, and Azure services to help you start building solutions for the intelligent edge.

The post How AI at The Edge & Other IoT Trends Are Transforming Every Industry appeared first on ReadWrite.

According to Microsoft’s recent IoT Signals Report, the adoption of internet of things (IoT) solutions is continuing to escalate, with a projected nine-point increase over the next two years. This means that 94% of businesses will be using IoT by the end of 2021. And that includes retailers.

Retailers are increasingly implementing IoT solutions in countless scenarios to help them gain efficiencies, increase yields, and improve quality. Below I’ve outlined four of the biggest reasons that retailers are rushing to adopt IoT.

To see how IoT can transform your business, register for IoT in Action in New York, coming January 13, 2020—space is limited!

1. Streamlining and gaining visibility into the supply chain

Supply chain optimization accounts for 64% of IoT use cases for retailers, according to the IoT Signals Report. IoT solutions are providing real-time transparency into where products are, shipping conditions, arrival dates, and more.

With an OEM ecosystem that produces approximately half a billion parts every day, Bosch depends upon an efficient supply chain. According to Srinivasulu Nasam, GM – Center of Excellence: Cloud and IoT at Bosch, “It is imperative and essential for us to make sure that there is visibility of our parts and the parts are available, and our customers also know that the parts are available….”

To gain the visibility they needed, Bosch created the Trac360 solution which leverages Microsoft IoT products. Trac360 enables real-time tracking of parts and shipments, providing end-to-end visibility, shipping transparency and traceability, real-time insights, and automated warehouse operations such as GPS tracking, notifications, and invoice processing. The solution has increased customer satisfaction and warehouse productivity while also reducing inventory costs.

2. Making inventory management easier and more accurate

Whether it’s on display or in the warehouse, keeping track of inventory can be expensive and time consuming. It’s no wonder that inventory optimization accounts for 59% of IoT use cases for retailers.

IoT solutions can help automate inventory management and ensure that products are on hand, visible, and correctly labeled for customers. IoT sensors deliver alerts when inventory levels fall below expected balances and can even provide notifications when products are mislabeled or misplaced.

MARS DRINKS uses IoT to automate inventory management for their KLIX vending machines. In addition to providing predictive maintenance and route optimization for service experts, their IoT solution helps keep drinks in stock. Additionally, by analyzing data trends, MARS DRINKS can adjust stock for seasonality and even weather patterns.

3. Saving energy and money

Lighting, heating, and cooling account for substantial costs, and energy management can be difficult. Retailers are using IoT to reduce energy usage as well as their carbon footprint, with energy optimization accounting for 40% of use cases.

IoT solutions can help retailers drive down energy costs while increasing sustainability through spaces that sense and adapt to energy usage, weather conditions, and other factors. This not only represents a substantial cost savings, it keeps staff and customers more comfortable.

Microsoft partner ICONICS helps make this possible through its smart building solution. The Azure-based ICONICS solution acts as a hub for disparate building management systems that control heating, ventilation, lighting, and more. By applying advanced analytics, it helps to deliver energy savings.

4. Improving surveillance, security, and loss prevention

Keeping customers and staff safe while preventing product loss is incredibly important in the retail business. Unfortunately, most surveillance systems only capture incidents after they’ve happened. According to the IoT Signals Report, surveillance and security comprise 48% of retail use cases and loss prevention comprises 44% of use cases. 

IoT solutions can keep customers safer by sending alerts when suspicious behaviors, persons of interest, and potential safety hazards are detected. Cameras also help reduce product loss by watching for missed items at checkout and preventing unpurchased products from leaving the store.

Securing IoT solutions continues to get easier

Creating secure IoT solutions from silicon to cloud is continuing to get easier. For example, Starbucks used the Azure Sphere Guardian Module to help them securely connect existing coffee machines to the cloud. By IoT-enabling the machines, they’re able to monitor the types of beans used and water temperatures and proactively identify maintenance issues, among many other benefits.

For new IoT installations, Microsoft partner Innodisk, recently unveiled the first hybrid edge-to-cloud solid state drive (SSD) solution with native Microsoft Azure Sphere integration, providing an extra layer of security and remote monitoring.

According to George Chang, Sr. PM Manager at Innodisk, “We use Azure Sphere to connect to an Azure call service. So, our customers can deploy their machines worldwide and use our product, use our interface, for free and can manage their data….”

IoT in Action is coming to New York on January 13, 2020

To learn more about how IoT can help your retail business achieve its business goals, register for IoT in Action, coming to New York on January 13, 2020. This one-day, in-person event is the perfect opportunity to explore IoT solutions that are transforming the retail industry. You’ll have the chance to connect with Microsoft experts and partners and get your questions answered. You can also learn more by taking advantage of the IoT in Action Webinar Series.

The post 4 Big Reasons Retailers are Racing to Embrace IoT appeared first on ReadWrite.

Managed WordPress hosting provides much more help than you can imagine. Instead of learning how to become a website administrator in your spare time — you can focus on your business and let hosting companies put their expertise to work. Here are the top reasons to go with managed WordPress hosting.

Provide the Best Performance and Finely-Tuned Secured Servers.

Using managed WordPress hosting provides your customers and clients with the best performance they expect. You will also have a finely-tuned secure server. Delivering on additional tools like one-click staging, CDN integration, and one-click SSL installation saves time and money.

A managed WordPress hosting company can facilitate your daily site management with backups, website caching and debugging tools. Besides these overall benefits, there are other compelling reasons to consider outsourcing this part of your business.

Money Savings

Running your own servers in the cloud can be complicated and expensive, especially if you don’t understand your website’s requirements. Before you know it, you can end up spending hundreds or thousands of dollars each month for an oversized server setup you will either use once a year for a significant marketing campaign or not at all.

In contrast, managed hosting companies have years of experience working with all types of websites. That knowledge gives them the ability to accurately gauge your website’s needs and provide a customized solution that keeps costs aligned with actual server needs.

Productivity Gains

They say time is money, and that certainly holds true when it comes to website hosting. Keeping your server up-to-date and secure requires considerable time, including ongoing weekly maintenance. Even if you are familiar with these tasks, each update can still take many hours to ensure what you are doing doesn’t lead to any site downtime.

Again, managed hosting companies can step in and take care of all those time-intensive tasks.  They manage the site servers, focusing solely on security and performance. As a business owner, you no longer have to worry about the server-side of things but can confidently focus on the aspects of your business where you excel.

Enhanced Website Performance

Particular managed WordPress hosting companies like Kinsta specialize in specific platforms like WordPress, so they know the ins and outs of how it works. That means they understand how to set proper website caching for your site. That includes e-commerce, membership, and news sites that require different caching settings.

Also, a managed Website hosting company can optimize and fine-tune your database and other aspects of your site. Once they do, you are likely to see a significant performance improvement, including faster load time, after moving your WordPress website over.

Security on All Fronts

There are two types of issues you are most concerned about when it comes to your website and security: data loss and data theft.

The thought of losing all the data from your website is devastating. But, the reality is that you need to plan for these types of issues. Always have a backup plan that secures your assets. When you handle that hosting yourself, you’ll have to know how to set up and manage your own backup system.

In the fast pace of business, you’ll spend loads of time you can little afford — and stacks of money you can provide even less. With little to no knowledge of how the process works, you won’t be sure your process and efforts have even worked.

Working with a high-quality, managed WordPress hosting provider means you have access to a well-thought-out strategy. The procedure includes automatic daily site backups as part of your hosting service package. With an eCommerce WordPress site, a managed hosting provider can also give you further backup innovations, specifically addressing the dynamic content found on such a site.

The other security issue involves the risk of site hacking and data theft. Should you have to contend with malware or data theft as a business owner, the liability and cost could be overwhelming. When you run the site yourself, any security hacks become your responsibility.

That’s when it really pays to opt for a managed WordPress hosting solution. Not only do they guarantee that they have the systems and support in place to protect you from malware and hacking — but they also take complete responsibility for that security. Using the latest security technology, they can use active and passive tactics to stop any attacks before or as they happen.

Significant Technical Support 

Nothing is worse than calling a tech support team only to discover they don’t seem to know as much as you think they should. You’re stuck on the phone as you get bounced around until someone can help you. All you get is frustration about having to relate your issue over and over. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and the downtime is adding up. You can almost hear the sound of people deserting your website for the competition’s site.

Having a partner for website hosting that only focuses on WordPress means they are solely focused on the platform and making you, their client, happy. WordPress website hosting includes what’s new and what typically what can go wrong.

Each team member has to know everything there is about WordPress in order to help clients with any issues. The knowledge means continual uptime monitoring to catch issues even before you can see them — saving you from calling around for help. You are not going to be stuck at your desk — online with instant-message-to-tech support anymore.

But Wait, There’s More

To learn about all the other advantages of partnering with a managed WordPress hosting company like Kinsta, check out these findings.

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Most people have now heard the term, cloud storage or cloud services, but may not be sure if this technology is for them. In fact, if they use a tool like Google Doc or Dropbox, some may not realize they are already using cloud technology. Now, research shows that even more people are deciding that cloud services work for them and their businesses. 

If you have used these tools, then you may already be enjoying some of the benefits of moving to the cloud. It’s fast, secure, cost-effective, and very convenient. Beyond those two fairly familiar tools, there are many more types of cloud platforms available. 

If you run your website on WordPress and enjoy the benefits of that platform as a one-person shop or enterprise company, then you can leverage cloud-based hosting, one of the many features included in the Google Cloud Platform. The platform also includes an App Engine, storage, DNS, CDN, and a multitude of other services and products. 

If you are considering migrating to the Google Cloud Platform, you are in good company. Brands like Spotify, Home Depot, Snapchat, Best Buy, Coca Cola, Domino’s, and even Apple are using the Google Cloud Platform. You can leverage the advantages of cloud hosting and WordPress CMS. WordPress website hosting company Kinsta prefers to only use Google Cloud Platform. Here’s why.

Moving to the cloud makes scaling WordPress easy

Setting up and scaling your cloud environment is a lot faster and more cost-effective than running your own bare-metal servers. Google Cloud Platform, AWS, and Azure are steadily growing from quarter to quarter with more companies moving their infrastructure there. 

Scaling up your servers to handle thousands of concurrent visitors or a few million new visits a month? That’s not a problem anymore. That’s because the cloud is designed for this type of growth. 

Now, imagine sticking with your existing hosting platforms. You’ll soon find that those millions of visitors cannot get on your website cannot. Instead, they get a slow website that won’t load or that shows a message that it’s essentially broken because too many people tried to get onto the site at once. Once visitors experience this situation, they may not return. 

That’s why you want to make sure you have the right hosting platform in the place now that is cloud-based and has the capability to welcome those millions of website visitors. 

Cloud hosting delivers enhanced website performance

Fast-loading websites are not only required for improved SEO results, but this performance metric also creates a satisfying user experience. The average website load time should be under two seconds. If you don’t deliver that speed, you’ll more than likely see a higher bounce rate and get labeled with an even worse user experience rating. 

In a world that’s grown accustomed to instant gratification, no one likes a slow loading web page, especially when it happens on a mobile device. Focusing on website performance is not a luxury anymore. It is a must-do if you want to keep people coming to your website to engage with your brand and buy what you are selling. 

Rather than losing customers and prospects to the competition just because your website doesn’t operate at light-speed, partnering with a managed WordPress hosting solution powered by the cloud can be a game-changer. As a result, you will be able to deliver a top-performing WordPress site. 

Enjoy a Highly Secure Environment

Security is on the top of everyone’s list as a must-have for their website, especially with so much available data and criminals ready to pounce on a vulnerable site. The Google Cloud Platform has access to Google’s team of hundreds of full-time security professionals charged with the task of continually assessing security levels and looking for weak spots. 

Among the security features, encryption is high on the list, including encryption for data that is moving between Google, data centers, and customers as well as for stored data.  All layers of the Google application and storage stack use authentication and authorization protocols. Also, Google undertakes ongoing audits to verify its enterprise security certifications. 

Working with a Managed Cloud Hosting Provider

From pricing and performance to security, stability, and scalability, Google Cloud Services delivers the best options for website hosting. Learn more about how Kinsta’s cloud hosting services offer advantages over traditional website hosting. And, if you don’t currently use WordPress for your website, this may be the time to leverage the benefits of this platform.  

The post Cloud Hosting for WordPress: Why Everyone is Moving to the Cloud appeared first on ReadWrite.

It’s that dreaded time of year again. ‘Tis the season to be giving and you have to spend money on holiday gifts for everyone from unappreciative children to the mailman who you’ve never even met. To make matters worse, your office is hosting a Secret Santa gift exchange.

That means you’ll be hearing repetitive Christmas jingles and receiving lots of bland cookies. At least there are a few wonderful and affordable gift ideas to fill a Secret Santa’s gift basket.

Here are five trendy gift ideas for the Secret Santa exchange in your office:

1. CBD Gummies

Your stressed-out coworkers will be ecstatic to receive fun CBD gummies. Just like potent CBD tinctures, the hemp-derived cannabidiol products have exploded on the market in the last couple of years. After all, they are ideal for helping the mind, as well as the body, manage stress.

Best of all, gummies for sale are available in an array of colors and flavors, ranging from Sour Worms to Blueberry Rings and Rainbow Ribbons. When the time comes to buy a trendy Secret Santa gift, get Just CBD Gummies to be a hit at the office holiday party.

2. Wine Infused Coffee

If you are unfamiliar with merlot infused coffee, these beans may be a gamechanger. It can be perfect for dessert after dinner when it’s too late for another cup of coffee. The favorable beans are usually aged in oak wine barrels to give the coffee the flavor of California raisins and fresh berries.

Made with zero alcohol and plenty of caffeine, wine infused coffee is usually prepared in a French Press or drip brew. Adding a little milk often helps the overall taste. Your Secret Santa recipient can even refrigerate the leftovers and enjoy the wine infused coffee all week at the office.

3. Travel Coffee Mugs

How many coworkers do you know that simply cannot live without their morning cup or two of coffee? That is why spill-proof travel coffee mugs to keep your java hot or cold are ideal presents. Nobody enjoys drinking coffee at room temperature. Many folks want it nice and hot, especially in cold Decembers, while others like their caffeine iced down.

That’s why insulation is important, whether it is plastic, glass, or stainless steel. Make sure the lids are sturdy and won’t leak. You should also look for one that’s dishwasher-friendly. Durable and easy-to-use travel coffee mugs are budget-friendly and easy to find, making them practical Secret Santa gifts.

4. Scented Candles

When it comes to setting the ambiance of the holidays, what could be better than the aroma of chestnuts roasting by an open fire when you walk into the kitchen? That is why inexpensive scented candles make superb presents on the holidays. You just have to add excitement by putting a personalized photo on the jar.

Have fun with the project and use a funny quote from Hollywood alongside your wedding picture. Whether you prefer the essence of strawberries or chocolate cookies, you can now purchase eco-friendly candles. For example, you can get ahold of candles with the terrific smell of fresh-cut Christmas trees, even when they are not burning.

There are even smoke-free candles that are made from soy wax that your coworkers can enjoy. You can choose from literally thousands of sizes, colors, and fragrances to give as a sweet Secret Santa gift.

5. Personalized Socks

Yes, socks. It sounds like a joke to give as a Secret Santa gift. But this time, your Christmas gift doesn’t have to be an uncomfortable and unattractive pair of brown socks that came from a distant relative. Simply go online and get a custom pair with a personalized print of an individual’s college mascot.

Or simply figure out his or her favorite football team, movie, dog, or rock band. Inspiring quotes and memorable phrases work too. Even if you’re not feeling creative, you can pick and choose from thousands of pre-set designs and fun slogans that can be printed on athletic and dress socks.

So there you have it – five trendy gift ideas you and your office mates can use to inspire your holiday shopping!

The post 5 Trendy Gift Ideas for the Secret Santa Exchange in Your Office appeared first on ReadWrite.

Ten thousand people book with FlightHub and JustFly every day. That’s over 3 million flights a year and growing strong. Stats show that many of these are repeat customers who keep coming back for more of what they have to offer — affordable flights, flexible itineraries, and excellent service. All of the amenities equate to millions of dollars in total savings per year for the end consumers. The savings outweigh other online travel agencies and help the customers stay on or below their budget when they travel.

How do FlightHub and JustFly do this?

FlightHub and JustFly use AI to mix and match flights to source the best itineraries and pricing for their clients. The results are more affordable airfare and convenient routes from start to finish. This is at the core of their value proposition and it’s what empowers them to be able to deliver the lowest prices possible from any airline, or combination of airlines, in no time.

There are now so many ways to get access to flights and fares that it can be mind-boggling, and customers are always questioning whether they’re getting the fairest price. To make matters worse, different airlines are available in different markets, and fares are also highly localized, so prices can also vary depending on where tickets are being purchased from.

FlightHub and JustFly’s unique use of AI makes it all predictive.

No other online travel agency offers this many options, and nobody else can search this many flights, this quickly. FlightHub and JustFly offer the broadest and deepest range of search, in the least amount of time, to find the best possible prices.

FlightHub and JustFly can provide countless options for getting passengers where they need to go. Their proprietary technology allows them to view many options in parallel – that’s why they’re able to mix and match, delivering the best possible itinerary at the most affordable price. 

“We can take a flight from one airline, and a return flight from another, and combine them, if that happens to be the most convenient option for the customer. No one else can offer that to their customers,” says COO Chris Cave.

When you add more variables, that’s when the benefits of FlightHub and JustFly’s approach really start to kick in. For example, as soon as you have two stopovers, the combinations become almost infinite. Let’s say you have an international itinerary and are going from Montreal to Johannesburg. The number of possible combinations becomes a huge computer science problem. So, it’s necessary to be predictive. That’s where AI comes in.

Flighthub and JustFly also take into consideration historical indicators regarding which flights to consider as possibilities to show their customers. They know that some airlines are more competitive than others, they know the schedules, and they’re able to process all this in nanoseconds to come up with a set of results that ascertain which options are going to produce the cheapest fares. 

“This set of results might be in the hundreds, but we know that the top 5 results are the ones that are the most attractive, and the ones we’ll show the customer,” adds COO Chris Cave.

Great technology travels fast.

FlightHub and JustFly’s founders came from the tech world. Unlike most online travel agencies who came from travel and moved into the tech world, they were originally tech-focused entrepreneurs who moved into the travel space because they saw a wealth of opportunity to create change and streamline fairness for all.

“We’ve achieved a great degree of operational efficiency by leveraging technology. We’re a group of technology geeks. We’re tech guys who came into travel. Our approach was and still is: How do we automate this and make things super lean and efficient?” explains COO Chris Cave.

FlightHub and JustFly are tech and travel experts. Their tech backend can simplify everything. They truly and authentically are a travel-tech company. That’s their industry segment, and they’re the best at it.

How do FlightHub and JustFly sustain their business model? By using technology to automate all their back-office processing. Most travel companies have a lot of people in back-office processing, accounting, ticket fulfillment, etc. FlightHub and JustFly developed technology to lower its cost base. They are low-cost operators and they achieved that through technology automation, keeping their company lean, and keeping their overhead low – but NOT when it comes to service levels.

FlightHub and JustFly’s entire pricing team optimizes only for bringing the best price to the customer.

As COO Chris cave puts it: “Providing a consistent level of service is what it’s all about. We’re a one-stop-shop for anything you need. You can call us, and we’ll take care of it. That’s fundamental to our business model. Why do we have so many happy customers? It’s because we offer a cheaper process and cheaper rates. That’s how we save millions of dollars for millions of customers.”

The post How FlightHub and JustFly Save Customers Millions of Dollars Every Year appeared first on ReadWrite.

Voice technology has limitless possibilities. Siri and Alexa are as popular as ever. Residential voice assistant devices like Google Home and Amazon Echo are a part of daily life for millions of people. Voice search technology is here to stay, recent statistics confirm it. And the travel industry has taken note.

Here’s why FlightHub and JustFly think voice search is the next big travel technology trend.

Voice Search Technology Statistics, According to Google:

Data analysis is the only way to know how impactful voice search truly is. Why Google? With millions of Gigabytes of data (and counting), Google is arguably the best source of unbiased data. Here’s a shortlist of telling voice technology figures: 

1. 52% of voice-enabled speakers are placed in living rooms. 25% are in bedrooms, and 22% are in kitchens. In fact, 23% of adults use voice search to help them cook. “Okay, Siri, how many tablespoons are in a ¼ cup?”
2.  Voice recognition speakers are used daily by 72% of people.
3. 41% of voice-enabled speaker owners say chatting with their device resembles talking to someone else.
4. Over 400 million devices are now compatible with Google Assistant.
5. 52% of voice-recognition speaker users want to be sent discounts and promotional content from their favorite brands.
6. Voice searches make up 20% of queries on all Google mobile devices.
7. Location-specific voice searches have increased by 150%. IE “insert location near me.”

Teens and Adults Alike Love Voice Search:

Google says, 55% of teenagers and 41% of adults use voice search every day. They ask their phones to find restaurants, look up movie times, and to call contacts. Voice commands are also being used to ask for directions, get help with homework, and play music. It’s evident; devices are helping people multitask more efficiently.

Many teens were raised with smartphones as part of their everyday lives.

Now that voice search is much more than a trend, it’s easy to understand why younger demographics feel most comfortable using it. With the younger demographic loving voice — it likely means that voice search will continue to grow as today’s kids grow into adolescence and adulthood.

When Is Voice Search Most Often Used?

At 57%, teenagers use voice search with their friends more than twice as much as their adult counterparts. Teens also use voice search more while in the bathroom, when watching TV and while working out. On the other hand, adults use voice search nearly three times more than teens while cooking.

Also, the answers to why people are using voice search become more and more varied. Here’s a quick summary:

1. They think it’s cool.
2. They want to be early adopters of new technology.
3. It’s often safer.
4. It makes multitasking easier.
5. It helps to get things done as efficiently as possible.

How Voice Search Is Changing Travel Technology:

The travel industry is primed to benefit from the growth of voice search technology and its use. A 2018 research report by the Global Digital Traveler gathered impressive findings. Here are a few of the most noteworthy statistics:

1. Between 2017 and 2018, the number of travelers who use voice search during a trip increased from 47% to 50%.
2. More than 70% of Chinese and Turkish travelers use voice search.
3. Nearly 70 percent of Indians surveyed use voice search in the discovery stage of their travels.

Travel companies are on board with voice applications.

The proof is in the development of travel-friendly, voice-enabled software that is pleasing to customers and clients. FlightHub and JustFly have launched the beta version of LUCY, a virtual travel assistant.

Marriott Hotels has partnered with Amazon and Alibaba in separate agreements to include smart speakers in their hotel rooms. Amazon has also developed Alexa for Hospitality to further enhance guest experiences.

InterContinental Hotels and Baidu (a Chinese technology giant) have partnered to include Smart Displays in several hotel suites. A voice application simply called Virtual Concierge Service claims that its “technology saves hosts time and delivers 5-star guest reviews.”

Voice Search Isn’t A Trend. It’s A Revolution:

“Voice search has taken off,” states FlightHub’s Matt Keezer. “It’s evolving rapidly and integrating into the daily lives of consumers in ways they wouldn’t have imagined a few short years ago. Teens love it. It makes life easier for adults.

Travel businesses can clearly see the opportunities it has to offer.” In other words, the revolution won’t be televised — it’ll be spoken.

The post Is Voice Search the Next Big Travel Technology Trend? appeared first on ReadWrite.

Despite multiple website building tools available, more and more enterprises are moving their website or blog section to WordPress. According to WordPress.org’s own statistics, 60 million websites around the world now rely on their platform. That accounts for nearly 34 percent of all websites and blogs. 

And, the number continues to grow as more enterprises realize measurable benefits from using this Content Management System (CMS). Here are the benefits WordPress offers companies of all sizes. 

Free Software 

With limited budgets, it’s a cost-effective strategy for enterprises to leverage as many free tools and platforms as possible. While the WordPress ecosystem provides thousands of premium plugins and extensions for a small fee, its comprehensive CMS platform is free.  

As part of the free version of WordPress, a company can have multiple users — often a feature that requires payment when using other software. 

A Well-Used Tool

Most developers are familiar with WordPress and the PHP coding language. That makes it easy to connect with developer talent that can work with a company’s website and integrate other tools and platforms for more efficient operations. Since it is so widely known, other software companies and developers find ways to ensure their tools and platforms work with this CMS.

Huge Open-source Community Following

Due to this familiarity with the popular CMS platform, there is a large open-source community that regularly contributes to WordPress by creating new plugins, themes/designs, and features.  

Significant Security

The platform is safe and secure as long as companies continue to update the WordPress version, including themes and plugs, they use for their website and blog. WordPress gets help from the open-source community that continually seeks and identifies any potential security vulnerabilities.

Additionally, WordPress has a formal team with over 50 security experts that focuses solely on ways to improve the platform’s security features. Security issues are immediately addressed with real-time updates. 

Control

WordPress gives users the ability to access your website from any Internet-connected device. A company can enjoy full control over their CMS rather than waiting for a web designer to complete simple site updates like content changes or a new page or blog post.  

Control also extends to how a company allows team members to access the platform. For example, a WordPress site administrator can allow for multiple users while designating specific access levels and capabilities for each user. 

User-Friendly 

When a company employs user-friendly software, that means fewer resources spent on training, faster results, and greater productivity. WordPress delivers this ease of use with an intuitive interface that makes it simple to create new pages and blog posts as well as embed videos and images. 

The team doesn’t need to know how to use HTML editing software or FTP software. Also, it’s easy to set up things like an RSS feed, email capture form for a blog or adding a comment system to your website 

SEO-Optimized

Every company wants to be seen and ranked highly on search engines. Thanks to WordPress, which is well-loved by search engines, this objective is within reach. WordPress uses clean, simple code and website structure allowing search engines to read and index a site’s content quickly. 

Additionally, each page, post, and image on a company’s website can use its own meta tag keywords, description, and title for SEO optimization. To further a company’s SEO efforts, plugins like Yoast provide a straightforward process for selecting keywords and optimizing a page or post. 

The plugin provides a red light-green light system along with recommendations on what needs to change to green-light a post or page for SEO. Along with tools that improve content and grammar, this SEO tool helps a company’s team improve their skill sets in these critical areas of marketing. 

Customizable

The wide range of plugins available means WordPress is highly customizable so a company’s website and blog can reflect their brand image. These plugins also help with specific business needs for attracting visitors, serving customers, and tracking results. 

This includes adding features to the website, such as embedding an event calendar or video gallery. Plugins also provide a way to include a company’s Twitter feed, Facebook Fan Box, and other custom company content. 

Specialized Hosting Solutions

WordPress is scalable so it grows with companies as they need to add ten, a hundred, or even a thousand pages or blog posts to their website. When building and managing a company website in WordPress, it is just as important to find a WordPress hosting solution that has in-depth knowledge and experience with that platform. 

Website hosting companies that specialize in WordPress have developed a comprehensive skill set and understanding of the latest security features, innovative plug-ins for each client, and what each WordPress update involves. Companies like Kinsta also deliver 24/7 expert technical support.

Learn More 

Design/development agencies and WordPress hosting companies like Kinsta cater to enterprise clients who need assistance with their website. For further reading, check out Kinsta’s long-read on how enterprises can leverage WordPress and don’t forget to check out their WordPress for enterprise product suite!

The post WordPress for Enterprise – How This Open-source Platform Delivers Measurable Benefits appeared first on ReadWrite.

Space is limited – make sure you reserve your spot for the IoT in Action event in Santa Clara on October 10th! Register for free today!

The Internet of Things (IoT), together with a series of catalytic technology such as cloud, edge computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and mixed reality, is creating billions of connected endpoints for businesses to optimize operational efficiency, improve workplace safety and increase revenue.

With such benefits, it’s unsurprising that we see 88 percent of business reporting that IoT is very or somewhat critical to their success, according to the recent Microsoft IoT Signals report. And not only are companies increasingly recognizing the contributions IoT has on their success as a business, but IoT is also being adopted across industries: retail, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare – the list goes on.

In fact, the report shows that 85 percent of decision makers from enterprise organizations have adopted IoT, and 74 percent have projects in the “use” phase. Which leads us to the question here: as the IoT market continues to grow and mature, what new opportunities and challenges are emerging that should be top of mind?

We polled some Microsoft partner during recent IoT in Action events about their key takeaways on building, implementing or selling new IoT solutions and experiences – below are their thoughts ranging from what it means to be successful to partnering on going to market.

IoT Success Revolves Around Simplicity & Security

Finding success with IoT – whether you’re working on developing a solution or implementing it into your business operations – often hinges on these questions: is it simple, and is it secure?

During our conversations with partners we heard the same theme over and over: IoT needs to be simple from the edge to the cloud. Speaking of their IT buyer clients, Travis Gerber, CEO of Buddy Platform said, “Customers often tell us they are looking for solutions that are both simple and secure. This looks slightly different for everyone. For us, that means translating complex building data into meaningful insights they can take action on.”

The research agrees. The IoT Signals report also found that one of the top IoT barriers was challenges stemming from complexity and technical aspects. In fact, 39 percent of responders said this was their biggest barrier to IoT adoption.

To assist companies with overcoming this challenge, Microsoft has focused on finding ways to make it easier to build and use IoT solutions, such as the release of IoT Plug and Play, which offers a new, open modeling language to seamlessly connect IoT devices to the cloud. Now developers can quickly connect IoT devices to the cloud, as well as build smarter solutions that just work with the cloud, all without having to write a single line of embedded code. Plus, by using Azure IoT Central or Azure IoT Hub, businesses can prototype and build larger scale IoT deployments in significantly less time.

Security Should be an End-to-End Process

We also found that while Microsoft partners place a high value on security when building IoT solutions, security is rarely a barrier to IoT adoption. And the IoT Signals numbers back this up with only 19 percent of companies listing security as their biggest barrier to adoption – even though 97 percent of companies said they were concerned about security when adopting IoT.

Yet with billions of new devices being connected, organizations still need to secure them to protect data, privacy, physical safety, and infrastructure. So how should companies be thinking about IoT security?

The first step is looking at how you can simplify the complexity of your IoT security solution with built-in protection at each stage of your deployment – including cloud services and devices – and minimizing security weaknesses wherever they exist. Building security into every part of your IoT platform is essential for minimizing risks to your private data, business assets and reputation.

Microsoft has been successful in thinking about security from an end-to-end perspective – and even more importantly – has been successful in helping their partners and customers do the same. Azure Sphere, for instance, is a comprehensive IoT solution that includes hardware, OS, and cloud components so partners can securely connect existing equipment as well as build and roll out new, connected IoT devices.

And securely connecting existing equipment is a big piece for companies that were early adopters of IoT solutions. By using the guardian module with Azure Sphere, for instance, companies have the ability to enable secure cloud-connectivity on existing equipment. This in turn, helps unlock new customer experiences, new business models, and improved operational efficiency.

You Need More Than Data: Actionable, Real-Time Insights Matter

IoT solutions only solve challenges if customers can manage the data and obtain pertinent insights. Even more importantly, partners told us that the insights must be based on real-time data and presented in an actionable format to customers.

One such partner, Zencity, uses Microsoft services and platforms to provide real-time insights to its customers, which are local governments that must make quick decisions that could affect the safety and wellbeing of their citizens. “We use a lot of Azure’s more advanced capabilities around AI to build the processing that we need to analyze millions and millions of data points from all of these different feedback sources and turn them in real time into insights for CD leaders,” says Eyal Feder-Levy, CEO of Zencity.

Microsoft is also focused on providing companies with the tools and resources they need to turn data into actionable insights. Those attending the Santa Clara IoT in Action event will have a chance to join Microsoft experts on October 9 for a full day of hands-on technical training that explores how you can use Windows for IoT and Azure IoT to power more intelligent solutions.

Collaboration is Critical for Accelerating Time to Market

Partners also stressed the importance of having a short development time so they could quickly get to market ahead of competitors and capture market share. But they also needed to do so without compromising quality and security, as well as come up with effective marketing and sales messaging – all of which can take up precious time.

During the Microsoft IoT in Action events, many partners shared how by collaborating with Microsoft and their IoT ecosystem, they were able to surface valuable IoT build-with and co-sell opportunities. Additionally, by using the first- and third-party accelerators designed for Microsoft Azure, as well as Microsoft programs and resources, companies can leverage already existing building blocks and fast track their next IoT project.

“One of the great things that we’re seeing that Microsoft is doing is with its solution accelerators, really helping our customers and ISPs that are partnered with Cradlepoint bring that solution to market much faster,” said Tony Puopolo, VP of North America Channel Sales & Alliances at Cradlepoint.

IoT in Action: Connecting Technology and People

IoT solutions aren’t just about the technology – it comes down to people. At the core, IoT solves people’s problems and challenges. And successfully developing or implementing those solutions requires relationships with people: partners, vendors, device makers. 

Join us for an upcoming IoT in Action event in Santa Clara, CA (October 10) or Warsaw, Poland (November 13) to start building future business partnerships, optimizing efficiencies, and maximizing revenue opportunity.

For additional insights into how other companies are developing and deploying IoT technology across industries, watch our short, actionable IoT in Action webinars.

The post Is the IoT Market Maturing? Microsoft Report and Partners Share New Trends & Opportunities appeared first on ReadWrite.

Every serious student — not just the MBA student — must deal with distractions. Minimizing distraction to achieve your goals takes constant juggling of priorities. 

According to the Udemy 2018 Workplace Distraction Report, one in four workers believe they are more distracted than they were in previous years. Office spaces are full of more distractions than ever before, increasing the need to develop strategies that improve your work efficiency.

By removing these distractions, you can leave your job on time and increase your cognitive power to focus on goals such as:

• Pursuing further study — whether inside or outside of your chosen career field. Nowadays many people choose to study a new language while they are in “study-mode).
• Having more free time to relax, be with your family or play sport.

With a clear mindset, you can better focus and increase your productivity and deliver more meaningful work.

What strategies can help minimize distractions?

While avoiding distractions altogether is impossible, using one or any combination of these strategies can minimize workplace distractions, alleviating any work-related stress, and help you grow in your role.

1. Use apps to block internet access.

Several apps have been developed that remove a variety of online distractions that get in the way of you doing your best work. A compelling example of this is Freedom.

This service can help block any number of apps or websites, from almost any device. Freedom can also block the entire internet if that’s too much of a distraction for you. You can do this manually every time you need to focus or create recurring time blocks that you want to stick to over your workweek.

2. Restrict your app time and turn off any distractions.

According to the Udemy report, more than a third of millennials and Gen Z (36 percent) say they spend two hours or more checking their smartphones during the workday. Whether it’s seeing offseason NBA news on Twitter or scrolling through your Instagram feed.

The information reveals that phones are a significant source of distraction. It may sound easy, but turning off your notifications or putting your phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode can be a major help.

As you can see in the screenshot below, iPhone’s ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode allows you to schedule particular times where you’re not to be disturbed. The mode does this by silencing notifications, as well as giving you the option to prevent phone calls during working hours.

A constant stream of emails can also be a distraction, as people spend an average of 3.1 hours a day checking our work email. Using ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode on your computer can mute these email notifications, giving you the time to focus on the task at hand.

3. Work in a less distracting environment.

Co-workers and your office environment can also have an impact on your productivity. While in an office space, it can be quite useful to invest in quality earbuds that help block out distracting conversations. A study from Cloud Cover Music showed that 80 percent of employees felt listening to music increased their productivity, with two-thirds feeling headphones, in general, had a similar effect.

If it’s possible, try to move to space in your office where the noise is constant, rather than intermittent. This way, all of the louder talking starts to blend into one noise that’s harder to hear than a few scattered conversations in an otherwise quiet space.

If you’re working remotely, make sure that it’s in a quiet and uncluttered space. Whether it’s a quiet coffee shop, home office space, or library, find an environment that enhances your productivity the most.

4. Try new ways of working, like the Pomodoro technique.

If you’re finding that your current process of completing tasks isn’t working, employing a new method like the Pomodoro timer could aid your productivity. This time management technique developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s breaks down work into 25 minute intervals.

Segmenting a task down into these shorter intervals and taking a quick five-minute break in between, can help you focus more than working in a larger block of time.

5. Write out your daily plan and stick to it.

Another way of increasing your productivity and cutting down on distractions is by writing your plan for the following day. Breaking your day down into the 1:3:5 rule (one big task, three medium and five little tasks) can help prioritize precisely what you need to do for that day. Taking care of that more significant task in the morning can make the rest of the day more comfortable, rather than leaving it till the afternoon when your productivity and focus can lessen.

It can be challenging to say no to people, but lowering your ability to accommodate time for others and sticking to your schedule can be a helpful way to minimize distractions.

6. Ask experts for help.

If you feel that your productivity is waning and distractions are taking control, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Struggling to prioritize and get things done is not something you’re dealing with alone. Those in your inner circle, whether it be a mentor at work or a friend, may have some invaluable techniques of their own to minimize distractions, or you may be able to work together to devise a more flexible work schedule. Flexibility could unlock more time needed for you to complete tasks and remove any distractions that impede your work.

Why are these strategies essential?

Utilizing any of these strategies can provide the time management and productivity skills needed to get projects off the ground, meet critical deadlines, as well as balance further study outside of work. Thriving in the space you work in can afford you more time to pursue higher education, with degrees like a Master of Business Administration (MBA) where you can enhance your personal skills and overall business objectives.

The post 6 Strategies for MBA Students to Minimize Distractions and Achieve Goals appeared first on ReadWrite.

Once a wild frontier, the Internet of Things (IoT) has gone mainstream. Business scenarios once dreamed of have become a reality for companies of all types and sizes. And the momentum is just ramping up.

As things become more connected, here are five trends that are reshaping the IoT industry—all of which are addressed in our upcoming IoT in Action event series (more on that later).

Trend #1: Less talk, more action

When the pioneers of IoT brought the first things online—cars, washing machines, and thermostats—IoT was an emerging technology. Back then, implementing IoT was complicated and expensive. Security was non-existent. And from a business standpoint, ROI was a risky gamble. So, while there was plenty of talk around IoT, action was limited.

But as IoT technology has evolved, so has the human mindset. In just the last 12 to 18 months, we’ve witnessed a transition in the IoT market from people talking about the possibilities to leading edge companies having profitable solutions in the marketplace. And while dreams of developing an IoT solution were once thought out of reach, they are now attainable as costs have come down, security has improved, case studies demonstrating ROI abound, and general skill levels within the industry have greatly expanded. Which also means that the overall acceptance and buy-in of IoT amongst business decision makers is more widespread.

Trend #2: Rethinking business models

Businesses are altering and augmenting their business models based on the new possibilities that IoT offers. Retailers are using IoT to analyze customer behaviors, streamline store layout, and customize in-store promotions. Lawn care companies are helping homeowners optimize lawn health using IoT sensors. Even city governments are leveraging IoT to prevent crime, improve public transportation, and modernize infrastructure.

Also supporting changing business models is the emergence of industry-aligned first-party solution accelerators powered by the efforts of Microsoft. As Microsoft focuses on providing the building blocks companies need to get to market faster, they have also formed a Solution Accelerator Program for third-party solution accelerators. This program is designed to help the partner ecosystem build IoT solutions to scale – all while minimizing risk and reducing barriers to entry.

Through these first- and third-party solution accelerators, companies can use the open source development that has already taken place to build an IoT solution for their specific use case. This not only allows companies to devote their time, money, and manpower to developing the part of the solution they really care about, but it also helps reduce costs and time to market.

Trend #3: Shattering siloes

IoT is getting more collaborative. Companies are casting aside siloed approaches to IoT in favor of partnerships as they realize they are only limited by the expertise, capabilities and perspective of the people in their organization. Other main drivers are the realization of a solution’s exponential value when it has access to the data from other solutions and can connect to a customer’s physical world. There is also the growing trend and preference among customers for end-to-end solutions requiring multiple components.

In fact, end customers are becoming increasingly wary of siloed systems. They know that siloes can be expensive, unwieldy to manage and counterproductive to streamlining operations. As more and more of an organization’s “world” gets connected, the greater the desire is among customers to have access to their data, have discretion around how they interact with it, and ultimately, to own it. Companies like Microsoft are helping to facilitate partnerships and provide scalable, extensible underlying infrastructure so that customers can focus on what matters most to them, versus wasting time and money aggregating and making sense of multiple disparate solutions and the data they provide.

Trend #4: Getting serious about security

Ever worry about the neighbor kid hacking your thermostat? It could happen. And worse. Companies are far more cognizant of the risks security gaps pose in their solutions, and they’re much more thorough in vetting the quality of security solutions and claims made by solution creators. They’re looking at end-to-end security, from the device, to the connection, to the cloud. (For more information about securing IoT solutions, check out the seven must-have properties of highly secure devices used in the development of Microsoft’s Azure Sphere solution.)

Trend #5: End-to-end solutions

Over the last five or so years, the IoT market has seen a shift. Whereas before we were seeing 100% platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solutions, now we’re seeing much more software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions and the emergence of end-to-end solutions. A big part of this is that companies can now focus on selling business outcomes instead of goods. For example, a security and surveillance company might have sold you the actual hardware, but now they use a subscription model to rent you the hardware or exact package you need.

This move to subscription models is a large trend affecting current business models for several reasons. The first being that now companies can focus on the service aspect versus the device aspect. Using the data generated by the IoT-enabled device, they can deliver valuable insights and give you access to a platform that helps you build your business and make future decisions more effectively.

In the next year, we can expect to see fewer PaaS, more SaaS, and the general availability of end-to-end integrated solutions with hardware, services, and deployment capabilities packaged together. These more comprehensive solutions are helping to increase the accessibility and scalability of IoT, allowing companies to buy complete end-to-end-solutions and deploy immediately vs. spending months on implementation and customization. All in all, this results in less complexity, shorter time to value, substantially lower costs, and often even zero upfront costs. This dynamic will be a key component of true scale and mainstreaming of IoT.

Learn more at IoT in Action

Here at Microsoft, we’ve been helping customers reimagine business with IoT for more than two decades. And we’re working hard to accelerate advancements in IoT, so that customers of every size can benefit. The ecosystem and infrastructure to support IoT solution creation, simplicity, and scale has been developing rapidly in the past 6-8 months, and Microsoft is on the forefront of helping galvanize that broader ecosystem in addition to the powerful platform and tools we’ve been delivering for some time.

Join me at IoT in Action where you will see how these trends are playing out—and how you can bring your IoT solution from concept to reality. IoT in Action is a day where you can meet and collaborate with Microsoft’s customer and partner ecosystem and see firsthand how IoT is transforming businesses in every industry across countless scenarios. You’ll get the latest insights around building intelligent edge solutions with Microsoft IoT and securing your solutions with Azure Sphere. We’re also offering practical, hands-on technical sessions designed to help you bring IoT solutions to market faster.

Register early to receive keynote slides from the 2018 IoT in Action event series and to gain access to technical training resources for Azure and Windows IoT. Meanwhile, be sure to check out the IoT in Action webinar series, an additional resource for supplementing your IoT learnings.

• Barcelona – October 15, 2018
• Santa Clara – October 25, 2018
• Taipei – December 12-13, 2018
• Shenzhen – December 18, 2018

The post 5 IoT Trends Reshaping the Industry & Driving New Business Models appeared first on ReadWrite.

Data analytics courses are available online and can be taken at the comfort of your own home. Learning these skills will open more doors and opportunities than you can image. Get started today!

If you’re interested in a career in data analytics, the benefits range from solving interesting, complex problems to having a wide range of industries to apply your newfound analytical skills in.

A recent report demonstrated data science jobs have increased by 256 per cent since December 2013, highlighting the growing desire for organizations to employ into this area.  Studying analytics can provide you with many career advantages, and we have explored some of the top reasons in more detail below.

Why study analytics?

You can equip yourself with the tools to ask and answer complex business questions 

By studying data analytics, you’re able to better understand how to work with your key stakeholders in work environments. Data analysts do more than just run simulations and look at numbers – they have to be able to look at trends and patterns and present these as easy-to-understand business insights. 

Data analysts aren’t just sitting in the back of meetings. As an analyst, you can present the results of simulations as more actionable and accessible stories. By using visualization tools that make your findings more decipherable, you are able to effectively demonstrate increased communication skills. This can power you to become a valuable part of your business’ decision-making process

Not only are you able to answer the right business questions, but data analytical skills can help you ask these questions as well. By having an open line of communication with your key stakeholders, you can ask business owners and managers what they need and what results your analytics should target. 

You can help to address a skills shortage 

According to reports from Gartner, 80 per cent of employees don’t have the required digital skills for today’s workplace, and for what’s coming next. This lack of digital skills can leave businesses open to cyber security threats, which in 2018 alone, cost US businesses $654 billion. 

In reports from the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) and Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), 63 per cent of organizations continue to fall behind in providing an adequate level of training for cyber security professionals. 

This highlights a growing need for professionals with a high level of analytical expertise. With skills in data analytics, you are able to pursue a career in exciting fields like cyber security and provide much needed analytical ability. 

You will benefit from a long and flexible career 

As previously mentioned, the data science job market is continuing to expand at a rapid rate. This means that studying data analytics can put you at the forefront of new opportunities for the future.    

These roles can include everything from:

• Metrics and Analytics Specialist 
• Big Data Engineer
• Analytics Consultant
• Predictive Modeller
• Data Science Architect
• Insight Analyst
• Data and Analytics Solution Lead. 

Opportunities aren’t just limited to working for data science companies. Due to the increased desire for data science experts, jobs are now available across industries such as health, transport, finance, entertainment and construction. 

How can you pursue further information on data analytics? 

With a developed skill base in data analytics, you can join one of the fastest growing industries – one that is constantly changing and looking for new insights. If you are interested in studying data analytics, you can study online and balance work and study.

The post Data Analytics: The Skill Everyone Needs to Know appeared first on ReadWrite.

Every Startupper we’ve ever met loves a great deal, and so do we. That’s why we’re offering an exclusive 2-for-1 sale on tickets to TC Sessions: Enterprise 2019, which takes place September 5 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

We’re talking a classic BOGO — buy-one-get-one — deal. Buy one early-bird ticket ($249) and you get a second ticket for free. But this BOGO goes bye-bye very soon, so don’t wait. Buy your TC Sessions: Enterprise tickets now and save.

Get ready to join more than 1,000 attendees for a day-long, intensive experience exploring the enterprise colossus — a tech category that generates hundreds of new startups, along with a steady stream of multibillion-dollar acquisitions, every year.

What can you expect at TC Sessions: Enterprise? For starters, you’ll hear TechCrunch editors interview enterprise software leaders, including tech titans, rising founders and boundary-breaking VCs.

One such titan, George Brady — Capital One’s executive VP in charge of tech operations — will join us to discuss how the financial institution left legacy hardware and software behind to embrace the cloud. Quite a journey in such a highly regulated industry.

Our growing speaker roster features other enterprise heavy-hitters, including Aaron Levie, Box co-founder and CEO; Aparna Sinha, Google’s director of product management for Kubernetes and Anthos; Jim Clarke, Intel’s director of quantum hardware; and Scott Farquhar, co-founder and co-CEO of Atlassian.

Looking for in-depth information on technical enterprise topics? You’ll find them in our workshops and breakout sessions. Check out the exhibiting early-stage enterprise startups focused on disrupting, well, everything. Enjoy receptions and world-class networking with other founders, investors and technologists actively building the next generation of enterprise services.

TC Sessions: Enterprise 2019 takes place September 5, and we pack a lot of value into a single day. Double your ROI and take advantage of our BOGO sale. Buy your ticket here and get another ticket free. That’s two tickets for one early-bird price. And if that’s not enough value, get this: we’ll register you for a free Expo-only pass to Disrupt SF 2019 for every TC Sessions: Enterprise ticket you purchase (mic drop).

Interested in sponsoring TC Sessions: Enterprise? Fill out this form and a member of our sales team will contact you.

The post Buy-One-Get-One Free Sale – TC Sessions: Enterprise 2019 appeared first on ReadWrite.

Creating an online platform for your content was likely already super difficult. Once you decide to go digital, there are so many steps involved to keep website traffic consistent and grow your brand. Whatever it is you’re worried about at this point in your blogging journey, general blog management shouldn’t be one of them. Not by the end of this article, at least.

With an easy to use cloud storage platform—the easiest and fastest way of syncing, storing, and retrieving essential files and folders—managing your blog will become so much easier. Read on to find out why.

When you sync your files to the cloud, you can work on blog-related projects from anywhere on any device.

1. Synced files = accessible anywhere.

When we say cloud storage, what does that mean exactly? Think of a cloud storage platform as somewhere you can put anything so that it can be accessed anywhere. Similar to a flash drive, you can put loads of data into that tiny thing you can take with you wherever you go. But with the cloud, you don’t even have to worry about remembering to put your flash drive in your bag. Or about finding a USB port to plug in to (hello cell phones).

The cloud stores any file and makes it accessible wherever you go. When you save a file in a Dropbox folder, it is instantly synced to all of the devices that you have connected to that cloud storage, whether it be your iPhone, Android, iPad or computer. If for whatever reason you lose internet connection while using the Dropbox app, the magic software still allows you to get some stuff done. When you get that connection back, all of your work has been updated.

So with cloud storage, you can share any document on any device through a Dropbox folder. The best part—this entire process occurs within a matter of seconds!

2. No more clunky emails.

Do you know what method of sharing your files is not so fast? Emails. Snail mail may become a thing of the past, but the instantaneousness of cloud sharing makes those clunky emails seem like they take half a decade to send and then download on each account or device.

As far as clunk emails go, think about the days where the only way you knew how to get a photo from your iPhone to your Windows computer was by emailing it. It would take forever to upload the photo onto the iPhone email, then take even longer for the email to send. Then once you got the photo (or, heaven forbid, photos), you might not also be able to download them for whatever reason.

The same goes for doc sharing with fellow collaborators. You might not have had the experience of sending photos from one device to the next, but chances are you’ve encountered a similar situation when sharing documents with other collaborators. The idea is pretty much the same—you have a large file on your computer that needs to be shared, and the easiest way to do that at one point was by email. But not anymore.

With cloud storage, there’s no need to send those impossibly slow emails loaded with files. The cloud allows you to send files of all sizes in seconds. All you need to do is make a shared folder link on Dropbox then send over the link to anyone who needs to see it.

3. The key to excellent content collaboration.

Due to this easy collaborative nature, cloud storage is an excellent way to get your team working together efficiently. The cloud has plenty of features to boost your team’s productivity, such as the built-in software that allows one user to annotate someone else’s document. All you need to do is open a PDF from your computer and let Dropbox work its magic. It uses built-in Adobe Acrobat software to allow users to quickly leave comments or make suggestions to another person’s work.

Even if someone sends something in need of annotations that isn’t a PDF, it is still possible for you to leave comments on the file through Dropbox. Even if you don’t have the same app or program on which the file was made. You might not know how to use Photoshop, but at least you would have a way of engaging with the photo.

Regardless of what’s being shared with you and how your annotating on it, remember that allowing differing ideas together is what helps workspaces thrive! Everybody has their own insight and personal experience that they can bring to the table. Annotating documents shared on the cloud is the perfect way to show the benefits of teamwork.

4. Keep your files safe.

Another way of incorporating content collaboration in the workplace lies in the idea of version control. Dropbox allows users to return to an older version of any file, as long as the changes were made less than 30 days ago (or longer depending on which plan you have). Version control is the perfect tool to enhance a relationship like that of a writer and editor. In roles like these, an editor is continuously giving feedback for a writer.

5. Save some space.

Saving space might be the coolest part about utilizing cloud storage—saving all that hard drive space.

Remember, before with all of those slow emails sent for sharing? The reason they were so slow—files can be huge and take up loads of space. Individual small files might not seem like a big deal, but doc after doc will take up your hard drive space. Before you even realize how little space you have, you might have to get rid of some things (which is hard for everyone).

Conclusion

Overall, cloud storage is looking pretty good right now when it comes to managing your online presence. What other questions do you have about managing your blog with cloud storage? Let us know in the comments.

This is a sponsored post for Dropbox. All opinions are my own. Dropbox is not affiliated with nor endorses any other products or services mentioned.

The post 5 Ways Cloud Storage can Make Managing Your Blog Easier appeared first on ReadWrite.

Connected products are changing the business landscape and transforming entire industries. The ability to create integrated digital connections, from the edge all the way to the cloud is enabling new business models that capitalize on novel value-added services, and simultaneously open new modes for humans to interact with machines. While the promise and potential of digital connectivity is enormous, it requires skilled resources and new technology-based innovation for any organization to undergo a transformation.

The Challenge

For the typical business stakeholder, the business cycle is fraught with challenges. Commoditization due to hyper-competition and price pressures are the leading factors that impact hardware product profitability. In addition, increased expectations from customers for new features at marginal prices further strain traditional businesses. Concurrently new entrants threaten incumbents with disruptive innovations that can alter key competitive dimensions and increase the need for shortened time-to-market schedules.

The Solution

Connected product initiatives aim to overcome these challenges while modernizing product portfolios.

For effective impact, connected products need to be functionally interactive, self-aware and resilient.  In addition, products need mechanisms for self-healing when problems occur. Connectivity should also enable data collection, pattern recognition, and ultimately predictive functions to foresee problems and facilitate preventive actions. Such a product concept requires product designers and technology architects to envision products as a series of layers.

The figure below lays out a reference architecture that fulfills the aspirations of a typical connected product. Implementation of such architecture requires domain-wide expertise and experience.  Many customer projects fail due to the lack of these two crucial elements. Arrow and its portfolio of eco-system partners recognize these challenges and have conceived a solution portfolio to help organizations eliminate failure while developing connected products.

Figure 1: Multi-Tier Architecture of Connected Products (Source: Gartner)

Watch the on-demand webinar: The New Product Lifecycle – strategies for successfully building and managing a thriving connected product

Successful Connected Product Lifecycle

Before embarking on a full-fledge proof of concept effort to build connected products, it is crucial to consider the business outcomes desired from the initiative. For example, an electric utility might consider connected products as an enabler of a broad smart grid initiative. Similarly, an industrial machine builder may build connected products to improve the performance of specific assets on the factory floor. A healthcare provider might look at connected devices as a mechanism to increase patient health monitoring for preventive prescriptions.

Once business outcomes and the use cases are clearly defined, it is easier to evaluate technologies and ecosystems best suited for these outcomes. Equally important is an articulation of how the business envisions, the connected product will be used by stakeholders and customers. Use case definitions and scenarios are very effective at identifying the various feature-sets and functionalities that the product needs to fulfill. Once the business outcomes and use-cases are developed, the organization can make tradeoffs associated with building a minimum viable product. 

Figure 2: Lifecycle of Connected Products Should Lead with Business Outcomes

Building the minimum viable product as a proof-of-concept is the next step and requires deciding on technology platforms and cloud interactions. Hardware decisions regarding the right components and systems that can facilitate rapid development occur in this phase.  Getting access to the right expertise and solution ecosystem is paramount at this stage. Incorporating security across all levels of the product and throughout the product lifecycle is one of the most important aspects for consideration. If security is not thought through with enough expert help, the product will be vulnerable at later stages of deployment and can become a massive liability for the provider and customer.

Once the technology design, platform choice and security layers of the application are all solidified into an acceptable proof of concept, scaling the solution with robust production and deployment processes gains prominence. Approaches for cloud-based management and monitoring of connected products should be defined and developed. Zero-touch provisioning, data collection for analysis and remote optimization of field devices are important considerations at this stage.

A successful product lifecycle for connected products incorporates three fundamental aspects – device hardware lifecycle that involves silicon level choices, product lifecycle that involves software and firmware choices and a data lifecycle that focuses on managing the data collected from provisioning to optimization.

Arrow and Microsoft Partner to Offer Complete Lifecycle Services for Connected Products

Arrow Electronics and Microsoft have partnered to bring to market a comprehensive suite of solutions to accelerate the development of connected products. Businesses looking to increase the probability of the connected project success while ensuring robust scalability will benefit from this collaboration.

Benefits of the partnership for connected product developers include:

• Access to a rich partner eco-system that bridges the Operational Technology/Information Technology (OT/IT) divide
• Deploy scalable solutions across the globe
• Build proof-of-concept (POC) designs fast with fully integrated solutions and kits
• Create customized products easily with Arrow design and integration services
• Manage the entire product lifecycle from concept to end-of-life

For more information, contact Arrow Electronics at msembedded@arrow.com.  Arrow also offers a one-hour free consultation on connected devices implementation.

Watch the on-demand webinar: The New Product Lifecycle – Strategies for successfully building and managing a thriving connected product

The post Arrow & Microsoft: The New Product Lifecycle appeared first on ReadWrite.

Space is limited – make sure you reserve your spot for the IoT in Action event in Houston! Register for free today!

As computing becomes more deeply embedded in the real world, powerful new opportunities arise to transform revenue, customer experiences, safety and productivity – to name a few. We’re also seeing intelligent cloud and intelligent edge solutions spark massive transformation throughout various industries.

Join IoT experts, Microsoft partners and customers at the upcoming IoT in Action event in Houston to hear real-world examples of how the cloud is transforming city government, industrial IoT, and oil and gas innovators. Read on for insight into what a typical cloud transformation journey looks like within the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as applied to specific industries.

Bringing the Cloud Journey to Industrial IoT

Industrial IoT organizations are on of the most common to embark on a digital and cloud transformation journey. For instance, manufacturers find they are able to streamline operations, increase productivity and predict issues before they occur when they combine cloud with IoT.

One such manufacturer that has used cloud transformation to create a valuable service is Rolls-Royce. With more than 13,000 commercial aircraft engines in service worldwide, Rolls Royce uses data from equipment sensors to help airlines predict and plan for maintenance needs and increase fuel economy. This helps its customers minimize costly delays and maximize fuel efficiency.

The solution is powered by the Microsoft Azure platform and Azure IoT solution accelerators, using them to help filter, synthesize and analyze massive volumes of data. This allows the company to deliver actionable insights to the proper stakeholders at the best time.

Connecting Smart Cities Through the Cloud

The City of Houston is on a mission to connect its citizens to the city and the city to its citizens. In the wake of massive Hurricane Harvey destruction, Houston mayor Sylvestor Turner wants to do more than just rebuild: he wants to make the city safer, more resilient and more connected.

When you think about firefighting drones, smart water meters, transit wi-fi and flood detection sensors – the one thing they all have in common is that they’re cloud connected.

To that end, the City of Houston is working with Microsoft and Microsoft partners to leverage cloud transformation to take care of its citizens. This includes building repeatable IoT solutions that span public safety, connected neighborhoods, disaster recovery and response, transportation, smart buildings and more. Shared vision and strong collaboration from city leaders have been crucial to the success of this massive undertaking.

Cloud Transformation: Breaking Down the Journey

So how do different companies and industries go about embarking on a cloud transformation journey? I’ve outlined some typical steps based on my own observations and research done by 451 Research.

1. Make Innovation a Priority: The first part of any transformation journey is building a culture and mindset that is willing to innovate, that welcomes change and the potential it brings. If leadership does not set the example of an innovation mindset and make it a priority, it will be difficult to achieve buy in internally.

1. Understand the Why: Typically, there are many reasons for moving to cloud: increased cost savings, greater availability, better performance. Knowing why you want to make the transition from a strategic standpoint and aligning with your overall business goals can help focus efforts and find the right cloud fit.

1. Prioritize Applications: Determining which applications most need to be modernized and migrated is key. Migration is an opportunity for modernization of the IT ecosystem, which can ultimately save time and money. Making a prioritized plan and budgeting for modernization needs is critical.

1. Expect Increased Usage & Costs: Cloud consumption typically increases after initial migration. Due to easy access and relative low-cost, developers and administrators will consume more resources, developing new applications and solutions. Resource sprawl is also a likely outcome as stakeholders jump on board the cloud bandwagon.

1. Know It Will Even Out: Once an organization obtains a better understanding around actual cloud consumption, it will be able to prioritize workloads, bring some workloads back on premise, and negotiate pricing models. Implementing governance processes will help to control costs and ensure optimal performance.

Experience IoT in Action in Houston

As you look for ways to leverage the power of intelligent cloud and intelligent edge IoT solutions, make sure to join us for the one-day IoT in Action event in Houston (April 16). It poses a unique opportunity to explore innovative, scalable IoT solutions that enable cloud transformation across industries, connect with experts and explore new opportunities with Microsoft partners and customers.

The post Driving Cloud Transformation Through IoT Solutions appeared first on ReadWrite.

While the saying goes that too many chefs in the kitchen spoil the broth, that’s not the case when it comes to a collaborative marketing environment. Instead, combining sales and marketing efforts with user-generated content can improve ROI.

Content Collaboration is a Win-Win

Think about it: When you create content in a silo, you are alone. You lose the opportunity and the ability to tap into other perspectives and creativity that can shape the content to what your audience wants. It’s those opinions and direct insights from the audience members themselves or the sales team out on the front lines that can enhance the marketing content.

Plus, when everyone collaborates, including audience members, that social reach increases from your own direct audience as a brand to the social audiences of each user, influencer, and team member who worked on producing that content.

It sounds compelling, but may be easier said than done because the inclination to collaborate and meld everyone’s ideas with minimal conflict is not the natural response. Yet, it is possible to create a marketing content collaboration process.

Start with the Right Tools

First, a content collaboration platform can help how everyone gets involved. A platform adds structure, organization, and accountability to the content collaboration process. Rather than opting for a spreadsheet with a to-do list and due dates found on traditional project management platforms, a solution designed for content collaboration focuses on creativity, sharing, and feedback.

The solution then becomes a content repository that stores collaborative content for use, review, and measurement. Besides written and visual content, this repository can also hold creative files, audio recordings, templates, collateral assets and anything else that enables the content collaboration process.

Since teams can spend up to 20 percent of their time looking for the content or components they need. According to McKinsey — having this type of social technology can increase productivity and shorten project timeframes. It also helps to have an understanding of what type of collaborative content works best for your brand as well as a formal process for developing, managing and measuring your collaborative content.

Types of Collaborative Marketing Content

There are many types of content where collaboration can yield improved results. Here are a few content options for collaboration:

Guest Posts

Guest posts provide a way to share your expertise with a larger audience and build links that can bring that audience back to your site. You are sharing a service for others to learn more about the knowledge and experience on the site.

Collaboration can widen as you return the favor to include others on your own blog. You’ll be expanding your audience and the depth of the valuable information you deliver. This can be a long-lasting collaboration if you approach it in the right way.

To collaborate on content, identify other sites that are authoritative and relevant. Using models like Domain Authority (DA) can simplify this process. If a site has a DA of 20 or more, then this is a worthy target for content collaboration.

Find the appropriate contact at that company by looking through the executive team on their website or a site like LinkedIn. They may also list guest blog guidelines on their site. Reach out and suggest some blog topics that might be mutually beneficial and agree on the terms.

Case Studies

While the first type of collaborative content involved an industry colleague, case studies are a collaboration between you and one of your customers.

• First, it helps solidify a customer relationship by working together.
• Second, a case study illustrates how the customer has addressed a real-world issue which other customers and prospects can relate to.
• And, third, it builds credibility with your audience as you provide them with useful insights.

To develop a case study, you can collaborate on a relevant storyline and quantitative evidence. Using quotes from your customer and beneficial observations or project vision will enhance the content.

User-Generated Content

Your audiences do most of the work by creating the content, including photos and videos. Yet, it’s still collaborative because you are able to leverage and share information from your target audience.

The readership will feel more involved with your brand and are likely to also share their content with their social circle for viral benefits.

Expert Roundup Articles

An expert roundup article can include a mention or a quote from a wide range of contributors that have insights and proficiency about a particular topic or trend that impacts your audience. This material can involve existing content that you pull from different sources or be part of the new original content you request from these experts.

Connection with a wide range of industry experts provides a wealth of beneficial information for your audience while building credibility that you are working or partnering with many industry leaders.

Industry Leader Interviews

This content collaboration is like an expert roundup and may focus on one industry expert. It becomes the dive deep into a topic or trend that is relevant to your audience. A good place to reach out to other industry experts is at a conference or through a social media channel like Twitter or LinkedIn.

You can agree on what to discuss and arrange an interview in person or by phone. From there, you can turn your conversation into an article that both you and the industry leader can share within your circles.

Podcasts and Videos

Rather than produce your interview content into writing, you may choose to leverage your collaborative content for videos and podcast formats. Much of today’s audiences like to watch video content or listen to audio content. These two formats for collaborative content address those preferences and provide a quick and easy way to get content to your audience.

Develop a Content Collaboration Process

Don’t assume the entire content collaboration process needs to be digital — because there is still merit when it comes to in-person collaboration. There will always be great benefit from strategic partners, the sales team, your customers, and industry influencers.

When it comes to the notes, whiteboards, and easels — all this information can become hard to track when it comes to creating the end-product. It helps to use video conferencing technology and the collaborative content platform simultaneously to create more personalized, inclusive brainstorming sessions related to the creation process.

A clear communication process is also integral in marketing content collaboration. Without clarity, there can be misunderstandings, or frustration leading to conflict. You will want a clear plan in place to circumvent any breakdown in the collaborative process.

Intelligent transmission of collaborative information means getting input, feedback, updates, and approvals in a timely fashion, moving the process forward with ease. Use real-time communication mechanisms like collaborative software and instant messaging to address all communication needs.

Minimize how many tools you use for the collaborative content process to help add efficiency to the process. According to one source, 42 percent of marketers may use six to 10 tools to manage their work while almost one in five marketers uses even more. Integrate intuitive tools as much as possible for faster information flow, to help everyone involved.

Keep Collaborating

There are many advantages to using collaborative content in the short term. You can also be confident there’s considerable benefit taking a long-term strategic perspective with content marketing, as well.

By continuing to develop collaborative content, you’ll be able to deepen relationships with industry colleagues, customers, and prospects.

This is a sponsored post for Dropbox. All opinions are my own. Dropbox is not affiliated with nor endorses any other products or services mentioned.

The post Leveraging the Benefits of Marketing Content Collaboration appeared first on ReadWrite.

Podcasts are increasingly utilized for learning purposes. No matter who you are or what you’re interested in, there’s a podcast just for you. This abundance and diversity of content represents a real opportunity for lifelong learners in pursuit of intellectual growth.

The question is, is the knowledge being presented in podcasts accessible in terms of fundamental long-term learning?    

No, it isn’t.

Luckily, EX-IQ has developed NoteCast, which will change the way you listen and learn from podcasts.

Evaluating The Podcast Market

In order to understand how we can learn more effectively from podcasts, it’s essential to understand the scope of the podcast market.

According to the Pew Research Center, about 90% of Americans over the age of 12 have listened to a podcast. Another study, published by Edison Research, found that 26% of Americans listen to podcasts on a monthly basis. That’s over 70 million people.

It’s estimated that there are over half a million active podcasts, and that number grows on a daily basis. Couple this statistic with the previously mentioned number of current listeners- and it is apparent that podcasts are runaway phenomenon; people simply love them.   

It may be science that explains the draw to podcasts best; a study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign found that in the brain interconnects hearing and the visual.

To put it simply, the brain “sees what it hears.” In other words, your brain processes what it hears by recalling that knowledge in a visual (and relatable) form.

This finding may be one component of the rise of the podcast market; this audio to visual translation helps listeners to better connect with and remember what they’re hearing.

Another reason people have chosen to consume podcasts?

Podcasts facilitate productive multitasking. More often than not, podcast listeners are listening to podcasts while participating in other activities.

The research doesn’t lie:

• 52% of people listen to podcasts while driving.
• 42% of people listen while traveling
• 40% of people listen while exercising

It’s clear that people feel as though they can listen and learn from almost anywhere, while doing just about anything.  This desire to consume content on the go will only grow as demand for skills suited to the information economy increases.  

The growth of the podcast market demonstrates the need and demand for more adaptive and flexible, yet equally informative, learning. This trend didn’t hit us unexpectedly, either. For decades, educators have been differentiating their learning formats for students.  

Now, podcasts are a single-format and versatile form of differentiation.

Unfortunately, just listening to podcasts doesn’t give you the ability to retain all of the interesting information you’ve learned. Despite the visual effort of our brain to make the things we hear more tangible, learning effectively and in the long-run from podcasts is challenging.

Effectively Learn from Podcasts with NoteCast

Podcast listening is a growing phenomenon, and millions of people are embracing the medium as a more efficient way to learn.

EX-IQ’s NoteCast app makes it easier to learn from podcasts.  

Have you ever tried to take notes on a podcast? It’s hard because statistically, podcast listening is oftentimes happening on-the-go.

NoteCast makes taking notes on your podcast effortless.  

Using voice and touch commands, NoteCast will transcribe what you’ve found interesting and put it into a note. This note is forever saved on the NoteCast app.

You can even tag the note and add comments to it as well. Even better, all of your notes are accessible on the NoteCast portal, where you can search them by date, podcast, episode, or tag.

Whether you’ve saved a fact you want to remember, heard something compelling in an interview, or are ready to try out a new recipe, NoteCast makes it easy to learn and recall information from your favorite podcasts

No matter where the world takes you, the NoteCast app allows you to listen, learn, and capture the things you never want to forget. At EX-IQ, we call these “aha moments,” and when you’re listening to your favorite podcasts, we know you’ll have a lot of them.

That’s why we created NoteCast – it’s going to change the way you listen and learn from podcasts.

Are You Ready for Exponential Podcasting?

NoteCast is now available for download from the App and Android stores. Download now, and begin learning more efficiently from the top podcasts! Use code READWRITE for your first 60 days of NoteCast premium for free.

The post EX-IQ’s NoteCast is Changing The Way We Learn From Podcasts appeared first on ReadWrite.

Space is filling up fast for the IoT in Action event in Orlando. Make sure you register for free today!

At a Missouri hospital, babies born with congenital heart disease benefit from remote monitoring solutions that allow doctors to see their vital signs within two minutes of the data being collected. If there are any issues with their heart rate, weight or oxygen saturation, care teams can act quickly and provide proactive care in a secure way. Since the hospital built their own Internet of Things (IoT) solution, no baby under its care with HLHS (hypoplastic left heart syndrome) has died.

Many healthcare organizations are turning to intelligent healthcare to transform care by engaging patients, empowering care teams and optimizing organizational effectiveness. To learn more about how you can transform your own healthcare system with intelligent IoT solutions, reserve your seat for the IoT in Action event in Orlando on February 11, 2019.

Overcome industry challenges with intelligent healthcare.

The opportunity for using IoT to transform healthcare is immense, with the potential IoT healthcare market projected at $158 billion by 2022. Many hospitals are turning to intelligent healthcare using IoT technology to overcome the many challenges facing the healthcare industry — an aging population, increased patient expectations, chronic diseases, and increased regulations.

Organizations using IoT solutions must also ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility. Additionally, all solutions must meet regulations such as GDPD and HIPAA. To help organizations deal with sensitive and regulated data deals, Azure Sphere provides a secure, end-to-end foundation and helps ensure a HIPAA- and HITRUST-ready environment.

Use intelligent health solutions to improve the patient experience and outcomes.

Today’s patients and providers have higher expectations for outcomes as well as the patient experience. IoT and data-driven insights allow providers to provide personalized care and help increase patient engagement by giving them control of their health. Plus, with intelligent cloud solutions, patients can strengthen relationships with their providers through secured communications. By using solutions that that empower care teams to efficiently coordinate and easily share patient insights, organizations can deliver improved patient-centric care while supporting secure, compliant, and timely communications.

Healthcare systems can also drive better diagnoses and treatments by optimizing clinical and operational effectiveness. IoT solutions help organizations identify patterns and trends, connect data systems, and remotely monitor critical systems. By tracking equipment and supplies – from bandages to open or available beds – organizations can improve efficiency and reduce costs. Organizations can even monitor if employees are following hand-sanitizing protocol.

Healthcare is no longer confined to within the walls of healthcare facilities. Providers can now use remote monitoring and data insights to provide precision medicine with individually tailored treatment plans. Remote monitoring also reduces expenses by lowering readmissions and eliminating unnecessarily appointments. By using devices to collect and manage data, providers can spend more time caring for patients. Employees can also see the status of their patients remotely with solutions providing real-time insights to the care team – regardless of if the provider is in another location or at home.

Learn how to transform your healthcare organization with intelligent healthcare.

If you are attending HIMSS, learn how your healthcare system can transform your own organization at the IoT in Action event in Orlando on February 11, 2019. You’ll gain actionable insights, deepen partnerships and unlock the transformative potential of intelligent edge and intelligent cloud for healthcare.

Unable to make it to the in-person event? You can still learn about tools and strategies for driving revenue with intelligent healthcare. Sign up for the IoT in Action webinar Safer, Happier, Healthier: Your Life Sciences Digital Transformation with IoT on February 20, 2019. You will learn how IoT can provide actionable insights, deepen partnerships, and unlock the transformative potential of intelligent edge and intelligent cloud for healthcare, without leaving your office.

The post IoT in Action: Enabling Intelligent Healthcare Solutions appeared first on ReadWrite.