October 16th, 2012
While a cloud without borders is the ideal that many cloud services providers wish to offer, there are certain issues with jurisdiction that can complicate the use of cloud computing for a multinational company. The main selling point of the cloud is that it allows users to connect to each other and to their data regardless of where they are. Cloud computing equals mobility. Unfortunately, national borders and jurisdiction mean quite the opposite and learning what they mean to your cloud is an essential part of establishing a cloud solution for your company.
The cloud allows data to transcend national borders
As has been seen in companies such as Shell and Apple, establishing a strong cloud network allows hundreds of thousands of employees all around the world to be able to access data and cloud services regardless of their location. For an energy company, this is especially important. For the Asian market in particular, especially in South Korea and Japan, that relies so much on mobile technology, being able to have full access to data and services anywhere you go is not absolutely essential. Pair this with a redundant system that is streamlined specifically for retrieving and storing data effectively, and you have a system that is hard to pass up.
The cloud is global by definition; regardless of where your company is, all you need is access to the Internet to be able to access important data that is closely safeguarded in the cloud. However, it is important to understand that global access, unexpectedly, requires your cloud provider to be local to be safest. Although, in theory, your cloud provider could be located anywhere in the world, making sure that your cloud provider is close to your company’s headquarters can save you numerous hassles when dealing with international jurisdiction and national borders.
How the cloud interacts with national borders
With more governments getting involved in regulating the cloud and using the cloud themselves for their own storage needs, the discussion of national borders and privacy laws has started to affect cloud services providers. This is especially true in areas that have dense national borders such as the European Union. However, the Asian market (with its wildly differing political systems) and the North American market, affected by regulation such as the Patriot Act in the United States, also has its own obstacles to overcome when it comes to cloud computing and international borders.
A solution that has worked well for companies in different European states, particularly in France, is investing heavily in local cloud services providers. While the data remains available anywhere in the world, where the data is headquartered is an important factor. For example, the Japanese corporate giant Fujitsu has headquartered its cloud services in France, with servers in Germany, and corporate offices in Japan. This leaves this company’s data out of reach of the United States patriot act while allowing the Japanese business to effectively cater to its European clients.
Where your cloud data resides matters
For many small and midsize businesses, considering the headquarters of their data is often not a priority. For these businesses, performance and price are usually the most important considerations. However, increased regulation and intervention by federal governments has led many IT professionals to add the location of their cloud services provider to the many factors that determine which company they choose to handle their cloud services. Apart from matters of security, working with a cloud services provider that shares your culture is also an important part of choosing the right service for your company.
One point that is often overlooked is the role of culture when it comes to cloud computing. Many companies will give preference to cloud service providers located in their own country and ensuring that your cloud services provider speaks your own language, is located in your own time zone, and is aware of a shared cultural background – are very important to them. This stands in stark contrast with one of the main selling points of cloud technology: its global appeal. Taking these considerations into account, IT professionals should consider:
Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Guest Author:
Nida Rasheed is a freelance writer and owner of an outsourcing company, Nida often finds herself wanting to write about the subjects that are closest to her heart. She lives in Islamabad, Pakistan and can be found on Twitter @nidarasheed.
October 15th, 2012
Traditionally, video conferencing of has been available only to the major names in the industry and had involved large upfront costs – going beyond tens of thousands of dollars. However, this has changed considerably with the advent of cloud-based video conferencing. All of a sudden, you can set up video conferences with clients, collaborators and people you have never met before.
Conferencing is not limited to merely talking. You can share documents and videos, work collaboratively, invite additional members and record what is being said at costs that are different less than $50 per participant per month. While the impact of this technology is yet to sink in, cloud based video conferencing, coupled with 3G services now beginning to be available in large parts of the world is changing corporate communication.
Cloud services have brought about what is now called Unified Communication solutions to business, healthcare and many other industries. It does not matter if you are in a boardroom or on the move, if you are on a network, you can be part of the conference. This is the power of cloud-based video conferencing.
Here are some of the key benefits of the technology –
As with all other types of cloud computing applications, you get access to the latest equipment, software and capability when you work with the cloud. Setting up requires practically no work and the quality of the video and audio stream is nearly as good as studio based ‘traditional’ video conferencing. In these difficult economic times, cloud based video conferencing has given businesses – both big and small – new capabilities in corporate communications.
Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Guest Author:
Sanjay Srivastava has been active in computing infrastructure and has participated in major projects on cloud computing, networking, VoIP and in creation of applications running over distributed databases. Due to a military background, his focus has always been on stability and availability of infrastructure. Sanjay was the Director of Information Technology in a major enterprise and managed the transition from legacy software to fully networked operations using private cloud infrastructure. He now writes extensively on cloud computing and networking and is about to move to his farm in Central India where he plans to use cloud computing and modern technology to improve the lives of rural folk in India.
October 12th, 2012
Japanese culture traditionally values cooperation and putting the needs of the many over the individual. While there are certainly advantages to this, conformity and repression of individual voices – especially among Japan’s younger population – are one of the negative side effects of this cultural view. However, many analysts have observed that social media have given Japan’s youth the tools to express themselves as individuals. As more continue to do so, it seems that a profound change in Japan’s traditional values is in the horizon, with social networks taking center stage.
Social media has given a voice to young Japanese activists
Japan has an extraordinarily high suicide rate, particularly in the younger population. Japanese cities have also started to face economic problems, some (like Yubari, a former mining city) have declared bankruptcy in recent years. Like most countries, Japan has its share of social unrest. However, activism is not common in this country. A recent investigative report by the BBC has uncovered that more young people in Japan are turning to Twitter and other social media networks to speak their mind, and by doing so, they are altering Japan’s rigid social structures.
Social media has also had an effect on the interaction of Japan’s government and its people
Japan’s government has also traditionally been one where there is little interaction between elected officials and their constituents. While there is surprisingly little corruption in Japanese politics, the lack of activism in Japanese society has also led to a lack of individual participation and dialog with government officials.
Japanese culture traditionally values cooperation and putting the needs of the many over the individual. While there are certainly advantages to this, conformity and repression of individual voices – especially among Japan’s younger population – are one of the negative side effects of this cultural view. However, many analysts have observed that social media have given Japan’s youth the tools to express themselves as individuals. As more continue to do so, it seems that a profound change in Japan’s traditional values is in the horizon, with social networks taking center stage.
Social media has given a voice to young Japanese activists
Japan has an extraordinarily high suicide rate, particularly in the younger population. Japanese cities have also started to face economic problems, some (like Yubari, a former mining city) have declared bankruptcy in recent years. Like most countries, Japan has its share of social unrest. However, activism is not common in this country. A recent investigative report by the BBC has uncovered that more young people in Japan are turning to Twitter and other social media networks to speak their mind, and by doing so, they are altering Japan’s rigid social structures.
Social media has also had an effect on the interaction of Japan’s government and its people
Japan’s government has also traditionally been one where there is little interaction between elected officials and their constituents. While there is surprisingly little corruption in Japanese politics, the lack of activism in Japanese society has also led to a lack of individual participation and dialog with government officials.
Social media has started to change this gradually. Initially set up to communicate with the public after the natural disasters of recent years, Japan’s prime minister’s office’s social media presence has expanded dramatically in the last year. Originally, this office’s Twitter account and Facebook pages were used mostly to post news pertaining to the earthquake the country has suffered last year. However, the prime minister’s office decided to keep these social media tools running as a way to establish a dialog with young Japanese citizens interested in their government’s activity. This move has been so successful that the prime minister’s office has now expanded to other various social networks and uses social media for other numerous purposes apart from simply posting news about important events.
Social media has empowered Japanese women and ethnic minorities like never before
Japan, and many other countries in the Asia Pacific have societies that are clearly dominated by men. Japan in particular has been known for having a “glass ceiling” that is quite difficult to surmount. Researchers have observed that women in Japan are marrying at later ages, that they are earning more money than before, and that they are excelling in fields that were traditionally dominated by men.
So, how does social media factor into this progress? Polls have shown that more women and minorities use social media websites than the prevailing population in the United States. It seems that a similar phenomenon is occurring in the modern Japanese society. Like in the West, social media has allowed voices in Japanese societies that would normally have not been heard to find an outlet to express their opinions and to advocate for their own interests on a public platform.
Traditional communications platforms, especially television and radio which are still the prevailing forms of mass media in Japan, have not been particularly adept at portraying the interests of women and minorities in Japan in the same proportion as the dominant segment of society.
Social media has allowed women and minorities in Japan to discuss arts, culture, and news in a space that is their own. This has allowed Japanese women to connect with each other and has had a net positive effect on the country’s female employment and entrepreneurship statistics in recent years. While women and minorities have been traditionally shushed in mainstream Japanese society, Twitter and Facebook has allowed this segment of the population to say what they want to say without fear of censorship. The many profound changes in Japanese culture can be traced to the increased social media activity in this country and the rising amount of people that are constantly connected due to the popularity of mobile technology in Japan.
Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Guest Author:
Nida Rasheed is a freelance writer and owner of an outsourcing company, Nida often finds herself wanting to write about the subjects that are closest to her heart. She lives in Islamabad, Pakistan and can be found on Twitter @nidarasheed.
October 11th, 2012
Online shopping in Japan is expected to become a $56 billion industry by 2015, this is according to a research done by global management consulting firm Mckinsey & Company. Virtual shopping is currently a $30 billion market and approximately represents 5 percent of the entire retail sales.
The significant shift from conventional shopping landscape is attributed to the unlimited power of the Internet. The decision to shift was likewise influenced by the consumer’s cost-cutting scheme during the 2009 recession.
The dwindling economy taught consumers to live within means. So instead of “hanging out” they found it more economical to stay home. The most exciting mode of entertainment at home, apart from the television was the Internet, which eventually became their key to the outside world. Pretty soon, it provided everything they needed, from the news and public affairs, social discussions down to the basic commodities.
High speed Internet easily earned a place in the Japanese consumer’s daily life. Worldpopulationreview.com pegged the population of Japan to be 130 million with 90 million Internet users.
Online shopping proved to be cheaper than to going to a retail store. Every shopper knows that a single trip to the mall easily includes food and transportation costs.
Known for their discipline and diligent saving practices, online shopping gives Japanese buyers an opportunity to compare prices. They can even do further research by reading product reviews and discussion forums. And because of the unique sense of consumer empowerment price wars in electronics and apparel has been sweeping the virtual stores.
Previous studies made by Mckinsey & Company further noted that it took decades before consumers welcomed the idea of shopping on credit.
Innovative Selling
Thus, the astounding shift in consumer mindset is enough to convince retailers to get online and be part of the virtual shopping frenzy. To keep up with their dynamic market they have been developing various selling innovations.
For instance, a mobile gadget like Kindle keeps users glued to Amazon’s shopping catalogue while simplifying the book purchasing process. There’s Zappos.com, the largest online shoe retailer which has a return policy in case the shoe does not fit. Japanese food products use Cookpad.com to market their latest promotions; the cooking and recipe site has over eight million users.
Another significant factor related to online retail success is the efficient delivery system. Japan is known to have the most reliable and the most reasonably priced logistics network in the world. For instance, it is a common practice among Japanese golfers to send their golf clubs to their destination ahead of time. Logistics service is very cheap and it spares them from actually carrying the bulky golf bag during the trip.
Amazon Japan is the only outlet that can bravely offer “same day delivery” feature. The efficient service began in 2009 and orders made at midnight can be delivered in the morning. Japanese buyers can even choose to pick up their orders at any of the 50,000 convenience stores all over the country. The service extends to fresh food products. For an extra fee fresh food like newly caught crab from Hokkaido or Okinawa pineapple can be delivered to the buyer’s doorstep on the same day.
Love for Luxury Brands
Among the most visited shopping sites are Rakuten, Amazon Japan and Yahoo Japan. Rakuten is the number one shopping site. It carries everything from fashion, electronics, home, garden, health and beauty, car accessories, sports, food and drinks. It is one of the top Internet companies in the world along with Google, eBay, Yahoo and Amazon reporting revenue at US$4.7 billion in 2011. Founded in 1997, Rakuten currently has 10,000 employees worldwide.
The number one brand on Rakuten’s search list is Louis Vuitton. The luxury label has consistently been dominating the Japanese retail arena for years. According to an article in the New York Times the international luxury industry relies on the Japanese market for at least 13 percent of their total profit.
With the upper class as their primary market, brands like Louis Vuitton, Coach, Hermes and Tiffany also have significant presence among the middle class. These consumers penny pinch by skipping vacations or avoiding expensive restaurants so they can afford designer clothes, bags and shoes.
The obsession for stylish labels has migrated to the Internet. Other popular brands that are consistently at the top of Rakuten’s search list are Coach, Gucci, Hermes, and Nike.
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About the Guest Author:
Rodolfo Lentejas, Jr. is a fulltime freelance writer based in Toronto. He is the founder of the PostSckrippt, a growing online writing business dedicated to producing top quality, original and fresh content. To know more about him, please visit www.postsckrippt.ca. Like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.
October 10th, 2012
Cloud computing is no longer a new word. Almost every major enterprise makes use of it to reduce infrastructure costs as well as provide a Software as a Service (SaaS) business model to offer web-based applications that create more profitable revenue streams. Since cloud computing has become a common name in the industry, there are thousands of providers for the service. So the question arises, “How do you select the right cloud service provider for your business?” Well the answer to that depends on how you follow the criteria stated below to select the right cloud service provider.
Do they guard well?
You must know where the data is kept by the cloud provider you employ. It should be guarded by security personnel all the time and surveillance cameras and mechanisms must be installed in the surroundings of the facility. The facility should not be accessible to imposters or unauthorized personnel. If a person is able to walk into a data center facility without being caught, then the security measures of such a cloud service provider lack credibility because your critical data has no guarantee of being protected from a theft or unauthorized access. Proper security measures such as biometric ID verification, trespassing alarms, etc. must be in place to ensure that your data is protected at all costs.
Are they geographically immune?
A data center facility where the data from your cloud service is likely to be stored away should not lie in a seismically active region because then it would be prone to disastrous consequences at the time of events like earthquake, storm and fire break-out. Always try to pick the locations lying outside the common pathways of hurricanes, thunderstorms, excessive heat radiation and other naturally hazardous environmental conditions. Not only that, but also at the time of crisis, the recovery locations must be accessible by company staff with ease and at the earliest.
Are they high tech?
Just because they have good storage hardware, does not mean they are the best. You need to analyze whether they employ the best in class technology for safeguarding your data such as software firewalls, encrypted data transmission, active monitoring tools, performance metrics to determine speed of service and much more. Without such software utilities it is difficult to stage claims about efficiency and other performance measures. The service provider you choose must be able to give a satisfactory report about their performance that is measured by proven standards and software utilities.
Are they what they claim?
Make sure that the security and other performance claims they make are solid and true. Ensure that certifications are for the mentioned technological guarantees or are accredited by an international standardization agency for quality service. There would be imposters and hence, it is important to select a service provider with a proven track record or have a valid legal certification from industry experts or information technology foundations. These certificates serve to prove the authenticity of the service provider and can be trusted.
Do they have sufficient backup facilities?
In the event of a disaster, your data which would determine the fate of your business, should not be lost or damaged. Hence the cloud service provider you choose must provide efficient backup mechanisms and options to safeguard your critical data. Proper software applications for backup should be available throughout and the entire facility should be periodically tested to estimate the level of preparedness it has in the event of a disaster.
Do they have reliable infrastructure?
The hardware infrastructure that a cloud service provider has must be fail-proof. They should not falter frequently and the power and cooling systems must always have proper backup mechanisms installed. A minute of service disruption by your cloud service provider can lead to millions of dollars in losses for your business. The network connectivity, bandwidth and other connectivity parameters must be of high quality.
Do they have apt personnel?
The service provider you choose must have experts personal handling your critical data. Lack of expertise could result in fatal damages and delay in rectifying mistakes or downtime of processes that are mission critical in nature.
In short, the cloud service provider you select must have bullet proof reliability and quality when it comes to the service they offer. Following the above criterion alone is not enough. You need to verify your service provider with the above criterion periodically so that you can be assured of quality cloud service all through the time.
Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Guest Author:
Mandira Srivastava is a fulltime freelance writer who specializes in technology, health and fitness, politics, and financial writing. Equipped with degree of mass communication and having worked for both private and corporate clients, I have experience meeting a wide range of writing requirements and styles.
October 9th, 2012
The European Union released a document on September 27, 2012. This is a communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and various other committees. The document is subtitled “Unleashing the Potential of Cloud Computing in Europe”. It makes for very interesting reading. The entire communication spans 32 pages with diagrams and tables and is a great discussion on the importance of the cloud and how it needs to be managed.
Many experts in the cloud computing business have taken this document to be a protectionist document that somehow seeks to ensure that European business is retained within Europe. However this is not so and when the paper talks of using local data centers, it is not out of protectionism, but as a method to overcome privacy issues. The document covers a number of best practices and problem areas associated with cloud computing.
In this post, I am covering a few points raised and clarified in the document mentioned above:
In the Cloud Computing environment, computing becomes an operating expenditure rather than capital expenditure – when you rent cloud computing cycles rather than buy servers, your expenditure goes into operating expenditure. There is no capital expenditure and depreciation. The hardware you use is always modern and updated and efficient.
On the energy uses of Cloud Computing, the paper makes the following observations –
Other Trends in Cloud Computing
Even with such large energy consumption overall, there are significant energy savings for large companies when they move to the cloud. Large companies in the US could save as much as $12.3B every year by moving to the cloud. As a consequence of these major savings’ possibilities, the paper says, Europe must move wholeheartedly to embrace cloud computing.
According to an IDC study commissioned by the European Commission, the global market will increase from $21.5 bn to $73 bn in 2015. Europe will get a 1% to 2% of GDP boost in the top five countries and nearly 11.3 million jobs will be added. A majority of European firms – 64% – are already using basic cloud computing services.
However, most firms are still quite cautious and reluctant to spend more till they gain more confidence. The key beneficiaries of this technology are the larger firms which look for major business benefits. It is surprising that the smaller firms – those who have the most to gain – are the slowest to adopt the technology. Firms that do not adopt cloud computing are essentially worried about data protection, data breach risks, liability to third party customers and worries about being able to enforce the service level agreement. Yet another barrier to use is the lack of reliable high speed Internet. If your connection is not available near 100% of the time, you cannot really repose faith in the system.
Most users start by porting simpler, non critical applications to the cloud when they first start. Later as they gain more confidence, they switch to more mission critical applications.
Why are European governments advising users to go for data centers within their own respective countries? One reason lies with the US Patriot Act itself. Most companies are worried that the US government could demand complete access t o the data stores on the cloud.
If the US government wants to increase the business coming into its data centers, it will have to find other, more acceptable ways to be able to examine the data it is working with.
Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Guest Author:
Sanjay Srivastava has been active in computing infrastructure and has participated in major projects on cloud computing, networking, VoIP and in creation of applications running over distributed databases. Due to a military background, his focus has always been on stability and availability of infrastructure. Sanjay was the Director of Information Technology in a major enterprise and managed the transition from legacy software to fully networked operations using private cloud infrastructure. He now writes extensively on cloud computing and networking and is about to move to his farm in Central India where he plans to use cloud computing and modern technology to improve the lives of rural folk in India.
October 8th, 2012
Countries in Asia are gearing up to maximize the benefits of cloud computing in diverse ways. This is in part due to the increasing demand for internet security and better IT services by corporate and governmental bodies. This unprecedented demand is motivating these entities to move their computing activities to the cloud for safety, cost-efficiency and flexibility. As a matter of fact, this change in the trend of managing IT infrastructures is expected to give Asia a head-start in the race to adopt cloud technology for optimal performance.
Companies that provide cloud computing and related IT solutions are seeing a significant increase in income as the number of their active clients ballooned. This is a very healthy development for cloud computing in Asia as corporations embrace the new and improved methods of managing their IT infrastructures. These Asian companies have a lot to gain from their determination to adopt cloud technology in every aspect of their operations; some of these benefits are highlighted below. Hence, the current trend in the use of cloud computing only emphasizes the persistent hunger for all technologies that are functional and helpful in letting Asian companies maximize their profitability.
Here are some of the sterling merits of adopting cloud computing:
Asian companies can save on the cost of managing their IT/ICT structures by completely moving their infrastructure to the cloud. They would not be required to spend on recruiting, training and maintaining a large size of IT personnel. This practice, noticeably, has been in existence, and more and more Asian companies are exploring this unique opportunity of reducing their overhead IT expenses with the hope of diverting those funds to other areas of their businesses that badly need them.
With cloud computing, companies enjoy unprecedented flexibility to operate efficiently according to their corporate goals and objectives. In other words, they can scale their IT requirements periodically based on their needs at a particular point in time. This action makes it possible for companies to concentrate on the main administrative parts of their business activity, leaving the technical/IT section to external or public cloud service providers that will guarantee safety and the protection of their data and other vital information.
Findings have shown that moving one’s IT structure to the cloud enhances performance. Apart from the guarantee that data and other important information will be kept in a way that they can be accessed immediately and swiftly when needed, cloud technology also encourages specialization, whereby a company can concentrate on its statutory responsibility of producing goods and services to its array of clients without experiencing any interruption due to the guarantees offered by cloud computing.
Being cost efficient and performance-boosting, cloud technology is capable of helping Asian companies achieve an unprecedented level of profitability. Specifically, these companies save plenty of money in reducing their overhead expenses on IT installation and maintenance in their respective operations. Undoubtedly, better performance can also lead to the production of great services/products that consumers will be happy to spend their hard-earned money on.
Without doubt, as Asian companies take up the challenge to explore more and more about the applicability of cloud computing in their various business activities, it is clear that they can continue to operate optimally in a way that the quality of their outputs will be maintained and improved upon. Countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and of course China are pioneers in this process of adopting cloud technology. Malaysia, for instance, is enjoying robust governmental support in this area as the country keeps an open-door policy for foreign IT services providers to migrate their operations into the country for higher profitability.
Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Guest Author:
Jerry Olasakinju, a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree holder, is a passionate researcher and writer whose interest in everything computing is unparalleled. He blogs about his literary works at http://jerryolasakinju.blogspot.jp/
October 5th, 2012
As Malaysian universities and other institutions of learning aspire to maximize and globalize their online education, there are series of questions that are begging for answers. This article looks critically at some serious challenges Online Education in Malaysia faces.
To start with, Malaysia Education Online (MEdO) is a Malaysian Government initiative that is aimed at transforming the process of international distance education in the country. It is a pet project that had been designated to make Malaysian institutions competitive in the area of international education delivery.
Apart from its possibility of bringing in some extra revenue, MEdO is expected to modify the processes of learning for both on-campus and long-distance students by integrating the traditional and modern course content into Malaysian education. This is projected to improve the quality of education delivered to students on both physical and virtual campuses.
The four main procedures for achieving the objectives of MEdO involve:
Of utmost importance are the content development and delivery aspects of this process. It is a fact that online education demands a sizeable quantity of storage capacity to be functional. Malaysian institutions need to quickly provide easy and quick access to interactive videos, virtual academic chatrooms, teleconferences and digitized library and educational feedback procedures. As a matter of fact, online students will require unrestricted access to on-demand educational technologies like videos, webinars, recorded lessons on CDs etc which will enhance the quality of their learning processes. However, this will be a capital-intensive project in the sense that new servers, networks and storage facilities are required to handle the increase in the number of online students.
Cloud computing is one of the efficient ways of solving this problem of unexpected surge in IT expenditure in order to meet the surprising increase in storage requirements. Malaysia universities have a lot to gain by adopting cloud technology. Aside from cutting back on their overheard IT expenses, they can also enjoy some distinguishing features of flexibility, scalability, better speed and efficiency guaranteed by cloud technology.
For example, Malaysian institutions can reduce their IT budgets and concentrate on improving the quality of the education they offer, whether locally or globally through the adoption of some great educational technology and software/hardware that will surely maintain a good culture of proactive online education.
Some of the features available to Malaysian online students as provided by the cloud technology include but are not limited to:
Considering the benefits of cloud computing described above, online Malaysian institutions should consider adopting cloud computing as one of their administrative strategies to make their institutions performance well. Another good thing about cloud technology is that it permits interoperability with other kinds of software/hardware. In other words, online learning institutions in Malaysia need not to bother themselves about the workability of their current hardware, networking system, servers and applications with the cloud technology. And the security concerns of cloud computing is improving on a regular basis, meaning that users of cloud technology will soon have nothing to worry about as far as their data protection and security are concerned.
Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Guest Author:
Jerry Olasakinju, a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree holder, is a passionate researcher and writer whose interest in everything computing is unparalleled. He blogs about his literary works at http://jerryolasakinju.blogspot.jp/
October 4th, 2012
Currently, millions of people are so glued to their mobile phones that they really do not remember how life was before smartphones became a reality. According to World Mobile Applications Market, there are about seven billion applications that were globally made in the year 2009. These mainly came from natural and third-party application stores that generated big revenue in the same year. It is expected that in the year 2015 this mobile application market would be worth $24.4 billion. This is at least a 64% increased rate from the year 2009. The mobile application market is growing due to advancement in network technologies, growing adaptation on smartphones, and lower mobile data usage cost. From this article, you will know how the mobile phone serves as a lodging place for cloud application development. While not all mobile devices can do the job, this would be in reference to most new-generation mobile phone devices.
The Rise of Mobile Cloud Computing
With the progression of mobile cloud computing, greater efforts have been exerted just to develop platforms for cloud-based mobile applications. Mobile computing and cloud computing are the same technologies that move applications from the user to the server. Building applications for mobile cloud is relatively diverse from developing applications for a traditional smartphone such as iPhone or Android. However, in the long run, mobile cloud computing models will generate more revenue for application developers, and will open its doors to more developers.
From Cellular Devices to App Development
Mobile phone companies can create their own parallel cloud for them to develop mobile applications. This simply means that mobile phone users need not go online to find stores for installation of applications. In other words, the procurement of mobile applications will become obsolete since the user should only rent a space to utilize network cache.
It is true that not all cellular devices can easily access an integral cellular cloud unless all developers will make a trademark that will support the application. This is not a difficult process since they can even run from their current mobile operating system, which by the way, is doing pretty well. Thus with this concept cloud computing would achieve a new dimension from the ones we are used to seeing now.
If what analysts say are to be believed, then in future there would be no need to install applications as they would run on a cloud environment and you only need to have an interface to operate it. Some technologies that facilitate these kinds of improvements are now available. In line with this, applications that are being installed and run can be more accessible and easy to use.
Setting up Mobile Applications
Other than smartphone developers and manufacturers, there are now experts who have cellular computing software. This paves the way for new mobile services and applications. They have their own packages that include excellent operating systems, which borrow from a computer-based cloud. It means that their main role is to prepare the cellular cloud to run similar to the latest technology needed for certain software. For this, more companies should also be in line with this kind of technological change.
The Bad
Though mobile sectors are known to be the fastest growing platforms for applications, it has also some issues and one of these is the interruption in network connection. Sometimes, you may experience that the download frequency is less and your broadband device is blinking. Some people may also experience inactivity of voice calls during the web-based procedure. Other mobile application marketplaces are not structured in terms of ad- revenue generation. Ads in free applications might be annoying to users, consumes more battery resources and turn off users.
The Good
Despite these issues, the development and setup of mobile applications are still rich in application achievements because it has opened a new source of revenue for mobile phone manufacturers. You will see that in the near future, iOS and android will no longer lodge on up-to-date devices. Not only will mobile application development remain an inspirational element for all users, it can also serve as people’s helping hand to create and improve mobile applications to produce great success.
Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Guest Author:
Mandira Srivastava is a fulltime freelance writer who specializes in technology, health and fitness, politics, and financial writing. Equipped with degree of mass communication and having worked for both private and corporate clients, I have experience meeting a wide range of writing requirements and styles.
October 3rd, 2012
A recent survey by Celent has uncovered some interesting statistics that may shed some light on how financial services firms in Japan differ from their Western counterparts in their use of social media platforms. According to this survey, about 88 percent of all Japanese financial services firms are using social media platforms to reach their customers. In fact, more than half of those are using several social media networks simultaneously. This is a particularly interesting fact when one considers that Western banks have been particularly slow in adopting social media as an effective way of reaching their customers.
A deeper look at these surprising statistics
While banks in many countries are just starting to move towards social media networks in order to provide their customers with better services and to advertise to potential new clients, almost all Japanese banks have a robust social media presence. This interest in social media among banks has grown impressively in the last couple of years, with many banks now using social media networks as a core part of their overall marketing and services strategy. The survey examined social media usage trends as well as patterns in social media consumption in the Japanese market. The results were surprising.
How Japanese banks are using social media platforms to their advantage
The main advantage that social media networks offer banks is allowing them to communicate with their customers in real time, making it an extremely efficient form of market research as well as a great platform for providing certain services. According to respondents of this survey, social media networks have also had a great impact in improving financial institutions’ brands and their recognition among the public. Other ways in which social media networks have helped Japanese banks include allowing better communication between people involved within a single financial institution, as well as improving the efficiency of offline interactions by allowing many transactions to be completed online by the customers or employees themselves.
Interest in social media among Japanese financial firms is projected to grow in the future. Those banks not involved in social media show strong interest in participating while those already using social media to their advantage are looking for ways to expand to a strategy involving multiple social media platforms.
How does this differ from how non-Japanese banks utilize social media?
Financial institutions in the United States and Europe have been comparatively slow in adopting social media. According to a similar survey carried out by an independent financial information source used for investment purposes, these banks have a very poor social media strategy. Out of the top fifty banks outside of Japan, the vast majority are using ineffective social media strategies with a token page on Facebook which usually receives no activity. Their attitudes toward other social media platforms also seem to be ineffective.
In fact, about a third of these banks had no Facebook page or profile and the banks that did would not accept friend requests or interact with their users. The statistics for Twitter and YouTube were similar. Only about half of the banks surveyed had active Twitter accounts that were regularly used to post, and about half of those used Twitter to engage with the public about wealth management and financial issues. In the case of YouTube, less than half were using this platform to engage with their audience.
The bottom line
Today, most consumers take social media for granted, considering it is almost a given that most major companies will have an active social media presence. Western banks can learn from Japanese financial firms’ usage of social media. Unlike their Western counterparts, they are active on the same channels as their consumers, reaching them more effectively in the process. It is also important to understand that a strategy that utilizes multiple social media networks is the best since it casts a wider net. Unfortunately, it seems that banks outside Japan have not grasped the core concept of social media usage: an inactive account is worse than no account at all. Social media as used by Japanese financial services firms is a tool for engagement with the public. Setting up an account and abandoning it conveys a poor image of a company to potential customers.
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About the Guest Author:
Nida Rasheed is a freelance writer and owner of an outsourcing company, Nida often finds herself wanting to write about the subjects that are closest to her heart. She lives in Islamabad, Pakistan and can be found on Twitter @nidarasheed.
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