Software

A good enterprise application can be ideal for your business needs but you have to be fully aware of how your application is going to run. You need to set up a strong platform that will make it so it will not be all that hard for your setup to run as needed. Fortunately, there are many sensible points that you can do in order to get your enterprise application platform ready. Here are a few of the best options that you can use right now to give yourself the control needed for any setup you have to run.

1. Think About Your Audience

You need to choose the right platform based on the audience that you are trying to attract. These days, whether personal or business, you’ll need to ensure your software works on both Android and iOS.

If your app is going to be used in a private setting then you should design it based on the needs of those in your private space. You can always choose to adjust your app with different setups that might be ideal and unique based on whatever hardware your particular organisation uses.

2. Consider Your Possible Features

The particular features that will come with your enterprise application need to be explored so you can find the right solution for your particular business. You should consider taking a careful look at your platform based on points such as online communication features, ability to link in with HTML5 frameworks, responsive pages if accessible from mobile devices, and more.

Look to see what will meet your expected demands once you have a quality setup running.

3. Review How It Works With Databases

Platforms can work with databases in many ways, as you can link them up to different features within any server or other computer system you have to work with. Check that your databases can easily connect with the main features in your platform, so you have a setup that you can easily use without any struggles over how items are loaded. Be sure you take a good look at the particular databases that you want to use and check their strengths and limitations. This will ensure you have a control setup that should not be hard to work with and adjust as desired.

4. Can It Sync?

Many platforms are capable of syncing up with larger computers. This is typically through the use of tethering, Bluetooth or VPN support for larger organisations with sensitive data, but more and more organisations are looking to cloud-based setups. If you have many employees on the go, you need to check and see that you have a platform that can manage syncing features. This will allow them to access data on both computers and mobile devices without worrying about needing to put specific documents on specific platforms.

5. Can You Develop It Later?

You should also plan for scalability. This refers to the ability for your application grow with your organisation and customer base, or to be easily adjusted and updated according to demand. Consider creating a framework for your application that will cater for altered and additional features based on any future changes that you might require.

This will give you more control over your application’s developmental process as you go forward. The additional money you invest in a scalable infrastructure now will save you a lot more later on. It will ensure you avoid the need to completely overhaul your application when you outgrow what you’re currently using, which is not only a large cost financially, but also in time, effort and stress.

Be careful when getting a good enterprise application platform ready. A quality platform can make a big difference when it comes to getting your app to run right and to stay as active and useful as it can be. If you keep these questions in mind as you select an enterprise platform, it will save you many headaches in the future.

photo credit: Building Blocks

rosemary-brown Rosemary Brown is a business and market researcher with over 20 years of experience. She has been extensively involved in exploring the impact of technological innovations on business organizations, enterprise culture and organizational processes. Currently, Rosemary is conducting a series of experiments to study the impact of web-based help desk tools like ProProfs Knowledge Base Software on customer retention & acquisition. Rosemary has a Masters Degree in Marketing Management and Strategy.

If I told a room full of people I could save 4 hours in their working week, most of them would be queuing up afterwards wanting to know the secret to lost time. One of the hardest struggles sometimes in our working lives is how to squeeze out more work in less time, or ‘How can I work with less hours but be more productive’?

Technology isn’t always the answer and it’s interesting to watch a retrograde going back to design with pen and paper rather than using a digital source. But since this article is about automation, here are some key ways of being productive in the online world.

Automate your Email

Lately, I have been using a program called Mailbox, which is both an Android and an iOS app. This helps you to manage your emails by allowing you to choose a time to view them. Sometimes it’s not important to answer certain emails right at that very time, you can choose a time in which they appear at the top of your inbox.

Automate your Social Media

Lately, I have been experimenting using both Buffer and Hootsuite to schedule my social media. The benefit of using automation tools is you can access the analytics for each of these platforms and schedule your posts so they appear during the ‘ideal’ time to post.

Another product on the market at the moment is Meet Edgar which is another social media management tool. It collects your social media content into a library, which can be then re-shared later on.

Automate your Images

When you are creating images either on your iPhone, Android device or via social media, it’s a good idea to be able to save them without individually backing each photo up. This is where a tool like Zapier or IFTTT comes in handy. I love creating images for Pinterest and Instagram and often want them directly saved to Dropbox.

IFTTT uses what they call recipes–rules that tell your apps what to do. There is a ‘trigger’ (what starts the process) and then an ‘action’ (what happens afterwards).

To automate your images, there is a recipe called save your ‘Instagram’ photos to ‘Dropbox. It does exactly what it says it does. It’s just one of many ‘recipes’ already available for you to use. Or, you can also create one yourself. There are many other things you can automate beyond images, so explore the recipes to find out what else you can do!

Automate your files

Did you know there are some great tools that can help you organise the content on your computer whether these are files or images? Sometimes there are files that need to be archived or other tasks to schedule.

Mac

For Mac, the application is called Automator. It has been a way for Mac users to automate repetitive tasks with Apple software, such as Safari, iTunes and Calendar. Now, other third party products such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop and text editors work.

This is a great tutorial on how to use Automator.

Windows

There is a similar app for windows called Action(s). Here are some great tutorials for automation with Action(s) that don’t require any technical knowledge to create. One of my favourites is to batch rotate images, which can rotate all your portrait images in one go. There is nothing worse than taking photos and then having to manually turn them all around!

Windows also has an inbuilt tool called Windows Task Scheduler. This requires a bit more technical know-how, but there are some great tutorials for various tasks. You could use it for auto-launching programs when you log on, for example, or clearing your downloads folder weekly.
Featured image: A Murder of Drossels-06

Download Get Your Life Back ebook by Kasia Gospos, founder of Leaders in Heels, on how you can streamline and automate your business and life so that you have more time for what you really love.

So your computer’s been kicking around a few years. Still working fine, not quite time for an upgrade yet… but you suddenly find you’re running out of space. What to do? Buy an even bigger external hard drive? Delete the ten thousand holiday snaps you’ve always meant to get printed but haven’t found the time to even look through yet? Or, heaven forbid, start culling your precious stash of (legally obtained) TV shows, movies and music?

Hold your horses! There may be other items clogging up your computer, items that you may not even realise are there. Here are three simple ways to free up space on Windows computers.

1. Clear out your recycle bin

empty recycle bin

I’m going to start with the obvious – right-click on your Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and click “Empty Recycle Bin”. Everything you delete goes in here, and isn’t actually removed from your computer until you empty the bin. So while you may have deleted hundreds of files, they’re still taking up space on your computer! Do note, however, that once you clear your recycle bin, those files aren’t coming back–unless, of course, you’re willing to pay professionals hundreds of dollars to try and retrieve your data.

2. Use Disk Cleanup to remove install files and other temporary files

Disk cleanup

When Windows updates your computer, it tends to leave a lot of junk behind. In fact, quite a few programs tend to leave a lot of junk behind. The simplest way to fix this is to use Disk Cleanup. I’ve managed to delete up to 3 or 4 gigabytes of files in one go simply by using this program. You can find detailed, step-by-step instructions from Microsoft here (select your version of Windows in the top right). I would highly recommend also following the instructions to clean up system files, because that’s where you’ll clear out the remnants of Windows Update installation files, which can get pretty big!

You can also use other respected cleaning software to clear out additional files. CCleaner is my go-to software in this case.

3. If you never hibernate your computer, turn off that option

This mainly applies to Windows 7 users, as hibernate is turned off by default in Windows 8 and 8.1. But in Windows 7, the hibernate feature is generally enabled by default. This feature can take up anywhere from 3 to 16 gigabytes, depending on your computer. That’s a lot of space if you never even use that feature!

If you’re not familiar with the command window (the what now?), Microsoft has a simple script you can download and run to disable hibernation – and one to enable it again, if you find you suddenly miss it.
Featured image: Bart Willemstein
What other methods do you use to keep your computer’s space free? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!

This is the final article in our January tech series, “Things to ask your…” . Check out the other articles in the series, Three things to ask your… Software developer, Four things to ask your… Website developer and Four things to ask your… Social media manager!

You may be in the position where you’ve found that simply having a website isn’t enough. Perhaps it’s not responsive, and can’t be viewed nicely on all screen sizes (and would cost a lot to create from scratch!). Perhaps your business requires a lot of interaction with clients and customers that would be better handled by a specific app which streamlines the process and makes it quick and simple for them to go through the process, and provides a higher chance of making that sale. Or maybe you simply have a stunning idea which you know would do incredibly well as an app.

Whatever the reason, you’ve decided to create an app. You have all the functionality documented and ready to go. Now you need to hire someone to actually build the app for you. Here are three things you should be asking potential candidates!

What is your background in design?

An app lives or dies by its design and user experienceAn app lives or dies by its design and user experience. Unless you have someone on your end who’s highly experienced in design and UX, the bulk of this responsibility will fall on the app developer. App design isn’t simply about making things look good – when you have the limited real estate of a phone screen, the design also needs to cater for how easily a user can move from one step to the next, and how buttons and other interactive elements are designed and placed to cater to big, clumsy fingers.

A good app developer will have an innate understanding of these design considerations, and more besides. Colour and contrast for a device used in both a dark bedroom and in bright sunlight. Simplicity that masks complex processes underneath. There are many things a good app designer must keep in mind while designing a mobile app, so ensure that your developer is well-grounded in design and user experience.

What is your understanding of my business?

This is closely related to the question above. In order to ensure the design is best suited for your needs and customer interactions, the app developer should have at least a basic understanding of what you do. That’s not to say they need to be able to rattle out your processes in detail, but they should at least understand the purpose of your business, and the purpose of your app within your business.

For example, while two businesses may both want an eCommerce app, a specialty store that stocks a very small variety of premium goods will need a completely different design and user experience to a general store that has thousands of different products. A good app developer will be able to explain the differences in design choices between the two, and why.

How easy (or hard) will it be to port my app to other platforms?

Much as Apple or Google would like us to believe that developing exclusively for iOS or Android is all you need, that will never be the case. The mobile market is fragmented across different operating systems (OS), including the much-overlooked Windows Phone OS. Although you may only be developing on one platform right now due to budget (and time) constraints, it’s possible that you’ll want to make your app available on other platforms in the future.

It’s important to ensure that your app can be ported to other platforms without needing to rebuild everything from scratch. But keep in mind that even if an app can be deployed to multiple platforms, the differences in operating systems can also lead to performance differences across platforms. How well is the code optimised for each OS? Or if you do decide to go down two separate paths for your app, how will you ensure both are kept updated, and the features are the same across all OSes?

These are questions worth asking your app developer, and a good one will help you with that long-term plan – and build a relationship where they can help you carry it out!
Featured image: IntelFreePress

Do you have any other questions we should be asking our app developers? Share them in the comments!

As we grow increasingly reliant on our laptops, tablets and mobiles, it also means they become increasingly vulnerable to theft. We take them with us everywhere–travelling overseas, to the local coffee shop, or just out and about in our handbags. One careless moment, or one daring thief, is all it takes to lose that thousand-dollar laptop, or those priceless holiday snaps or personal documents.

One of the most effective ways to protect your devices from theft is by the use of tracking software. These are apps you install on your laptop, phone or tablet, which allow you to log in online and not only view your laptop’s location, but depending on the app, you can also lock the device, delete all information, or remotely activate features such as the camera or webcam. They run in the background, so you don’t even notice they’re there–until you need them, of course.

Here’s a quick look at two of the most popular device tracking apps out there today.

Prey – The free and simple solution

prey screenshot

Prey is free, and installs on just about any device. You will also need to create an account with Prey, which you link your devices to. Once installed, you can manage your linked devices. Once you mark a device as missing, Prey will collect the following information from your device on a regular basis: geo-location using the device’s GPS (if available), and any network information such as IP addresses which can also help locate the device. It will even attempt to photograph the thief if the device has a webcam!

The online dashboard also lets you perform certain actions at will, such as setting off an alarm to locate your device (very handy for those who are always misplacing their phones!). You can also send alerts to the device that pop up messages and change the wallpaper, hide the app icon so thieves don’t know its installed, and remotely lock your phone.

The free version allows you to track up to three devices on one account. You can upgrade to the Pro version from $5 a month, which will give you access to additional features (the higher plans also allow you to track more devices on one account).

Absolute LoJack – The “sit back and let someone handle it” solution

LoJack is similar to Prey, though it provides less user-options. You can locate, lock and erase files remotely, and that’s about it. So why use it, you might ask?

Well, the difference with LoJack is that they have a specialised recovery team. Once you report your device missing, they take over. Where Prey and similar software will help you find and identify the person, LoJack will have people hunt it down for you and return it–no vigilante justice or protracted campaigns with the police required.

They also have what they call “persistence technology”, where on certain devices, they can continue to track it even if everything is erased or the hard drive replaced.

Of course, this comes at a cost. LoJack starts at $49 a year for laptops, and $39 a year for tablets and phones.

There are many other device tracking software out there, such as Laptop Cop, Android Device Manager, Find my iPhone, or Hidden. Do you use any such software? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!

featured photo: Divine Harvester

The present generation craves for learning that conventional teaching methods cannot provide. Students want to have more in their learning experiences. This is brought about by the fact that technology has been readily available to modern youth. Before children even attend formal schooling, parents have already provided them with gadgets that allow them to manipulate images and content, shown on the monitors. Most young students have experienced the Internet and mobile communications through devices such as smart phones, laptops, and tablets. These and social networking sites elevate the interactive experience. Television and the Internet are seen now as the modern student’s best friends.

Through the help of e-learning, your students are allowed to utilize the technology available for them to gain more knowledge. When they learn more, you gain the satisfaction that you are, indeed, providing quality education to your children.

Benefits of E-Learning

The following are the known benefits of e-learning:

It’s customized and personal. E-learning provides a more tailored form of learning for your child. Some students learn quickly, while others take more time. Different learning styles require learning tools that will be able to deliver the lessons very well. Through this customized and personal approach to learning, your child will learn according to his or her learning style and abilities. E-learning tools are engaging and accessible. You can even gauge your child’s progress with e-learning systems.
It’s interactive. Passivity is avoided in e-learning. Knowledge is not only heard and seen. The students experience what they learn. Your child is exposed to real-life situations, enabling them to retain the lesson in the long-term memory slot.
It’s engaging. It is very stimulating for your child to learn through e-learning. Virtual tools have role-playing and multi-player modes that help your student gain more confidence.

Effectiveness of E-Learning

E-learning is very effective because of many factors:

It’s in real-time. Your child learns at any given time and place. There is no need to adhere to certain schedules anymore. Internet access isn’t even a problem with e-learning. You can just upload the result of the content that you studied offline when you regain your Internet connection.
It gives you the courage to fail. Children are afraid to be humiliated when they fail during a class recitation. With e-learning, failure is faced with more openness and confidence. Exploration is even triggered as your child learns to test various ideas. The best part is that you child can always start over. These are often unachievable in conventional classroom setups.

Online Educational Games

Online educational games are also helpful in e-learning. Through these creative tools, your child learns lessons on dealing with emotions, computer basics, and various social skills. These games also teach your child to develop more focus. Your student’s attention span becomes much longer because the task has to be finished for the game to progress. Your child also learns about sense of achievement, self-confidence, and patience.

By playing these games online, your child has the chance to know other cultures. Other children from every corner of the world can play with your child. The interaction makes all of them familiar with other traditions as well. Ultimately, your child learns how to work with other people, regardless.

Help your child explore more e-learning options. Many e-learning tools available for you to try. Start now and harness the benefits of this type of hi-tech learning.

Featured photo: Lupuca

Jade Benny

Jade is regular content provider for Inspire Education and other self improvement and education related blogs. She is fond of spending time with family and friends, reading, writing, and listening to her favorite music. Get in touch with her through her Twitter and Google+ accounts.