Kotak Mahindra Bank announced the launch of Kotak Now-India’s first truly digital account opening process on mobile. ‘Kotak Now’ is an end-to-end digital process where verification of KYC documents and signature is done via a video call with the bank. This is a complete end-to-end online account opening experience, without any need of physical interaction or bio-metric verification. The entire process is 100% paperless.
The account opening process is simple, and takes only a few minutes. Once the Kotak Now app is downloaded, the prospective customer can upload KYC documents (PAN card, and either Aadhar Card or Passport), and the image of the signature. Thereafter, on entering a few personal details, the Customer Relationship Number (CRN) and Account Number is generated. The app automatically selects a branch closest to the customer’s address for correspondence. The account is activated, after a video call with a bank executive.
‘Kotak Now’ is in sync with Honourable Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digital India’. India is on the verge of a telecom transformation as 4G speed becomes a reality for the country’s average household. High speed data connectivity will also revolutionise banking transactions and open new vistas of innovation. While majority of banking transactions have already gone digital, ‘Kotak Now’ aims to completely digitise banking by offering paperless account opening via mobile.
Deepak Sharma, Chief Digital Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said
About 50% of all transactions in the last few years have moved to digital channels like net banking and mobile banking. Additionally, most services are now being made available on-the-move to customers via these platforms. However, the account opening experience for Indian consumers was still a challenge, and has thus far required high level of manual effort from their end. ‘Kotak Now’ is in-line with our mobile first approach and is a path-breaking step in making banking truly digital.
Kotak has played a pioneer’s role in the digital banking space. ‘Kotak Now’ is yet another addition to Kotak’s long list of innovative digital initiatives. In March 2014, Kotak launched ‘Jifi’, the first-of-its-kind social bank account that combines the power of social media with conventional banking. It was also the first bank in the world to offer Hashtag Banking, whereby customers can bank via Twitter. This was followed by ‘Kaypay’ – the world’s first bank agnostic instant funds transfer platform using Facebook and Social Commerce, which integrates social media banking with e-commerce. In June 2015, Kotak launched ‘Kotak Bharat’, a multi-lingual mobile banking app which requires no internet connectivity.
‘Kotak Now’, developed with the patented technology of Germany-based WebID Solutions, reduces the time involved in opening a bank account and also ensures data security.
Currently, ‘Kotak Now’ enables customers to open a Jifi account through this process. Other savings account variants will be introduced in a phased manner. ‘Kotak Now’ can be downloaded from Google Play Store.
VeriSign, Inc, a global leader in domain names and internet security, announced that approximately 7.9 million domain name registrations were added to the internet in Q2 2016, bringing the total number of domain name registrations to approximately 334.6 million across all top-level domains (TLDs) as of June 30, 2016, according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief.
The increase of approximately 7.9 million domain name registrations globally equates to a growth rate of 2.4 percent over the first quarter of 2016. Domain name registrations have grown by 38.2 million, or 12.9 percent, year over year.
The .com and .net TLDs experienced aggregate growth in the second quarter of 2016, reaching a combined total of approximately 143.2 million domain name registrations in the domain name base. This represents a 7.3 percent increase year over year. As of June 30, 2016, the .com domain name base equaled 127.5 million domain name registrations, while the .net domain name base equaled 15.8 million domain name registrations.
New .com and .net domain name registrations totalled 8.6 million during the second quarter of 2016. In the second quarter of 2015, new .com and .net domain name registrations totalled 8.7 million.
During the second quarter of 2016, Verisign’s average daily Domain Name System (DNS) query load was approximately 130 billion queries per day across all TLDs operated by Verisign, with a peak of nearly 179 billion queries. Quarter over quarter, the daily average query load increased 4.9 percent and the peak decreased by 5.0 percent. Year over year, the daily average query load increased by 17.0 percent, and the peak decreased by 1.5 percent.
Verisign publishes the Domain Name Industry Brief to provide internet users throughout the world with statistical and analytical research and data on the domain name industry.
The second quarter 2016 Domain Name Industry Brief, as well as previous reports, can be obtained at Verisign.com/DNIB
About Verisign
Verisign, a global leader in domain names and internet security, enables internet navigation for many of the world’s most recognized domain names and provides protection for websites and enterprises around the world. Verisign’s Security Services include intelligence-driven Distributed Denial of Service Protection, iDefense Security Intelligence and Managed DNS. For more information, please visit Verisign
Idea Cellular, India’s fastest growing telecom operator has announced the roll out of Electronic -Know Your Customer (e-KYC) based activations for both Prepaid and Postpaid customers across its service centres in 22 circles. The pan-India roll-out of e-KYC has been enabled after the successful pilot by Idea in Delhi circle, in association with UIDAI, and as per the DoT guidelines.
The e-KYC solution allows users to avail instant verification using their ‘Aadhaar’ Number, enabling quicker SIM activation. The facility for enabling bio-metric verification of customers is being rolled out across all exclusive Idea stores, and will be extended to multi-branded prepaid outlets, in a phased manner.
Speaking about the initiative, Navanit Narayan, Chief Service Delivery Officer, Idea Cellular said
The roll-out of paperless and completely digital mode of customer acquisition based on ‘Aadhaar’, is in line with Idea’s customer centric approach. It will ensure quicker customer acquisition and greater convenience for new customers. This is also a step towards achieving a greener environment through reduced paper usage and is key to enabling the vision of Digital India by facilitating many e-Governance services to be rolled out in future.
Customers can now walk in to any Idea Company Retail Store or My Idea outlet and avail a fast, paperless and secured activation service for both postpaid and prepaid, using the Aadhaar No. and bio-metric verification process. The e-KYC process is in addition to the existing format of issuance of mobile connection to subscribers and is not be applicable for bulk, outstation and foreign customers.
Each one of us would have encountered the situation where you wanted a Movie/MP3 or any other file from a friend but wanted the easiest & fastest way out! Carrying a charging or USB OTG cable is never an ideal option. So, you are left out with Transfer using Bluetooth or WiFi Direct. Due to better throughput, data transfer over WiFi is always the best option even if your data is in GB. This is where a powerful app like Xender can come in very handy !!
Xender, a file transfer and sharing application, has announced the launch of its new version- with comprehensive functions and better user experience. Xender has maintained a leading position as the world’s fastest, most convenient mobile sharing tool at zero cost.
Supports Android, IOS, Windows, PC/ Mac cross-platform transferring
No need for USB connection and PC software installation
Over 100 million files transferred daily
Play all music and videos
Wifi file transfer master
Xender offers seamless transmission between Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Windows PC and Apple MAC systems. Xender currently has 330 million cumulative global users, with over 110 million users from India alone. Over the next 3 years, Xender aims to achieve a global user-base of 800 million.
Installation Size Reduced
The new version of Xender has been reduced to 4.5 MB which gets further compressed in the absence of WiFi. Sharing of Xender is now more rapid and convenient.
Interactive Management Made Convenient
Xender does not need a USB connection or PC software installation. It can be used to transfer files anywhere, anytime-from documents, music, pictures, to videos and apps or any other file types of unlimited file size. It also allows users to view, move or delete files received and even to make a backup copy whenever needed to clean the phone storage.
No Replacement Trouble
You can also switch mobile data like contacts, SMS, pictures, music, videos, games and any other files from your old phone to the new one in one simple step.
Friendly Design
Xender satisfies all operating needs with functions related to transfer of files:opening, installing, uninstalling, deleting, viewing etc.
Sliding Mass Map : Connect two mobile phones and browse photos at the same time. Smoothly share photos with just a slide Search : Use the search function and search for any file Hidden Files : Protect your privacy and hide anything from prying eyes
Unlike other apps like Flash Transfer that is not available on Play Store and needs side-loading; transfer of data over Xender is fast & secure. There are no limitations on transfer size or restriction on transfer speed or number of devices on which transfer can simultaneously happen. Cross Platform Sharing is another important feature where Xender scores over apps like Flash Transfer.
You can download Xender from Google Play. If you have used Xender (which I am sure you would have), then please leave your experience in the comments section…
About Xender
Xender is a comprehensive app for all file sharing needs. It allows users to share any type of file, at any time, without any mobile data usage. Xender supports Android, iOS, Windows, PC/ MAC cross-platform transferring with over 200 times Bluetooth transfer speed. For more information, please visit www.xender.com
Ruckus Wireless Inc., now part of Brocade have announced Ola Cabs has deployed a fast and reliable Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi network to improve and grow its cab network in India.
Ola Cabs is an online cab aggregator, providing a range of cab services from economy to luxury travel, and has a network of over 200,000 cars across 85 cities. As Ola Cabs continued its growth in India, it needed to ensure it could on-board new cars as quickly as possible at its attachment centres. However, Ola’s employees were experiencing connectivity issues when trying to attach new cabs to the network using the legacy 3G cellular connection.
Shwetank Singh, network and infrastructure engineer at Ola Cabs said
When a new driver or vehicle owner wants to join our transport network, we need to complete an operational and functional level audit to ensure the vehicles pass our requirements to validate their road worthiness and are of an appropriate standard. The problem was, the 3G wireless connection we typically use to support our token management system was not providing the speed and reliability we were expecting for connecting to our main server. Signal drop-outs, interference and limited range were commonplace, creating frustration amongst staff and drivers, as well as slowing down the attachment process.
Ola Cabs reached out to 3in IT Solutions to find a solution that offered the performance, security, ease of management, coverage and reliability required to overcome the challenges in the cab attachment process.
Proof of concept tests were conducted using Ruckus Wireless and a competitor’s wireless access points (APs) to determine which performed better in the outdoor environment. Following the tests, Ola Cabs selected Ruckus Wireless.
Shwetank Singh, network and infrastructure engineer at Ola Cabs adds
What really stood out during the testing phase was Ruckus’ patented smart antenna technologies. Its adaptive antenna was a real advantage, particularly over omni-directional antennas, as it provided greater connectivity, performance and stability, while reducing interference on the network.
Ola Cabs has deployed Ruckus ZoneFlex T301 dual-band 802.11ac outdoor APs across its outdoor cab attachment areas to support all the staff using tablets and laptops to log cab attachments. ZoneFlex T301 APs enable focused Wi-Fi coverage in the most challenging outdoor environments by mitigating interference and providing unmatched capacity and reliability, through the Ruckus patented BeamFlex technology.
Key to the success of the installation is our patented BeamFlex Smart Wi-Fi antenna array technology. It monitors the environment and dynamically adjusts the signal to the best performing path, automatically steering around interference and obstacles. This ensures the strongest signal, highest throughput and least interference, enabling Ola Cabs staff to on-board vehicles over the Wi-Fi network quickly and efficiently, without the fear of drop-outs.
Ola Cabs has also deployed the Ruckus ZoneDirector 1200 to centrally manage its Wi-Fi network. The ZoneDirector 1200 can be deployed and operated by non-wireless experts and installed quickly and easily. It has been specifically designed for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) with limited IT staff and budget, enabling them to create a robust and secure multimedia WLAN in a matter of minutes.
Shwetank Singh, network and infrastructure engineer at Ola Cabs adds
Since deploying Ruckus, we have seen significant improvement in terms of performance, coverage and reliability and it has also been easy to manage using the ZoneDirector. Being cab aggregators, the more cabs we attach the more our business grows. By deploying Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi, we have seen an uplift in our day-to-day business operations, as the frequent network problems slowing down the attachment process have been removed. Now with Ruckus in place, on boarding is happening at pace and is resulting in growth in the business.
Following the deployment in Bengaluru, Ola Cabs is looking to replicate the system in all its cab attaching centres across India.
If you are a kid of the 1980’s or 1990’s, you would surely remember the then-breakthrough “Sony Walkman” which created a huge wave not only in India but across the world. In fact, during those days you would see every other person carrying a walkman. Sony Walkman was successful since it was the very first product in a new category – Personal Stereo. It enjoyed a dream run selling more than 40 million units in the first ten years. It also enjoyed the “First Mover Advantage” till the time; rapid technological innovations changed the entire consumer electronics industry!!
Being the first mover is just the initial step since it becomes essential that the X-factor is communicated well to the customers in order to take the advantage of the first-mover status. Consider the case of Tata Nano, the tag of “World’s Cheapest Car” completely backfired and its sales hit a Plateau. Customers do not want “Cheap” products, rather they want “Affordable” Products and this is where Tata Nano suffered a setback since it marketed Nano as Cheap and not an Affordable Car!!
First Mover is not only limited to Tech companies but the same also applies to real-estate Companies that innovate on their Offerings, Product Placement, Pricing Model etc. One such company is Sobha Ltd that has taken a leap forward in the residential real-estate sector with its new project Sobha Dream Acres. So, you may ask what is so special about Sobha Dream Acres? Well, Sobha Dream Acres is the first residential that is built using the Precast Technology. The primary advantages of using Precast are Quality, Speed of construction and value-for-money product.
We had an interaction with Mr. Raj Pillai, Executive director of Sobha Ltd in his office and the discussion was centered around Core values of Sobha, Exemplary focus on customer service, his journey with Sobha, Precast Technology, Pros & Cons of being the first mover in Business, Housing for all and much more…
These are the edited excerpts from of the Q&A with Mr. Raj Pillai
Note: ‘I’ in the interview refers to Mr. Pillai and ‘We’ refers to Sobha Ltd. Before we start the Q&A, let me share a quick pic of myself with Mr. Pillai (L)
Raj Pill (L), Himanshu Sheth (R)
Can you please share some details about key pillars of Sobha Ltd
Sobha has mainly three businesses:Real Estate, Contracts, and Manufacturing. Real Estate contributes to ~80% of our business and when you talk about Real Estate, we have two models : Luxury (Prices > 1 crore) and Ultra-Luxury (> 3 crores).
We have built upon this model for more than 20 years and we have improvised the model YOY. We always ensured that there is Backward Integration. We need to understand the core values of Sobha since that is where the seeds of the startup were sown by Founder Chairman of Sobha who has more than 40 years of experience in the Middle East which has some of the best constructions in the world.
The very first project from Sobha Ltd was in the outskirts of Bengaluru i.e. in Jakkur. Our founder had the vision that if the Quality of our construction is good and our Product is of Superior Quality, it does not matter where you are located since customers would definitely come to you!! In order to build Quality Product, Sobha has ensured that we have world-class manufacturing unit so that Quality Check & Control is in our hands. Unlike our competitors, we never encourage the Chalta Hain Attitude and aim for perfection. Our factories have world class machinery and we have invested significantly in it over a period of time. In fact, we have more than 8K skilled “certified” tradesmen (either employed with Sobha or working on contract).
There is a huge level of commitment from Sobha’s top-level management and this shows their seriousness in the business. So, these are the key qualities of Sobha and irrespective of the nature of work, all of us at Sobha abide by those qualities since that is what constitutes the Sobha Brand.
Can you shed some light on the Precast factory built by Sobha for Sobha Dream Acres?
I am sure that you would have loved the Precast factory when you visited our Sobha Dream Acres Campus. A huge amount of hard work has been put to turn our chairman Mr. Ravi Menon’s dream into Reality!! So, let’s look into the details of the Precast factory:
The factory was built in a record period of 6~8 months. We strongly believe in the 10,000-hour work-rule that is mentioned in the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
It takes roughly ten thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field.
Over the last 3 years; Sobha’s high-level management, myself and other senior managers have spent innumerable hours (~8,000) to ensure that we build a world-class Precast Factory. This is the kind of commitment you would see from all employees at Sobha Ltd. The Quality Manual of Sobha Ltd lists down on how we closely look at each & every aspect of Quality to ensure we have a Happy Customer!!!
Sobha Ltd is not only the preferred real-estate brand from consumer point-of-view but it is the most preferred employer for real-estate professionals. Below are the results from BrandX Report 2015~16
What are your views on Affordable Housing and some factors that might turn it into reality?
Affordable Housing is the new buzz-word in the Housing sector but it is the most misused word in the world. Affordable is highly relative and it is not something which is cheap.
In fact, in my opinion, Affordable is something which you are able to buy, it is technology driven and remains affordable for the entire life-cycle of the building i.e. no leakage etc. which means the minimum amount is spent on the repairs of the house.
In fact, we learnt a lot from our trip to Finland (where 6 months of the year it is snowing and hence, they have half the time to get things right) & Singapore (where you would see awesome buildings) trips and we took the positive learnings out of it.
We brought international experts onboard to set up the Precast Factory so that we are able to deliver Affordable Houses (with exceptional quality and no compromise on safety) for our customers. According to us, Sobha Dream Acres is an ideal example of affordable homes since the repeat-costs for the customers would be very low!!
What are the kind of challenges you faced to convince higher management from Sobha Ltd to use Precast Technology (for Dream Acres)?
Initially, it was very difficult to get a buy-in from the entire management team since it was a big & risky Leap forward for Sobha Ltd. There were a lot of doubts mainly w.r.t Technology & its feasibility (as well as Durability) and since we had international experts onboard, we were able to clear all the doubts lingering in the minds of our higher management.
They believed in our vision as well as conviction. In my opinion, if we have to improve the quality of the construction in our country, we need to get rid of Plastering since Precast is much more affordable and at the same time durable. You would be surprised that we use 300 million tons of cement in our country out of which 10% of it goes into Plastering. They believed in our vision and we at Sobha Ltd believe that Precast would change the entire construction (specifically residential) industry.
Can you share some details about factors that are very critical in Precast?
First, all of us need to understand that “The Quality of concrete is very important in construction and it is much more important in Precast”. I am aware of projects where other companies have put up a good plant and equipment but they compromised a lot on something termed as “Batching Plant” (this is where the concrete is batched).
In the case of Sobha Dream Acres, we got the best Batching Plant so that the construction is of very high quality. Also, since Sobha Dream Acres customers also have similar doubts about Precast; to address them we have set up one of the biggest Marketing Offices at Sobha Dream Acres. Interested customers are first given a tour of the Precast Factory to remove any doubts left about the technology.
For more information on Precast Technology, you can refer to Understand Precast Technology Series (Part-1, Part-2). To summarize, Precast is about achieving the best construction Quality in a shorter duration of time (due to an overall reduction in Slab Cycle Time) thus minimizing the overall Delivery Time. Sobha Dream Acres is definitely Ahead of Time.
What are the approximate savings you would get if Precast is used?
In terms of plain numbers, you would easily get 20~25% savings keeping in mind all the tangible & intangible benefits. But it is very important to note that the savings are not for us, but it is for the customer.
Customer gets the following savings : 1) On-Time Delivery & Sobha has been very particular about it for all the projects 2) Sobha Dream Acres is not an Affordable Home but a Tech-Home and the Life Cycle Cost on this home would be minimum.
The strength of the concrete is so high w.r.t life of the building that customer’s cost on the building is minimized (keeping leakage, seepage etc. into account).
Buying a flat in Sobha Dream Acres is like buying a high-end luxury car at the most affordable price.
How has Sobha Ltd been able to communicate the actual USP of Sobha Dream Acres to its customers?
To answer your question, I would first tell you about our other project Sobha Indraprastha and the technology used in Indraprastha. The entire construction in Indraprashta is done using ‘Self Dynamic Concrete’ and there is no external plastering in that building.
We had communicated to our customers of Indraprashta about advantages of Self Dynamic Concrete and every customer highlighted that point. So, communication is the key when newer technologies are adopted by any company.
Coming back to Sobha Dream Acres, we want our customers to know about Precast Technology since that will answer most of their queries around pricing, durability etc.
Every customer who visits Sobha Dream Acres campus is first taken for a virtual tour of our Precast Factory so that they understand the inherent benefits of Precast and customers have taken it very positively.
The entire sales team involved with Sobha Dream Acres have received training about Precast Technology so that they are able to solve Customer Queries in the shortest amount of time.
Educating the customer about Precast Technology has become primarily important for us & our team is doing really great to communicate this message!!
How important is Post-Sales Support important and what are Sobha’s methodologies to provide best Buying Experience to Sobha Dream Acres’ customers?
We have a unique model. We have a huge CRM team that does the hand-holding and ensure that the customer is excited about their dream home.
Sobha Ltd has a very interesting program called Sobha Connect where we are reaching out to all our old customers (even those you purchased a Sobha Home 15 years back) to get the prospective reference(s). Out of more than 25K Sobha customers, many of them are repeat customers and that goes to show that we are fanatic about Customer Delight
It takes a lot of courage to go back to older customers and Sobha Connect is that Bold Step taken by Sobha Ltd (since we have complete confidence in our construction.)
Most of the real-estate companies have Celebrity Brand Ambassador, why isn’t that Sobha Ltd does not have a brand ambassador?
You need to have a celebrity Brand Ambassador when you are not able to sell the core value proposition. As mentioned in the earlier point, existing Sobha Ltd customers are our brand ambassadors.
Our endeavor has always been to get our product right and our entire Sobha team is paranoid about Perfection
Though brand ambassadors help in the marketing push but in today’s time (where information spreads like fire on Social Media), if you do not have a good product even a Celebrity Brand Ambassador cannot save its fate!
Your thoughts on the Real Estate Regulatory Act Bill?
With the Real Estate Regulatory Act [RERA] Bill, adherence to standards would no longer be a choice for the builders (irrespective of whether a builder is Grade A/B/C etc.) but adherence would be a Compulsion. RERA would be an important milestone in the construction business!
Can you comment on the PM’s mission of Housing for All?
The biggest problem in India is ‘Timely Execution’. However, a technology like Precast is the way forward in order to achieve this mission. I am part of the ‘National Building Code 2016’ committee and due to PM Modi’s charisma, government officials are working on par with other officials of the world.
National Building Code would definitely be a game-changer since it would be the best document to refer if anyone needs to know about the construction industry.
In my opinion, Precast is definitely the way forward if homes have to be of Supreme quality, exceptional Durability and need to be delivered with strict deadlines.
I thank Sobha Ltd for inviting me over for the interview & Mr. Pillai for patiently answering all our questions! If you are an existing Sobha Customer or aspiring to buy a home in Sobha Dream Acres, please leave a comment in the article or share your queries to himanshu.sheth@gmail.com
IBM in association with Venturesity, is conducting a first of its kind Career Challenge for students. The initiative was launched across many leading educational institutions in India in partnership with Venturesity and IBM India’s University Relations team.
Online registrations started on July 15, 2016 and conclude with a finale that will be held across cities in the first week of October, 2016. So far close to 11,800 students across India have registered for this online challenge.
Most engineering graduates in India are considered unemployable in their domain due to the lack of market-relevant skill sets. With a view to bridge the skills gap in emerging technology areas, engineering students across India can register to be a part of engaging workshops in the areas of mobile app development, cognitive computing including IBM’s Watson technology and data analytics.
The workshops will be held in 8 regions throughout India for a total of 24 workshops. The tutorials focus on training include interactive workshops on IBM’s Bluemix Cloud Platform as- a- service (PaaS) that will enhance their practical skills. Following the workshops, students will be invited to take part in a Hackathon where they will develop innovative apps using these emerging technologies.
According to Mona Bharadwaj, Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives, University Relations, IBM India/South Asia
The main focus of this initiative is to help make students industry ready, therefore more employable and to serve as an open platform enabling hidden talent across the country to have the opportunity to be spotted. If these preliminary sessions are any indication, the goals are already being met.
This initiative is a great way for companies to introduce themselves and their technologies to the student community. It also helps them to build a rapport with the community before visiting campuses for recruitment purposes and drives.
DibakarBala, a participant from one of the workshops, says that this was the first time he was given the opportunity to train for a hackathon and that he was really thankful to both IBM and Venturesity. He said that this has helped him overcome his fear of participating in hackathons since he felt that he was not as skillful as the other coders. He also feels that his experience in the hack camp will stand him in good stead.
Before attending the workshops, students will be required to take part in a small online quiz that will test their preparedness. Over 11, 800 students have already cleared this preliminary challenge. Six workshops have already been conducted over the weekend of 27th and 28th August, 2016, with over 1600 students attending the same. The workshops were mentored by industry experts and experts from IBM.
At the end of the challenge, participants get to win prizes and stand a chance to have their resumes reviewed by IBM India’s recruitment team for potential placement interviews and internships.
About Venturesity
Venturesity is a peer learning and challenge platform where companies can discover top talent through challenges. Challenges from Venturesity are in the form of Hackathons, Codes sprints, Code jams and Online Contests. They also host workshops, Learn-ups, and other learning resources to help students get through these challenge. For more information, please visit VentureSity
Since the turn of the century have seen unprecedented change to the way organizations and their customers do their business. And the old saying ‘evolve or die’ has never been so apt. Companies of all shapes and sizes now face the mission critical and constant of adapting new technology to improve their efficiency and productivity. Below are some of the more important trends we think you need to embrace in order to future-proof your business, and stay ahead of the field as this chaotic century continues apace!
This article is contributed by Murali Urs, Country Manager of Barracuda Networks Our/We in the article refers to Barracuda Networks
Social Media
The rise of social media and its impact on how businesses interact with their customers has been one of the most seismic shifts in recent years. The numbers say it all; while a Times Square signage advertising can expect nearly 1.5 million impressions each day, Facebook had 1.71 billion monthly active users!
Increasingly, people expect to be able to interact with your business publicly, in real-time. Social media represents an amazing opportunity to reach more people, promote your business, deliver outstanding customer service, and resolve consumer grievances to minimize churn.
Our top tips for dealing with the social craze are:
1. Ensure you have a well-branded presence on Facebook and Twitter.
2.Create a social media calendar so you can plan your content output and campaigns in advance
3. Monitor the channels regularly and make sure you respond to all comments and messages- good and bad!
Responsive Design
Another earth-shattering development over recent years has been the staggering growth of mobile devices. Whereas back in Y2K you’d be most likely to use your phone purely for calling and texting (with the occasional game of Snake thrown in…) we now use mobile devices everywhere, and for pretty much everything. Invariably, customers now expect a truly consistent experience, whichever device they use to reach your business.
That’s why it’s absolutely vital to ensure that you’re using responsive design on your website. Responsive Design just means that your website recognizes which device a viewer is using and displays an optimized version for that device.
Go Paperless
Going paperless is not only an amazing thing to do for the environment, it can make a difference to your bottom line. The average employee prints an astonishing 10,000 sheets of paper every year which is an unnecessary expense you could surely do without!
Going paperless is also a great way to streamline your processes and manage projects more efficiently. Cutting down on the amount of paper in your business ensures important decisions and processes are no longer informed by flimsy scraps of paper and manual spreadsheets- while providing the peace of mind that your important documents are securely backed up and protected.
File Storage
The days of huge filing cabinets jamming up your office space are surely a thing of the past! There are too many advantages to mention when it comes to cloud storage. It’s inexpensive, saving you the expense of costly backups, and, since your data is encrypted, it’s infinitely more secure. It is also easy for the relevant people to gain access, great for collaboration and of course-saves your physical space.
With such a wide range of affordable options available, it seems crazy that businesses continue to run the risk of losing precious documents as a result of fire or flood.
Security
A lot of things have changed over the years, but unfortunately cyber threats have been one, unwelcome constant. Security techniques have certainly evolved, but then, so have the risks. It’s absolutely vital that you take precautions to keep your business safe.
According to a report by PWC, in 2015, there were 38 percent more security incidents detected than in 2014, causing catastrophic financial damage. In 2015, companies saw an average of 160 successful cyber attacks per week, more than three times the 2010 average of 50 per week, according to a report by the Heritage Foundation.
There are a number of things to consider to ensure you are protected, from firewalls, to anti-virus scans, and encryption of your sensitive data. Success often boils down to planning; how are you meeting the threats that are ‘out there’ and do you have a contingency plan to put into action if the worst happens-an early response can hugely mitigate the impact of an attack!
eSignatures
As technology has soared over recent years, many processes have been simplified and streamlined. But, bizarrely, the act of getting a document signed up is as sluggish and inefficient as ever, with businesses still relying on archaic methods to get the job done.
Using eSignatures, you can forget about the printing, signing, scanning, mailing and above all -Waiting, associated with the old-fashioned techniques. eSignatures are legally binding, just like real signatures, and they allow your staff, clients and partners to sign documents digitally (across multiple devices) and have them back to you in a matter of minutes.
the verge of a telecom transformation as 4G speed becomes a reality for the country’s average household. High speed data connectivity will also revolutionise banking transactions and open new vistas of innovation. While majority of banking transactions have already gone digital, ‘Kotak Now’ aims to completely digitise banking by offering paperless account opening via mobile.
