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WHAT IS 3D PRINTING AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

3D Printing or 3-Dimensional Printing is all the rage these days. You may think you only see them at tech conferences, with a big line of people waiting to print their conference merchandise. But surprisingly, smaller models are available to the general public for accessible prices. Also known as additive manufacturing, it is a process that creates a product from a digital file. This definition may be complicated to grasp altogether, so it’s best to pinpoint the technological terms one by one.

3D Printing or 3-Dimensional Printing – We are familiar with what printing does but only when a picture or a written document is involved. This is what we call 2D or 2-Dimensional. Where on a paper, your image or your document file gets printed on top of it.

So, when we talk about three-dimensional, it adds depth in the perception of an object just like how our sense of sight and analysis are built originally. If you look at a cube with your naked eye, you see not only the front and the back, but also the top and the bottom, the width and its height. If it’s hollow inside or whether it’s a solid cube, all of these and more, our brain acknowledges. 3D printing technology may be seen at tech conferences in Australia in 2020.

Additive manufacturing – is building an object where materials are added layer by layer to complete a model you have set it to accomplish. Let’s say you want to make a Lego submarine. The Lego pieces are your materials that when stacked on each other, given the directions, it would create the entire submarine. This is a straightforward process of additive manufacturing.

Digital File – Anything we call digital pertains to computer-generated data. The digital file is what the computer reads to know how to present the picture. If we want images to get printed out, the computer reads them as JPG files where the machine classifies them uniquely based on codes. This set of code gets communicated all the way to the printer to bring out your digital file into a hard copy, meaning something that you can hold and see. Not just from the computer (soft copy). While a digital file (soft copy) can be retrieved with the use of a computer, the hard copy enables you to put the picture in an album.

So, now that we have established those complicated terms, we can understand how it works.

3D Printing is already changing the way we produce things. It is predicted that in 2022, it will boom out as a $30 billion-dollar market. Here’s why.

It allows designers to be more creative around delicate and complex designs at minimal costs. Benefits of these go extensively as far as making toys, improving how prosthetics fit and developing machines, aircraft, and cars. There is also unimaginable help that was generated from it when it takes part in medical advancement by printing out body parts to be studied for complicated surgeries. The list goes on and on, but how does it actually work first? How does it become sturdy enough to sustain the expectations from critics?

Let’s tackle it one by one:

It starts from an idea

Like how Walt Disney developed the Disney resorts and theme parks, or just how Steve Jobs changed our lifestyle into needing iPhones more than anything else, it starts with an idea. 

The blueprint gets developed

These ideas are turned into digital models, planned out of the materials to be used and then eventually undergoes rendering to apply the materials that best suits its completion. The design altogether moulds its finalisation until it’s ready to be sent out to the printer.

Data gets interpreted

When the complicated interpretation of data is transformed uniquely by the 3D printer depending on the array of materials it can work with. For example, the MakerBot Replicator 2 has these detachable string-like bio-plastic spools at the back of the device (the printer). As the printer receives and interprets the data, it pulls the material through a tube, melts it and deposits it to a receptacle plate which instantly cools it layer by layer. This process would go on and on until the image is fully made.

This is the simplest way of understanding how a 3D printer works. Take note that the most common material used in 3D printing is plastic. There are a lot more models of 3D printers that will eventually emerge, some may even be of a completely new design compared to the current ones. To keep up with the latest innovations and further expand your knowledge, you’ll find attending a creative technology fest is a great way to understand how the mechanics could be full of potential.

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Should I Have A Resume Or Online Portfolio?

Digitalisation has brought many breakthroughs in business, careers, and personal lives. Creating a great resume might be all you need to sell your skills, education, and experience. However, utilising a standard online portfolio can help to display your creativity and accomplishments. With an online portfolio, the hiring manager can appreciate your talents and assess past projects. Let’s help you analyse the advantages of both methods.

What are the Merits of a Great Resume?

Generally, a curriculum vitae (resumes) helps to assess applicants. In the past, recruitment agency offices had piles of job application letters and resumes. However, the digital age has brought more innovation in resume writing services. These are some advantages of using a well-written resume for the job search process. 

Cost-Effectiveness

A simple resume can help your job search instead of investing time, and money to develop a website for an online portfolio. While describing your accomplishments or qualifications; you’ll need to be concise. Smart employers or hiring managers often search for your role in completed projects. It gives the impression that the job seeker might be a dependable go-to person, with hands-on experience.

Interview Preparation

While the feature of showcasing your talents is not possible with resumes, you can summarise relevant experiences and skills with it, such as if you have completed any corporate management programs. Smart job seekers are creating portfolio resumes. This technique works by incorporating images of business projects with regular resume information. Also, a creative resume prepares the applicant for an interview with potential employers. It serves as a guide for questioning and necessary interview processes. Usually, a well-written resume must be proofread and ‘straight to the point.’ 

Easy To Update

Standard paper resumes are still relevant in today’s employment industry. Updating resumes with new skills, and achievements are an ideal way of selling your suitability for the job. Also, an impressive online resume with a website URL or Google document link allows employers to access other relevant information. Before a job search; both hard and soft copies of resumes should be organised and updated regularly.

What are the Merits of an Online Portfolio?

The visibility of your talent increases with an online portfolio, and it creates a lasting impression. When employers are impressed with the quality of a jobseeker’s resume, they could check their online footprint too. However, the website link for the online portfolio should be included on the resume vividly. These are some benefits of having a rich online presence.

Showcase the Online Portfolio on Different Platforms

Generally, online presentations can be done professionally by using a range of website resources. Build a website and integrate a CMS (content management system) like WordPress or Wix. They can help to display your work samples with short descriptions. A user-friendly website can help to build your professional portfolio. Alternatively, you can choose from a range of platforms to host your online footprint.

Online Portfolios Give Flexibility

Unlike traditional resumes, an online portfolio allows the owner to share the URL with anyone. There is the flexibility of adding content like certifications, transcripts, digital files, and text to the online portfolio. This could include any new training, such as completing a leadership development program. A website is a creative design that’s responsive with the click of a button. So, you can update on-the-go; regardless of your location.

Improves Visibility

With an online portfolio, the job applicant or project bidder can enjoy high levels of visibility. Don’t forget the objective of an online resume is to sell your competence with samples of previous milestones. Since a website supports the online presence of your portfolio, it allows for applicants to attract their audience (potential employers), and trigger a connection emotionally.

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Ethical Concerns Surrounding IVF Gender Selection

The biopsy of embryos and In vitro fertilization (IVF) is often done when infertility is experienced. It can reveal the number of chromosomes in the embryo. And they are used to see if any chromosomal abnormalities may result in a failed pregnancy or congenital disabilities if the pregnancy goes to the full term. Unhealthy embryos are usually taken out. This genetic evaluation can also reveal the gender of the unborn baby.

Going forward, parents have the option of selecting their baby’s gender during IVF; during this process, only the embryos of their preferred sex are transferred to the uterus. Fertile couples have often opted for IVF just to be able to choose the gender of their baby. Although families have their own personal reasons for making this decision, it has raised concerns on whether selecting the gender of your baby is an ethical choice.

Here are some examples of current ethical concerns regarding gender selection:

1. Destruction of embryos

The question of what happens to unused embryos during IVF has been up for debate everywhere. Couples have to decide what will happen to the embryos that have been frozen, though they are encouraged to donate them to other couples or research. Whereas other couples decide to keep them frozen for when, or if they choose to have the other gender.

2. Gender imbalance in society

IVF gender selection has often resulted in societal imbalances and skewed populations. China and India are perfect case studies for this. Until 2015, China had a one-child policy that resulted in most couples opting for abortion if preimplantation genetic screening showed that the baby would be a girl. The Chinese population now has more men than women and men find it difficult to get marriage partners.

3. Devaluation of a given gender

Preference over an assigned gender may lead to the other being devalued, although people who are for gender selection argue that there is nothing sexist about it. They say that gender selection may be used when a couple already has children of the same gender and wish for the other one. This reason is understandable, because a family with three boys may want to have an opportunity to have a baby girl, and this is where this sort of science and technology can come into play and in turn, help families in these situations. 

4. Rise of designer babies

It is feared that gender selection may be a prelude to designer babies. As science becomes more advanced and fertility technology gets more complicated, parents may be able to not only choose the gender of their babies but also determine the physical characteristics the baby will have. It would lead to robotic babies with predetermined capabilities. This could, in turn, result in a very unnatural generation and may lead to many issues. 

5. Diversion of resources from people who need IVF

There are currently two ways to determine the gender of your baby; one, through intrauterine insemination and two, IVF. Intrauterine insemination has, at best, a 95% chance of success while IVF guarantees 100% success. IVF is, therefore, the preferred method of gender selection. While no specific data is pointing to couples going for IVF solely to determine the gender of their baby, it is feared that the technology may be used more for gender selection than curing infertility.

The health industry is profit-driven, and it will be difficult for facilities to turn away fertile couples. As a result, the demand for IVF is likely to go higher and raise the costs beyond those people who need IVF to have a baby. At the end of the day, it is a personal preference; and people are going to have various opinions and views on it, like everything else in this world.

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Growing technologies for Data Protection

Data security is important for private, small, large, and medium-sized businesses. In the past, we had floppy disks for data storage, but it’s not the safest method of storing all company data.  Over the years, data breach and security has become an important aspect in the world and now consumers are aware and conscious of data storage. Hacking and data breach has become a predominant issue across the globe and major initiatives are being taken to avoid or reduce the probability of this issue altogether. Companies invest huge amounts into data security within companies, especially those that have customer’s personal information stored within their databases to protect this information and guarantee privacy to their customers. The innovation of cloud systems and an effective website design is a better way of keeping business data safe. However, the threats of cyber-attacks from hackers are creating security challenges for data privacy. In reality, developers need to invest in advance solutions to reduce cyber insecurity. It’s only with this method that businesses can store data safely.

Caution alert

Don’t Use One Password or Code for Multiple Accounts

Regardless of whether your company operates a private server or network, the IT department should have a password manager. It’s a tool that generates and keeps different passwords for multiple accounts or services. Avoiding the malicious acts of potential hacking on every website that has your company’s account starts with using different passwords. Also, the password manager recalls better than human memory. As a reliable tool, the password manager generates strong passwords and encrypts them for safe use. These passwords are also changed from time to time and updated to avoid a possibility of data hacking or internet data intrusion.

Implement a Strong Privacy Policy

When e-commerce business sites use multiple layers of security, customers’ confidence increases. Customer only invest in those companies and be willing to give out their personal information to those websites that are renowned for their security initiatives undertaken and their past records of privacy protection. This is predominantly suggested by top business advisors for company websites where customer response is key and the main source of business revenue. Usually, most smart consumers think of other purposes that companies can utilize their data for. It’s because people need trustworthy companies that can handle personal information safely and guarantee that no data breach can gain access into the personal information stored within. So, implementing a strong privacy policy helps to emphasize your company’s straightforwardness with data. Additionally, policies that protect the company’s data will not compromise private information. These smart solutions for your business can be advantageous for a protected and secured digital progress.

Security measures

Apply Identity and Access Management (IAM) Systems

Technology is improving facial recognition and fingerprint authentication systems. With the right identity and access management (IAM) systems, companies can improve their data security. This IAM system has features that analysis the risk of breaching data. Other built-in features help to process identity mapping and control access to data. Also, it records and displays details of people that are accessing specific data. With the Single Sign-On (SSO) technology and IAM system, your company stands a better chance of managing its restricted data. It is moreover essential to set up and implement a GPS alert system in case any breach occurs.

Security Software Installation and Update 

There are cyber security software and Cloud systems that control unauthorized access. At the likelihood of such an event, the authorities in- charge are instantly alerted about the dodgy source that has tried to access the company data and immediate action is taken to keep the intruder out of the sensitive data. Like antivirus programs, your company needs to invest in Cloud systems that restrict access to sensitive data. What the system does is to manage access through a central port and protect sensitive data for your company. This also protects the data from the unlikely event of false deletion of files or loss of data during re set-up of computers. However, regular upgrades of antivirus and cloud security software are inevitable. Don’t forget that small businesses are easy preys to hackers because their data protection system is often weak. Adding firewall protection to premium antivirus software can enhance your company’s data security policy.

Avoid Apps of Files from Untrusted Sources 

A large company with a web presence can hire ethical hackers to manage their data. These hackers mostly think of the uncommon ways through which an unauthorised person can enter and access company data. These are then protected against and further investigated as a follow up. Usually, online transactions contain sensitive data, and cyber security experts can prevent data loss. Installing apps or files from untrusted sources on the company’s server or systems should be discouraged. When these files transfer malware to your server, it might lead to a data breach. Also, hackers might attach APK files to email messages and links on the web browser. They are not different from third-party app stores want to share your sensitive data. Hence the web developer in charge for these websites must be meticulously attentive about the potential threats to these websites where plenty of data can be accessed and retrieved easily if not protected.

Coding

Maintain an Encrypted Setting While Using Wi-Fi Networks

When your company’s server allows employees to work from home with private wireless networks, it’s necessary to protect routers with passwords. There could be hackers that are lurking around to hijack the wireless network. So, employees should adjust the Service Set Identifier (SSID) and conceal their router from these hackers. This technique helps to prevent private information sharing without the owner’s permission. This also helps your personally by not sharing your Wi-Fi to anyone that maybe around accessing your open Wi-Fi network and consuming your Wi-Fi data allowance. Moreover, when employees are given their own work laptops, the stored data is sensitive and subjected to high discretion. Hence setting up a GPS SOS system for these laptops can be vital in case it gets stolen or misplaced. This data can then be easily retrieved through location detection or through a command to erase the data when connected to a network.

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Uber Helicopters Are Coming To Melbourne

Melbourne is set to be the first city outside the United States where Uber Helicopters or Uber Taxis will be launched, a service they are hoping to have arrived for the masses by 2023. Uber, in a joint announcement with the Victorian Government, also unveiled the partners it is joining up with for this initiative. 

After Dallas and Los Angeles in the United States, Melbourne, one of the most vibrant cities in Australia, was named the third city where pilot testing will commence from 2020 and launch will be scheduled for 2023. 

The main motive of the ride-hailing company behind this service is to improve mobility around urban areas and to avoid traffic congestion. However, if it is successful, we can see the service being used to offer all sorts of experiences, such as helicopter flights of Tasmania’s wineglass bay, or the Sydney Harbour Bridge in New South Wales. Imagine flying into a remote, romantic wedding venue by helicopter instead of car!

Melbourne was chosen because of the openness of the Australian government to accept and promote innovation in technology and their advanced approach to ride-sharing services. With Melbourne expected to become successful, other Australian cities are also on the radar for launch. 

Multi-Modal Option 

The air service provided by Uber will work along with the car service, so that users can use the multiple modes of transport to reach their destination quickly. The aerial option will be included in the user’s app alongside the car-sharing option, and passengers are pooled to travel together in the helicopter according to their destination. 

With the recent improvements in Aviation, Uber has announced its intention to replace the initial helicopters with electrically operated take-off and landing vehicles, in what is intended to be an environment-friendly approach to the future of transportation. 

Can you use it for your business?

According to Uber, yes. The motive behind this undertaking is to cater to the masses and not just the elites. According to the company, the pricing will be close to $6 per mile which is less than what the UberX, the most expensive car-hailing option, charges. But for the ease of travel and the reduced time between destinations, this still sounds like a much better deal. 

The helicopters, according to initial design reports, will house four passengers in two separate cabins situated behind the pilot. The hand baggage allowance per passenger is estimated to be 18 kilograms. If more baggage is to be sent, it has to be done separately, ahead of time. 

What would normally take more than an hour by car, Uber hopes to cut to less than 20 minutes with its new helicopter service. It is in talks with multiple companies across the city to construct sky-ports, which will house the helicopters used in the service. They are also suggesting the use of car-park roofs in shopping centres as an option for housing their UberAir Helicopters. 

Uber has begun talks with Westfield Shopping Centres to provide the space to park the Uber Air Taxis, and the shopping centre recognizes itself as a strategic location partner for the city with close relations with the customers, communities and various transport hubs. 

With the technology still in the initial stages, it will take time to see how the service will actually materialize out in the cities in which Uber has planned to conduct the initial testing. Should the testing go according to the estimations, this could indeed be the future of transportation and solve the age-old urban problem of congestion. Come 2020 and 2023, the results will be revealed and the transportation may change forever. 

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Offshoring Tech Development in Vietnam

The amount of technology work in Vietnam has improved over the previous 3 decades. The nation employs 250,000 engineers along with the estimated requirement anticipated to become 400,000 by 2018. A poll revealed a 2-year seasoned engineer is anticipated to make a max of US$1,160 a month and seems set to grow further.

Fuelling this need boom is your insatiable international appetite for technology talent. But why especially Vietnam as a supply for technical ability, and specifically off-shoring services?

Here are insights and strategic business advice from a few business pros.

Summary of the Vietnamese technology talent Marketplace

Charles Lee, Co-Founder, CoderSchool, a programming faculty established in Saigon that utilizes Silicon Valley program, find a shift in the sort of job achieved by Vietnamese engineers.

He shares:

“The single biggest change I’ve seen is the rise of true product development, rather than traditional outsourcing. We’ve seen many companies open offshore offices, with Vietnamese employees being fully integrated into the company, as opposed to being nameless, faceless outside contractors.”

Harley Trung is the manager of Engineering in TINYpulse, an HR SaaS platform which assists in analyzing workers feelings and functionality. He notes that lately, effective exits for businesses with the vast majority of software development or R&D performed in Vietnam are a contributor to placing Vietnam on the worldwide map for BPO accounting services.

As per a Cushman and Wakefield 2016 report, Vietnam ranks best as a BPO — a Pioneering place for 2015 and 2016.

Dat Vo, COO of Fetch Technology, a hiring and positioning service of Vietnamese applications engineers, highlights the chance to tap a youthful, lively and capable population cost-effectively makes Vietnam an appealing proposal as an offshoring destination.

Challenges companies face when offshoring high-tech ability to Vietnam

  1. Differing time zones with other technology hubs

Trung states,”At timezone GMT +7, Vietnam working hours don’t overlap very well with companies that sit in Europe (GMT 0) or the West Coast (Pacific time, GMT -7).”

Lee concurs. To him, a 12-hour time gap to the U.S. West Coast, and that’s where plenty of application development is completed now and can make it tough to collaborate in meetings and receive fast feedback on topics.

  1. Communication breakdowns, lack of controls and poor staff retention

Vo clarifies that Vietnamese is your principal language in business, education and at home all through Vietnam. Therefore, spoken English is hard for many.

He observed many businesses hire Vietnamese engineers quite loosely, as though they had been hiring freelancers. This frequently contributes to problems like uncertain employment terms and agreements. It then becomes inevitable that firms will suffer from a lack of control over their foreign staff.

  1. Deficiency of comprehension in Vietnamese work civilization

Lee highlights the culture of hierarchy, the deference to seniority that’s more widespread in Confucian-Asian societies which clash with how a few contemporary applications businesses run.

He explains, “Sometimes engineers here will think of themselves as more junior and be hesitant to speak up against a senior. On the flip side, those who think of themselves as more senior will be hesitant to admit fault or show weakness (often referred to as ‘saving face’), especially in a public setting.

There’s also one more humorous thing that has tripped up more than a few Western employers – people like to nap at work sometimes, especially after lunch. It’s fairly uncommon practice in the West.”

Business owner advice regarding offshoring technology ability in Vietnam

  1. Have a fantastic hiring beginning and fantastic business culture

Vo highlights that hiring is a vital role and performing this right from the beginning will avoid loss of management and poor staff retention. He advises start-ups to avoid hiring managers since they’re not committed, as their focus is divided among customers. Instead, he highlights on identifying candidates with the ideal pair of values. Beyond having specialized competencies, Fetch’s rigorous procedure includes networking occasions, meet-ups, and workshops that allow interaction with prospective candidates and understand them better.

Constructing a good work culture follows. Every developer is a part of the FETCH household, whatever the organization they operate beneath. We’re focused on developing a positive work culture of excellence and staff work through committed supervisors to oversee the well-being of every member, recreational centers, social and team building events, in addition, to regularly nights of happy-hours organized for your after-work beer catch-up.

  1. Contain all components collectively, such as the one in Vietnam

In terms of Trung, his private experience has revealed he could hire several fantastic engineers in only 3 years in Vietnam. In contrast, his Seattle office was challenged to seek the services of engineers since the hiring landscape is aggressive with a mean engineer remaining at a business for under two decades.

His advice to businesses needing offshore accounting services or abilities in Vietnam should constantly integrate it jointly with other international units.

“At TINYpulse, we have never thought of our Vietnam office as a technical offshoring solution. The companies have two offices, one in Seattle with a focus on Sales and Marketing, while the Saigon office carries a focus on Software Engineering. Both offices collaborate on the product, while the majority of engineers and QAs are in Vietnam.”

“There are many successful companies who have thriving companies here – we have CoderSchool alumni at companies like Lazada, Grab, TinyPulse, and several other innovative software companies both large and small – so it’s definitely very possible to build a truly amazing engineering team here.”

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What technological Advancements Have there Been in Recent Times?

Industrial design, like other industries, have learned to change, adapt and evolve over the course of time. However, many of our favorites design styles are still present and still very much attractive, the design style themselves are currently evolving to reflect trends from the present time. An example of current trends are Eco-Friendly designs, energy-saving designs, and technology inspired designs enhanced to embrace current scientific advancements of the 21st century.

Most of these changes are evident in Kitchen Designs – which is where you can find Eco-Friendly designs most of the time. Designs in the bathroom have also seen energy saving technology – along with many useful and necessary elements found in all rooms of the house, such as in lighting and basic overall construction.

Standards for design are always constantly changing and is enhanced with aesthetics appearing in all it’s aspects, this includes appliances hardware, flooring, counter surfaces, and the overall construction in general. This means that you have to look under the beauty of it all to see it’s inspiration, a whole new world in art and science of interior design.

Cabinetry Upgrades

Cabinetry has always been part of an interior decorators design, today’s shelving is being innovated in a manner that would allow it to be more organized and integrated– not only within the kitchen area, but all throughout the house. “Touch Activated” cabinets are becoming ridiculously popular. Lights are installed inside cabinets for easy navigation and organization. Going eco-friendly in the kitchen is becoming popular as well, with slide-out trash and recycling bins present in most homes today.

Water Saving Features

Lately, water saving toilets and showers have been a ‘thing’. They have been offered in the market for quite some time now. Unfortunately. There have been less demand lately due to the Eco-Friendly ones getting more attention. Bidets have been trending lately because environmentalists like to promote their paper saving features, as well as the advantage of technological advancements in filtration, drains shower heads and many other features that regulate the purity and flow of water.

Tech-Savvy Hardware

Touch screen LEDs are seen in many household items like smart toilets- where a simple touch can help your feet get warmed, turns on the music player, seat height adjustments and lighting to help you see well. It also has the ability to memorize a person’s preferences while using the bathtub, which is very convenient, not only that, it offers a better bacteria filtration, and provides more comfort without increasing your water bill.

Outdoor entertainment

Everybody loves a good barbecue, and with the latest technology, you can make your barbecue sessions much easier. New gourmet grills offer hybrid fire tech that allows you to mix wood, charcoal and gas at the same time. Patio and Porch designs have improved as well, as makers try to make your experience even better by providing beautiful and eco outdoor furniture-friendly means to extend your kitchen.

Hands Free Faucets

The most common in commercial interior design are touchless, faucet systems that are affordable and desirable for every day living. Keeping the faucet clean with less bacteria is a good reason to buy a touchless system, although, it is also important to control the flow of water as well.

Lighting Fixtures

Energy saving lighting has been really popular lately, but it has never been more common as it is in today’s homes. LED technology enables users easy touch screen operation of your lighting.  Taking it a step beyond, lighting isn’t just used for cabinets and overhead fixtures, it can now be installed in hardware and fixtures, such as tissue holders, towel racks, toilet seats and door handles, and just about anything that you can use to navigate your home while offering a cost effective solution.

The iPod Era

Electronics are now so advanced that you can install integrated docking stations for your Apple product anywhere in your home. Wireless technology is now available to be used everywhere, from your computer, to your television, to the LED panels, that control almost all aspects of your home- with more advancements in technology being added every year. Interior styling services are having to adapt to incorporating such technologies are they are fast becoming a regular part of the modern home.

We don’t know what’s in store for us in the near future, but one thing is for sure, Interior design will continue advancing technologically and ecologically. By consulting with your professional interior designer you will get the most out of your home with all the latest technology has to offer. The Design Industry will continue to evolve not only towards better style and beautiful aesthetics, but towards advancements that will make your life easier, more cost efficient, greener and more comfortable, while delivering the best of what Interior Design can offer.

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Purchasing Real Estate Online – The New Trend

The dawn of mobile technology and internet marketing in recent years led a new frontier for the real estate industry. Innovative marketing strategies have emerged in order to keep up with the technological revolution. Digital platforms now play a big part in real estate transactions with buyers and sellers getting ahead with the information gathered from the internet. They are now better prepared and the best agents take advantage of this innovation to improve their marketing abilities and style. Marketing apps, price predictors, social media and the internet have greatly benefited the consumer sector.

Agents can now engage their potential buyers better through the latest technology through email, SMS, database marketing, and the internet. The audience for their listings has increased due to global property portals. Their efficiency has also been maximized with the help of business software and gadgetry and shortened response times as well.

Take, for instance, the property opening process is shifting. Names and numbers are still taken at the door but on an iPad that syncs with the agent’s phone and file for more efficient follow-up. Apps are now being utilised by buyers to pre-register their attendance and skip the queue. It also allows them to request and receive a contract via email before they have even left the property. Older innovations are out-of-date. Take, for instance, the signboard. Once a simple board, it was then given an overhead light, a QR code, then full background lighting and now an interactive touchscreen.

Regular images of the property are no longer sufficient. Most agents use 360-degree photography and fly-through technology providing a complete viewpoint and the chance to examine every part of a room. Buyers can now use location analytics for their decisions in purchasing properties in unfamiliar locations. Buyers can get an insight into data such as traffic, demographics and other useful points of interest.

The internet has facilitated many individuals to undertake no agent property sales and minimise selling costs. Many online portals allow property owners to advertise and sell all by themselves, fully revolutionising the whole industry. Online real estate portals act as an online business coach for potential buyers and sellers, offering tips and packages to sell. Now traditional real estate agents must position themselves as more relevant and provide more services to gain customers.

Future tech trends in real estate

Push technology, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and Blockchain will soon be the next big tech trends in real estate and online property sales.

Push technology has the ability to alert home hunters to nearby properties for sale and provide incentives to entice their engagement. Virtual reality will provide an extraordinary on-site experience for potential buyers offsite. VR stations in real estate offices will make open inspections an everyday convenience for buyers.

Artificial intelligence will help buyers with property searches, all the while gathering information to understand what the user’s ideal property.

The transaction process can be simplified by Blockchain technology and smart contracts. They can also automate lengthy procedures traditionally undertaken by mediators like banks and inspectors. Getting financing can also be made easier with platforms that allow clients to send a single loan request to multiple lenders which will result in more competition and better deals.

Some other benefits are:

  • Map-based search
  • A property’s location on a map can now be accessible and you can determine its proximity to surrounding physical and social infrastructure as well as amenities and services. Thus, you will be able to get a good idea of the utilities available, without having to travel for a physical visit to the location.
  • Sky view
  • Aerial view of the property and its neighborhood are now available internet portals.
  • Cameras fitted with drones are used to get the relevant imagery.
  • Verified properties
  • Real estate players like Housing.com store information from agents who visit developers’ properties and verify as many as 100 data points about each property. Thus, any information available on the portal about the project is authentic and verified.Online booking

Dedicated projects for online booking are being offered by developers either on their own websites or on affiliated realty portals. Nonresidents often register on these websites and choose the project size, payment plan, and then reserve the property by paying the booking amount online. In some cases, allocation of the exact apartment can occur online. Some developers refund your reservation fee if you change your mind about the property acquisition within a stipulated period. However, some developers insist that you consume it for another project of theirs or forfeit the money.

Technology continuously raises clients’ expectations and the best agents taking advantage of this challenge through a more holistic approach, including building long-term relationships with their clients and focusing more on ‘outcomes’ over simple sales transactions. The real estate industry has realised the importance of investment in technology and will continue to embrace it in many innovative ways.

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Small Business and AI Technology

The type of technological disruptions we’re seeing raise questions for companies of all sizes. What’s going to work be like later on? How will organisations accommodate? How can they level up to the next big innovation? How small companies, specifically, react to the challenges and exploit the advantages of smart technology like artificial intelligence (AI) will be an integral determinant of their success moving forward. So what do you need to do to ensure that your company benefits from new technology such as artificial intelligence, and does not become obsolete?

Artificial intelligence is the quickly expanding field of computer engineering concentrated on producing intelligent software tools capable to replicate crucial human emotions and actions.

The selection of applications includes;

  • Speech recognition
  • Language translation
  • Visual understanding
  • Learning
  • Reasoning
  • Interference or issues
  • Preparation
  • Decision making
  • Instinct

Artificial intelligence is possibly the most disruptive tech fuelling the radical transformation of industry; it’s actually changing the character, extent, and scale of the current organisations. Having a degree of concentrated attention the present implications and also the future of AI, small business leaders are going to have the ability to get ready for a variety of potential results and boost their organisations’ resilience in the face of future uncertainty.

The legal profession is visiting such disturbance: legal precedent and case review could be automatic, contracts could be generated and adapted, case results can be predicted, and workload could be organised by AI. Small companies’ first consideration should be whether to deploy AI inside the organisation — AI may be used narrowly to automate one set of tasks, or it might be utilised to go deeper and automate whole sectors such as customer services. Also, whilst AI boosts efficacy, decision-makers have to be aware of how this can influence brand identity and consumer expertise, and in which it’s still essential to keep human participation.

As similar smart automation is set up by competing companies, there is a probability of commoditisation: How companies stand out and preserve character in the near future is going to be a crucial consideration. Firms will want to quickly learn how to embrace new technology, and avoid being overtaken by them.

What is Happening Next

In a comparatively few years, it’s likely that companies can risk becoming over-reliant on AI technologies whilst disregarding the worth of human gifts at work. Additionally, digital transformation initiatives generally fail because of paying too little focus on the cultural and human aspects of change. As AI develops capabilities to plan out delicate eye lift surgery businesses such as plastic surgeons in Melbourne will have to prepare to integrate this technology.

Smaller businesses have to think about the way to best invest in the technology which will empower, not interfere with employees; the way to take care of those whose functions have been disrupted by AI; and also the way to increase everybody’s digital literacy in order that they know and accept the character of the work-altering technology.

Fortunately for smaller businesses which might not have a dedicated IT department, the tactical character of deploying AI company-wide may actually fall under the duties of the business owner. Business owners will have to seek support from a number of sources:

  • Business associations, seminars, and events may ease networking and learning opportunities
  • Vendors can discuss their expertise and guidance
  • Discussions with different businesses that have experimented with AI can enable leaders to tap into firsthand wisdom and expertise, and
  • Science and engineering graduates may intern to deliver technical expertise and new perspectives to a company in exchange for company expertise.

Since AI is adopted throughout the organisation, industry leaders must bear in mind that different levels of instruction might be essential to ease the transition, something similar to sensitivity or cultural training, that assists workers become accustomed to the new technologies.

Understandably, a senior director whose occupation is being basically disrupted may call for a greater amount of retraining and psychological support compared to the customer support representative that had been hired a month ago. Careful conclusions concerning which functions and functions to automate ought to direct AI strategy within the upcoming few years — an easy “bottom line” approach may endanger the well-being of people in the company and may hamper the business’s uniqueness as time passes.

What is Happening in the Future

Over the near future, the arrangement of whole businesses might be revolutionised. By way of instance, the amount of decentralised autonomous businesses (DAOs) is increasing; those businesses exist in software, embracing self-executing smart contracts, and so the requirement for individual workers. This in itself raises questions regarding how companies will soon be perceived in the long run. And as DAOs growth in popularity, are there a need for individual participation and influence on business in any way?

With AI becoming more common, workers’ soft skills will be more significant. As rule-based believing, automation, and DAOs proliferate, sensitivity, imagination, verbal communication and reasoning, compassion, and spontaneity might become more and more desirable skills. Smaller companies should promote and facilitate these elements of personal development to make sure their businesses take advantage of the interplay between emotional intelligence and artificial intelligence.

In the end, the present, the upcoming, and also the future of AI all signs the rising need for smaller companies to concentrate on the development of their people. Small businesses are not tech wizards so all these developments may seem overwhelming but there is a lot of small business coach training available to help you understand the importance of investment in technologies of the future. The queries small business leaders must always ask themselves because they plan ahead for your AI-enabled future, are;

  • How will employees respond if their tasks have been radically changed or removed due to AI?
  • How can the organisation mitigate worries or anxiety that AI could cause?
  • What new abilities might employees want?
  • What obligations does the company have for all those displaced by tech?
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Revolutionary Sports Gadgets

Lots of sports stick to tradition, but it does not mean there is not still an area for cool technology and invention, even if it comes to sports like running or basketball. Quite the contrary, in reality, and that’s the reason we’ve rounded up a few of the coolest gadgets which are revolutionising sports. Technology can help us be more informed and enhance our game is many ways.

Vi

A great deal of fitness trackers may be utilised as a replacement for personal trainers, allowing you get the information that you want to push yourself harder and tougher, but the Vi headset is really a fitness expert, in fact, it is one based on artificial intelligence. The headset packs in speech recognition so that you don’t need to be worried about fiddly buttons or displays as you’re on the move, and the same as a trainer, it may set your targets, provide insights into what you are doing right and wrong and discuss your physical fitness information with you. Vi is not just intelligent, with Harman Kardon supplying the noise, a good looking design and a maintained all-day battery life. What is not to enjoy this great tech innovation?

ShotTracker Team

Targeted at serious basketball player wanting to truly elevate their performance ShotTracker has the capability to properly improve training. Basketball enthusiasts will be hitting the training court in basketball singlets more than ever after discovering this gadget. As the title cunningly hints, it is about monitoring your own shots, and also the Team application is a coach’s dream, together with detectors for the courtroom, and every individual participant, allowing them use the corresponding program to track literally everything that is happening on the court in real time. Miss a shoot, the Shottracker will give you insights into what you can do differently. There is also an individual variant of ShotTracker, using a wrist detector that blends in with custom basketball uniforms, it captures information about each and every shot and effort you create, and a web sensor to enrol whether these shots are powerful or not.

RunScribe

Running is one of the sport we have seen lots of technological improvements in, together with wearables such as GPS-based watches and exercise trackers proving ever more popular, but RunScribe is promised to be the most innovative running wearable up to now. As opposed to attaching to your body, the very small RunScribe technician attaches to your jogging shoes, giving a few advantages over conventional wearables. For starters, it empowers RunScribe to track the motion of your running, feeding back in your working stroke, left right metrics, impact shock and more. It may also supply details on measure speed, contact time, flight ratio and movement profile information, with a massive selection of metrics available to help make the maximum from your fitness training. It will not monitor your pulse, but it might provide real insight into your running patterns.

Glassy Zone

Glassy Zone is a wearable geared toward serious surfers and made by surfers who know the sport well. It appears like a normal physical fitness band, using fantastic styling and a set of icons which glow throughout the black end, but there is a complete load of smart tech packed away indoors, such as GPS, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope, that empowers Glassy Zone to track precisely what you’re movements is on a surfboard. The outcome? The designers claim it can help you keep tabs on the number of waves that you capture, the time you are riding waves paddling and also the space of each wave you ride. Together with the program, it may allow you to understand what the surfing conditions are similar to, and it tracks the quantity of UV radiation you are being exposed to, permitting you to know when it is time to pack up and head from sunlight.

Athos

Athos is your wearable which could change your physical fitness regime forever: it is a part of the rise of smart clothes capable of tracking an extensive selection of bio-metric information, providing you comprehensive insight into your performance at all times. It utilises seamlessly incorporated bio-signal detectors within the clothes that may join to a smartphone to offer a valuable research into just how much effort your muscles are creating, what your heart is left up to and much more. The designers also assert that it is effective at assisting you to execute the ideal exercises, even with the ideal shape at the ideal intensity, and you will see if you are shooting the ideal muscles every time you squat or employ a dead lift. It is like you are working with the best famous personal trainers except it is yourself.

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Must Have Restaurant Tech

If you are looking for ways to make your restaurant more original and creative, then you are not alone. Studies show that 32% of operators find their establishments behind in restaurant technologies. So we came up with the list of the best technology that can help you with your business.  Restaurants have become much more sophisticated in recent years due to technological developments and are now more that just places to purchase food. Restaurant owners can now streamline their business operations and reach customers with ease thanks to online ordering systems and email technology widely available. 

Technology for restaurant ordering

The use of technology is the easiest way to get orders out quickly and correctly. The major benefits are: great customer experience, turn tables faster, and minimize food waste and costs from incorrect orders. Now, restaurant technologies are increasing those advantages.
1. Online ordering

If your restaurant offers takeout or if it is a quick-serve or fast casual establishment like a breakfast cafe then online ordering is a great innovation. In these fast paced times, the demand for online ordering restaurant technologies is on the rise. Operators who offer online ordering restaurant technologies see benefits like:

  • Higher Profits: Customers can take their time browsing rather than hurriedly placing their order in person or over the phone. Due to the lack of pressure, customers take their time and are likely to purchase more menu items and extras leading to increased sales.
  • More Accurate Orders: Ordering over the phone is a thing in the past. A bad connection or a loud bar drowns out parts of the conversation or a busy phone line might discourage customers. Sometimes orders may be places accidently or incorrectly resulting in a waste of time and food and a negative experience for your customer. Ordering with an online system eliminates those variables.
  • Data Tracking: You can easily track the order information placed on the website. You can learn who your regular online customers are, how often they order, and which items they usually purchase.

Software developers like ChowNow or Netwaiter, can help you with the online ordering for your website. Most restaurant software programs have built-in analytics to track data.

 
2. Digital POS system
Most establishments in the service industry use Point of Sale (POS) restaurant technologies wherein 81% of restaurants use either a POS or Electronic Register System. POS systems, like Digital Dining, combine with tabletop tablets, allowing customers to browse a digital menu, place orders, and pay themselves.

3. Customer-facing tablets

Restaurants are taking the ordering process to the next level by giving guests the power to order from a digital menu and securely pay on a touch screen tablet.
Studies show 37% of restaurant owners believe customer ordering is the single most important type of tech they should try.

QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants) started this self-service restaurant technology trend. Self-service restaurant technologies are now being used by the casual and even fine dining industries. Tabletop tablets allow restaurants to display their digital menu for customers to place and send their orders directly to the kitchen.

Orders are served faster than if a table had to flag down a server during lunch, dinner rush or all day breakfast. That means faster table turn and more satisfied guests.
Additionally, clients can leisurely explore into the menu to discover more add-ons and extras than any server could recite, increasing your revenue. On top of this, some tabletop tablets come loaded with games and entertainment to add better customer experience. The remarkable thing about these restaurant technologies is that they aren’t substituting personal service – only enhancing it. Servers can spend more time communicating with guests instead of confirming their orders or running the bill back and forth.

4. Loyalty programs

Restaurant technologies are now personalising loyalty programs. Designing a great loyalty program on a standalone app or combine it with an online program is easier than ever. A loyalty program is a great way to develop your restaurant in terms of business branding and creating a brand that is memorable and meaningful to your customers. Online loyalty programs like Level Up provide great marketing strategy through the latest restaurant technologies compared to traditional punch cards. Customer behaviour that can influence your marketing plan are now traceable.  It allows you to determine how often your customers visit and why. Restaurant technologies for your loyalty program enhance the customer experience as well since customers can conveniently keep tabs on their app. Certain programs even track customer’s special dates like birthdays or anniversaries, allowing you the chance to offer a special treat on their big day. Now that’s an awesome customer experience!

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Role of Technology in the Workplace

Tech is such an essential part of this 21st-century office that any company without some amount of technical equipment and systems will probably fail. It’s that critical. If you are intimidated by hardware, applications and of the interconnection of the world wide web, you might search for excuses to remain offline, but do not! Here’s the reason why and how technology plays such a huge part in the workplace every day.

Increase the Efficiency of Your Business

At its simplest level, technology permits you and your employees to become more effective and efficient. Whether you are using a word processing application which permits you to edit effortlessly or a digital accounting system which pulls information at the touch of a keystroke, technologies make life simpler. You are able to schedule sales calls and appointments, monitor employee time, and also execute several boring tasks that formerly took hours in just moments. Technology has allowed great things to be accomplished, you can now initiate same day business card printing in a few clicks and use online printing applications to schedule and organise your print requirements in a breeze.

Ensure Data Accuracy

In regards to business, you can not remain in business if you don’t have the numbers right. Modern spreadsheets such as Excel, using its countless computational formulations, help guarantee precision. Accounting applications like QuickBooks permit you to correctly keep stock, create and record earnings, handle and pay invoices, and manage payroll. Think about the cost and time once needed to compile financial advice. Now, your novels can be frequently kept in a software application along with your financial statements could be generated in minutes.

Gain a Competitive Edge in the Marketplace

Whatever service or product you supply, you want to compete and beat the competition. Your competitors use technologies, and that means you want to also. The web permits you to do more than simply stay neck and throat along with different companies; it may push you beforehand. Use digital advertising to advertise your organisation and internet sales tools to market across the road and across the world. Construct engaging custom craft websites to stand out and then utilise AdWords to capture customers. Embrace Customer Relationship Management programs that permit you to monitor what your clients do and enjoy. Could it be good if you were able to target the ideal customer at the ideal time at the customer travel so that they turn to you rather than a rival? You can use technologies.

Be Business Relevant

Irrespective of your business or profession, there’s technology honed to make your business more you and more real. Should you work in healthcare, there is an infinite number of technologies which save lives, protect individual privacy rights, and also make sure suppliers receive paid by way of insurance. If you are a construction group, engineering marvels and robotics can allow you to build and create and enhance yield. For a composer, there is Pro Tools, a digital audio recording system. A teacher who’s seeking to affect the next generation of good thinkers will not be able to perform it without technology.

Communicate More Efficiently

Whether you enjoy immediate messaging using a co-worker throughout the hallway or Skype with customers located overseas, technology has made connecting in real time simpler than ever. Follow that voice up or FaceTime phone using an email to watch and explain. Connect to LinkedIn participate in the community interoffice and inter-industry. Utilise Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to communicate directly with your clients and fans. Produce and market your brand and get your message straight to the customer. The communication channels facilitated by technology has saved a lot of travel time and money as people can attend conferences and talk via the web without leaving the office.

Boost Cooperation and Sharing

Cloud-based file sharing programs such as Google Drive and Dropbox are gaining traction inside companies both small and big. They may be beneficial in motivating workers to have things done by removing fundamental frustrations at the office such as sending files back and forth and fluffing through piles of paperwork. Along with making it easier to find and share files with group members, cloud-based sharing programs are able to keep track of who is working on what and promote cooperation among colleagues. Something these sharing programs have that conventional onsite file servers deficiency is the capacity to access files remotely on mobile devices, making doing business while on the move easier than ever. Technology has also facilitated brainstorming and creativity in the workplace when everyone has a device and there are smart boards and projectors, individuals can express their ideas and concerns freely.

Gain a More Depth Understanding or Employee Performance

Most of us wish for full coverage operation management, but a few us possess it. A sophisticated business management system is the reply to getting a 360-degree perspective of employee activity. Its principal objective is to assist managers to gain a wider perspective on workers because they can just see a lot firsthand. Seeing more means having the ability to do more for workers. Not only does this facilitate continuing comments and solicit peer responses, but it might help supervisors and workers identify personal strengths and weaknesses to make a competence framework for human development and succession planning. Additionally, it creates the performance review process a great deal simpler for both parties.

Facilitate learning on the move

Nobody likes to bring work home with them, but occasionally it is crucial to get a hold of particular work-related things out the workplace. Mobile programs with job management software give workers the flexibility they need and desire in regards to document availability. Employing technology in the office that’s mobile-optimised is important if it comes to getting important company documents or information if not in the workplace. Access anything from anywhere with cloud technology, whether travelling on a business trip or visiting a client everything is a touch away can also be shared effortlessly.

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The Latest Business Technology Trends

We are now in the next decade of the Twenty-First Century, the industry is accelerating as a mix of changes in society and technology come together. Even with technology such as drain inspection cameras used in waste management services.

Some of those changes are global, like the continuing rise of China As well as the Western world’s aging or from the Internet of Things to artificial intelligence into large data and private cloud computing, specialists predict what technological progress will make headlines. Other people influence us on a personal level. All of these have a large effect on our companies and how we operate.

A number of these tendencies are predicted for a while. It is the Accessibility to this cheap (almost free) computing power that is delivering lots of the guarantees made by tech during the previous thirty decades. All these are well worth examining more carefully.

For companies seeking to compete in a virtual universe, staying ahead of innovations in data, operational and connectivity systems which drive performance is essential. Here, business technology specialists forecast several trends and resources which will shape the way we conduct business in 2018.

  1. The rising expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT, or even the connectivity of real devices that communicate with comparable apparatus, allows it consulting companies to collect certain data essential to company procedures, including monitoring how customers use equipment and products. Laetitia Gazel Anthoine, founder and CEO of Connecthings, sees this tendency growing even more in the upcoming year. The Internet of Things makes a connection between real life and the electronic world, and that may truly help a business owner produce new surgeries for extra earnings. Expect to see retailers incorporating the tendency into brick-and-mortar shops — something that has been found in previous years using beacon tech.
  2. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI). There is no doubt that anything associated with AI — applications which come close to imitating human intellect, like self-driving automobiles and factory robots — is alluring in several businesses at the moment. Ramen Chen, chief marketing officer of Reltio, sees how major players such as Google, Salesforce and Microsoft drove the purchase tendency in 2016. Al technology desires a consistent basis of reliable information to help solve demanding issues such as how to get the largest cranes to operate on a site with limited space or create new products in regions such as shopping, so expect more competitive progress in this field in 2018.
  3. The proliferation of DIY business programs. Rather than waiting to get a quarterly report by a professional, entrepreneurs probably will take action themselves using new programs like Business. It is a stage which uses AI to analyze a firm’s financial statements to supply a roadmap to improve cash flow.
  4. The growth of programs. Successful Reactive businesses have changed their mindset in the product-oriented approach to a stage strategy. Based on Outsell Information Industry Outlook 2017, in their centre, platforms are information collection mechanisms that draw a special audience, empower a desirable interaction and forge strong communities which assist companies to monetise scale and content. From flourishing firms like Bloomberg to smaller ones such as MyCase, platforms are getting to be a part of a company’s ecosystem to encourage clients and maximise growth. This can be seen in the retail industry to liquid waste disposal companies and in the hospitality industry as well.
  5. The prevalence of standalone credit card machines. Small business owners such as crane hire companies are portable in nature and need the ability to receive paid everywhere they go. Creator of Merchant Machine, Ian Wright says that the prevalence of credit card readers like Paypal This and SumUp is increasing since they cost less than $100 and do not need long-term contracts or costly merchant accounts.
  6. Advancements in large data. For businesses seeking to streamline operations, specialists are gambling on large data. In stock management, large data give firms more special advice about who their clients are, what products are efficient and the way they could boost brand awareness. Once it means deciphering more details and statistics, the final result will cause a more effective stock procedure.
  7. The revolution of chatbots. Collaboration tools such as Slack and Microsoft Teams exploded in 2016, a trend expected to evolve in the coming year. In 2018, it is anticipated the AI technologies that compel these chatbots to become stronger, as predicted by Leo Welder creator of ChooseWhat.com. The technologies, which explains team members having the capability or ability to handle certain issues and positions the potency and quality of connections between workers, is expected to become even better.

Other business trends worth mentioning are:

  1. Robots carrying our jobs

Possibly the biggest change that’s impacting our companies is the way machines are taking over jobs which range from window cleaning to stock management. Anyone using a trade based occupation or company will be needing a forced career change prior to the close of the decade.

  1. The Web of machines

Those computers and robots are talking to each other, which rates up Business choices and will strip layers of direction from businesses.

  1. Flatter organisations

A consequence of these quicker decisions is the requirement for less management. Organisations will need to be flatter so as to process data quicker unless they wish to risk nimble opponents seizing business opportunities.

  1. 3D printing

Among the very exciting, and company changing, technology is 3D printing, which lets you publish a coffee cup in your desk, assist robots to build new buildings and also a give a little boy a pair of hands. It is also being used in aiding 3d wire forming services.

  1. Nano-technology

The 3D printing is occurring alongside biological technology. From the End of this decade, we will have the ability to publish our own skin. By 2030, we are going to be printing replacement body parts like valves.

  1. Mobile apps redefining service businesses

The Cell Phone program is currently flourishing but the actual effects of these cellular services will probably be felt on businesses as varied as the cab industry to the agricultural and mining businesses.

  1. The struggle for control of their mobile payments strategy

An upshot of this program market is that the question of what procedures, and Makes cash, from online payments. The conflict between banks, credit card providers, telcos and software firms will be a significant business story of the decade.

  1. Reinventing entertainment

Programs and computers that are connected will change consumer behaviour and nowhere is that more noteworthy in the entertainment businesses that are being revolutionised by resources such as Google Glasses and social websites.

  1. The fall and rise of social networking

Like most inventions, social networking was heavily hyped and today we are seeing the backlash of this being oversold. On the remainder of the decade businesses such as steel fabrication in Dandenong, will determine how to use social networking services efficiently and profitably with no hype.

  1. Newspapers stop to exist

Among the ramifications of Social Networking, mobile phone programs and the Pervasive net is the conclusion of papers by 2020 as futurist Ross Dawson has predicted.

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Tech for Business Security

It’s no secret that starting, growing and managing a business takes a whole lot of determination and hard work. As a business owner, it is common to feel exceptionally joyful yet protective of this company you’ve invested a lot of money and time into, in the office building itself, into the furniture within it and also the tech-savvy devices you’ve purchased to make sure your employees can do the very best job possible. If you are a high-tech laser skin clinic business with sophisticated low level laser therapy devices you want to ensure your property is secure and not lose any of your expensive investments.

Thanks to the latest developments in smart technology, businesses have realised the benefit of taking on the technological trends and being at the forefront of their industries. Highly developed technology and the Internet of Things has contributed  to the increased efficiency of business as well as the enhancement of business safety and business security systems.

As homeowners we ensure that our houses are safe and burglar-proof and protected against dangers like fire, however, as business owners, why are we implementing the same safety measures? In fact, with the quantity of expensive technology and equipment companies have, it may be argued that companies have more to lose if their properties do not have substantial security and safety measures in place. At home, we have sophisticated automatic gates around our property and strong gate locks out the front, but are we ignoring safety at our businesses?

So, how should companies be using smart technologies to keep their business property and contents as secure and safe as possible?

Use technologies to oversee the office remotely
 Whether you’re out of town for a business trip, operating from home or on a well-deserved holiday, it is expected for you to feel concerned about whether what’s in order in your absence. With smart technologies, business owners are able to set their minds at ease and manage the office remotely. Smart security programs which link wirelessly to cameras enable you to view regions of your office and property directly from a smartphone, from anywhere around the globe with an internet connection.

As smart safety cameras become more and more popular and capable, they are programmed to identify suspicious actions and send a notification to relevant parties via text or email to their smartphone for instant action. The video recording feature of the camera means you can replay the footage back as many times as you need, to identify the offender. Another similar tech device to smart cameras is smart alarms that have motion detectors to sense movement after office hours. Similarly it can digitally send notifications to the business owner when triggered, however, there is no video footage recorded. These smart devices are integrated with safety management software that is easy to use so don’t worry if you are challenged by technology, it is very straightforward to you can even get a company to manage for you at additional costs.

With both a safety camera and a wise alarm kit working round the clock to maintain your property safe and protected when no employees are on the job, business owners can concentrate on running their business instead of worrying about security and safety measures.

Your very own flying CCTV

This wise tech device is very helpful for owners of big businesses that occupy a lot of lands, like a factory. Whilst smart security cameras can be installed all around the region, a flying drone may take security levels one step further. Drones can take on safety watch duties and keep watch of your business property by flying high above and monitoring the surrounding area, they can also follow intruders as well as video record any suspicious individuals and stream the video straight to a device.

For smaller sized business, a drone may not be necessary and can be too expensive to invest in if you don’t have a huge property or budget. In that case, technology like a smart security light or smart detector may be more tailored to your business safety needs. A simple smart light at the front door can deter intruders by letting them know that you have safety devices in place. Kuna’s security lighting unites both a safety camera and a mild; it begins recording 10 minutes prior to an event is triggered so you can observe the entire footage of any suspicious activity, and you can choose what you want to happen when the device is triggered, like the sound an alarm or call law enforcement.

No key?

If you, or a few members of your staff, are guilty of shedding your office keys from time to time causing a lot of issues with the danger of thieves and replacing keys and locks, smart locks, virtual keys, and geofencing technology may be your saviour. These technological tools enable your staff and yourself to enter and depart the property without a traditional hardware key, as long as they possess a smart-phone. August’s smart lock allows several people onto its platform and provides each person with their own virtual key, so they could lock and unlock a new door using only their own smartphone. Similarly, geofencing technology acts as an invisible security perimeter for a set location, usually, the business and lets business owners know via notifications when someone enters or leaves the set perimeter, catching out any after-hours intruders.

GPS technology

GPS devices have existed for a while now, but nowadays there is a multitude of uses for GPS aside from giving you directions from one place to another. One such use is vehicle GPS tracking real time which allows business owners to track their fleet and monitor their progress to the destination in real time. Business owners can, therefore, keep track of their employees and ensure their safety on the road as well as contact them due to any obstacles.

As a company owner, your time ought to be spent on growing your business and managing employees, and should not be absorbed by concerns over your house’s security and safety. We’re already seeing smart tech shape safety systems which are making our companies more burglar and risk-proof than ever before, and we can only hope to find this technology continue to advance.

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How Digital Payments Will Evolve In 2018

2017 saw businesses begin to truly embrace the digital evolution. Digital payments became portable and seamless through mobile and tablet integration as well as tap-and-go contactless chip readers. Small businesses are equipping themselves to compete against the giants that often suffocate and overwhelm smaller competition. Trending digital payment alternatives include:

  • Square’s tap-and-go card readers
  • Apple Pay’s peer-to-peer payments
  • Target’s geo-sensitive mobile wallet
  • Afterpay

With a range of solutions becoming more apparent, 2018 will see a huge shift in how vendors operate and do business. What trends will we see?

Portability
This trend of portable payment will likely encourage sustainable practices as it means less paper will be consumed. This an excellent step forward and initiative for businesses, and allows for positive association. Receipts will increasingly shift towards being e-mailed to customers.

Analysis of transactions
Customer loyalty has been a non-stop war for businesses. Such questions we ask ourselves is how can we acquire customer loyalty and maintain it? With the increasing trend of digital payment solutions, each provider comes with a signature app. These apps are diversified amongst each other, but generally come with analytics and mailing abilities. Sellers can analyse metrics to understand preferred payment methods, real-time data, customer insights and repeat customers. 2018 will see merchants get their hands on payment provider related data. By integrating these diverse data streams, merchants can create a truly special and unique experience for their consumers. 2017 saw a drop in a the use of loyalty programs, identifying that many businesses are overlooking the true benefit of this. Portable digital payment is an excellent asset for making transactions both easy and accessible.

Security
Consumers have been concerned with just how secure digital payment platforms are, especially with Paypass still being a sensitive subject. Businesses on the go can help their customers feel more secure by investing in an extra step of counter-fraud. There are businesses that can tailor an extra step of encryption for secure account management. Checking if your digital payment provider complies with the PCI Data Security Standard is a must!