3S Global: Unicode Development

3 s glbal presentation on unicode development from Sujit Ghosh

What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?

While attending a planning session for this year’s theme at Southland Technology Conference 2014, I overheard the term “Internet of Things.” Someone suggested it as a theme for the event; for me, and I think a few other attendees based on their facial expressions, it was a brand new term.

What does “Internet of Things” (IoT) mean?

Simply put, the IoT is a world where physical objects are seamlessly integrated into the information network, allowing for physical objects to potentially become active participants in business processes. Services are available to interact with these ‘smart objects’ over the Internet, query and change their state and any information associated with them, taking into account security and privacy issues.

The IoT refers to uniquely identifiable objects and their virtual representations in an Internet-like structure. Kevin Ashton, a British technology pioneer, proposed the term Internet of Things in 2009.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) was seen as a prerequisite for the Internet of Things at its earliest stages. The thought was that if all objects in daily life were equipped with identifiers, they could be managed and inventoried by computers. As the idea developed, so did the technology of tagging, including near field communication, barcodes, QR codes, and digital watermarking.

The point is this – by making sure all objects in the world have a tiny identifying device attached, like a QR code for example, our daily lives can be immediately transformed. With such identifying devices, a business may no longer run out of stock – all parties involved with the process would know which products are 1) being consumed and 2) required.

Still confused? Think about this more personal example: A cabinet in your bathroom that lets you know when it’s running low on toilet paper or toothpaste – that is the IoT.

By 2020 there will be close to 26 billion devices on the IOT, as suggested by Gartner research. ABI Research suggests an even higher number, estimateing more than 30 billion devices to be wirelessly connected to the IOT. If you don’t believe in the forecasts, just know that Google disagrees. Google recently bought out NEST, a home automation company that designs and manufactures sensor-driven, Wi-Fi-enabled, self-learning, programmable thermostats and smoke detectors, for $3.2 billion.

The future, ladies and gentleman, can now be referred to as the Internet of Things.

Resume Formatting Tips

The other day I was trying to fill Software QA Engineer positions for one of my clients. While reviewing reviewing resumes for this position, I noticed too many inconsistencies in their resumes.

It then hit me that these so-called ‘errors’ are an issue for many, both job seekers and job fillers. The following is a list of such errors:

• The way they formatted resumes was difficult to read. Keep some sort of uniformity in the formatting – fonts, paragraph styles, spacing, and margins. 
  
• Same job position (Software QA Engineer) had multiple other positions mentioned (Software Tester; Software QA etc.)
• Project details did not have any information about the employer (what they do; location etc.)
• Some of them did not mention about the version of the software testing tools they used. As a recruiter I would like to know how current they are with the tools they used.

As a recruiter, I would like to know specifically what the candidate has done in the projects. The resume should not say what the client did on various projects. Also, the results of the work done by the candidate needs to be highlighted. For example – did it save time for the project? Clients want to know if the candidate contributed towards time to market of the product or improve revenue for the company or helped reducing cost. These points need to be highlighted in each project category.

Here are some suggestions for the candidates applying for Software QA role:

• Maintain consistency on the job position you are writing for. If it is Software QA, make sure all terms of the job position matches with market standard. It should not be QA, Software Tester, or mix of all.
• Do not mix up QA and other positions. That can confuse the person reading your resume.
• Do not just mention that you used QTP. Please write the version as well. It will allow the recruiter/ reader of the resume how current you are with the testing tools versions.
• Try to quantify or show results of your work for each project. That will separate your resume with others.
• Make sure you can back up whatever projects you are mentioning in the resume. Know the companies and projects you worked on like the back of your hand.
• Personally prefer Fonts: Aral 11 as it looks professional and easy to read.
• Your resume should match your LinkedIn profile. Remember, recruiters will most likely visit your LinkedIn profile to compare.

I have attached a link to a sample resume. Notice the RESULTS section at the end of each project – that will help to distinguish yourself from other applicants. 

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View the author’s LinkedIn Profile here

Consumer Decision-Making Process

Article originally from Education Portal, Written by Jennifer Lombardo

Consumer Behavior

What influences you in a purchase situation? Why did you purchase the specific laptop or tablet computer? Was it for price or quality? Did you ask friends or family for help in your decision? Did an ad catch your eye? Consumers are constantly evolving in their buying behavior based on their life situations.Consumer behavior is the process consumers go through when they make purchases and it involves factors that influence their decision and usage. The consumer decision-making process involves five steps that consumers move through when buying a good or service. A marketer has to understand these steps in order to properly move the consumer to the product and close the sale.

Consumer Decision-Making Process

The consumer decision-making process consists of five steps, which are need recognition, information search, evaluations of alternatives, purchase and post-purchase behavior. These steps can be a guide for marketers to understand consumers communicate effectively to them. One note is that consumers do not always move in the exact order through the process; it can depend on the type of product, the buying stage of the consumer and even financial status.

Need Recognition

 

The five steps to consumer decision-making

The very first step in the process is when consumers realize that they have a need for something. Marketers want to create an imbalance in consumers between their present status and their preferred status. This imbalance will create a need and make a consumers search out and buy a product or service. Need recognition occurs when a consumer is faced with a difference between an actual and a desired state. A need can occur immediately and can be a very basic impulse that you experience, such as when the ninja develops hunger pains. This is called an internal stimulus. Or it can be a change in the ninja’s lifestyle, such as when he finds out that he is going to be expecting a baby ninja.

An external stimulus is when you are affected by outside influences, such as when a friend tells you about a fantastic movie, restaurant or an ad for a car. The key weapon of a marketer to create an imbalance/consumer need is to use advertising and sales components. When consumers recognize an unfulfilled need and that a product will satisfy it, they have created a want. The marketer can then tailor new products and current products to reach the consumers and create a successful purchase situation.

There are three ways that consumers recognize unfulfilled wants. The first way is when a consumer becomes frustrated with the fact that a product he or she has is not performing properly. Perhaps the car that the consumer owns is now requiring time in the shop for repairs, or the jeans he owns have developed holes. The consumer now has developed a want and need for a new car and new jeans. Marketers will even act fast and use advertising and sales to further move the consumer to a new purchase. Car brochures, test drives, sales, promotions and rebates are all ways for the consumer to be drawn further into the need recognition process.

Another way that a consumer recognizes an unfulfilled want is when the consumer runs out of the product. This can be as simple as an empty shampoo bottle or a need for more bread. Marketers can tempt consumers to purchase their products through coupons, deals, contests and promotions.

The last way consumers can recognize an unfulfilled need is if they become aware of a product that is better than their current product. Marketers love to create newer versions of their product in order to tempt consumers to upgrade their old versions, such as technology and automobile companies, which consistently upgrade to newer models.

Information Search

After the consumer has developed a want or a need, he or she needs to start an information searchabout the different alternative selections that they can purchase to satisfy their need. Our ninja has decided he needs a new ninja hideout. He will look both internally and externally for his information to help him make a decision. An internal information search consists of utilizing information from memory, such as past experiences with the product.

An external information search is the process of seeking information in the outside environment. The ninja will start by asking personal ninja friends and family about their experiences with acquiring a new ninja hideout. They can also research public sources, such as consumer reports for ninja hideouts with the best ratings.

Another external information source for the ninja would be marketing-controlled sources, such as radio, television ads, brochures, etc. The amount of time dedicated to this step usually depends on the consumer’s past experience with buying the product, the risk involved and the level of interest. The new ninja hideout would be of high interest and have a large risk due to the fact the ninja wants to be well protected. Once the ninja has created a set of alternative ninja hideouts to choose from, he has created an evoked set. This set consists of the ninja’s most preferred alternatives. Once the evoked set has been decided upon, the ninja will then conduct final research to further shrink his choices.

Evaluation Of Alternatives And Purchase

After consumers have recognized a need, conducted information research and created a final decision set (or evoked set), they then must make a decision. Our ninja must choose which ninja hideout he will purchase with what options.

In order to make the final decision, consumers usually decide on one product attribute that is the most important. It could be quality, price, location, option, etc. Another method of making a final decision is for the consumer to create a specific cutoff. This could be financially based; such as the limit for a ninja hideout could be $25,000. A marketer has to realize which attribute is most important to the consumer and communicate away any potential obstacles. For instance, suppose our ninja has decided that he will make his decision based on a price cutoff of $20,000. A marketer could then promote that the ninja could still afford the $25,000 hideout by using excellent financing.

Economic issues have really affected the purchase outcome due to the recession. According toPewSocialTrends.org (a national demographic and trend survey company), only six percent of consumers have increased their spending since the recession hit in 2007. In fact, 62% of Americans said in the survey that they have curtailed their consumer spending amounts. In the survey, the respondents were quizzed about their future spending patterns once the economy improves; 31% say that they will spend less in the next few years. The final part of this step is that the consumer has to decide to buy or not to buy.

Post-Purchase Behavior

After a consumer makes a decision to buy a product, they expect satisfaction to occur from the purchase. If the product does not meet their requirements, then dissatisfaction can occur and the consumer will talk poorly about the product publicly, return the product and also possibly not be a repeat buyer. A smart marketer will make sure that their consumer is completely satisfied and does not develop any negative post-purchase feelings. Cognitive dissonance is the inner tension that a consumer experiences after recognizing an inconsistency between behavior, value and opinions. Marketers can prevent cognitive dissonance by excellent communication of their product’s benefits and features, customer service follow up by email and even small gifts, such as calendars or pens with the company name.

Lesson Summary

Once a consumer has identified that they have a need or a want that has to be satisfied, the consumer then moves through a decision making process. This 5-step process consists of need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase and post-purchase recognition. A marketer must guide the consumer through each of these steps in order to have a chance of a sale.

Marketers can use marketing-controlled information sources (such as radio, Internet ads, newspaper, television and magazines ads) to help educate consumers about their product or service. Consumers can use non-marketing controlled information sources (such as friend and family opinions, consumer reviews, report studies and other public sources) to help make an informed decision. After the consumer purchases a product, it is important for marketers to follow up with post-purchase support to reduce cognitive dissonance, or the inner tension concerning making the correct purchase.

Gartner: IT Industry Grows in India

Full Article via MaddiRuhl @ KioSkea.Net

Technology research firm Gartner has reported a growth of 13.3 percent within the top five Indian IT providers in 2012.

It’s a good time to be in the tech industry in India. The top five Indian IT service providers TCS, Cognizant, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Technologies, have a cumulative growth in 2012 of over 13 percent. This growth amounts to over $34 billion. This was a huge jump from the previous year, which totaled at a growth of only 2 percent. Leading the growth curve is Cognizant, and the company which saw the least growth was Wipro. “Cognizant displaced Infosys to become the second-largest Indian IT services provider, and Cognizant experienced the highest growth rate among the top five providers with 20.1 per cent in 2012,” stated Garter research director Arup Roy.

Many of the top Indian IT players are becoming increasingly focused within the nation, housing their headquarters within the country, hiring employees from India, and providing services for India. While the country still holds over $100 million in outsourcing contracts from abroad, companies are starting to shift towards providing for India itself. It is not surprising to see increasingly India-centric businesses thriving at this point in time. WikiLeaks recently published documents which reflect a resistance to more foreign investmentsin India, indicating that the nation is gearing up to become a more powerful provider in the future.

Why America Needs More H-1B Visas

Article via CIO Insight’s Marc J. Schiller

The IT community needs to support foreign worker authorization as a potential path to citizenship in order to keep the U.S. globally competitive.

The tech community has officially and vocally rallied around the issue of immigration reform, most notably with the recent formation of the political advocacy group FWD.us. Boasting such heavy-hitting founders as Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Drew Houston of Dropbox, Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn, and a slew of other tech-household names signing on as supporters, FWD.us is saying all the right things.

Of particular importance is the organization’s call for an increase in “the number of H-1B visas to attract the world’s best and the brightest workers, while implementing reforms that encourage this talent to permanently reside in the U.S.,” including “a pathway to citizenship for immigrants currently living in the United States that do not have legal status.”

So, What’s the Problem?

Unfortunately, not everyone sees things this way. There is plenty of controversy about immigration generally and about H-1B visas specifically. (The H-1B visa authorizes businesses to employ foreign workers in jobs that require expertise in specialized fields.) Some people object to H-1B visas, saying that they take jobs away from Americans. This is misguided, not because there are no problems with the program, but because it misses the big picture.

The anti-immigration argument regarding IT workers is pretty much the same one used for nearly every other class of worker, mainly that foreign IT workers drive down wages for U.S. workers. What’s more, critics say, if you look at the vast majority of the H-1B visas issued for tech workers, they go to Indian outsourcing companies operating in the U.S. These companies largely act as “body shops,” supplying low-wage workers for lower-end tech jobs. This is hardly the picture of a highly educated science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce, driving innovation and competitiveness for U.S. industries.

The problem is, and it pains me to admit it, is the H-1B critics are partially correct. I don’t for a moment agree with their conclusions or policy implications, but their general observations of what’s taking place in the IT employment marketplace is not totally wrong. So, here’s an insider’s view of what’s happening in the IT employment marketplace and a prescription for how we might fix it. But, first, some full disclosure: In addition to my own personal experiences and observations from working with IT leaders for 25-plus years, I am also drawing upon my wife’s experiences and observations as an immigration attorney. (Naturally, all legal or regulatory misstatements are my own.)

All IT workers Are Different

Broadly speaking, three tiers of IT workers exist:

●       Tier I    –  Creators

●       Tier II   –  Implementers

●       Tier III   –  Supporters

Tier I workers create new products and services. They are the software and hardware engineers that design and build all of the incredible products that we know and love from companies like Apple and Google. They are the elite cadre of techies that create the foundational elements of the tech world, such as programming languages, databases and new circuit boards. These people are the innovation engines at companies like Hewlett-Packard, Oracle and thousands of other businesses serving all types of niche marketplaces.

Tier II workers are the implementers. They are highly skilled professionals who know how to take the foundational tools and technologies and turn them into working applications that solve complex real-world problems. They are essential to making things happen.

Tier III workers are the supporters. These IT professionals keep things running. They understand applications and ensure they deliver for their users. They maintain systems that are already built. For lack of a better term, they are tech support. They are the first line of defense in the world of IT.

For IT to work, we need all three tiers of workers. Each tier of worker is critical, and each requires a different skill set, which brings me back to my central point.

Unfortunately, the anti-immigration lobby correctly points out that a lot of H-1B visas are awarded to companies supplying Tier III workers. And as important as Tier III is to the effective deployment and use of technology, when you look at this tier of workers on their own, they don’t exactly look like the answer to our country’s STEM gap and innovation challenges.

I am not qualified to say whether these workers are reducing wages for U.S. workers. What I do know is that the H-1B visa requires employers to pay the prevailing wage as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor. Therefore, if anyone is to blame for wage pressures coming from H-1B workers, it is the U.S. government, not the foreign workers, that is at fault. Personally, I believe it’s more an outcome of general market forces that are demanding ever-greater skills andproductivity for the same compensation, but I’ll leave that issue for the economists.

What We Must Do

There are lots of ideas about how to solve the immigration issue, but there are two ideas in particular that we, as IT leaders, can and should support.

First, provide a work visa and a path to citizenship for foreign nationals that graduate with STEM degrees from accredited U.S. institutions. This is a no brainer.

Second, expand the H-1B guest worker program for highly qualified STEM workers from abroad. The magic words here are “highly qualified.” In other words, let’s raise the bar to ensure we are getting the best and the brightest from abroad. And lest you think this is too complex for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), think again because they are already doing it.

There is an immigrant visa known as the EB-1, as well as a temporary non-immigrant O category visa. Both visas are for outstanding people in their particular profession. World-class musicians, ballet dancers, Olympic athletes and top-notch scientists of all types gain entry to the U.S. with these visas. Right or wrong, the standards for these visas, particularly the EB-1, are stratospheric, so they lack the ability to accommodate the wide-scale need for young Tier I and Tier II workers who have not yet made the grade. But what the EB-1 and O visas do prove is that the USCIS is smart to the fact that all professionals are not the same.

On a more personal and grass-roots level, there are two more things to do. First, talk to an immigrant and hear her or his story. It’s amazing to learn firsthand how the light of America still burns bright for people around the world. This will help personalize the issue for you and take it out of the conceptual policy realms of Washington.

Second, get involved in the conversation. Join FWD.us. Tweet a link to this article or talk about it with others. Email or call your congressional representatives and let them know what you think.

Building Brand Experience

Article via Entrepreneur by Jim Joseph

Marketing is all about the kind of experience you deliver to your customers with each and every interaction. The more compelling the experience, the faster you will build brand loyalty. In fact, the experience you build becomes your brand in your customers’ minds.

You must think about both the totality of the experience as well as the tonality. The right combination will make the experience unique to your brand and motivating for your customers. Without both totality and tonality, you won’t have a great brand experience, and without a great brand experience, you’re just another product.

Totality of the Brand Experience:
Totality is about the completeness and consistency across your various marketing elements. If the experience isn’t complete and consistent, the totality won’t be effective in creating customer loyalty. Consistency is important so that your customers know what your brand is going to deliver each and every time.

For example, if you’re a travel agent specializing in helping singles book group excursions, you need to make sure you have a total brand experience that relates to your specific customer. Having a local office with beautiful brochures may be a good start, but without an online experience that appeals to the social nature of your customer, your brand won’t be complete or consistent with your customers’ needs. You need the totality of your brand experience to create brand loyalty. This includes engaging with your customers through the various ways they live their lives.

Tonality of the Brand Experience: 
Tonality is about the spirit of the experience. It should also be in line with how you have defined your brand and with what you know your customers want. If the tonality is at odds with your marketing, you won’t be able to make an emotional connection with your customers. Others may refer to it as brand personality or voice. I call this tonality. Regardless, tonality should be a conscious decision on your part.

For example, a restaurant can have the most welcoming website, amazingly warm online reviews and an incredibly inviting front door entrance, but if the host and wait staff are obnoxious throughout the experience, the overall tonality of the experience is tarnished. You need everything to be consistent for your customers to feel good about engaging with your brand.

For an effective brand experience, you need totality and tonality working together to give a complete picture of what your brand can offer. Both elements need to be consistent with each interaction. As soon as one element of your marketing falls out of step with the rest, you put the brand in jeopardy with your customers. Execute your marketing consistently in both totality and tonality and you will have a winning formula for your brand.

Ask yourself, what is your brand experience?

2014 could see return of double-digit IT services growth

Article via Computer Weekly

Indian IT services supplier Infosys believes 2014 could see the return of double digit sales growth following a 5.8% increase over the last 12 months.

A total of $1.9bn sales in the final three months of its financial year took total sales for the 12-month period to $7.4bn.

But despite the revenue growth, Infosys’ profits dropped 4.1% to $444m in the final three months of its 2013 financial year that ended in March, as a result of staff costs and price reductions.

Infosys’ European head BG Srinivas, told Computer Weekly lower-than-expected sales meant it had too many staff on the books. Infosys could not fully use the staff it had retained as a result of customers delaying projects. Srinivas also said the services provider had reduced prices, which also affected profit.

Economic uncertainties meant the company has predicted a broad growth range of between 6% and 10%, but internally it is confident of double digits.

India-based IT services firms were for a long time associated with double digit growth, but such was the extent of the economic downturn that growth dropped significantly.

“As we enter 2014 we see a robust pipeline. But due to slowness in decision making and macro-economic uncertainty, we are predicting a broad range for growth,’ said Srinivas.

Srinivas said the growth over the next year will come in consulting and system integration, IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing (BPO), with Infosys making investments in cloud, mobility and business analytics.

Change Your Sales Pitches

Article via Staffing Talk

I just read this dense and really nerdy study fromUniversity of North Carolina that essentially proves three simple things: 1) most people find calorie totals meaningless, 2) most people are intimidated by exercise, and 3) people will eat differently if they know how much exercise it would take to burn their meals. What does this study have to do with staffing? Well maybe it’s just a lesson in speaking on your clients’ terms, rather than your own.

Let me explain.

The medical school research study, published inAppetite, asked people to look at one of four different types of menus before ordering food. 1) No nutritional info, 2) just calorie info, 3) calories plus minutes of walking it takes to burn the calories, and 4) calories plus distance you’d have to walk to burn the calories. What they found was that groups 1 and 2 acted almost the same and their orders averages 1,020 calories. Groups 3 and 4, meanwhile, averaged a significantly lower 826-calorie meal.

This study also mirrors the findings of Johns Hopkins when they posted signs at convenience store soda coolers that showed how much exercise it would take to burn off one soda (50 minutes of running). Not surprisingly, people were less likely to buy a soda.

What I love about this approach (other than the factthat it seems like a common sense thing to do) is that it takes away labeling foods and instead reframes it to labeling people. It’s a phenomenon that reminds me of a piece of sage advice I got as a budding journalist: if you can’t get them by the heartstrings, get them by the purse strings. The idea is to adjust and customize your message specifically for your audience so it speaks to them.

So if you hear clients say things like “you don’t offer enough value” or “you’re too expensive,” do the math and figure out exactly how much resources they spend on hiring right now, then translate that into dollars. The idea is that, instead of staring atyour price tag, you make them look at their price tag. If you get really good at framing your pitch, you might even be able to prove that you’re an investment that pays for itself and helps that client grow.

Improve Your Website: 3 Free Tools for ‘Screencasting’

Via Entrepreneur.com …

A screencast, or video of what’s happening on your computer screen, is commonly used for video tutorials. But screencasts can also be used to create a tour of your website, present a slide show or demonstrate the features of any online product.

While a screenshot is a static image of a computer screen, screencasts essentially are short movies with narration that can show changes made to a site or page over time. They can be used to demonstrate how to use a new piece of software, to report problems with your site or to illustrate potential changes to your site through a redesign.

All you need to create a screencast is a microphone and a service to capture the video. Here are three free tools that can help you get started on the right foot:

Related: 5 Steps to a Stress-Free Website Redesign

1. Screencast-o-matic. This free program lets you start recording within 30 seconds of opening the webpage. One button opens the resizeable recording frame. Another button starts the recording.

With Screencast-o-matic, you can record up to 15 minutes then upload your video directly to your YouTube account. You can create as many videos as you want for free, but they come with a “Screencast-o-matic” watermark in the corner.

To get screencasts without the watermark, upgrade to a pro account for $15 a year. This includes a full editing suite, screenshots, offline recording, additional publishing options and unlimited video length. If you’re going to shoot more than two screencasts a year, it can be worth the price.

2. Screenr. This is another free, instant record tool with a resizeable frame and one touch record button. Screenr only allows recordings up to five minutes and you’re required to sign in with a social media account such as Facebook, Twitter or Google.

The advantage is that you can easily upload short videos to your social media pages, not just YouTube. Screener’s free screencasts don’t include a watermark but they do make all videos public on their site so pass on this option if you need to keep your video private.
You can go private by paying $19 a month for a pro account, but even the paid options don’t include the ability to edit videos.

3. Jing. This is a free tool you download to your desktop and activate from an icon that stays at the top of your screen. Jing allows you to quickly grab stills or record anything on your screen with just a few clicks. You can pick up your full screen or any portion, then instantly upload to Facebook or Twitter.

Videos are limited to five minutes in length and, since they’re hosted on screencast.com, storage and bandwidth is limited to 2G a month. You can increase storage space to 25G with a Screencast Pro account for $9.99 per month. Even with the limitations, Jing is one of the quickest ways to create short, single-use videos on the fly.

Link to Original Article