3 Strategies for cloud enabling your business

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As per IDG Cloud computing survey, 92% of organization’s IT environment is at least somewhat in the cloud today. If you are in those 8% who have not adopted cloud yet, you are clearly missing out on the benefits that other organizations are getting. By now, I am sure you know the most benefits that Cloud infrastructure offers, but let’s refresh it once more –

  1. More Resiliency – The cloud providers scale up and down as per your seasonal needs. It is the most ideal way to support your growth, as you don’t need to purchase and hold assets for a peak requirement, but you can adjust as you go along.
  2. Less Headache – You don’t need to keep an army of people to upkeep your servers, manage security and hardware failures. You can sleep well knowing that the cloud providers are well-equipped in security and disaster recovery capabilities to ensure safekeeping of your assets and data. You, of course, need help to plan, configure and monitor it, but once you get the setup right, it is a smooth journey.
  3. Access to new capabilities – The cloud providers offer advanced capabilities and services that make your life easier. With a competitive market, the more and more services are being made available and the cost is going down. In 2021 AWS: reinvent, Amazon announced more than 50 new services on the top a very mature array of services. You can access these capabilities with a click of button, right from document storage to artificial intelligence, and create growth opportunities for your business.
  4. Potentially less cost – I am being careful here as many organizations have seen increased monthly spend when they compare with their current ‘infrastructure’ costs. However, if you look at it holistically by adding people/process/tools costs of running your current (and future business), the cloud costs will be potentially much lesser.

If you are convinced and are thinking of adopting cloud for your business, what should be your strategy for adoption?

There are following three popular strategies that our customers have adopted –

  1. Lift and Shift

    If you have a portfolio of applications on your premise, the fastest way to address your ‘cloud adoption’ business case is by lifting and shifting your applications cloud. It makes sense if you are going to get rid of your data center (or hosting provider) and save money on operations by migrating to cloud.
    Although you can do it manually by evaluating every application, for a portfolio of applications, tool-based migration process is preferred. There is a very strong tooling ecosystem for AWS, including its own Cloud endure ( now AWS MGN), to support the migration. The tools can help you right from ‘Discovery and Planning’, ‘Creating a business case’, Migration and also post-migration ‘Monitoring and Support’.

  2. Fit and Shift

    It is my favorite option as it lets you leverage the new capabilities that Cloud offers while preserving the value of your legacy investments. It includes selectively replacing components of your current application by ‘cloud managed’ components. For example, you can swap an Oracle database for AWS RDS, and reduce your license costs and maintenance efforts. As you are developing a strategy by assessing every application, it takes a longer time (~8-12 weeks for 30 applications) to define your migration strategy, but your potential benefits are likely to be much higher than just ‘lifting and shifting’ to cloud.

  3. Don’t Shift, Go Native

    If you are convinced that your legacy is not going to support your future growth, it is better to re-architect your applications and re-develop using cloud native capabilities. The cloud provides many platform services to rapidly build and deploy a ‘cloud-native’ application, so it may not be overly expensive option. For a global association of risk professionals, we recently re-developed their mission-critical financial risk estimation application within just 2 months, by reusing their existing python based code and leveraging AWS serverless and RDS services. This approach not only saved the development and maintenance costs, but also provided a scalable solution to onboard new associates very easily.

In conclusion, the cloud provides significant benefits to your business and there are proven strategies to adopt the cloud. Futran, in partnership with AWS, helps organizations to define the migration strategies and adopt it in cost-effective, risk-free way. Please contact a Futran Cloud Specialist if you want to know more about how we can help.

The Big Data Game: How Data is Causing Major Metamorphosis in The Insurance Industry

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Today, data is an asset that can be used both internally and externally. Companies can collect more information than ever before in a variety of ways. Digital interactions with customers on mobile devices and stationery allow us to track interactions and requests.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has provided billions of connected devices and objects equipped with tools to measure, record and communicate information about purchases, customer responses to advertising campaigns and marketing messages that can be captured and analyzed.

Accurate information requires data analysis programs that can easily collect, store, analyze, display, and report on information from a variety of sources. These insights provide business leaders with the information they need in real-time to make better decisions.

The Data-Backed Change

With converting client expectancies and the sheer expanse of data being collected, insurance businesses are already converting their models and processes.

Among the high-quality modifications are the following:

  • Investment in tools to better understand their customers, their expectancies and their needs
  • Development of recent insurance alternatives to provide guidelines which are shielding extra items
  • Responding to an ageing populace whose insurance needs are converting in massive numbers and quickly
  • Realtime processing and mobile apps that respond to the expectancies of younger customers, who anticipate a digital-first approach (this pace and responsiveness are often contrary to the traditional approaches insurers had in the past)
  • Using new technology inclusive of blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the IoT to create better operational efficiencies and create more connections with objects and customers

Challenges faced by insurers in leveraging data to drive digital transformation

Digital transformation provides a fantastic possibility for insurance companies. However, the same companies may also face limitations that delay the utilization and leveraging of data.

Among those problems are:

Lack of Policies and Procedures: 

Many insurance companies have grown because of acquisitions, which means that the integration of systems and policies is challenging.

The data-driven insurance company needs:

  • Data governance structures and policies
  • Consistent data definitions
  • Clarity of data ownership
  • Standards for the collection, storage and use of data
  • Data security guidelines

Cultural and Organizational Roadblocks: 

An insurance company that desires to achieve success in the use of data in new approaches needs to address these concerns promptly:

  • Internal cultural variations in how data is seen, valued and used
  • Data stored in silos without standardization and a single source of information
  • Complex data structures
  • Inconsistent data formatting
  • Reluctance to share data internally
  • Data quality and more than one kind and sources for data (structured, unstructured, collected, purchased)

Technological Barriers:

Technology is a common barrier or leveraging data. Challenges include:

  • Data stored both in the cloud and on-premises
  • Legacy systems, often highly customized
  • Lack of certified internal IT resources

Leverage data with Futran  

Here are some recommendations for optimizing the opportunity for digital transformation for Insurance companies.

  • Invest in Data Analytics – Big data analysis tools enable insurers to collect and use data from multiple sources at the same time, identify patterns, better detect fraud, and resolve cases faster.
  • Using advanced OCR software – The insurance process still relies on paper, either that it generates or that comes from other sources. Sound OCR software reduces manual entry and re-entry, promotes better storage, retrieval and analysis of unstructured data while accelerating processes.
  • Improves two-way communication – Insurers need to better engage with their customers — apps, content, and messaging tools. Tools should be primarily mobile and include features to capture interactions and outcomes.
  • Use AI to improve engagement – Artificial intelligence tools like virtual assistants can provide customers with the information or live assistance they need, saving resources and fixing routing issues.
  • Partners for Transformation – Insurers need strategic partners to help them collect, analyze and use data for digital transformation.

Conclusion

Emerging Leaders in the insurance industry are using insurance data analytics to manage risk selection and pricing strategy decisions. New-gen technology is working progressively to implement regulatory approaches to understand big data in a variety of insurance transactions such as underwriting, claims management, customer satisfaction and policy management to provide better predictive analytics. This allows insurance companies to describe the analytical decision-making process in all of their internal processes and business operations.

Futran helps insurance companies with their digital transformations by providing the best Data Analytics solutions such as Cloud-Based Data Warehouse & Data-Lake, Data Management, Managed Services & Analytics Model Development.

Revolutionize Your Workplace With These 13 Simple Steps

Revolutionize Your Workplace With These 13 Simple Steps

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We live in a constantly evolving world, searching for new ways to motivate ourselves to achieve more and improve the quality of our lives. It is ideal to find the right balance between work and personal lives to grow on both fronts and a well-designed, motivating workplace that makes employees feel at home, with a brisk environment and good interpersonal relationships plays a significant role in doing so. Your workplace is the cradle for all new ideas, innovations and creative inputs that can usher your work processes and overall productivity to its zenith and it is essential to pay attention to developing a congenial atmosphere for your teams to work. Here are a few simple ways by which you can revolutionize workplaces to further your success.

Interaction and Reiteration

Companies and enterprises often experience periods of a lull in between periods of continuous activity and intense work. It is necessary to maintain the morale of your teams during these lull periods and ensure they stay focused. Address your employees regularly and motivate them to work proactively by reiterating your objectives and goals to keep everyone on track and efficient. Customize your workplaces to design an open environment that motivates interaction among colleagues and superiors to ensure no gaps in communication or tension between them.  

Recreation Zones

Develop strong habits and activities that engage all your employees and organize stress-busting activities regularly to keep them relaxed and rested to focus better. Companies have shifted from conventional office spaces to employee-friendly spaces that have improved employee perception, reducing workspace related anxiety and stress. Office spaces with recreational zones like gaming zones, music areas etc. allow the employees to lay back after stressful assignments and take fun breaks in between their tasks. It also improves the morale of your teams and develops a sense of bonding and camaraderie between your teams. 

Acknowledge Performance

A healthy competitive spirit can go a long way in improving the performance of your employees and push them towards enhancing their efficiency. Recognize good performance from your employees and credit them for it to encourage their involvement and dedication. Many office spaces have various small rewards for their employees like the best employee award, Go that extra mile award, customer-friendly employee award etc. These awards are small incentives that help employees and superiors track their performances, helping them identify their shortcomings and working on improving them. 

Efficient Onboarding

The first impression is the best impression and it is essential to create an exciting experience for your employees as they join your team. Fresh employees are highly optimistic about joining new job positions and look forward to developing a good rapport with their colleagues and your workplace should be welcoming to them, allowing them to acclimatize better. Dedicate time and efforts to ingrain the values and objectives of your company and emphasize the value of their role in the enterprise. 

Career Growth and Professional Development

Focus on the holistic improvement of your employees and motivate them to chart out career plans for their growth. Most employees lack proper guidance and direction in ways to improve their careers and require intelligent mentorship by experienced professionals who can analyze their areas of strength and weaknesses. Your workplace should continuously evolve to incorporate new advancements in software and technology, encouraging employees to explore and learn more about them, helping them stay updated. 

Employee Health Benefits and Ergonomics

The physical and mental health of the employees plays a significant role in developing a good work atmosphere. Develop a health-friendly office space with features like ergonomically designed desks, wellness rooms for stretching or meditation, plants, adequate ventilation, natural lighting etc. to keep your employees active and healthy. Well-designed chairs and desk spaces help prevent strain accumulation in the neck and joints, ensuring the long-term health and safety of employees.

Vibrance

Colourful work environments boost the happiness and creativity of your employees as they define different zones of your workplace. Futuristic work environments with vibrant colour and illumination with a modular outlook increases the longevity of workspace investments. Intuitive concepts with abstract colour designs like quiet zones, collaboration zones, privacy pods etc., help employees of different attitudes and mindsets find their areas of comfort.

Sense of Security

Employees need to feel safe and secure in their office spaces to work without anxiety and stress. Protective surveillance systems with smart CCTV cameras tracking the entry and exit of people into your office and storage spaces helps protect your employees and assets. The incorporation of advanced security systems in your workplaces reduces the costs and manpower requirements for security purposes in the long run, with extra perks like temperature tracking, license-plate tracking in parking lots, nighttime surveillance etc. 

Flexibility and Freedom

Hierarchy based workspaces with rigid timings are slowly getting replaced by modern systems with flexible schedules that provide flexibility and freedom to the employees. Eliminate micromanagement by allowing employees to take responsibility for their tasks and assignments to be submitted within the deadlines. It improves transparency and trust between colleagues and superiors, crediting the progress of work done by the employees based on their quality and punctuality. 

Conclusion

Well-designed workplaces play a significant role in improving the efficiency and performance of your employees. Follow these simple steps to achieve harmony in your workplace as you progress towards your goals and objectives.

8 Most Underrated Skills That Will Take You to the Top in Jobs

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Change is the only constant in our dynamic world progressing in leaps and bounds with advancements in science and technology. We need to constantly keep updating and improving our skill sets and knowledge to stay ahead of the ever-growing competition. Thousands of fresh graduates pass out every year, looking for interesting job opportunities to embark on their professional journey to success, worried about their lack of experience and skills. It is essential for young graduates and experienced professionals to persevere and develop new skills to reach the zenith of their potential. Here are a few underrated skills that will take you to the top in your career.

Lateral Thinking 

Lateral thinking and the ability to foresee various outcomes in important situations is a valuable asset for companies in all fields and sectors. Good knowledge regarding the various factors that influence the course of actions and the factors that can impact them allows you to take calculated risks and improve the chances of positive outcomes. History is often the best teacher in most ventures as it provides valuable insights regarding the nature of your fields and sectors improving your decision-making skills. Employees with out-of-the-box thinking skills are in high demand at companies as they help progress efficiently with their creative solutions and intelligent inputs. 

SEO – Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization is highly in demand in different fields and sectors with the growing trend of digital marketing and online shopping. It improves the visibility of online sites leading new potential clients to your website and thus your products and services. SEO involves a proper understanding of Web Crawlers like Google that collect information regarding various sites to display suitable results for people who search using them.  

It has grown to become a fundamental requirement to join digital marketing teams and involves improving the quality of content and its presentation to attract online searchers and improve visibility. Develop SEO skills to find interesting job opportunities in digital marketing teams and also in your ventures and businesses to improve reach and client base. 

Data Science

Data sciences are a rapidly growing field that has proved to be a lucrative opportunity for new graduates looking out for jobs. It involves the collection and analysis of vast amounts of data and making meaningful, valuable interpretations from it for the companies to benefit from. Data science requires basic knowledge of programming languages and its basics can be learned within a short period to land a job in the sector.

Online camps and offline institutions conduct data science classes for interested candidates to train them efficiently and empower them to handle jobs in this sector. It is of great application in most fields as it helps companies add value to customers and the services provided to them by allowing you to analyze the varying market trends and predict their requirements.

Content Management System Skills

Employees with a good knowledge of Content Management System Skills have various interesting job opportunities in the current scenario as they are often thought of as complex and hard to master. It involves a proper understanding of the content management systems and keen presentation skills to organize the content and display it efficiently. These skills have great applications in digital marketing, project management, analytics etc. and can provide a good start for people looking out at new career opportunities.

Digital Design

Proficiency in the design and development of interesting audiovisual content is also a valuable skill that has widespread applications in our digital world. Experience with applications for image editing and video making applications like Photoshop and Power director respectively make the candidates an interesting addition to digital marketing and advertising teams. Digital design requires an aesthetic approach to the projects and adequate knowledge regarding concepts colour matching, design elements, the ratio etc. to achieve suitable results in their work processes.

Business Communication

Business communication is an important skill that can greatly improve your efficiency in interacting with your clients and superiors. It helps you negotiate deals and terms efficiently ensuring profit and successful collaboration with your partners and clients keeping all involved parties happy. You can build strong, stable relationships with your clients and ensure transparency and trust with them. This skill has great application in sales and marketing teams and HR teams to improve communication with your clients and colleagues. 

Coding and Application Development

Coding and application development are popular skills that have provided great scope for graduates over some time. While it is not everyone’s cup of tea, a cursory knowledge of the area will prove to be extremely useful in most fields and sectors with the development of low-code or no-code platforms assisting application designers. You will be able to identify bugs in the front end or the back end of application architecture and contact your app developer in time to rectify them without having to waste a lot of time in the process.

Never Settle

A good social media presence and constant lookout for new job opportunities is an important attribute that will progress your career to interesting and lucrative areas. Develop strong relationships with others working in your community and further your social circle beyond your department or your company. It will also help you stay informed regarding the availability of new job opportunities that open up in top companies allowing you to apply for the same. 

Online job platforms also provide great assistance in this respect as they help you stay updated regarding the availability of job opportunities at different companies and enterprises for interesting job positions. Utilize them efficiently to capitalize on the wide range of opportunities that have come up with the rapid growth of companies. 

Conclusion

The journey to great success and achievements in your career is not an easy one and requires utmost dedication and continuous self-improvement. Pick up new skills that help you stay relevant in our dynamic work environments and evolve to become highly versatile and proficient in multiple skills. 

5 Ways You Can Reinvent Your Skills for Virtual Meetings Without Looking Like an Amateur

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The COVID-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on our lives, affecting all the fields and sectors of our lives like Education, Finance, Employment etc. setting us back a decade. Progress in science and technology have provided a helping hand for us, allowing us to resume our lives digitally without any inconveniences. Virtual meetings in online platforms like Zoom, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams have become a regular part of our work processes with meetings held regularly to track the progress and growth of employees towards their targets. It is necessary to revamp our skills to better suit the digital world and improve our efficiency to adapt to the changing trends. Here are a few ways by which you can reinvent your skills to meet the growing needs of the digital world.

 

Introduction

The pandemic has ushered us to the digital age with the development of new applications and software platforms to allow employees to function efficiently and meet their targets. Planning and scheduling of activities happen in online platforms and content management systems that help in organizing and tracking them efficiently. Here are a few ways to reinvent your skills to suit the virtual world and meetings professionally. 

 

  • Upgrade Your Devices: 

Invest smartly in devices like laptops and smartphones to empower your skills and improve your work efficiently. Get familiar with using the devices and start collaborating with your colleagues on the digital workspaces to engage with them efficiently. Technical expertise with the devices often saves plenty of time in learning new applications and software platforms giving you an edge over the competition.

 

  • Interpersonal Communication:

Improve your conversational and communication skills with people on digital platforms to engage participants online. Various sectors like sales and marketing, finance, business, education etc. often require frequent meetings to continue efficiently. Good vocabulary and confidence while speaking often improves the quality of the presentations and allows you to produce a significant impact on the viewers. 

 

  • Applications and Software: 

Stay updated regarding the new applications and software that come up to simplify your work processes. Various application developers have focussed on making interesting and unique applications to allow easy collaboration of employees in digital environments. Content management systems and online modules help chart out activities in proper order to get the employees oriented towards the common goal for improvement. 

 

Applications like Teamviewer and Zoho Assist allow employees to access devices remotely and collaborate with their team members without inconveniences. Acquire adequate knowledge about these applications as you venture out to address virtual meetings to suggest and utilize innovative solutions to existing problems. 

 

  • Virtual Meeting Etiquette: 

Get familiar with the right etiquette to follow for virtual meetings and conferences to ensure smooth proceedings. Virtual meetings are new to many of us and we might not be aware of the exact etiquette to be followed in the meetings, which makes it essential for us to learn it and behave accordingly. Ensure you are properly dressed for the meetings with prior checking of the video and audio components in your devices. 

 

Modify the presentations to better suit the nature of the meetings and design it innovatively to keep the participants focussed on the meeting. Muting and unmuting audio components is a prime concern for most participants unfamiliar with the muting platforms as they often end up interrupting the speakers and participants due to background noises. Be punctual to the meetings and inform the participants about the starting time of the meetings well in advance of the meetings to ensure that time is not wasted in these events. 

 

  • Online Courses and Camps:

  • Various companies and enterprises have developed training camps and courses for their employees and teams to improve their knowledge and skillsets during the pandemic period. Join such camps and virtual conferences to boost up skills and improve your understanding of various technical and non-technical aspects of your work processes. They also give you a fair idea of the nature of advancements that are happening in your field and broaden your thinking and ideas regarding your field.

 

Conclusion

Continuous, dedicated efforts are required to stay ahead of the ever-growing competition in our goal-oriented world and the pandemic has spoiled the well-designed work environment we have constructed for ourselves. It is time to reconstruct our work processes and digitize them to ensure rebound to growth and economic stability. Explore the digital world and reach out to people through online meeting platforms to resume work and progress. Virtual meetings are a rapidly growing trend that will soon replace physical meetings due to the ease of conducting and participating in them.

Talent Solutions in Pharma Industry

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The pandemic has slowed down business in companies and organizations across the world irrespective of the nature of work and scale of operations, causing layoffs and financial crises. A few fields have been immune to the detrimental effect of the pandemic and have rather benefited from its occurrence than suffer because of it and the Pharma industry if one of them.

The pharma industry has grown leaps and bounds during the pandemic period, expanding its services and its customer base and reaching out to new clients. Most pharma companies are scaling up to meet the rapidly growing needs of our population and are looking forward to employing new additions to their team in various designations.

Here are a few insights on how pharma companies are scouting out new employees for their teams.

Introduction

Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals are two sectors that have expanded the maximum during the COVID period to meet the rising surge of cases and come up with a vaccine for the disease. The expansion of companies in these industries has led to increased job opportunities for people in these sectors and also created a demand for training modules to bring in the new employees and get them up to pace for deployment.

Various companies like Futran have set forth to assist companies during these desperate times by helping provide training and placement for in-demand pharma industry job profiles allowing the fast expansion of resources to face the pandemic.

The use of digital solutions in education and training purposes has found great success as it can cater to a large group of people at the same time without the restriction of time and classroom boundaries.

Interactive digital sessions help improve the interest of participants and motivator them to focus on the learning session for better grasping and comprehension.

Advantages of Using Digital Platforms for Online Training

Online training modules and courses help trainees attend their modules from the comfort of their homes without having to travel about. This has played a positive role in the pandemic period where trainees could stay safely in isolation during their training periods without risking cross-infection.

Digital modules for various pharmaceutical profiles involve the creation of data and structuring the content to make informative sessions for easy comprehension of trainees. Here are a few advantages of using digital platforms like Futran for training employees.

  • Cloud Computing

The establishment of online platforms that can be easily accessed from all devices greatly improves the mobility and reach of the applications. New classes can be easily uploaded in the cloud platforms and trainees can also go back to the previous classes as data is stored in a highly organized manner in the cloud systems.

  • Interactive Dashboards

These digital platforms come with interactive dashboards that help the trainees keep track of their progress and growth during the training sessions. The various tools that are present in the dashboards help trainees analyze their performance in online classes and communicate with the organizing teams using the dashboards, providing transparency in communication.

It also helps in reaching out to the candidates easily and ensuring that they are constantly updated about information regarding the classes. Onboard analytical tools can also help the organization track the employee’s response to the training program and help perceive the individual abilities of the employees.

  • Online Simulations

Simulated online training can be facilitated for trainees on digital platforms to allow them to face real-life situations efficiently. The pharmaceutical industry is a highly demanding field that does not have much scope for errors as it involves the safety and health of patients.

Online simulations of various situations can help better prepare the trainees for different pharmaceutical profiles.

Pharmaceutical Industry 

The most common profiles in the pharma industry are that of Pharmacists, Clinical Pharmacists and Sales representatives. The use of digital platforms helps simplify online training for new employees and allows faster deployment of trainees in the field without losing much time in training.

The industry is on the lookout for employees with knowledge on machine learning and artificial intelligence that can be used in Cell and Gene therapy research and digital platforms can be used to provide new employees with a basic idea on these concepts for them to build on and improve.

Conclusion

The contribution of the internet and technology in online training and education has greatly increased in recent times. Digital enterprises like Futran are making it easier for the online training and deployment of employees ensuring fast and efficient training. Digital platforms come with a wide range of advantages making them the go-to choice for training exercises and modules. The future of learning is on digital platforms as they are evolving to become the most efficient and cost-effective mode of education.

The Future with Futran: Guaranteed Growth and Excellence

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As a one-stop shop for key business services and strategies, Futran Solutions knows exactly how to navigate challenges in countless domains to best serve our clients and their goals. Regardless of how fast technology changes or what software trends lie around the corner, we consistently aim for and achieve excellence through our artificial intelligence, software development, and data analytics savvy.

Our team focuses on maximizing business growth, cost effectiveness, and operational efficiency for all of our customers, and as the next step in our own development, we are excited to announce recognition of Futran Solutions by Clutch, The Manifest, and Visual Objects.

Clutch, a B2B research and reviews website that analyzes companies based on their market presence, strength of portfolio, and client feedback, recently named Futran Solutions among other leading data analytics companies in the industry.

Dev Gupta, a client of ours and editor of CS:GO related website, particularly praised our skills and support in a review on our profile. “Futran Solutions performed exceptionally in regards to project management,” Gupta touted.

“Futran Solutions and their team are skilled in a plethora of services. Instead of having to go to a different agency for various parts of the project, they had everything in one place – from initial requirements, deployment, release, and digital marketing,” he said. “With Futran Solutions, we received an end-to-end solution. We made a great decision choosing Futran Solutions.”

Sister companies to Clutch, The Manifest and Visual Objects also highlighted our range of services.

The Manifest, a news and how-to website that shares business knowledge and rankings, has ranked us among other top AI companies, attesting to our quality service. Likewise, the portfolio-focused Visual Objects website now showcases examples of our work, supporting Futran Solutions in backing us and other quality creative design and development agencies on the platform.

We very much appreciate these features of our services, strategies, and skills, and our team at Futran welcomes you to contact us with any questions or if you are interested in exploring future partnerships with us. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Six Top Data Management Practices Every Organization Must Follow

Six Top Data Management Practices Every Organization Must Follow

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Storage silos in most traditional organizations are bursting open from the rapid evolution in big data. Most of these organizations are now concerned about data management practices in their organizations.

In the last decade or so, every industry from manufacturing to advertising has migrated to multichannel sourcing of data. This means each individual set of data now competes with every other set for analytical significance. Businesses can easily stretch out of their means of trying to fuel this process. Resultantly, very few companies can claim that they are making the best use of their data.

By all means, the answer lies in implementing a data management solution that is practical. Plus, it should improve the quality of the collected data. Moreover, it can also be a vital step toward solving productivity issues.

The focus is steadily shifting toward the production of well-analyzed, relevant and timely data. Such data allows businesses to make improved decisions and usher in substantial growth. Fitting in data management solutions in business could be challenging. And if you have not started yet, you might totally miss out on what’s actually covered in data management.

With a data management plan that is centered on specific business needs, every new asset in data will undergo extensive monitoring processes to make sure there are no security threats and data is kept safe. Here are some top data management principles and practices that will help your organization make the most of the available data assets.

Understand your business goals before data objectives

Over the next decade or so, the volume of data will snowball into a living data giant. In parts, this development will be propelled by the new digital devices that are constantly being added to systems and networks. The uninterrupted flow slows down data collected previously further down the silos as newer sets of data assume more importance.

Using data to understand and realize business goals is quite common as a practice. But a data would scientist would recommend that organizations keep referring to the business goals throughout the process of data planning. This helps companies identify the most important data sets and understand whether or not those need to be placed in a silo.

As an organization, you also need to consider how every dataset can impact the KPI that you would want to improve. Based on the goal you set, you will have to make a decision on what data you want to store. At the moment, most organizations do shoddy data management.  They store a lot of data without a well-defined purpose or store mechanism.

The best way to work around this is to know and decide how much data and associated technologies you will need to crack the goal.

Club AI and machine learning in data management

The more datasets an organization accrues, the more time it takes to conduct analysis and reporting on every one of them. With new techniques like artificial intelligence, the extraction levels on the collected datasets are all set to go deeper with machines getting contributing a bigger chunk in the analysis. Data companies are already championing inter-technology collaboration to better facilitate GDPR guidelines.

The other big factor in data management is big data. Given how big data has become in the past few years, artificial intelligence will be an even bigger factor in the months and years to follow. AI can deliver fast, economical and high-quality intelligence from ginormous sets of data. It is beyond impossible for humans to derive actionable insights from such data volumes.

With the onset of GDPR, almost any organization that dealing in significantly large volumes of data will need artificial intelligence. The major ways in which AI will help companies in better data keeping include:

  • The ability for consumers to check in and out of official communications
  • Supply consumers with reports on what data the company collects from them
  • Give consumers easy ways to delete all data the company has about them

Without artificial intelligence supplying the necessary technology, these processes will become heavily time-consuming for businesses.

Ensure the right people manage data

A good data strategy for a business starts with placing the best practices and principles in place. However, what you want to know is that success is a result of the right people managing data for your organization.

Start with planned data governance. Deriving maximum value from data is critical to any data strategy of a business. Perhaps, the first of many steps in data strategy is to include data governance as a principle. For one, this will make sure that the data being used in the business continues to stay of the highest quality throughout its lifecycle.

Data governance is a process in the evolution of new businesses. Since it’s based on integrity, usability, and availability, it allows for the whole industry to make use of the data. With big data and analytics, companies can improve security, reduce costs, ensure compliance, improve data quality and derive meaningful insight.

Implementing an enterprise-wide governance framework to reduce the cost of operation and risk associated in the subsequent projects.

Make data accessible

Data security is as important for an SME as it is for a Fortune 500 company. But in a mad bid to secure data, companies cannot afford to forget data, which might, in the long run, make it defunct altogether. Data needs to be stored securely, but without compromising on the accessibility for those who need the data. Imperatively, the same data should not be available to those who do not have the proper clearance.

Staying on the top of data access protocols is key to cope up with the rapid leaps into the digital age. Organizations must make sure that data is stored at places where relevant groups can have easy access to them. The age that is coming is more data-driven than we would think. At that, it is relevant that organizations are adequately prepared to extract data from dashboards. The message here is simple – silo data is not of any particular use to a company.

Defend cybersecurity threats

Most companies have an Incident Response Plan by now. But the common mistake that most companies end up making is to deviate from that plan. So first of all, there has to be a clear plan accentuated with decision points in times of crisis. That will let companies know if there is a legal requirement, good faith or regulation to find a breach which is either potential or realized.

To start with, an Incident Response Plan should be established before the occurrence of any major incident. The plan should include all the points that will help in recovery, eradication, containment and also supply with expert testimony.

Democratize data management 

Data management principles and practices must be kept up collectively by a business. Using a holistic method to work lets every member in the company to gain access to data infrastructure and create a way for better data management processes. Along with solid governance, this method can introduce successful master management of data as well. But for company-wide success, the integration must first happen within the company.

Data management practice aids in the study of data in the correct perspective to arrive at conclusions that align with business objectives. Now that organizations are hoarding lots and lots of data, the key is in classifying the data well and making a senior official in the company accountable for it.

Data democratization is desirable. There’s no question about that. However, it has surpassed desirability. With GDPR rolling into action faster than most would have imagined, someone within an organization has to take responsibility for the data of their users. Moreover, implementing stricter data guidelines will also ensure that companies are aware of the kind of data that flows through their organization.

If you follow these recommended data practices, you will be that much closer to making holistic use of data.

Futran Solutions specializes in delivering composite data management and analytics for small and medium enterprises. As applications of data management in business keep evolving, so do the resources that shoulder these needs within an organization. Speak to a Futran Data Analytics specialist today. Find out how we help you achieve your business and marketing objectives.

Can Millennials/GenZ Disrupt Lean-Agile Enterprises?

Can Millennials/GenZ Disrupt Lean-Agile Enterprises?

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Here is a question most enterprises ask and few can correctly answer:

How do you get the best millennial talent to work for you?

Millennials and the GenZ are two groups that are maturing up to be a part of the workforce. I have seen scores of companies chasing millennial/GenZ talent and failing horribly at it. The sole reason is the companies are chasing after millennials with just a job list in hand and have no idea about what the people they are pursuing really want/need.

The common strategy that businesses put into play comprises of flexible work privileges and open workspaces. Others use the happy hours on Thursdays or organize beer parties on Fridays.

While all these can do just about enough to catch the eyes of millennials, they do not really answer the core question: what is that millennials and the GenZ really wants? They basically want a few things:

  1. An environment that values empowerment and collaboration
  2. A platform that appeals to their core interest(s) (millennials are like any other demography in this regard)
  3. The agility to work freely without always being “process-bound”
  4. A hint of appreciation for the uniqueness and creativity that they bring to work
  5. A general good feeling about the work they are doing

Many of my clients in the Life Sciences industry are adopting SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) and are in the process of implementing lean-agile transformation into their organizations.

With the imminent transformation of more and more enterprises, we inadvertently hit the million dollar question: Is it possible for the millennials/GenZ to fit in with Lean-Agile Enterprises?

The quick answer is yes. Let us stretch a bit more and peek into how the needs of millennials/GenZ fit into the principles of the Agile Manifesto.  

Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools

Giving a millennial an outdated tools is like asking a sloth to win a swimming contest. This is a generation that values innovation and connectivity more than anything else. This is a generation that lives with SnapChat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. And it’s not just the selfies that they use it for.

They share information, fun, wit, and stories on the social media. Millennials make the most of the text, images, and stories on their social media feed. With the right orientation, they can do the tools to improve a company’s brand engagement.

Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation

Millennials generally fall into the sharer/collaborator/creator category. They’ll surely find success and motivation in an environment where working software is highly prioritized over a string of Excel sheets.     

Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation

Unlike what that overhyped meme told you, millennials are a bunch of focussed individuals who work for and value success. Since they are both self-aware and persistent, they do exceedingly well in customer interaction. With the right guidance and appreciation, they can do great in customer negotiation.

Responding to Change over Following a Plan

The GenZ is adaptive and tech savvy. They understand and acknowledge the change that new technology brings to businesses. Whether it is the use of bots to do tedious, manual work, or of MakerBots for 3D printing, or even the application of advanced data analytics, they can do double the work in half the time.

The bottom line is that we have a generation of people that is raring to join the workforce and promises to add creativity and uniqueness to every bit of work they do. With Lean-Agile, they can become a more intensive part of the workforce with greater satisfaction for themselves and higher profits for their companies.

Futran Solutions is a Scaled Agile partner and Jyoti Vazirani is a certified SAFe Agile coach who is a vocal supporter of the evident compatibility between Lean-Agile and the millennial working style.

AI, NI And The Future!

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(Futran solutions is a company that offers RPA solutions. While respecting automation, Futran Solutions also participates in re-training of the employees who lose jobs owing to RPA)

Is AI thrusting upon us and our future generations a new technological, psychological and socio-economic change? Slowly but surely, are we humans becoming redundant for office, society and the universe at large? More terrifyingly, are machines really going to take control of humans? I believe we have looped this routine too many times on Hollywood to make it true? But we would all be too stupid to ignore the fact that the seeds have been planted already!

As companies prepare to make their businesses AI-powered right from smart virtual assistants to robotic process automation, we are looking at a tech-future with inevitably dwindling demand for human resource and Natural Intelligence.

At this point, we are a bit hard-pressed to figure how our LIMITED(!) natural intelligence will compete with the GOD-LIKE-POWER(?) of artificial intelligence. For once, let’s be honest and not pretend that there is no competition. There is tremendous competition already and it’s swelling up as we speak.

AI & NI: The Battle

When we speak about the competition between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Intelligence (NI), we are not expressly looking at a Terminator styled battle between human-made intelligent robots from the future and gym-vest wearing men and women of our times. In all reality, it will be the battle of employment between AI-powered robots (that are fast and accurate) and Natural Intelligence (NI) powered Humans of present times (that are slow and error-prone). A single AI-powered robot can potentially leave an entire team of 50, 500, or 5000(!) unemployed. The war has been waged; the winner is known! Only time confirms the facts!

Commercial manufacturing is already automated to a very large extent. Now imagine a situation where the smallest of factories are automated. The army is automated and no country has human armies. Governments are automated. The judiciary is automated where deep learning interprets cases and generates the judgments in seconds. And entertainment, too-imagine that you can virtually produce your own Marvel(like) movie for private viewing and that displaces thousands of people working for months together. Transport, heavy engineering, and several other industries-all automated to a point of no return.   

If such a future were to really transpire, Tesla would become a company with one employee. Elon, alone and his giant team of robots with greater caliber than human intelligence fill everything from boardrooms to shop-floors. Similar fates will embrace Amazon, and Google, and Microsoft. In that hypothetical situation, since all the workers are laid off and replaced with robots, humans shall stay back in their homes for the lack of work. They shall no longer be able to afford the luxuries, necessities, wants, and pleasures that they did when they were employed.

They’ll reach a stage where they have no money to BUY!

No jobs will soon mean no difference in affordability and no need to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes. No need to travel to Singapore in an hour. On the flip side, the sole shareholders of the big companies will lose business faster than we can imagine because no one will be able to buy their service/product. It’s pretty much the story of Bee Movie that was released in 2007. From that point, humans while battling machines, start living like our ancestors; growing their own food in their backyards, flocking to one another like never before to form the small habitats of self-reliant communities!

The situation has been discussed in detail about several eminent personalities of the Silicon Valley. While some people see no net change occurring, others have warned of grave consequences.  

How Does it Unfold?

Where do we stand speaking from a totally neutral plane of judgment? For the start, it is always wise to read from the pages of history when throwing light on the future. Remember the time when the coal mines were shut down and all the workers in the coal mines summarily lost their jobs! America became a global hero for taking the first big step in the fight against global warming at the cost of the joblessness of thousands of Americans.

The mine workers were never re-trained and re-employed. Not by the holier-than-thou corporates. Not by the holiest-among-the-holy governments of the world! So was the case when the factories were shut down!!

Aren’t mining and technology two totally different coins. Yes, on the face of it. But when you dig deeper, it is controlled by the same industry dynamics and the overall economics is same for every industry.

Companies will make a mad rush toward profits for shareholders, as the main job of the CEO is to increase the wealth of the investors. (A suggestion from us is; let the company’s performance also be measured by give-back-to-customer-index every year like the dividends to the shareholders, under the control of SEC!) To show investors an unimaginable P/E (price to earnings) ratio, corporations will lay off workforce by the hundreds and the thousands.  

The Takeaway 

For effective integration of Natural Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence, Governments may have to intervene with a legislation in favor of the “rehabilitation of the displaced workforce.” Without such planning mandated as a law, it will be easy for corporates to replace the people with AI-powered bots.

Futran Solutions specializes in RPA and is a proud partner of AA (Automation Anywhere). We provide solutions to our clients tailored to the RPA niche. In addition, as a part of our integrated solutions, we also offer re-training to the part of the workforce that will be affected by RPA. This allows employers to use the employees’ skill elsewhere and helps the latter explore other realms of technology without a day of unemployment.

Both the bridge and the boatman help us cross the river. The bridge promises to make the journey smoother and shorter. So we choose the bridge. But while the bridge is being built, the system must reward the years of service by the boatman and find him another career option before he wakes up jobless one day. How about training and rehabilitating him as a toll collector?

We, at Futran Solutions, support AI while respecting Natural Intelligence.

Jyoti Vazirani is the CEO of Futran Solutions. She can be reached at vjyoti@futransolutions.