What are the factors influencing branding?

July 27, 2020 by Douglas Henry Tagged Brand identity, emotional cues

Branding, by definition, is an exercise undertaken by the marketing department, in which a business creates a name, symbol or design which is readily identifiable as belonging to the organisation. This assists with identifying a product and distinguishing it from other products as well as services.

Branding is also the utilisation of a name, term, symbol, design – or a combination of these – which will identify a product or service.

Why is branding important?

Branding is important as it is not only what makes a memorable impression on consumers, but it allows your customers as well as clients to know what to expect from your organisation.

It is a method of setting yourself apart from the competitors in addition to clarifying what it is you offer which makes you the preferred choice. Your brand is constructed to be a true representation of who you are as a business in addition to how you wish to be perceived.

Branding is critical to a business because of the overall impact it makes on your company. Branding can alter how people perceive your brand. In addition, it can drive new business and increase brand awareness.

What is a brand?

You can look at a brand as the idea or image which individuals have in mind when thinking about specific products, services as well as activities of an organisation, both in a practical (e.g. “the shoe is light-weight”) in addition to an emotional manner (e.g. “the shoe makes me feel powerful”).

It is thus not just the physical features which creates a brand but it is also the feelings which consumers develop towards the company or, alternatively, its product. This combination of physical as well as emotional cues is triggered when individuals are exposed to the name, the logo, the visual identity, or even the message which is communicated.

A product can be simply copied by other players in a market however a brand will always be one-of-a-kind. For instance, Pepsi and Coca-Cola taste very similar but, for some reason, a number of individuals feel more connected to Coca-Cola and others to Pepsi.

What are the advantages of branding?

The advantages to branding would include the following:

Branding gets recognition.
Branding increases business value.
Branding generates new customers.
Improves employee pride and satisfaction.
Creates trust within the marketplace.
Branding supports advertising.

What is the process of branding?

Companies tend to make use of different tools in order to create as well as shape a brand.

The following are the processes through which branding can be achieved:

Brand definition: purpose, values, promise.
Brand positioning statement.
Brand identity: name, tone of voice, visual identity design (which includes the logo design, colour palette, typographies…).
Advertising and communications: TV, radio, magazines, outdoor ads, website, mobile apps, etc.
Sponsoring and partnerships. Product and packaging design.
In-store experience.
Workspace experience and management style.
Customer service. Pricing strategy.

If you want to have a brand which is strong, everything that you do has to be qualitative. The employees, the marketing campaigns, the investments as well as all the factors which come into play will have a massive influence on your branding performance. If you want to invest time, focus and money into these aspects, you’ll skyrocket your chances of becoming a big name within your industry.

Does Cyber Security Have to Be Inconvenient?

July 25, 2020 by Douglas Henry Tagged home server, IT plan

The security world confronts businesses and organizations with a lot of challenges. The recent exposure of Efail, Meltdown and Spectre, low rates of DMARC adoption, and the ever-looming “Cyber Security Pearl Harbor”, should be a bit worrisome. We are consistently and constantly preaching about the dangers of social engineering and the lack of user awareness. We can continue to improve the technology, but, as of yet, can’t control what users choose to open and click.

security

This makes wanton disregard for cyber security best practices that much more difficult to watch. I remember at one of my early jobs, we were required by IT to reset our password on a monthly basis (with a “one capital, number, symbol, etc” password that you could never remember). I deeply resented it. Yet, begrudgingly, I accepted the fact that whether or not I thought it was snake-oil, it was part of the IT plan designed to ensure the security of the data infrastructure and as such, much like I don’t want finance to get in the way of my plans, I should respect it.

Organizations that have plans and members who stick to them will be much safer in the long run. Willful ignorance, because playing by the rules is too inconvenient, doesn’t have to result in disaster, but results in a dramatic increase in the likelihood of a breach.

When we see people in leadership positions whether a Clinton storing confidential emails on an insecure home server or a Trump saying using secure phones is “too inconvenient”, it dramatically reduces the effectiveness of technological solutions and simultaneously increases the possibility of a breach, in these 2 cases, of state sponsored threats.

Leadership, often in the form of CEO fraud, is a high value target for cyber criminals. Certain industries are associated with specific cyber risks, whether data breaches in health, corporate espionage in manufacturing, or state sponsored attacks in government. The conflation of high value targets and leaving openings in vulnerable industries is a recipe for disaster.

Security is both bottom up and top down. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. To properly protect an organization, there is no room for breaking with an IT plan. It doesn’t mean there has to be a breach, but we never want to make it easier for the criminals.

We work diligently to produce email security solutions that attain an equilibrium, where we can maximize protection while minimizing inconvenience. We continue to develop products that require less and less user action to ensure security, while making email safer. Automated triggers, backups, URL scanning, attachment defense, machine learning, and more, have all created a vastly more convenient and safer experience for your average user.

The higher up in the food chain you go, the more inconvenient security will be (whether email or physical). It’s a very small price to pay. And for the love of your IT team, please respect their plan. Inconvenient or not.

11 Essential Tips for App Store Optimisation

July 22, 2020 by Douglas Henry Tagged app updates, positive ratings, target users

App store optimisation (ASO) is crucial for ensuring your mobile app ranks highly in app store search results and driving downloads. According to AppAnnie, 65% of Apple App Store downloads come from search alone and is consequently the most used method for discovering apps.

ASO is the process of optimising your app store listing in order to rank higher in search results. The higher the ranking, the more visible your app is, the more traffic your app will get. Therefore, the ultimate goal of ASO is to drive traffic to your app in order to increase app downloads.

App Store

Several factors can affect your app’s ranking in the app stores, however, downloads and engagement are considered the key influencers. Where engagement correlates with the features of the app, app downloads are dependent on app visibility. In an extremely competitive marketplace, ASO strategy is imperative for app success. When implementing ASO, take into consideration the following tips.

#1 Optimise your keywords

Understanding your target market and who your potential users are is crucial for ASO and keyword optimisation. Research what keywords are most frequently used in app store searches and identify those that relate to your users. Utilising these keywords is essential for ensuring your app’s discovery in the app store.

It is important to conduct keyword research to determine what keywords your competition is using and what they are ranking for. This will help you understand the competitive landscape in the marketplace. Utilising trending topics, such as seasonal events, in your keyword strategy is a great tactic for driving traffic to your app. Another strategy would be to find and use keywords that have lower competition and search volumes and to rank well for them. Once your app’s credibility is built up, you can then move on to tackle the more competitive keywords.

When picking your keywords, consider the following questions:

What language do my customers use?
How would they describe my app?
What are their reasons for downloading my app?
What is my competitive advantage?

Add as many relevant keywords as possible so your app has a higher chance of discoverability. In order to get the most out of your keyword field don’t use spaces, instead, you can separate words with commas. To avoid any duplication, make sure not to use plural keywords or the name of the app.

#2 Create a ranking title

The title should reflect the purpose of your app. Keep the actual name of your app short and concise. Then you can augment this with keywords after the name, in example preceded by a dash, to create the title. According to Tune, apps with relevant keywords in their title ranked on average 10.3% higher than those without keywords. For this reason, try and include relevant keywords in the title by picking keywords your target users are searching for. Adding these descriptive keywords in the title will help increase your app’s discoverability. However, try not to use more than 3 keywords as the title might get rejected by Apple App Store.

Steer clear of using any long, complicated keywords in the title. Ensuring your title is descriptive yet brief will allow users to read the title in its entirety and understand what the app is offering. Try to refrain from using special characters or symbols in your title as this can negatively impact your ASO.

#3 Write a compelling description

The description provides you with the opportunity to promote your app, increase traffic and encourage downloads. Your description should be targeted to your users and viewed as a potential call-to-action. Describe what the app does and compel the user to download it.

It is extremely important to put the most engaging content in the first two sentences. This is due to the app store displaying only the first 2-3 lines of text before users need to click the ‘more’ tab. Therefore, treat these first few lines of your description as an ad copy, with the purpose to build curiosity and generate interest in your app.

Remember to break up paragraphs and list your app’s best features. More specifically, use bullet points to list the unique benefits and use cases. It is also important to provide user testimonials and links to your website and app support.

#4 Create a unique icon

The app icon is the first impression users will have of your app. Icons should be clear and immediately convey what your app does. They should be creative and communicate your app’s core functions whilst standing out from the crowd. The ultimate goal for optimising your app icon is to create a simple yet descriptive image.

People make a subconscious judgement about a product within 90 seconds of initial viewing – up to 90% of the assessment is based on colour alone – Kissmetrics

In the case of app icons, less is more. There is a general trend towards bright colours, unique shapes and simple imagery. So try not to overcomplicate things with unnecessary words or images. Make sure to use vivid colours and imagery that support your brand and that are consistent with the design of your app.

#5 Put your best 2 screenshots first

Screenshots allow your users to visualise the app before download. Screenshots should include the pages where users will spend most of their time. According to Storemaven, 60% of users won’t swipe past the first 2 screenshots in an app store listing. Therefore, make sure the first 2 screenshots showcase your apps best features and demonstrate the value to users.

The idea is to think of screenshots as banner advertisements for your app. It is important to diversify your screenshots and show users why they should download your app. The screenshots can include menu navigation to showcase features, or action shots to show how users will interact with the app. When designing your screenshots consider hi-res images that use overlay text and annotations for clear messaging. Don’t worry about a logical order, instead put your most important screenshots first.

#6 Include a preview video

It is recommended to include an app preview video to showcase the different functionalities of your app. According to AppAnnie, a video can increase conversion and downloads between 25 to 30 percent. Furthermore, Storemaven found that users are 2-3 times more likely to download after watching the video.

Remember to use an eye-catching thumbnail image to encourage users to click on the video. It is also important to keep your video short, with particular focus placed on the first 10 seconds.

#7 A/B test everything

To ensure your ASO strategy is successful, run A/B testing on all components from icons and screenshots to descriptions and keywords. For example, A/B testing different screenshots can help determine which drive the most app downloads.

#8 Pick the right categories

Users are able to browse apps by searching through categories that fit their interests. Therefore, placing your app in the right categories plays a major role in your app’s discoverability. However, deciding on the best categories can be challenging. It is important to weigh up the pros and cons of each. Pick the category which best describes the core function of your app. Although, keep in mind that categories can be changed later if needed.

#9 Remember to localise

A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is risky when it comes to mobile app strategy and ASO. Users outside the English-speaking world prefer to use their native language, even if they are fluent in English. Taking this into account provides a significant opportunity for app developers to tap into a global market simply by catering to their user’s unique preferences. Doing so will help increase app discoverability, adoption and conversion. According to OneSky, localising your app can increase app downloads by as much as 767%.

#10 Promote your app

Promoting your app provides the opportunity to create hype and drive traffic to your app listing. The more traffic you drive to your app, the higher it will rank in search results. Consider building an online presence around your app through content, social media and review sites. An article from a major tech blog or popular review site is another great way to increase traffic and download rates. However, try and find the sites that cover apps in similar categories to yours. It is important to utilise these channels to generate awareness about your app and to engage your target users.

#11 Ask for feedback

App ratings and reviews play a significant role in how your app is perceived by users. Generally, apps with a large volume of positive ratings dominate the top charts. However, more often than not, users will only leave a review if they have had a negative experience or to report a bug. Therefore, in order to encourage positive feedback, ask your users ‘yes/no’ questions about whether they like your app. If they select ‘yes’ you can then prompt them to rate and review your app. If they select ‘no’ you can provide them with an option to leave internal feedback.

Remember that happy users are great brand ambassadors for your app, so make it a top priority to resolve any negative reviews. It is important that you continue to gather user feedback and leverage this to guide future app updates and improvements.

A Holistic Approach to Agile App Development

July 16, 2020 by Douglas Henry Tagged client verification, product teams, project velocity

Successful mobile app development requires more than just coding and design knowledge. While extensive coding knowledge may make a product technically sound, successful app development is reliant on the value it offers its users. Mobile app development must follow a process that encompasses strategy, development, QA, delivery, and continuous maintenance to ensure a product’s ongoing success.

App Development

Combined, these aspects are part of Clearbridge Mobile’s custom agile app development process, which is designed to deliver great mobile products with low risk and high predictability.

How Our Process Works

At its core, the Clearbridge process is designed to take a client’s vision and make it a reality. Typically, a preliminary product vision is vague and nonspecific, so Clearbridge provides rigorous product definition, strategy consultation, and product road-mapping to create an actionable plan for the design, development, and delivery of the product.

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Product Definition

Product definition focuses on determining the goals of the product, mapping business objectives, market and competitor research, and creating a mobile strategy. Businesses looking to work with Clearbridge can expect to kick off their project with an intensive design thinking session that zeros in on product definition with a clear set of goals including:

Determine the purpose of the mobile product and how it aligns with business goals
Define business outcomes
Identify market viability through competitive research
Create user personas rooted in extensive user research
Communicate and justify a product’s concept with user journeys, wireframes, and mockups
Create and prioritize a scalable product roadmap
Enter the market quickly with the most impactful and useful features

Typically, these design thinking sessions fully define the scope of a brand new mobile app; however, practicing design thinking also carries many benefits for reimagining, rebuilding, and expanding existing mobile apps. In some cases (and for many reasons), mobile apps don’t always perform as expected and businesses need to continually revisit mobile strategies to effectively reach product goals. In these cases, the product definition stage of a project helps businesses:

Reorganize existing mobile product strategies to better align with business goals
Outline a clear vision of how the product will scale
Develop an app analytics strategy
Validate market opportunity
Realign product features with user needs based on research and not assumptions
Continue to define a user retention strategy and opportunities for long-term growth

At the end of this process, we provide a set of deliverables that include the user journey, user personas, storyboard, wireframes/sketches, and a visual app prototype.

These sessions work to set the tone and priority of the delivery schedule for the project; ensures we have a solid foundation to build a successful, marketable product; and allows teams to make the decisions necessary to deliver a great product.

User Experience (UX) Design

Clearbridge’s entire design process focuses on the end-user. All decisions are made with the user in mind, which is why mapping out user personas during product definitions is so critical. Understanding the user and their needs helps inform design decisions so the final product has a pleasurable and intuitive UX design.

The key to designing great mobile products is not only to make them aesthetically pleasing but most importantly, designing the product to be usable with a seamless user experience. From product definition, Clearbridge is able to take the discoveries and research insights and apply them visually through a process of ideation, prototyping, and styling.

Agile App Development Process

Our custom app development process combines elements of various agile philosophies that allow us to create great apps, minimize downtime, reduce risk, and maintain predictable project velocity. The central tenets of our development process are described below.

Flexible, Squad-Based Development

Flexibility is an integral aspect of the agile methodology in theory, but not always in practice. Having flexibility is important because it allows you to shift and adapt to changing circumstances and project needs without affecting project velocity. The reason why so many teams struggle with it is that it needs to be instilled directly into the development process, which is no easy feat.

At Clearbridge, the structure of our development team and the processes we follow are designed to provide flexibility. We develop using squads; small cross-functional teams that plan together, share knowledge, complete code reviews, and have a known maximum capacity that allows us to scale up or down within that capacity based on project needs. There are a number of advantages to using this approach: knowledge transfer is seamless, development cycles are faster, downtime is reduced, and there is an overall reduction in project risk.

Rolling-Wave Planning

Rolling-wave planning involves delaying product decisions until the team has enough knowledge to make them. This approach may seem counterintuitive, but it actually reduces waste that results from having to draft detailed plans upfront, and then re-plan as the product progresses and requirements change. As a result, teams remain flexible and adapt easily, which mitigates scope creep and budgetary risks.

The practice of rolling-wave planning puts product teams in the best position to analyze, understand, and act upon knowledge gained from developing the product. In the Clearbridge agile app development process, clients see a product demo after every sprint, which allows them to review each increment and evolve, adapt, or pivot without wasting money or impacting project velocity.

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Short Iterations (Sprints)

Sprints are a common agile development concept that involves short development iterations: in our case, 2 weeks. The purpose of sprints is to accelerate development and divide projects up into smaller, attainable goals that can be accomplished within certain timeframes. For example, developers will focus on building out a certain feature or closing out a certain number of tickets within the two-week timeframe, rather than trying to aim to complete an entire app by a certain date. This way, teams are more productive, time estimations are more accurate, and you don’t waste time or money in the event that products pivot or business objectives shift.

Story Points & Predictable Project Velocity

We plan and estimate capacity based on story points. Stories are small units that describe a feature from a user perspective. We assign values to each story using a points system that measures its complexity; the more complex the story is, the more story points it is given.

Squad capacity is also defined in story points. In other words, we know a squad has a maximum of, for example, 25 story points per sprint. This judgment is based on the past projects we’ve done that have allowed us to determine a consistent number of story points we’ve been able to get through in sprints from prior projects. This system allows us to more accurately estimate the time it will take to complete work and maintain project velocity.

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance serves the simple function of keeping bugs out of the final product. QA at Clearbridge is integrated with development throughout the project lifecycle, which helps reduce delays and bottlenecks and ensures that defects are corrected as they are discovered.

We use a combination of testing practices including cross-developer verification (code reviews and unit testing) and have a dedicated product team that handles client verification. Additionally, we use a continuous integration system that compiles projects, checks for errors, and distributes the app to the product team for testing.

Delivery

When the application is ready to be published, we also handle the submission process to the appropriate app stores. For iOS, in particular, this is an important yet overlooked phase that many don’t consider in project timelines, but definitely should. If done incorrectly, having your app accepted into the App Store can take up to a week, in some cases longer if the submission is rejected.

At Clearbridge, we have a product release manager that assembles all the assets, optimizes your app listing, and completes the submission process according to the guidelines of the appropriate app store.

Programming Languages and Their Use Cases

July 13, 2020 by Douglas Henry Tagged Frameworks, infrastructure, legacy codebase, platform, technology

Every now and then, another rating of the most popular programming languages arrives, prompting decision-makers to question the choice of language for their new project. Luckily, various ratings by RedMonk, GitHub, PyPL Index, Tiobe, Stack Overflow and suchlike depict that the changes on the top 10 languages list are subtle. We have compiled our own go-to guide to the best coding languages in relation to the business challenges they address.

programming

Factors to Consider

Before we proceed to the list, let’s explore the various factors that may influence our choice. Frequently, the team’s skillset is the only determinant. However, making the decision solely using this factor is likely to bring difficulties in the future.

On top of the existing team’s expertise, there are technical aspects that should be prioritized when deciding on a language:

Technological characteristics and performance capabilities of the language — elasticity, coding speed, performance, memory consumption, IDE availability, error handling
Technological considerations — infrastructure, platform, technology, legacy codebase, frameworks, architectural environment
Security considerations
Economic considerations — the costs of licensing, employee training and codebase migration
Legal considerations
Project’s business objective that the ultimate solution is expected to address

The business objective is the aspect that we would like to consider closely. In this brief overview, we will leave out the technicalities and focus on the most popular languages with respect to the business needs they meet.

C

С has influenced, directly or not, many others, including C++, C#, Go, Java, JavaScript, Objective-C, Perl, PHP, Python and Swift. Most of them inherited its control structure, syntax and some basic features.

High speed, stability, efficiency and availability are among the reasons why C is popular for addressing various technological and business challenges. Moreover, other languages’ libraries, interpreters, compilers and reference implementations are often written in C, which is why it is used as an intermediate language.

C++

Released in the early 80s as the extension of C — “C with Classes” — C++ has significantly improved over time and has transformed into a high-performing language. A lot of vendors implement it as a compiled language — IBM, Oracle, Intel, Microsoft and others.

Like its ancestor, C++ was initially designed for system programming and embedded development. Now, its use spans resource-limited software — video games, desktop enterprise applications, servers — and high-speed applications. It is also a good choice for scientific computing and mathematical software.

C#

Another offspring of С, C# was created as its incremental compiling version — even its name indicates it. Called after a musical note, the sharp sign depicts that this language is just a semitone different from its ancestor. The project has failed, but the name is still alive.

In 2001, Microsoft once again created the language for its .NET initiative, to develop software components that are deployed in distributed environments. Since then, C# powers solutions based on the .NET framework and serves enterprise and game development, data visualization and storage.

Go

Go, frequently referred to as Golang, is a rising star, and we could not leave it out in the cold. Google’s pet project, this modern language was designed to create distributed systems and powerful software that can address “real-world challenges,” such as low-speed program setup, uncontrolled dependencies, duplication, cross-language interoperability and many others.

Since its creation in 2009, Go has been steadily gaining momentum, and it now occupies the 11^th position in TIOBE Index for February 2020. Some experts predict that the chances that one day Golang will substitute C and C++ are high.

Java

This general-purpose, object-oriented language named after coffee has been on the market since 1996 and is not about to roll over. In fact, statistics show that Java is the number one programming language when it comes to the number of job postings. Write Once, Run Anywhere, as Java’s slogan asserts — what this all about?

With Java, a business kills two birds with one stone: it can build any software, from comprehensive business systems to desktop software to robust Android-based mobile applications. This versatile language is also efficient in creating data visualization software, distributed systems, data storage solutions and Big Data management software.

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JavaScript

No, JavaScript does not have any relation to Java, except that both of them have similar syntax and standard libraries — they are very different when it comes to other characteristics. JavaScript is a core web development technology that enables page interactivity. A large majority of websites rely on it to manage client-side behavior.

Over time, the use of JavaScript outgrew the client-side, and now it also spans the development of web and mobile applications, distributed systems, non-browser software and the server-side of website deployments.

PHP

The acronym PHP was originally short for “Personal Home Page.” Over time, it morphed into “PHP: Hyertext Preprocessor” — it is obvious that was designed for web development. Since its release in 1995, PHP has powered thousands of websites and is still the number one web development language. It continues to become ever more efficient, cost-effective and faster.

WordPress, Drupal and Joomla use PHP as the server-side language, with Facebook and Wikipedia relying on it as well. Besides its use in the web context, PHP also enables the development of graphical and drone control applications.

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Python
Amazing but true, this language was not called after a snake — instead, it’s named after Monty Python! For almost 30 years, Python has been proclaiming code readability and visual succinctness, heavy use of significant whitespace, English keywords instead of punctuation and logical coding as its design philosophy.

Python serves for a wide variety of purposes: the development of extensive web applications, data storage, Big Data processing, data science, data visualization, video games, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and information security. For many operating systems, Python has become a standard component. Also, it is the number one choice when it comes to script writing, complex structure rendering and natural language processing.

SQL

SQL, or Structured Query Language, was created almost 50 years ago to manage data that are held in databases and ensure the smooth communication of data repositories with other system components. Now, it is the standard language for relational database management systems.

RDBMS solutions from prominent market players, such as Microsoft, Oracle and Ingress, all use SQL; however, almost all of them combine it with their special-purpose proprietary extensions. A tool to query data from RDBMS, SQL also processes streams and handles structured data.

Swift

Developed by Apple as an alternative to Objective-C, Swift seems to eliminate the need for its predecessor. Sometimes called as “Objective-C without the C,” it operates under a principle of up-to-date programming concepts and has a simple syntax. Software for macOS, iOS, Linux and other native operative systems for Apple is the area on which Swift focuses.

Follow Your Goals

As it follows from the list, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. That is why we recommend going by a business goal that software is expected to support in the first place. Once you get a clear idea of a solution you need to develop, you can pick languages that can help you achieve it. Then, you can dig deeper and select the one that meets all your considerations — technological, economic, legal and security.

Best Tips For Scraping Unstructured Data

July 10, 2020 by Douglas Henry Tagged data gathering, Visual abstraction

Web scraping also known as web data extraction is an automated web technique of fetching or extracting required data from the web. It transforms unstructured data on the web into structured data that can warehoused to your database.

Scraping

Here are Top Six Tips for Scraping Unstructured Data

1. Have a scalable solution to scrape unstructured data

Old-fashioned technical approaches to scraping of unstructured data isolate “moving parts” of a solution to make it simpler for programmers to solve an issue. They are inaccessible from the runtime usage set-ups. However, when a non-programmatic methodology builds the code, it opens up the probability to accept indications about proposed usage of extracted data. An automated Web data extraction software and monitoring solution can, for example:

Avoid useless links and reach at anticipated data more quickly
Put away less hardware resources
Build an agiler load footprint on the targeted sites

This will help extract unstructured data at scale using unstructured data extraction tools. Addition to non-programmatic methodology this will better capture knowledge about targeted websites and influence it to speediness of learning through multiple sites, addition to the capability to scale competently and excellently while extracting unstructured data.

2. Capability to work across dynamic unstructured data

The web scraper software’s are reliant on HTML delimiters, which breakdown when the original HTML changes and the necessity for fixes have to be manually tracked. An automated Web data extraction and tracking solution perceive changes and additions with accuracy, providing only the preferred data by using unstructured data analysis techniques.

3. Effectively generate as well as manage scripts and agents for unstructured data

An automated Web data extraction solution specially for data extraction tools for retailer, can assist to rationalize processes and workflows at scale, effortlessly generating productivity gains. These include:

Shared schemas and request lists to handle different projects with reliable team practices
Tools that effortlessly raise mass adjustment activities
Data mining tools and techniques for unstructured data
Automatic deployment and load handling
Bulk operations with job and task scheduling
Agent Migrations and user subscriptions amongst the systems
Consistent testing and better quality assurance

4. Convert Unstructured data to functional structured data

Unstructured data is intended for human eye whereas structured data is intended for computers. A traditional web scraper and an automated web data scraping software solution will both transform unstructured data into structured data providing analysis to execute better business decisions. However, the automated solution integrates and utilize data normalization methodologies to make sure that the structured data can effortlessly be turned into key actionable data insights.

5. Minimize errors in fetching structured data by automation

Visual abstraction is a methodology which utilizes machine learning to create well-organized code we term it as an agent. Visual abstraction understands each web page as a human observes the page visually. But an automated Web data extraction and tracking solution can better support an advanced level of abstraction without using HTML structures. And, it also does not break when it perceives page variations.

6. Integrate data results with business processes and operations

In the current data-driven business environment, multiple teams at work frequently interact with data collection and the analysis processes. Organizations looking for web scraping of unstructured data must communicate and support the data requirements, for multiple purposes. As the requirements are diverse, built-in features supportive to the variety of needs are key for scaling to higher volumes and frequencies of data gathering.

Make Sure That Your Web Application Is Secure

July 6, 2020 by Douglas Henry Tagged HTTPS websites, IT architecture, web application

Whether you are a web application development company or not, there are many types of data which is flowing through your IT architecture which needs urgent protection. This data may be used by some web application which may be exposing you to security threats.In 2017 was famous for the Wanna Cry Ransomware attack that took hundred thousands of computers hostages and did millions of dollars of losses in more than 150 countries. We can still witness such kind of attacks in future also and the best way to prevent them is to do something for it right now. In this article we will be discussing about the professional advice for optimizing your website security and how to avoid hacking attempts. Below are the top tips to help you and your web application safe and secure.

KEEP MAKING REGULAR SOFTWARE UPDATES STRICTLY ON TIME

Although it is very simple thing to do and understand but making all of your software up to date is very important in keeping you web application safe and secure. That means all of the software like your server operating system and also the software you may be running on your website such as CMS or a forum should be uptodate. If there remains a hole or a vulnerability in your software, hackers can attempt to use it to launch a hacking attack on your site or web application. If you are using a managed hosting solution then you don’t need to apply the security updates for the operating system and some of the softwares as the hosting company will take care of all of this. But if you know, detect or came across any of such vulnerability in any software then you should inform the hosting provider as soon as possible. If you are using third party software on your website such as a CMS or forum then you should make sure that you apply any security patches quickly.

TAKE CARE FOR SQL INJECTION ATTACKS

When developing web apps it is important to make it SQL injection proof. SQL injection attacks happen when an attacker uses a text field or URL parameter to gain access to or manipulate your database. If you use the standard SQL then it is mostly possible to insert malicious code into your query which could be used to change tables, get information and delete data. You can prevent these attacks by using parameterised queries which is not much difficult to implement.

USE HTTPS

HTTPS is a protocol which is used to provide security over the internet. HTTPS makes sure that the users are interacting with the server as expected and that nobody else is able to intercept or change the content they are seeing in the transmission process. If you have some data which your users want as private then it is highly recommended to use only HTTPS to deliver it. This can be the credit card information of login pages information. Generally a login form set a cookie, for example, which is sent with every other request to your site which a logged in user makes and it is used to authenticate those requests. If a hacker steals it then he will be able to easily imitate a user and take over their login session. To avoid these kind of attacks, you should always use HTTPS for your entire site. Also Google have announced that they will give higher search engine ranking to HTTPS websites thus giving an SEO benefit to it.

VALIDATE ON BOTH SIDES I.E ON BROWSER AND SERVER SIDE

Validation should always be done at both i.e. on the web browser and the server side. The browser generally can catch the simple failures like compulsory fields which are empty and also when you enter a text into a numbers only field. But these can be bypassed and the hacker can use it to compromise your website. Hence you should make sure that you check for these validations and deeper validations on server side also as failing to do so could lead to malicious code or scripting code being inserted into the database or it could lead to undesirable results in your web application.

CONCLUSION

Recently we have witnessed several hacking attacks which spread over the Internet quite fast and did millions of dollars of losses to the governments and organizations worldwide. Therefore it becomes utmost important to follow the above given tips if you want to prevent the hacking attempts on your website or web application. Doing regular updates of your web server operating system and other softwares on your websites, encrypting the important information, using HTTPS, checking error messages so that they don’t leak important information, making passwords more complex, preventing SQL injection attacks and implementing proper validations at both the web browser and web server side will make sure that your website or web application is secured and any malicious code will not be able to steal your users information from the database and neither it will affect the outcome and the performance of your website or web application.

Methodology & Framework For Web Applications

July 3, 2020 by Douglas Henry Tagged object hierarchy, web application

The main Framework benefit of structured, modular programming in any language is that the MVC components are strictly self contained and that they can be cleanly taken from any of their mother project and worked for other projects on its own

Designing the Interface of Your class
It is said that the most important part of Your object hierarchy is the interface and the less important is its implementation.ForExample: Let us assume that You are designing a yser class; For designing a user class You would first think about is a username, first name, last name, and encrypted password properties. Any of the security of these users to which they belong, and know details of their last login. Figuring out the users last login can be designed and programmed in many ways. Its on You to choose the correct and simpler way for Your web application. Approaching these terms the unit-testing friendly workflow is a simple method.

Unit Testing Framework.
The main benefit of structured, modular programming in any language is that the MVC components are strictly self contained and that they can be cleanly taken from any of their mother project and worked for other projects on its own

Designing the Interface of Your class.
It is said that the most important part of Your object hierarchy is the interface and the less important is its implementation.ForExample: Let us assume that You are designing a yser class; For designing a user class You would first think about is a username, first name, last name, and encrypted password properties. Any of the security of these users to which they belong, and know details of their last login. Figuring out the users last login can be designed and programmed in many ways. Its on You to choose the correct and simpler way for Your web application. Approaching these terms the unit-testing friendly workflow is a simple method.

Xicom provides a broad range of web development services and application development services to help you harness the power of technology, consulting and maximize your online business investment.

Manage Your Database Like A Pro

June 30, 2020 by Douglas Henry Tagged B2B marketing, marketing strategy

At the very heart of every go-to-market activity conducted by B2B sales and marketing professionals is Database . Data is universally viewed as the catalyst for driving an effective sales and marketing strategy and towards improving the performance of your overall business. As much as data is crucial to the health of a business, B2B marketers continue to face the hurdle of proper storage and dissemination of said data from their several systems, both online and offline, internal and external. Database

There is a constant need for generating new leads and an endeavor to converting existing ones (through strategies like Account Based Marketing). But where can this data be stored? Your B2B marketing database. In case you are currently using Excel to keep track of your leads or as a database then you are sadly behind the times.

For some marketing functionalities like AdWords tracking, social media calendars, blog calendars, etc. an Excel spreadsheet will be beneficial but it shouldn’t be used to keep track of your leads. This is where a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system becomes handy. Once you have loaded your lead data into your CRM system, it becomes easier to pull lists out for the purpose of email marketing or prospecting.

There are 3 main ways you can manage your database.

Data Cleanup

A database that is filled with unqualified leads or poorly entered ones can lead to costly mistakes and can often cripple demand generation initiatives. According to a study by SiriusDecisions, 25% of the average B2B database is inaccurate and there are several causes for this.

Outdated Lists

Often, B2B marketers buy email data for prospects that fit certain measures and although they might be clean when bought, their value degrades quickly.

Spam Trap Email Addresses

Spam traps are used by organizations to expose marketers who use poor permission standards and illegitimate senders.

Non-Standardized Data

A number of your contacts might have similar jobs but with different titles and if this data is not cleaned up to include more standardized job titles then it won’t be possible to create segments based on those titles.

List Segmentation

According to a DMA report, 77% of email marketing revenue comes from a segmented, triggered and targeted list. List segmentation is the system of dividing the email or lead list into segments that share a common denominator. List segments need to meet certain criteria in order to deliver the intended benefits which are:

Differentiated

Each lead segment should be easily differentiable in order to avoid confusion and to ensure the right segment is being used for the right purpose.

Significant

Ensure that the segments you are focusing on are significant enough to bring in the most benefits.

Relevant

Segmentation should be relevant to company goals or it will futile in creating that differentiation.

Actionable

Marketing teams need to be able to design content and campaigns for different segments that will have the potential to drive ROI.

Stable

When segmenting leads, it is important to keep in mind whether the criteria are likely to change and how often.

Data Use

Once the CRM database has been cleaned and segmented appropriately, it is time to create separate email marketing campaigns that will gain the interest of prospects at various stages of their buying cycles. With the use of a thoughtful lead nurturing program, you will even be able to guide the leads through the funnel.

To improve your creativity as a graphic designer

June 29, 2020 by Douglas Henry Tagged creative designs, graphic designer, marketing tool

Lacking inspiration? Looking for fresh ideas and ways to get creative? While working or studying in the creative field might be your dream job, it’s inevitable that at some point you’ll suffer from a creative block.

To help you re-engage, we’ve compiled a list of ways you can enhance your creativity including some of the latest trends you’d be taught on graphic design courses.

Focus on typography

Having a bold and noticeable typography is an essential part of design you’ll be taught on graphic design courses. Thicker, bolder and more aesthetic patterns are currently on trend. Try experimenting with different typography and thinking about how certain typefaces will look on websites, advertisements, posters, logos and more. However, be sure to keep things simple so as not to overwhelm the viewer!

Pinterest

Giving shape to new things is not an easy task and a lot of designers turn to online mediums to find relevant ideas. Pinterest can be a great space to get a much needed boost. It is used by many artists for putting together new projects, relevant trends and other designs. You can simply follow your contemporaries to get inspiration or create your Pinterest page using illustrations and other useful tools.

Abstract illustrations

Graphic design courses will teach you that the use of illustrations are an important part of a brand’s identity. Nowadays, the focus is on creating lucid and dream-like illustrations that are highly unique – such illustrations have been adopted by many companies in recent times. The use of this technique can be seen in some of TfL’s recent safety posters; the imagery is instantly recognisable, even from a far distance. Why not test out creating abstract designs and see if this boosts your creativity?

Add humour

This one is a bit tricky but if done right, it can have a lasting impression with the client or employer. You can experiment with visual representation and add something humorous to it for a personal touch. This adds uniqueness to your work and brings it to life, making it stand out among other pieces. However, you should make sure that the comical aspect of the design should be witty and not demeaning.

Animation

Animation is also an important element of design. Graphic design courses aim to teach students how to make their work more interactive, which is possible through the use of animation. Motion graphics are highly appealing and easily engage the audience making them a personal favourite of clients as well. They serve as a great marketing tool in influencing consumers effectively. You could spend some time investigating how to create animations or watch clips of other graphic designers’ work to help you come up with new content.

Shutterstock

Finding good quality and interesting pictures is a necessity for every graphic designer. If you are looking for inspiration or are in dire need of a great image, then Shutterstock can be very useful. You can use this app on your phone to easily download royalty-free pictures and can even share them with your friends. Shutterstock has a host of designs and ideas which can be put to excellent use with the help of relevant skills.

Content

B.A. Graphic Design certainly goes a long way in helping to build your expertise in design but you are also taught to pay attention to the content part of it. Having some copywriting knowledge and using it in your visual art can add another layer of distinctness to it. A catchy tagline on a design not only captures the attention of the audience but provides it with a novel personality as well.

Using the above ideas can certainly add a new spark of life to your creative designs. Students who are keen to step into this field can look into relevant courses such as HNC Graphic Design at London College of Contemporary Arts. Start pursuing your passion today and learn the skills and knowledge necessary for success as a graphic designer.