Mohit Tater's Blog, page 617

5 Tips for Creating Your Online Store

As you learn how to start an online store, there may seem to be lot of moving parts that you have to keep  together. The truth is, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. The process can be simplified, but you have to understand that it is work. Owning a store online or otherwise will take effort and strategy to make sure that everything stays on track.

The benefits that are available when you crack the code of having a successful online store are plentiful. The dream of passive income through your store is not pie in the sky. Once you get the machine working, you can have minimal upkeep on the site.

1. Engaging Web Design

If you were to come to your website for the first time. What would your impression be? Do you think you would want to stay or would you click away quickly? You can’t look at your site with the loving eyes of a parent. You have to look at your site with the critical eyes of a potential consumer.

Your web design not only need to look great, but it needs to be set up in a way that it is going to encourage your users to go to the pages that you want them to go to. If your visitors aren’t visiting the “money pages” then you can’t make any money on your site.

An engaging design doesn’t mean that you have to give people a lot of options. On the contrary since sometimes it actually means giving people less options but options they actually want. Instead of littering your site with banner and many confusing options, you should put the most important elements on your page and let all of the other less important things fall away.

Everything from your navigation and images should be selling your visitor as soon as they come on the site. Remember ABC? Always be closing.

2. About Us Page That Makes People Want to Buy

When people go to your “About Us” page, are they going to say, “Wow” or “Whoa”? You want to wow people when they visit your about us page and while talking about yourself or your company might not be your strong suite, you need to have great copy here.

You can either write your own about us page or you can hire a copywriter to professionally craft your about us page in a way that will compel people to want to do business with you. It is important that there is a sense of trust for you and your site when people put their credit cards into the form. If anything seems even a little off, you might find them running for the hills.

While your about page may not make or break the sale, it definitely plays a part when people go to visit it.

3. Brand Partnerships

If you can find ways to partner with other brands in your space that may be more established than you, this can help you borrow their authority and trust. Even if your partners and people that you are working with aren’t big names, having other people that you work with will show that you are a reputable company and make people feel more comfortable about working with you.

You can list your brand partnerships on your about us page or partners page but you should definitely list partners on your homepage since many people will be visiting this area and you don’t want them to miss seeing this important trust piece.

4. Great Online Support

When people visit your site and have questions, they might not want to go to the FAQ section. A lot of times, people just want their answer and they want it right away. Having a way for them to get their answer quickly will set you apart from other stores on the market. You can find AI chat bots that are great for helping with common questions and people oftentimes have no idea they are speaking to a bot.

Having multiple ways that people can get in touch with you for support is important. You might have live chat, email support or phone support. Many ecommerce sites do not have phone numbers listed so if you offer phone support, this could be a big deal.

Always make sure anyone that is answering questions is knowledgeable or otherwise your support might not do anything than frustrate your potential clients.

5. Popular Payment Options

While there are many different ways to process payments, you want to offer the most popular payment options so that you will be able to service the most amount of people. If you only offer payment with bitcoin, not everyone is going to understand that so you have to be sensitive to people’s needs if you want to serve the masses.

Conclusion

When you are creating your online store, it is important that you pay attention to detail. People have more and more options for where they shop every day so providing a good experience for them is important. This includes all of the points that we spoke about above. Whether you are building an online store on eBay, Amazon or through on a platform that allows you to operate without high fees, keeping the user in mind at all times is a must for long term success with your online store.

Was this article helpful and informative? Leave us a comment with your thoughts in the section below.

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Uk Startups Should Beware Of Banking With HSBC

HSBC bank offers a range of attractive offers for startup companies that want to work with them. This includes everything from fee-free periods to attractive overdraft packages. Any tools which can help with cash flow in those early days are often welcomed and sought out by startup companies.

Despite the numerous perks offering by HSBC business accounts, there is mounting evidence that HSBC might not be the best choice for many startup companies. There is no shortage of horror stories online about startups being left without access to their bank accounts and losing income as a result. For a startup company, losing access to your accounts can spell disaster, particularly if you are a sole trader and rely on the business as your sole source of income.

What could go wrong?

The common theme which seems to be troubling companies is that HSBC is prone to closing accounts without warning. For small companies that rely on the bank as their primary source of funds, this can be catastrophic. One company reported that their bank account was closed without warning which left them in arrears with suppliers, caused them to miss an HMRC payment and also left them unable to pay their staff.

What are the warning signs?

In some instances, startups reported that their accounts were subject to annual reviews and HSBC made requests for information. In one instance, startup company Loogun went through two annual reviews before learning that their accounts failed the review. This led to their accounts being blocked with no further explanation. It was only when the company took to social media that they were finally able to access their funds and move to another bank.

What is an annual review?

The annual review is something offered to business account holders with a turnover between £500k to £2m. It is often framed as a way to help businesses to identify opportunities and ensure they are making the most of the banking options available. However, it would seem that the annual review is also used as a way to identify accounts which may be used for money laundering. As a result of automated checks, this can occasionally flag up legitimate accounts.

Is it only startups who should be wary?

Any business with an HSBC bank account can be caught up in the annual review or be closed without warning. Often, it’s a case of a computer error which results in the account being closed and HSBC staff are often powerless to fix the problem. In one case, a church bank account was closed without warning and potentially lost out on tens of thousands of pounds.

A parish church in Hertfordshire had their HSBC account closed without warning after staff at the church failed to provide the right information about the funds. The account was used by parishioners to make direct debit donations to the church. When the account was closed without warning, this had a huge impact on the church’s finances.

What can I do if my account is frozen?

If you are already banking with HSBC and are concerned about the potential risk of having your bank account closed without warning, you can easily apply for a new business bank account and start the process of moving accounts. If your account has been frozen for any reason, the numbers to call HSBC  are listed here. Your first step is to determine why the account has been frozen and if it will be reinstated. In many cases, HSBC will arrange to have a cheque for the amount in your bank account sent to your correspondence address, so it’s important to ensure this address is up to date.

Can I take legal action?

If your account is closed without reason, you have grounds to report HSBC to the financial ombudsman. This authority is intended to manage customers complaints from a fair and impartial perspective. If this doesn’t result in a favourable outcome, then there is the option to take legal action although this is likely to be costly. For startup companies thinking about banking with HSBC, the overwhelming advice from past customers is to be wary and to move accounts if you are concerned about the annual review process.

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Why Entrepreneurs Should Master Excel

There are a few different options out there when it comes to spreadsheet software but the top of the pile for most people remains Microsoft’s Excel.  While it can seem a bit confusing with so many different elements to it, there is a strong case for why entrepreneurs should master it, even if it means taking Excel Courses in London or where they live.

What is Excel?

Excel is a component of Microsoft Office and is used to create spreadsheets which contain data laid out in rows and columns.  Excel has been around since the mid-1980s and was one of the most popular pieces of software that fuelled the rise of the personal computer in the 1980-90s.  Creating a table of whatever size you need was something that had so many applications that the software was quickly being used by businesses of all kinds around the world.

Benefits for entrepreneurs

Come forward to modern times and there are more options out there including Google Sheets, but Excel is still the go-to option for most business owners.  The ability to store data, manage it and sort it in many different ways has lots of applications for entrepreneurs.

Finance and accounting

Top of the list of reasons to learn about Excel is for finance and accounting purposes.  Excel has many advanced formulas that can mean something that could take hours to do manually can be done in a few minutes.  A good Excel course can teach these and make sure you get the most from the software.  But even without the complicated stuff, it is ideal for simple bookkeeping, adding or subtracts costs or expenses and keeping track of earnings.

Product management and marketing

Customer lists and sales targets are just two examples where Excel can help with these areas.  You can use it to help plan for the future, decide on the cost of a new product and easily produce reports to help see what is working and what needs changing.

Human resources

While Excel can help with areas such as payroll, most entrepreneurs use specialist software if they need this service.  However, it can be used to look at trends, summarise expenses and look at pay periods in detail to help monitor business expenses and staff working patterns.

Examples of Excel in action

There are loads of individual examples of what Excel can do for a business.  For instance, you could use it to:

Summarise customer revenue by product to help find where your business could build strong customer relationships
Work out customer discounts based on monthly purchase volume
Create a budget for a small product by listing expenses in a sheet and updating it monthly then creating a chart to monitor
Create revenue growth models for new products with customer forecasts

The advantage of Excel is that it can adapt to almost any business need that requires a table, data or even charts and formulas.  The basics of the software can easily be learned and then there are many advanced features that you can incorporate into your business planning easily.

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What Are the Different Maintenance Tools?

Tools are designed to make a job easier and enable you to work more efficiently. However, if they are not correctly used and taken care of, their advantages to you are lost. Regardless of the type of work to be done, one ought to choose the correct tools for quick, accurate, safe, and effective practice.

Generally, there are five common types of maintenance tools which are differentiated by the nature of tasks they are used for as expounded below:

The Corrective maintenance tools: This set of maintenance tools are meant to correct the defects found in the various equipment. The maintenance departments recommend most corrective maintenance tools.

Preventive Maintenance Tools: These tools are intended to maintain a certain level of service of equipment. That is, they are programmed to solve the intervention of any vulnerabilities of the equipment in the most opportune time. Preventive maintenance is a routine that is carried regardless of whether there are signs of problems or not.

Predictive Maintenance Tools: This set of maintenance tools pursues to assess and report the status of the operational capacity of the installed systems. This maintenance identifies physical variables such as temperature, vibration, or even power consumption. This maintenance routine is most technical since it requires advanced technological resources. Moreover, mathematical, physical, or even technical knowledge might be necessary.

Periodic maintenance Tools: Those maintenance tools are also referred to as Time Based Maintenance Tools. They consist of a series of elementary tasks such as data collections, visual inspections, cleaning, lubricating, and tightening screws.

The Sectors and Professions Where the Above Maintenance Tools Are Applicable

The heavy machinery, especially in the mining, industrial, or even farming require constant maintenance to keep it in sound working condition. Conversely, poor maintenance protocols make the equipment run inefficiently.

Below are a few tips for essential machinery maintenance:

Carry out Machinery Operator training. Of course, many large pieces of machinery have multiple operators. Hence, having an ongoing inspection to oversee the correct operation of equipment is worthwhile. Remember: upon purchasing large machinery, it is important to inspect it. How about training the operators to keep them up to date with the machine operations?

Adding and testing lubricants. All moving parts require oils to reduce friction. Scheduling a good lubrication routine extends the life of large machinery. Lubrication is one of the first and most crucial maintenance checks to carry out.

Check for signs of Wear. For you to understand the repair work to carry out for equipment, one can check out for signs of wear and tear. Vibrations, shocks, high temperature, and friction are among the critical factors for massive machinery breakdown.

Among the fields using heavy machinery is the mining industry. Of course, some mines continue to have decreased profit levels, mainly because their maintenance team may not understand the maintenance specifications of the rock crushers.

Hence, the maintenance department ought to know when to carry out preventive, predictive, and reactive maintenance programs using correct tools.

You can find the different types of maintenance tools here: https://www.misterworker.com/en/

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Creating and Maintaining International Relationships

The modern age is characterized by technological advances and a world that is ever shrinking. Staying connected is within finger-reach via smartphone, smart accessories, tablets, and otherwise. That fact changes the way that people communicate but it also changes the way that companies and even countries stay informed.

The Age of Networks

In many ways, this is the age of networks. Creating and maintaining relationships and connections have to have international relations in mind to a degree if they are going to be effective. This reality creates different challenges but it also powers sources of strength that would not exist otherwise. That power is as concentrated as it is distributed — and it is completely different from the systems that came before it.

Traditional assets like land have less value when all you need is an internet connection to have a voice. Plus, thanks to social media, many of the traditional ways of spreading information no longer come with a price tag. From an individual level to a national one, understanding and embracing the age of networks is the only way to flourish.

A Lesson from History

After the end of the Cold War, globalization was a key focus for many entities and the way that they approached the breaching of borders was through an approach that author and co-CEO of Kissinger Associates Joshua Cooper Ramo calls the Washington Consensus. This way of thinking prescribed a singular economic model for realizing growth and “it was matched by ideas like Democratic Peace Theory, which suggested that the rapid development of a single political model for domestic order was not only desirable but possible,” Ramo explains in an interview with The Diplomat. But that was then.

“Today, we live in a world in deep crisis. And much of this comes from the over-simple assumptions baked into universalizing ideas about political and economic structure,” Ramo continues. “What works in the financial markets of London, we now all see, is not such an easy match after all for the puzzles of Greek finance.” He illustrates this concept with a simple analogy: “The political solutions that have buttressed several hundred years of European history cannot be installed as easily as a McDonald’s in the countries of the Middle East.”

Addressing the Challenge of Unique, But Connected Networks

Ultimately, the age of networks operates differently on a fundamental level than anything that came before and that means that this new reality requires more novel solutions. Many of the economic tools that companies and countries have relied on in the past are simply no longer valid.

Modern systems need to tap into the benefits of these complex interactions while managing its risks. Take Brexit for example. The United Kingdom is trying to break away and terminate its connections to the EU and the continent as a whole in order to manage the challenges that those connections represent. At the same time, other groups, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, are trying to bolster connectedness in a way that provides even greater benefits in an efforts to outweigh any risks.

Finding a Way Forward

In many ways, both are wrong because both strategies fail the acid test of domestic politics — and they are not alone. Nations and companies everywhere are failing because the problems they treat tend to get worse the harder they try to make them better. At the same time, those entities are looped into a myriad of different networks that seem to grow and evolve by the minute. Having a “seventh sense” for connectedness can help companies find their way out of old ways of thinking and on to greater prosperity.

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How to Work with Offshore Team

There is an increasing trend of companies that provide offshore team management services to carry out tech jobs. On the surface, this may seem like just another thrill-seeking adventure but the real benefit lies in the cost savings.  Counterintuitive as it may sound, a software developer in the USA earns an average annual salary of $157,590, whereas the same individual would earn $43,284 in Ukraine.

Software services have been consuming almost every business and we have been receiving questions on how to create software and how to start a software company without running bankrupt.

What is Offshore Software Development and why Companies Ought to Outsource their IT Services?

Offshore software development is the process of outsourcing development tasks like web development, app development etc to a third-party software company with developer(s) located in their office.

Cost Saving

The first and obvious benefit of outsourcing is the cost benefit that comes with the process.  As earlier indicated, salaries in most western countries marginally differ with the rest of the world. This means that a software development company operating in the US can accomplish the same amount of work and pay a fraction of the amount they would have initially paid.

Enhances Efficiency

Countries like Ukraine produce some of the best tech graduates in the world. By outsourcing from such a country, you expect to attract a workforce with years of experience to deliver even the most complex projects. This improves the efficiency of a company with the ripple effects spreading across all the departments.

Allow Companies to Focus on Core Areas

Another benefit of staff augmentation is that it offloads some burden allowing the business to focus on R&D, brand growth, etc while someone else does the legwork for them.

Saves IT Infrastructural Costs

Outsourcing your IT services eliminates the costs that would have otherwise gone to into IT staffing and procurement of IT infrastructure. Instead, the vendor is in charge of business processes hence required to invest in the same.

Faster T-A-T

IT out staffing also helps you actualize your ideas given that most vendors also allow you to hire dedicated developers to solely focus on your project.

How to Successfully Evaluate an Offshore Solution?

Define Clear Objectives

Defining a clear objective with measurable goals is the beginning of a successful offshore strategy. Your objectives clearly lay out why you need an offshore program, the model to use, the projects to outsource, your business values, and give practical working parameters within which the vendor operates. Most importantly, the objectives serve as a measuring yardstick on how successful or unsuccessful the strategy you use is. The measurable goals are functional metrics which you can assess the progress, indicate when you can take corrective action, and predict the future performance.

Choose Complementary Outsourcing Company

The second and most important thing is to choose a company that complements your business model. It’s not uncommon to find vendors bringing a predefined model to rush the preliminary stages. This is because they are in business and would love to see the dotted lines signed ASAP.  Resist the urge to sign the contract before the vendor is fully immersed in the high-level objectives you present as it will be the focal point within which you conduct an evaluation.

Objectively Measure Progress

Once you have the right match, ensure you measure progress progressively.  While at it, always keep in mind that your project requirements originate from the potential users. List all the requirements and add yours too. Additionally, insist that the off-shore team ensure you have constant access to the software.

Be Proactive By Taking Corrective Actions Early

“I wish I knew” is a word that doesn’t exist in the outsourcing world dictionary. You don’t want to discover a problem after all the deliverables have been handed over to you.  Ensure that the outsourcer documents and hands over traceability the design specifics and compare them against your objectives.

Last but not least, ensure that the outsourcer furnishes you with test and implementation evidence. To ensure nothing seeps through the crack, seek third party reviews on all these aspects. The least you want is to start reviewing documents and taking corrective actions once the project is completed as its time consuming and costly.

Common Pitfalls when Outsourcing

Intellectual Property and IP Theft

Just like any other employment method, outsourcing also faces certain risk levels worth looking at. One of the potential risks that outsourcers face is intellectual property theft.

The possibility of your code being developed offshore being sold to your competitors clearly exists.

Before outsourcing, always do your homework and establish how intellectual property cases are handled.  Often, many countries have inadequate Laws governing such transgressions. Needless to say, your local legislation may not yield results outside your country.

Hedging Against Security and Geopolitical Risks when Outsourcing

Before proceeding further, it doesn’t mean that all the outsourcing companies are bad. There are legitimate and professional businesses out there who take their clients seriously. When we talk about hedging, it depends on the level of trust you have developed. So don’t start harassing your vendor once you come across this yet you have a long work relationship.

Sign Confidentiality Agreements.

This is one of the most overlooked but equally important things most companies ignore when outsourcing.  Before the vendor starts working on your project, ensure they sign a NDA. Additionally, hire a good lawyer to develop a comprehensive written agreement stating all the scope and work specifics. In the agreement, include a clause stating who owns what. This is because a pirated code could throw your company a murky IP lawsuit!

Limit your Outsourcing to Specific Tasks

Once you discover the massive saving in terms of software development cost, you could be tempted to outsource everything. Always tread carefully and resist the urge of outsourcing your proprietary products.  It’s safer to retain your core technologies close to home.

Alternatively, you can choose to instill a strict control over the software or proprietary documents by hosting the server at home and occasionally accessing the software. As an added bonus, have contingencies in place to detect theft and watermark your products to the extent you can trace their source in a snap.

You can choose to hire dedicated developers  to handle your projects full-time. This way, you not only avoid unnecessary friction but create a working nurture synergy.

Last but certainly not the least, conduct thorough background checks on the companies you are dealing with.  What’s their financial capability?  How is their employee retention rate?  And so on and so forth.

How to Deal with Displaced Workers

The daily pace of working and managing offshore software developers is inevitably complex. This is because you have to juggle between different time zones, tasks, and individuals. However, to prevent issues cropping up, here is how you can manage remote teams.

Establish Succinct Job Descriptions

Always ensure that everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing at what time both at the team and individual level. This way you will avoid overlapping workflow.

Establish Management Controls

To ensure you get what you are paying for, establish controls in terms of timelines, projects summary sheets, and Gantt-Charts. On top of helping your team stay organized, it also helps them understand the progress and what comes next.

Standardize Communication Tools

When you are working with a person residing a continent away, the least you can do is to have a standard communication channel, or else you are screwed! If you settle on Skype, then it better be. Additionally, communicate regularly to review the progress and discuss the future set of goals and objectives.

Lastly, make it a habit of following up every meeting with a written document.

Designate Team Leaders.

If your offshore team is clustered in a specific location, pick one of them to oversee the minute everyday operations. You can also try and inculcate your team values with the leader who then does the same to those under him.

Final Thoughts

Whether stateside or offshore, good workers engage and motivate the employers towards achieving the overall company vision. However, despite the risks, the cost benefits of outsourcing cannot be silenced. Just like onshore developers, the quality of work from offshore developers entirely depends on the individuals, their experience, and their willingness to push their imaginary borders.

If your company chooses to take the offshore route, you can increase the odds of success by staying clear of a risky situation by constantly monitoring the progress and quality of the work.  With some of the safety mechanisms we have stated, your firm will surely benefit from offshore practices irrespective of the underlying risks.

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GeoIP Ban: What Is It and What Can I Do About It?

As business owners and consumers, it is crucial that we become more familiar with all forms of currency. No longer are we restricted to payments made by cash, debit cards, or credit cards. Instead, customers have the option of completing an electronic transaction to quickly send money from one person to the other. Or, there is cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin) have grown exponentially over the last decade, especially in the previous year alone. Digital money runs on blockchain technology – the ledger that keeps track of all the online exchanges, and is run by all users, not a central authority. This ledger, which is monitored on a continuous basis, is next to impossible to fabricate and tamper with, making it quite appealing to those skeptical of government and banking authorities.

However, there lies the problem with said government authorities, leading to GeoIP bans. Let’s take a look at what this ban is and how to bypass it.

What is a GeoIP Ban?

A GeoIP ban is when a region or country blocks the usage of or access to something due to someone’s location. These types of bans come in several forms, including service providers like BBC’s iPlayer, denying access to anyone outside of the United Kingdom or blocking the use of cryptocurrency in a country. When a ban is enacted, it is because your location is outside of the required area to access the content or services.

Every device that connects to a network has an IP (Internet Protocol) address. This address tells the network where to send information back to. Without it, the requested data would not know where to go. When there is a block or ban in place, there will be a pool of IP addresses that are granted access. Addresses outside of this pool are virtually blocked.

Can You Bypass a GeoIP Ban?

Fortunately, there are ways of getting around a GeoIP ban. One of the safest and most effective ways to do this is by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN works in two ways. The first is by creating a tunnel that masks and encrypts your data as it travels to and from the network. It is virtually invisible and impossible to hack into as long as your data stays in the VPN tunnel.

The other way a VPN works, and how it will get you past a GeoIP ban, is by encrypting your IP address or changing it completely. When activated, the VPN will connect to a server somewhere other than where you are. Once connected, your device is assigned a new IP address, revealing a different location than where you actually are. So, if you are in a region that has regulations against blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, you would then connect to a network in an area that allows the use of blockchain.

VPNs are more than for bypassing region bans. They are also excellent for additional security and anonymity while online. Because your data and location are encrypted and masked, you’ll be basically free from outside entities attempting to spy on or hack into your data and device.

To effectively bypass a GeoIP ban and keep your information safe, consider installing a VPN. You’ll be able to mask and change your location all while encrypting your data for heightened security.

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Internal Controls and Fraud Prevention

Employee fraud is something we would all like to believe would never happen. We would like to think that everyone we have working for us is trustworthy and concerned about the wellbeing of the company. This may be true in most cases, but unfortunately, it is still a large problem in a wide range of businesses and so occasionally, sadly, your company may also be at risk.

Fraud can take the form of corruption, stealing, misappropriating assets or financial statement fraud by purposely reporting incorrect figures. In order to protect your company and make sure your data and finances are safe you have to find a way to prevent fraud by reducing the chances of an employee taking advantage. The best way to do this is to have stringent internal controls.

Why You Need Internal Controls?   

It is rare that an employee will plan their fraudulent behavior in advance. Generally, it happens due to a mix of unfortunate situations that have become known as The Fraud Triangle. The reasoning behind it is that there has to be a pressure on the individual concerned, an opportunity to commit the fraud and an ability to rationalize their behavior. If all of these are fulfilled, then there are chances that an employee will commit fraud in the workplace.

Pressure – The pressure to commit fraud can come from anywhere, either in the workplace or elsewhere. It can be a personal debt problem or a mistake at work meaning their reported figures are less than they should be. Either way, the employee feels that there is no way out except by indulging in fraudulent behavior.
Opportunity – Because the employee is already envisaging engaging in fraud, if there is an opportunity to do so without being found out then it becomes more tempting.
Rationalization – Once the employee has a reason to commit a fraud and an opportunity to do it secretly, then all that is left is for them to justify it to themselves. This can often be perceived as only fair because the employer is dishonest themselves, or their personal issues supersede the needs of a large company who ‘probably won’t miss the money anyway’. The more desperate they are, the more desperate the rationalization becomes.

Internal controls make sure that everyone is checked at every turn so that the opportunity never presents itself. Processes need to be implemented that protect the property of the organization efficiently and effectively and can be automated or carried out manually. Manual control can be a good start but often this can take a long time to audit and time-consuming to check on a day-to-day basis. Automation can protect a company in a more regimented way and it will also become harder for staff to skip steps and take short-cuts.

What Controls Should Be Used?

Internal controls will always need to be managed properly, with internal audits maintained frequently enough so that there is no opportunity to bypass the rules and agreed processes. There are three distinct ways that can help to eliminate fraud completely or catch it as soon as there is a transgression. Using these can benefit a company by finding problems as soon as they occur and allowing them to be dealt with quickly and easily.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act – Shortened to SOX, this came about in 2002 after a number of scandals involving large companies like Enron and WorldCom to protect against fraudulent practices. It has a section specifically linked to internal controls, known as SOX 404, which requires a company to establish and prove its internal controls on financial reporting.
Access Control – It is imperative that only authorized users are allowed to access sensitive areas like accounting systems in order to prevent anyone tampering with figures or altering reporting. This can be controlled using passwords and lockouts, but also essential are electronic access logs. These list when and who accessed a particular part of the system, and what changes were made.
Approved Authority – This is a requirement for specific managers to be responsible for special types of transactions, or ones that involve particularly large sums of money, and creates a funneling aspect. For transactions to get passed, someone in authority has to have seen and accepted it making it less likely fraudulent payments will slip through the net.

Automated methods can help reduce the time needed to create evidence and reporting for compliance purposes by using automated workflow capabilities. Software can include proactive monitoring and a single system of record designed to be a central repository that fosters collaboration. Solutions exist for a variety of industries that handle sensitive-data like banks and hospitals. Simplifying the way in which controls are recorded and allowing only those changes that are within the regulations makes sure that a company can be continually prepared for external auditing, maintaining data integrity and saving time.

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Big Data in Healthcare

In healthcare, Big Data offer a look into the health trends available to assist providers in better assessing their patients. Pokemon is a perfect example of Big Data. The game allows trainers to collect and use various monsters in battle each other. By employing Big Data in healthcare, providers obtain a vast amount of information. This information watches for patterns that can assist in predicting a diagnosis and improving treatment outcomes.

What is Big Data?

Regulatory requirements, patient care and record keeping generate lots of healthcare data. To keep the data stored more efficiently, more providers are moving toward electronic records systems. The increase in healthcare technology has also allowed for providers to maintain their clinical notes. Prior to using this technology, the information such as test results and clinical notes would be kept in a locked drawer. Now, the data is connected and stored electronically.

This is why Big Data in the healthcare industry is similar to the game of Pokemon. The more information gathered, the more the trainer can understand the weaknesses, strengths and abilities. This means they have a better chance of defeating the gym bosses. Large data gathered by the healthcare industry provides the same type of information about drugs and/or treatments.

How does Big Data Helps Providers?

It’s important to understand all the possible risks associated with a drug or treatment when making healthcare decisions. Big Data allows for predicting the accuracy of a treatment outcome or drug better than other methods. Big Data does this with the following:

Variety: Variety of types is important in learning about outcomes. When combining and analyzing various types of data, the healthcare industry can match outcomes and treatments together. This will assist in predicting patient risks. It also incorporates genomic and financial data. This helps providers obtain the complete medical picture on the outcome or treatment when socioeconomic factors are involved such as patient’s access to medical treatment or drugs.
Volume: Hospitals implementing systems that allow for electronic information to be moved between connected healthcare providers. As more providers are connected, the volume of the collected data increases. This never-ending cycle means Big Data becomes more sophisticated because of the volume of data collected.
Velocity: More patients and healthcare providers are using smart technology to track their health.
The information that is gathered still needs to be protected regardless of how it is obtained. This creates a new concern for many companies that must be HIPAA compliant.
Veracity: Because three V’s of Big Data, a fourth has been added to the list: veracity. Big Data in healthcare allows analysts to look for better tools accommodate problems specific to the industry. Thus, Big Data looks for better ways for data collected to become easier to read.

HIPAA and Big Data do Intersect

HIPAA requires healthcare data called protected health information (PHI) be anonymized or encrypted. This can cause headaches when trying to use Big Data in the healthcare industry. Scrubbing information so that it is HIPAA compliant can cause tension because it takes some needed information away.

For instance, one of the biggest factors in Big Data that HIPAA complicates is the analyzation of geographic location for socioeconomic status of a patient. This means a provider cannot collect all the information collected in Big Data unless you’re HIPAA compliant.

One of the biggest aggregation factors leading to predictive medical practices with Big Data comes from analyzing geographic location as a proxy for socioeconomic status. This means that while you’ve gotta catch ‘em all, you can’t necessarily use them all in your analysis unless you’re HIPAA compliant. This requires protecting Big Data and staying HIPAA compliant.

Automation Helps with Big Data

Customers need to know you are not only keeping their information but keeping it safe too. In fact, they need to know you’re responsive to their concerns. These things involve quickly responding to queries regarding your compliance. Automation makes providing compliance documentation easy. It allows you to generate an audit report and quickly prove your controls are functioning properly. This avoids the situation of having someone inquire about how quickly you can provide this information to them.

Also, automation assists in setting different authorizations for editing and viewing. This allows all organization members to access the information they need at any given time. Your internal auditor no longer has the responsibility of being the gatekeeper to your information. It also eliminates the fear that someone in another department may cause a breach or contamination of the data.

Big Data will become increasingly important in the healthcare industry. The more your compliance program expands the more it takes to stay within HIPAA compliance. Automation is the way to streamline your shifting compliance needs.

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The Gaming Revolution: The Rise and Rise of Mobile Gaming

Mobile games are taking the global gaming market by storm. According to a report by App Annie and IDC, spending on mobile gaming in 2017 was 2.3 times higher than spending on PC and Mac gaming combined, and more than three-and-a-half times higher than spending on console games. The report further revealed that almost 80 percent of total worldwide spending on the Apple and Google Play stores was on games.

It’s evident that mobile gaming is on the rise, especially when looking at the huge profits some of the mobile tech giants are making. Chinese developer Tencent reported a year-on-year profit boost of 74 percent in 2017, which was largely supported by the continued popularity of its mobile games.

When it comes to the future of gaming, it’s clear: mobile games aren’t a passing fad. Let’s have a look at some of the biggest gaming trends that are driving the mobile gaming revolution.

More casino gamers opt for mobile

Casino gaming is one of the fastest growing mobile game genres. According to research done by SuperData in 2017, 85 percent of social casino users play on smartphones, while the percentage of users playing strictly on PCs has fallen from 15 percent to 6 percent over the past year.

According to the research, one of the key differences between PC and mobile casino game players is the time it takes for them to get bored and move on to a new game. Where it takes the average PC gamer about nine months before switching, mobile players will typically jump to new casino apps on average every seven-and-a-half months. This means that mobile developers have to release new casino games more often in order to give players regular new content, which is resulting in a rapidly growing mobile casino gaming portfolio with a wide range of options attracting new players to the genre.

Innovative new technologies

Technological advancements have been contributing greatly to the rapid rise of mobile gaming and are putting this platform at the center of the $100+ billion gaming industry revenue.

When it comes to innovation, casino games are in front and center. From blackjack with live dealers to VR gaming lounges and slot machine games offering immersive story lines, there are plenty of new tech developments for players looking for lifelike, entertaining gaming experiences. No wonder this genre has gained instant fame – people who had never considered themselves gamblers now have some of the latest mobile casino apps on their smartphones. Mobile casino gaming has truly become the new face of home-based entertainment, fueled by Google’s inclusion of gambling apps in its Play Store since August 2017.

Another one of the gaming trends turning the mobile gaming market upside down is HTML5 mobile gaming, or instant games, which are available through leading messaging apps. Without needing to visit an app store, download an app or sign up, players can access a range of big-title games instantly, and invite their friends to play with them. The lack of requirement for downloading an app, the platform’s interactivity and its ease of access are all playing a major role in the increasing number of people adopting mobile gaming.

Women are gaming in unprecedented numbers

The smartphone’s ubiquity, together with the ease with which users can access a universe of games, is ushering in a new era for gaming – an era in which females are taking center stage. According to a 2017 Google Play and NewZoo survey, 65 percent of U.S. women aged between 10 and 65 play mobile games, which accounts for nearly half – 49% – of all mobile gamers. In addition, 64 percent of females prefer mobile over other gaming platforms compared to only 38 percent of men.

Research also showed that female mobile players tend to play more frequently, making them more likely than their male gamer counterparts to become habitual players. The acquisition of this new, promising, previously untapped segment of the gaming market has certainly been one of the major contributing factors in the rise of mobile gaming.

However, although females account for such a significant part of the mobile gaming market, mobile games still seem to put men front and center. The Google Play Top Grossing Games report from November 2017 suggested that more male-identified characters are featured in Google Play store icons than female-identified ones, even though female players account for nearly half the market.

If mobile game developers can change the game by offering better gender inclusivity, who knows what the future of gaming will look like and to what degree the mobile gaming industry revenue will continue to grow?

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