Artificial Intelligence update and its Industrial Impact

The arrival of Artificial Intelligence and its practical implementation in industries has paved the way for unlimited opportunities.

The term artificial intelligence (AI) first came up in 1965. AI has become the latest technology, incorporated in different industries across the globe. This technology, in turn, is a great combination when accompanied with techniques to enhance business operations.

Artificial Intelligence essentially means the development, theory, and execution of computer-based electronic systems.

These systems boost the ability of machines in the execution of tasks; tasks otherwise requiring human intervention. AI brings a boost to the profitability of businesses within a range of 38 percentage points.

Artificial Intelligence enhances efficiency and leads to a reduction in the overall costs. The primary objective of Artificial Intelligence techniques is to facilitate the machines to perform intellect-heavy tasks performed by humans.

AI technology is getting increasingly accepted in several areas with the common objective of achieving a reduction in redundant tasks, and attain a better level of performance.

 

AI Update and its Industrial Impact

 

AI Update:-

With time, AI has made its presence felt in all essential areas of work. With the pace AI adoption is happening in different fields, AI can rightly take up more positions of interest several times.

AI is present in self-driven cars, human resource planning, store management, and in the areas of medicine and science. AI has provided great results for all these jobs.

AI-Enabled Retail Outlet

The incorporation of an AI-based retail store in Kochi, India, dramatically shows the impact of AI. In this store, Artificial Intelligence is utilized to cut down repetitive jobs, demanded otherwise from the employer.

There are a lot of tasks monotonous in nature, having the potential to hamper the efficiency and cost utilization ability of human resource. This is a massive reason as to why AI has been such a significant influence on a global scale.

Benefits of this AI update:-

  • The AI-based retail store in Kochi is entirely devoid of human interruption while the customers indulge themselves in shopping.
  • The involvement of AI in this system sees automation to such an extent that the full payment process concludes by e-wallet. The entire store is cashier-free, making the whole shopping experience automated for the customers.
  • The fact that a salesperson is absent in the store led to an experience of lesser interruption for the customers.

The purchase amount gets automatically deducted from the customer’s e-wallet. Here, a significant benefit that surfaces is related to the ease of purchase and reduction in time consumption.

The use of AI in retail stores has led to a noticeable decrease in the time invested in shopping. Long queues for payment get substantially avoided as the amount has a direct deduction from the e-wallets.

Customer Manual:-

  • The customer is required to download the “Watasale” app, through which a QR code gets produced and scanned while a customer will enter the store.
  • The store works with sophisticated camera technology and facial recognition. The shelves of the store have embedded cameras for keeping track of the items picked up.
  • The algorithms then take care of the payment procedure based on the information transmitted through the cameras.
  • All the customer has to do is download an app, scan the QR code, go in the store, shop on their own, and that is all because the store is free from cashiers and has hi-tech cameras working in tandem with the whole e-wallet, the needful gets automatically done at the time of payment.

AI has brought specific projections for the upcoming trends of retail in India for estimation through store visitor analytics. The store visitor analytics use the concepts of AI and machine learning to make a note of footfalls in the store.

AI For Forecasting Wind Farm Output

With the increasing need for renewable sources of energy, the world is making efforts for obtaining reliable sources of energy generation.  Wind farms are a great source of such renewable energy. However, there is a significant issue that wind farms have been facing lately.

Google has included Artificial Intelligence into this matter. In this case, AI is used to make accurate predictions and detailed calculations. The accuracy of these forecasts is an essential determinant for operators to meet the requirements.

The Benefits of AI in Wind Farm Output Calculation

  • Future demands of wind power generation require assessment and analysis much before for staying prepared with the essential strategies and workload. AI is serving as a prospective solution to this issue by ensuring quick calculations and predictions.
  • The system devised by Google can make accurate 36-hour predictions within the final output. This is considerably impressive, without a doubt.
  • The system is beneficial as energy sources can be scheduled to produce extraordinary power at a particular time. Also, machine learning, when included in this system, aids in the enhancement of the value of wind energy generated.

Amidst the continuous optimization of the model, Google is claiming to have increased the value of wind energy by around twenty per cent so far. The upcoming optimization and work done on the system are targeting even higher returns in coming time.

Artificial Intelligence and The Future

Artificial Intelligence is a concept on the brink to reform every industry and the working and structure of every business. Spheres like inventory management, medical examinations, and prior predictions also get streamlined beautifully with AI.

Also, the involvement of AI-powered robots in retail stores is a prospective boon, expected soon by the store owners in retail management.

Besides this, bot chats, blockchain, and machine learning are some of the related areas that are under works.

Furthermore, right from the management of inventory, workforce, movement of materials in the organization to technical analysis, experts are working on making AI useful in every possible way.

Artificial Intelligence and the various concepts surmounting it are indeed capable of reforming a large part of our daily lives and businesses.

If there is any idea you have in mind, or any assistance required, do get in touch with us.

 

Guide to Digital Transformation through DevOps

Be it new startups or even several large enterprises, organizations across every industry are adopting DevOps practices to gain and continue having a business advantage over the competitors.

Making the transition to DevOps culture can prove to be difficult, especially for enterprises. This is because when compared with smaller companies, enterprises tend to have more complicated legacy development software delivery processes.

These delivery processes involve distributed teams and large applications. Moreover, enterprises like stability and predictability, making it a problem to make the changes needed to execute a DevOps transformation.

Yes, smaller companies may have some advantages in implementing DevOps, but it is also not impossible for enterprises to make that transformation. Successful DevOps transformations share a lot of common characteristics, techniques and strategies.

Together, these techniques help an organization to adapt that transformation. Furthermore, taking smaller and feasible steps provides an opportunity to learn, check the improvements build a steady momentum.

Digital Transformation through DevOps

Tips to Drive a Successful DevOps Transformation

 

  1. HAVE SUPPORT FROM THE TOP MANAGEMENT

DevOps requires the management to be fully involved. The administration should have a fair understanding about how critical the DevOps principles are for a business. If not, the entire thing is very dangerous.

Although, it is good to have the complete support of the management, there is no compulsion to get this support right at the start. Initially, an enterprise will need efforts from the lower level and some early success to get management support. If you think about having the full support of management in the early stages, you will never be able to start itself.

What you can do instead is to make a start and keep in mind that the management support will be needed soon without a doubt.

 

  1. ESTABLISH AN OWNERSHIP OF THE TRANSFORMATION

It is important that one group within the enterprise makes the DevOps transformation their own.

This mentioned group can be a newly assembled DevOps team. Adding to it, the company’s tool group or even an existing development team with the necessary technical attributes is needed.

To put it more accurately, this group should be innovative, capable, and not burdened by a rigid production schedule. Because this team will drive adoption through the organization by other groups, selecting a product development team for the work is not the best idea.

Such kind of a team does not need cross-team visibility and the commitment required to make changes through the whole enterprise. With time, the need for this team will cease to exist as DevOps practices become standard in the company.

 

  1. BEGIN WITH A PILOT PROJECT

It will always be tough to execute overall changes within the enterprise. Apart from different schedules and team dynamics, any changes often disregard the needs of the affected people and have a degree of complexity, with the potential to hamper the whole effort.

For these reasons, it is a great idea to take a progressive approach and implement DevOps practices than go for a quick-fire approach. Successful enterprises understand that sudden changes can be severe, and therefore choose a gradual approach to take note of what is best slowly.

The best way is, to begin with a pilot project, implementing and proving DevOps concepts. You can look for a project having low risk and high reward.

With excellent support from DevOps ownership group, this pilot team can undertake the following tasks-

  • ASSESS

Have an evaluation about where the team is today, in terms of the tools, processes and the hurdles.

  • ALIGN

Establish the shared objectives and goals; determine where your team goes.

  • NOTE DOWN A MISSION STATEMENT

Pen down a simple sentence covering all your goals, like an increase in the release frequency, improvement in job satisfaction, increase in customer satisfaction and the likes.

  • MAPPING

Make a plan with crucial key performance indicators (KPI’S), milestones and achievable goals.

  • MOVE

No point to wait; start implementing without looking for everybody to get a good knowledge of the new approach.

  • MEASURE

Consistently monitor the progress for the best results.

 

  1. COMMUNICATE THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES

Throughout the entire pilot project, make an extra effort to identify and keep track of the successes and failures. Know what the team learns and communicate this new knowledge openly. By openly, not only to the team but also the organization as a whole.

You can use a shared dashboard or newsletter for spreading the word. With time, the ratio of successes to failures will increase, and excellent communication will help to build the enthusiasm and excitement needed.

Share not only the quantitative metrics like KPI’S but also more qualitative results and observations.

 

  1. SEEK QUICK WINS TO TRANSFORM CONSISTENTLY

During and after the pilot project, look out for the software delivery processes to be automated or eliminated to get a quick win. Every single incremental gain to accelerate the software delivery process gets converted to gain for the business.

A DevOps transformation cannot happen all at once. It is a series of consistent improvements, where quick wins are a huge motivating factor for the overall team effort. They also enable teams to learn the principles working best for the organization, and build up confidence.

 

  1. SCALE THROUGH VARIOUS TEAMS

By a successful pilot project and quick wins under the cap for your team, the next step is, to begin with involving the other development teams. As with the rest of the transformation, the process of scaling teams is best when done incrementally.

As individual teams get under DevOps practices, the process and culture depend on the team needs and new insights from the groups already working with DevOps.

Arriving at Your Goal

Working hard to drive an enterprise transformation can easily make you lose sight of the end goal. There are several ways of acting as indicators if your organization succeeded-

  • Your teams deploy updated software at will.
  • You are successfully achieving all your KPI goals.
  • Customers and users, as well as the employees, are delighted.

Conclusion

Finally, it is crucial to understand that a DevOps transformation is never totally complete. There will always be steps to help you with accelerating the processes, and improve the automation- even after your company has achieved the original DevOps goals.

If you are looking for customized DevOps solutions for your business, we are at your service. Contact us and we will get back to you shortly.

Choosing Between Staff Augmentation And Managed IT Services

Stratistics Marketing Research Consulting released the figures for spending in the worldwide IT outsourcing market. Expectations are that the amount will reach $481.37 billion by the year 2022. 

The figure is not at all surprising- this is because companies are looking forward to reduce their IT component spending. The focus is shifting to the main functions of the organization.

To solve the various enterprise challenges, the two models of IT outsourcing- staff augmentation and managed IT services are considered the best. 

We take a closer look into both these models to determine which one is better suited to the needs of companies.

staff augmentation services

 

Staff Augmentation

Staff augmentation refers to hiring professionals from outside the company. This is done on a contractual basis to cover up for the in-house staff.

Staff augmentation model has several benefits-

  • Cost-Effectiveness

There are a lot of companies without the need for added staff. This eliminates the point to pay regular wages. Staff augmentation provides businesses with complete support through skilled professionals.

  • Adaptability

Whenever a project comes up to a company, it is easy to understand and make a note of the missing skills to complete the project. Staff augmentation comes with the feature of adaptability. As a result, you can quickly scale up and down as per the project range.

  • Resistance to Attrition

Obtaining and keeping a permanent staff is a difficult task for companies today. Because IT services are growing in demand, employees move over from their present employer to another more quickly.

There is not much companies can do to avoid this, but staff augmentation makes it less difficult to fill their staff with qualified specialists.

These are the important attributes of staff augmentation. However, it is interesting to note that staff augmentation is perfect only as a short-term solution. Future-oriented companies want to keep their technological development safe for a long time.

With the benefits on offer through staff augmentation, many people in the top management look to make this model a permanent one in their operations.

 

A Few Limitations of Staff Augmentation 

Choosing staff augmentation from a permanent hiring model brings two critical disadvantages to light-

  • Overall Cost- Effectiveness Gets Challenged

When you choose staff augmentation, the labour costs increase. These expenses include overheads and positive margins too. Regularly hiring freelancers on a contractual basis is not a permanent solution, as the administrative costs become higher also.

  • You Don’t Get Enough Insights For The Work Done By Your Contractor

Staff augmentation model does not generally mention any other service commitments than the work hours. As a result, the permanent staff often ‘invents’ new tasks to keep temporary hires busy. 

Staff augmentation brings you high-cost permanent resources. Yes, the quality of their services will be outstanding, but every company will also need favourable results too.

With staff augmentation, the customer company is entirely responsible for the infrastructure management procedure as well as quality assurance. The result, therefore, also becomes the responsibility of the company.

 

Managed IT Services

The managed IT service model is a definite mix of services, responsible for applying an external degree of control on a company’s non-core systems.

The model brings in all benefits of flexibility and skill access of staff augmentation. It then overcomes the major disadvantages the former model has to offer.

The advantages of managed IT services are the following-

  • An Improved Cost Model

The vendors of managed IT services tie the pricing of the contract to the outcome. In other words, if customer demand for certain services grows or decreases, the price of the contract will differ accordingly.

  • Guaranteed Output

Because service delivery includes a service level agreement (SLA), the overall scope and time limit of the service are all documented. Service providers try to fulfil their commitments, so they are required to put their value of work at a maximum.

  • Access To Many Different Skills

Organizations providing managed IT services are often more significant than staff augmentation companies. 

As a result, these companies offer their customers an extensive base of skills, knowledge and solutions necessary to meet the ever-evolving requirements of customers.

Managed IT service model keeps your focus on the core business and transfer all the supporting services to a skilled and result-oriented company.

 

Adopting Managed IT Services

Stepping to a managed service model is not a single step, but involves a gradual procedure of four phases-

  • Planning

Firstly, it is essential to have a clear definition of what to outsource.

It is vital that you do not delegate the processes, knowledge-intensive and makes you stand apart from the crowd. If you choose the wrong service for outsourcing, it can result in vendor lock-in.

Also, have a clear decision regarding the scope of managed IT services. If it is a hosting service, for instance, you should have a clear idea when the hosting begins and ends. It looks pretty ordinary but can have problems in the future.

  • Choosing a Vendor

The reliability of a managed IT service vendor is a huge factor in making companies doubtful of selecting this model.

Shortlist managed IT service providers based on criteria like recommendations from experts, the capabilities of vendors for a particular technology and testimonies from previous customers.

The rest of the process is simple. Interact through one-on-one sessions to get more information and proceed ahead.

  • Transition

A transition plan is generally in an SLA, where the methodology and schedule of a project are specified. Over-specification on the way the service will be delivered is a common problem to avoid in this phase.

Transition is the phase where the actual transfer of knowledge happens. At the start, a new vendor observes how the internal staff works. Right after that, this vendor takes over the overall responsibilities of service management.

  • Governance

For maintaining the consistency of managed IT services, it is vital for a customer to conduct regular reporting and performance audits, review the services in line with the SLA and ensure that the vendor stays alert to what the IT service market offers.

 

The Dilemma Among Staff Augmentation and Managed IT Services

Choosing between these two models depends on the kind of company looking for them. Essentially, the best way to choose is to have a detailed cost-benefit analysis.

If your company requires specific services for a limited period, staff augmentation is the perfect option for you.

However, if you are looking for a continuous operating model, having a predictable cost structure, you will want to consider managed IT services for your company.

You can connect any time in case of any doubts about the two models we have discussed above. Also, we offer staff augmentation services and co-working space, Reach out to us, if any of the above service interests you.

BENEFITS OF BIG DATA FOR FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

When we talk about the food industry, we also know that it is the biggest and most important sector in the industrial world. The food and Beverage industry is increasing in scale at a high pace in terms of technology. With the addition of Big Data, however, the industry has reached a whole new level.

This new technology has permitted the food industry to improve at a breakneck capacity. Technology, with the added benefit of Big Data, has developed the procurement of insights from data. Not only from data, but also from the marketing campaigns and more interactive development to create an innovative product.

It is not wrong to say that Big Data has helped the food and beverage industry scale new heights.

 

Food and Beverage Industry, and Big Data

 

The food industry, under Big Data, is witnessing growth at a high pace.

In fact, as per a report by McKinsey, food retailers witnessed an improvement in their profits by almost 60% with the use of Big Data.

The F n B industry is getting more organized with real-time insights and taking note of many important points.

All this is made possible through Big Data, allowing companies to get plausible leverage for their services.

Even with Big Data though, there is one critical challenge-

The F n B industry today has a shallow degree of customer loyalty, making it more competitive and fragmented. The industry did not depend on the available data. Instead, they relied on a traditional reporting format.

However, the preferences of a customer are bound to change pretty regularly, making it very difficult to keep pace with them. This has led to a revolution of sorts in the food and beverage industry.

Big Data helps to analyze all the structured and unstructured data. This data comes either through modern sources or even traditional methods. Once collected, this data provides many insights for shopping trends, market development identification, and customer behavior.

Big Data analysis provides a competitive edge to the entire food and beverage industry. Many big names are taking advantage of Big Data to stay ahead of their competitors.

Benefits

It is evident with the impact of Big Data on the food and beverage industry that there are several benefits on offer. With such a dynamic sector under focus, Big Data proves its mettle through the following benefits-

  • ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR

Customer demands today change with every passing second. This makes it difficult for the food and beverage industry to meet their expectations consistently. Big Data, however, can provide the data analysis required and provide insights on changing the behavior of customers.

Through the collected ideas, efforts to improve market efficiency get easily implemented.

With the development of technology online and on smartphones, customers now have a wide array of options to address their needs. The advancement has led to the food industry to collect the maximum data for their choices.

From the particular food items and change in their preferences to order value, there is data for everything today.

It is simpler than ever to grab on the customer information to help get potential value to businesses. With significant growth in this industry over the last decade, the total cost from mobile and online technologies have proven to be immensely useful.

The utility has not only been in monetary terms but also spans through the ease of collecting information to improve the marketing campaigns for companies drastically.

  • BETTER INSIGHTS

When it comes to the most technologically innovative area in the food and beverage industry, it has to be data analytics. As the industries become more and more focused on the customers, there has been a constant flow of ideas to improve data quality.

This data is used widely to modify product offerings and customer demand, as well. In such a scenario, data analytics has proven to be the core promoter of the food and beverage sector. Presently though, the efficiency and effectiveness of data are not suited well enough to achieve desired results.

The lack of this point has made it all the more important to innovate and open up new doors related to the subject area. Innovations will permit companies to get better insights for the benefit of brands and get help to manage their products.

  • INCREASED EFFICIENCY

The bonds of restraint will help you as a business to explore many new options through the help of Big Data. It is the perfect way to boost your sales and business efficiency.

The data-driven nature lends you the flexibility to go with a new trend, thanks to better analysis of data sales.

A better understanding of restaurants with their customers is made possible with better analytics and will improve the brand value of your company.

The improved practices in the food and beverage industry can have a lot of influence on the Big Data sector. An individual restaurant can understand its competition in a better place. Initially, it is going to take some time. But then you will start getting proper data while also tracking your competition’s growth.

You will have every opportunity to get a competitive edge with this improved method of marketing.

  • ENHANCED SALES AND MARKETING TACTICS

It is effortless to track purchase decisions through Big Data for wholesaling. If a product gets picked at an increased rate, you will get a lot of help to increase the sale of your business.

For instance, if the sale of a particular type of food on a discount in a region gets monitored, the data collected can be analyzed in terms of profit and an increase in the purchase of this specific product.

You will get a set of data to help you in setting the quality of the food and beverage offerings. With the help of this data, the sale and marketing plans can be executed efficiently by the companies for their products.

  • QUALITY CONTROL

Big Data plays a crucial role in the overall quality of food and beverage. Companies in the sector can effortlessly control the quality of food supply through aggregate data. Customers expect to have the same taste and quality every time they go for a particular product.

Any difference negatively impacts their preference and brands end up losing their customers. In such situations, data collection is your best option. The data collection will regularly update you on the quality of food.

 

Big Data has eased restaurants and companies to develop more advanced forms of marketing to engage global customers. Adding to that, companies can use the various social media platforms already in use by a huge number of people.

Their reviews and testimonies have the potential to take your business to a whole new level.

Need Big Data solutions for your Food & Beverage business? Get in touch for tailored Big Data solutions for your business at affordable prices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Staff Augmentation Can Help You Complete Projects On Time

It is a Master Outsourcing Strategy

 

As the side-effect of a changeable economy, most IT companies are now looking for ways to cut their operational costs. This practice is prevalent in both small and big companies, who like to keep limited support on the payroll. From the financial point of view, it does make sense as workflow keeps fluctuating. However, the condition often leads to a shortage of skilled manpower in the house during times of heavy workload. That becomes an issue if you suddenly have a big project or multiple small projects to deliver to the clients in a short time.

It is a matter of concern but then again hiring full-time employees to suffice the temporary need of the hour is never rational. So what can one do to get skilled individuals without having to keep them on permanent payroll?

The solution lies in staff augmentation services that get professionals, one can hire for a limited period of time. It gives companies access to skilled engineers and support of any kind so that they can deliver projects on time to the clients. Many IT companies are availing it these days as staff augmentation offers easy and affordable solutions to their workforce problem.

 

Staff_Augmentation

 

WHY STAFF AUGMENTATION?

Before we delve deeper into the topic, let’s get the basic idea about staff augmentation services. It is a master outsourcing strategy that is used to fill-up the skills gap in a company. Staff augmentation allows any organization to hire well trained and experienced top-level IT professionals for a certain period of time. It is highly beneficial as it saves employers the expense of hiring and putting full-time employees on the payroll.

Staff augmentation services can provide companies with highly skilled technicians for their development division. The time period depends on the work amount. Considering that the services can be availed for a short term or long period. The professionals are directly hired by the augmentation service providers or vendors. When a developer or IT professional is hired through staff augmentation services, he/she works for the client directly and are involved in a single project for the time being. The flexibility and affordability of these services help you to stay on track when it comes to achieving your business goals.

WHY HIRE STAFF AUGMENTATION SERVICES?

Nowadays, every company looks for ways to achieve the highest level of productivity and growth by utilizing skilled people all the while keeping a check on the expenses. Staff augmentation has gained quite the popularity because it effectively caters to the company’s requirements in crucial times.

Poorly staffed companies can face a crisis when suddenly they have a lot of work to do, with not enough hands on deck. Another scenario that is seen quite often is sudden resignation or long leaves. Companies do suffer when their star employee who has been handling most of the important projects takes to bed due to health reasons or leave the company. One might suddenly find them in a slump as hiring replacement is not that easy. It’s times like these that staff augmentation comes as a godsend. If the company needs a skilled individual to fill the gap until a solution is met with, it can surely get it through this remarkable service. When there is no shortage of in-house developers, completing a project and delivering it on time becomes real easy.

If you want to get into the details, then there are many ways in which staff augmentation can benefit a business structure. Here are a few that one can refer to:

ACCESS TO SKILLED PEOPLE

Staff augmentation is great for finding skilled people who are absolutely perfect for the job. Once the requirements are made clear, the services provide the company with the right kind of IT professionals with adequate training, skill set, and experience who will be the best match for the work at hand. Professionals as such can be brought up to speed and they can adapt quickly to make a fast and positive impact on the project. Being a temporary situation, it doesn’t weigh down on the company finances as well.

SAVES A LOT OF TIME

Only the one who runs a company knows the pain of recruitment. It is a time-consuming process and even after all the painstaking efforts there is no guarantee that your hire will deliver what you expect them to. It can take weeks and even months for you to get the one that you have been looking for.

However, with a good staff augmentation service provider by your side, you are saved from all that hassle. They not only minimize the time and effort required for in-house recruitment but also get you a professional with the right skill set. These companies have an extensive database of IT professionals with all the details about their qualification, training, and experience. This allows them to get you the right candidate and since the screening is taken care of, you can just go on to interview the right candidates. Therefore what once took months can come down to weeks and even days. Imagine the time and effort saved.

MONEY SAVER

If saving company cost is a priority then nothing works better than staff augmentation. When the company hires people who do not have sufficient experience, they need to train them and get them up to speed to the projects and the work. This takes time as well as monetary resources. If one is already in an emergency situation then this is of no help. However, with staff augmentation, the in-house HR recruitment team can coordinate well in including the exact skill set needed for the job. This does minimize costs. Another thing is that, since none of these professionals are on full-time payroll, there is cost cutting right there.

ADAPTABILITY & FLEXIBILITY

With staff augmentation on board, the company has no longer to worry about the skills gap. It allows them to take on projects of any and every size and work with diverse clients. The scalability of the work becomes flexible earning the company a good name. Working in diverse projects also allows the company to broaden its spectrum and become more adaptable.

CONCLUSION

So here’s the bottom line; the main reason why projects cannot get completed on time is either lack of manpower or lack of skilled professionals. Then there are many companies who are not financially strong to recruit full-timers on the payroll for a single project or for a short period of time. Staff augmentation services take care of all of the above. It provides the company with professionals that have the required skills and knowledge to deliver desired results. They are not full-timers so it saves money. With all hands on deck, the projects get delivered right on time and the clients are always happy. It is a win-win situation for all.

Get a download of the consulting services provided by GoodWorkLabs and if you would like to get a free consultation on your outsourcing needs, then contact us.

 

How AI can Help with Internship Placements

This new AI-based Internship Recommendation System can be a Game Changer

 

Technology has become synonymous to simplification. There is no denying that all the gadgets and tech have made our day to day life easy and simple. It keeps getting better, as technology is advancing and evolving in leaps and bounds. The world has very much entered the age of Artificial Intelligence with voice-controlled smart assistants like SIRI, Google Assistant, Alexa, Bixby, Cortana, and the likes. These allow us to enjoy the perks of a personal assistant without having to keep one on the payroll.

There is still a lot of work going on AI. Techies are trying to implement it in all the sectors and a new idea has emerged that speaks of an AI-based internship recommendation system. It has been developed by the researchers at Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha, Indonesia, and the tech world is already buzzing with excitement.

This AI based recommendation system can assign or get the best internship placements for the students matching their knowledge, skills, and goals.

 

AI_Internship_Placement

The Internship Dilemma

 

Students spend years studying and acquiring degrees, all the while building their resume step by step for the ultimate goal of getting the dream job. Many take up different courses to forge their skills. All these add up to a strong resume to woo the recruiters. Now, we all know that the rite of passage from being a student to a full-time employee is getting an internship.

An internship is where you learn the tricks of the trade from your predecessors in the field. It is a great way to get into the groove of a working individual leaving the student life behind. That’s why every student aims to land a good internship in the final stages of their education. The experience not only helps them to build a career but it also gives a boost to the resume.

Besides that, it also helps in understanding whether a certain line of work will suit one well or not. It often happens to people who get a job without first doing an internship. After a few days, they might feel that the sector or work is not suitable for them. It is easy to leave an internship but not when it comes to resigning from a job. Hence, the end result is a bad start to the career, which can either slow a person’s growth or derail them from their initial goal eventually. So, the career chart should have three stages i.e. student then intern and finally a professional or employee.

Though an internship is very important, getting one becomes a hassling process. Not all universities guide their students or provide them with internship placements. For average students, it takes a lot of net searching, going to job fairs, etc to finally land a good internship. Even then one might find the place not suitable for him/her. In such a scenario the AI tech developed by Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha can be of a blessing to students to land the perfect internship that matches their profile.

 

Let AI get You an Internship Placement

 

The researchers from this University in Indonesia came up with a brilliant idea to solve the internship dilemma of students. They started to work on a recommendation system that will help the students in their graduation year to find the best-suited internship placement for them. It is totally AI based that makes it all the more interesting.

The system developed by them utilizes a recurring artificial neural network (ANN). It is called the Elman neural network. Their system’s job is to assess the student test results and use it to choose the internship placement which is the best match for their skills.
The students are required to give two tests. In the first one, they have to give sufficient information about their grades, knowledge, skills, goals, and likes. The second test is known as the Inventory Personal Survey. Here they have to answer a few questions that will reveal their behavior and overall attitude.

The researchers explained that the students need only to take the test and answer the questions. After that, the results of the test gets processed and analyzed by the artificial neural network or ANN.

 

The Development Phase

 

In the development phase, the university researchers ran many tests on the system. Sample information was collected from graduate students who wanted to apply for an internship after studies were over. The system was trained and tested in various ways with the help of the data collected from the students.

After running the assessments they were able to come up with great results. The system developed was able to achieve a 95 percent accuracy level. In all those cases the students have suggested internship placements that were ultimately given to the particular students by the University using the usual manual methods.

According to the researchers, the AI based recommendation system can identify both training and the testing data. This observation was based on the results of all the tests run by them in the development phase. They further clarified that the system can recommend internships like administration jobs, networking, software, etc to students who already in the lookout for internships based on their education and skills.

 

It is Just the Beginning

 

This AI based recommendation system can have great use to the management and staff of Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha. It can help them provide internships to students who are seeking it in a faster and more efficient way. It is also highly beneficial to the students as they will get the best places to learn the job from.

To see whether the system works with the same efficiency for a larger population of diverse students, the researchers will have to run more tests and study it further. For that, they will need a huge training dataset.
As of now, they have only used the system to get placements for students who are in the field of informatics. However, they believe that the technology can be further extended to other streams as well.

Nonetheless, this new AI-based internship recommendation system can be a game changer in the field of education and placements. That will be beneficial to both the institutions as well as the students.

If you have any unique idea as such that needs AI based recommendation system, please reach out to us. GoodWorkLabs has a dedicated team of experts to deliver such power-packed solutions for all kind of businesses.

Better Medicine through Machine Learning: What’s real, what’s artificial?

Artificial Intelligence is a part of our day to day lives.

 

Advancement in the field of AI might be the latest buzz in the tech world but AI in itself is not the new kid in the block. The first instances of AI can be found back as late as the 1960s. It was during this time that researchers and experts of cognitive sciences and engineering first started to work on a smarter and more responsive technology.

The idea was to create a computing language that like humans could learn, reason, sense and perform. With the advancement in AI, a subfield came to the forefront which we call the ML or Machine Learning.

It developed as researchers started to use numerical strategies coordinating standards from optimization computing and statistics thus teaching the programs to perform the jobs naturally by processing the data at hand.

Since then a lot has happened in the field of AI, especially in recent years. Artificial Intelligence is involved in our day to day lives. Some of the notable works remain to be gaming and transportation sector being driven by computer vision and planning and phone-based conversational apps that operate through speech processing. Besides that, we have also seen significant progress in works like language procession and knowledge representation as well.  

Better _medicine_machine_learning

In this write-up, we will focus on the advances made by AI and Machine Learning in the Medical field. We will discuss the various ways in which we can use ML in that respect.

ML FOR DIAGNOSIS

There is a lot of scope for ML in medical practice especially when it comes to the diagnosis of the patient. Experts in the field believe that the medical imaging sector will have a significant impact. For example, ML algorithms that can naturally process 2 or 3-dimensional scans to confirm the condition and follow up with the diagnosis. Often these algorithms use deep learning to influence the image data to undertake the respective tasks. Deep learning is of great use in the field of ophthalmology. Recently a healthcare automation company named as the IDx developed a software that can scan images to detect signs of diabetic retinopathy. It is cloud-based software that has already received a green signal from the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration). This kind of software can be of great help in places which are low on resources and yet have a bulk load of complex imaging data to process.   Deep learning based software has also proved to be helpful in radiology as well.

DISCOVERING DISEASE SUBTYPES

The classification and description of diseases and their subtypes that are used today are solely based on the symptoms related observations that were recorded centuries ago. With the advancement in technology, the time has come to opt for a more data-driven approach for classification and diagnosis of diseases.

Some researchers have been working in this respect for diseases like allergy and asthma. They assessed the data from the Manchester Asthma and Allergy Study (MAAS). After analyzing they were able to recognize novel phenotypes of childhood atopy. They have further their research and identified clusters of component-specific IgE sensitization through hierarchical cluster analyses. This according to them will be able to detect the risk of childhood asthma more efficiently.

Experts believe that there is ample scope of using the same data-driven technology to aid in the diagnosis of other diseases as well. Using Machine Learning to detect new actionable disease subsets will be instrumental in the advancement of precision medicine.    

ML CAN REDUCE MEDICATION ERRORS BY DETECTING ANOMALIES

Fluctuating healthcare costs, morbidity, and mortality, all are the by-products of the wrong medication or rather medication errors. All these errors are identifiable through expert chart reviews, the rules-based approach of EMR screening, and use of triggers and audits of events. But all these are faced with a number of hurdles such as time consumption, suboptimal specificity, and sensitivity, high expenses, etc.

On the other hand, anomaly detection techniques that use ML start with developing a probabilistic model. This model will ascertain what is likely to happen in a given context by using historical data. By utilizing that model a new approach within a particular context will be shown as an anomaly if the probability of that happening is at a lower percentage. For example, the patient’s characteristics can be studied after the particular dose of a certain medication to understand the anomaly.   

This kind of technology is already in use. MedAware is a commercially used system that detects medication errors with the help of anomaly detection.

ML AUGMENTED DOCTOR

There is no denying that ML has great potential to alter the traditional rules and methods of clinical care. But one has to be absolutely sure about the technology used before implementing it. Using the wrong methods can be harmful and even be fatal to the patients.

Let’s take an example: Someone wants to foretell the risk of emergency admissions in hospitals by utilizing a model that is trained on past admissions information and data of patients with varied symptoms. Generally, admissions depend on the availability of beds in a medical center, medical insurance of the patient and the reimbursement. The trained model might be able to work out a population level planning of resource to use it for individual-level triage. But it can falsely identify a person and determine that he/she does not require admission. So the algorithm has to be fully tested and trained to avoid such mistakes.

Another downside of naive implementation of a deep learning algorithm in medical care is to acknowledge associations in the training datasets that are not completely related to clinical prediction. These are not even relevant externally. Methods that influence causal elements are less inclined to such overfitting. Faithful development of training datasets and various external approval efforts for each model can give some affirmation that ML-based models are legitimate. These developments need to be validated by medical data scientists so that there is absolutely no risk to the patients. ML can be used for medical care and can benefit many patients. So there is no need to avoid ML. The medical practitioners should learn to understand the idea and technology and use it for the improvement of patient care.

 

Effective Ways To Create Interactive Bar Charts with JavaScript for Data Visualization

The concept of data visualization plays a very essential role when it comes to assisting the users in question to comprehend the critical ideas quite easily. For instance, identifying the data patterns and trends quickly, and getting the maximum output from the presented data as well.

As a matter of fact, with the increase of data escalation in terms of generating data, finding a way to extract, processing and visualize those data to enhance data interpretation is growing rapidly. In addition to that, if interactive capabilities and data visualization are combined together then it will be easy for the users to dive into the finest details of graphs, charts, maps, dashboard, etc, and helps them to preserve the important data analyses and insights.

On the contrary, with the help of JavaScript programming, the developers can come up with interactive and attractive charts quite easily, directly from the chart libraries. No matter what, be it the requirement for an open source library, a paid-for, or any other types. You can surely find the required one to uplift your visualization skills. There are a number of charting libraries, that includes, Google chart, AnyChart, D3, and Highcharts are the one that worth mentioning. The creating process for all of these is in most of the cases quite similar. Hence, mastering one of then give you the privilege to use the other libraries. Certainly, when you want to add any specific characteristics for any of them.

Bar-charts-JS-Data-Visualization

For the purpose of JavaScript tutorial, let us take the examples from the AnyChart library. This is easy to use and quite flexible as well. It has exhaustive documentation, a wide range of supported chart types verity, and also a code playground, that allows you to test the codes, etc.

Therefore, let’s get into the process of how AnyChart helps in meeting the need for data visualization.

Here we would be addressing the three easy steps that can be used to create a basic bar chart in JavaScript. You can later integrate the same into your website or even in application. These are:
– Data Preparation
– Go to the JavaScript charts library
– Create or enter codes

Now, let’s talk about each one of them in detail.

Data Preparation

In case the data type is unstructured, then you need to prepare the same for the purpose of easy loading into the chart library. According to the format of the library you choose, you need to process the data in the format that the library accepts. However, AnyCharts supports a verity of formats for data including the other ones mentioned above.

For almost all of the charts you create, all you need to do, just put the values for both X and Y axes. Again, for the purpose of making Bar Charts, you will be required to put the values for Y-axis followed by an index number or any item number. This number will be considered as the value for the X-axis.

For instance, let us consider the data in array format, then X will be the item number and data values will be Y axis.

Again, when the data is on JSON format, it will look like this.

Connect the Chart Library

In order to create a connection to the preferred JavaScript chart library, you need to download the relevant package and install the same locally. You can also use the CDN service. In most of the cases, CDN service is the most preferred one. As it will give you the privilege to load data from server Library’s files to the users directly. That in turn as well increase the page load time and enhance the experiences.

Furthermore, AnyChart has a module-based system which allows you to connect to the specific chart type and the features that are essential for your project. It will also help you shrink the code sizes that are running on the application.

Such as, when creating a bar chart using the AnyChart JavaScript, you will be required to add below-mentioned core and basic Cartesian modules.

Writing the Codes

To create a JavaScript Bar Chart, you need to follow the steps mentioned below

To start with let us start with creating a container on the HTML page, it will refer the bar chart.
Then put all the previously processed data on the above-mentioned step.
Let’s create the type of charts that we are going to create from the applicable chart constructor function.
Create a title for the chart and axes
Now at this point create a bar series and put the data
Point the chart to the container the created earlier and start outlining the bar chart
Hence, you can easily understand that creating a bar chart using AnyChart is pretty much straight forward and simple.

Now let’s concentrate on the factors to enhance the looks and feel of the chart, by using some advanced level steps.

Create Advanced JavaScript Bar Charts

From the above discussion, the process of making the bar chart using AnyChart is clear. Thus, dive into other possibilities, when we have to perform a bit complex data visualization job to do. Of course, JavaScript chat creating is not at all complicated for smart web developers.

Lets, go to the advanced method that you can use from the same library.

Create Multi-Series Bar Chart

Besides the single series bar chart, AnyChart JS will allow you to create a multi-series bar chart, that enables to show the multiple sets of data on charts plot. Series referred to the single data set in AnyChat that will also display in chart’s plot. Now with the help of multiple series chart, it is easy to visualize the detailed information with the insights to the audience.

To build a Multi serious bar chart using AnyChart, it is essential to add data adopter module. It will help you load the HTML data in the work environment.

Parse data from the HTML table

Now create the data and specify the data source

Add a legend if you want your audience to understand and read the meaning of the values

Upon running the codes, it will create the multi-series bar chart displaying the composition of the values and understanding of the data as well.

Stacked Bar Chart

It is quite easy, without making any huge changes to the multi-series bar chart you can create a stacked bar chart. There are two ways, value stacking, and percent stacking. You can choose any one by setting the scale of the stack mode method to the “value” and “percent”.

Heres how to set:

This is how to set the mode back to the 100% stacked bar chart

Set Interactivity to Charts

All the charts prepared by using AnyChart are interactive by default. Some of the default chart behaviors are highlighting and points when hovered over, directing to hovered tooltips point, etc. In addition, you can tailor the chart’s interactivity to match the specified requirements.

Final Thoughts

Considering all the point it is clear that, creating the interactive JavaScript (HTML5) charts is quite easy with the appropriate JS library. So, here in this guide, we have just touched the surface. You can also visit the AnyChart’s documents and learn other factors.

For any queries, or specific instructions do let us know in the comment section below.

Impact of IOT on Marketing

The Internet of Things (IoT) now has an Impact across Industries

 

The sheer volume of data and network traffic generated is today helped a lot by IoT, making it more and more popular regarding customers in the present day.

Not only from the customers’ point of view, but IoT is also proving to be a revolution for business operations. These operations do not have the same kind of appeal for the customers but are real in every way, be it the logistics or even the marketing aspect of things.

iot-for-marketing

 

In the words of Marketo, a marketing automation vendor, IoT is “the interconnectivity of our digital services that provides endless opportunities for brands to listen and respond to the needs of their customers- with the right message, at the right time, on the right device.”

The Internet of Things (IoT) also has a significant effect on the overall customer experience and the data collected with the help of all connected devices through analytics. When it comes to the context of marketing and analytics, predictive analysis and Big Data go pretty much together.

Marketo also expects that the entire marketing scenario will get changed by the immense impact of IoT by the year 2020.

Marketers will take the help of IoT in some of the following ways in the marketing context-

  • Analyze the buying behavior of customers from all the platforms they use regularly.
  • Collect more data in volume, previously not collectible, to make a note of the methods about how customers make communication with products and devices.
  • Get a detailed insight of the whole purchasing process and determining the stage where a customer currently is, while making a purchase.
  • Live interactions, notifications customer targeted ads too.

Impacts of IoT on Marketing

 

Easy Exchange of Sales Data

Sales data is easily one of the most crucial factors for any business. With easy access to information as to how, why and when regarding the use of products, it will be much easier for a business enterprise to make changes in marketing strategies towards specific customers.

With a plethora of smart devices available today, the collection and supply of data takes place in real-time, without the need of expert IT professionals look after this procedure. It helps the business make informed decisions for marketing, boosting their future sales.

More importantly, customers can give instant feedback about their experience. Therefore, if a product is unable to meet the customer expectations, a business will not have to wait for a long time to let the responses flow. This will help in reducing the costs to a large degree sooner, rather than later.

Devices are Self Sustainable

This is one of the most amazing attributes of IoT. Devices with IoT can run their maintenance and diagnostic procedures. Cars, for instance, have been self- diagnosing for quite some time. Unfortunately, the results were not satisfactory enough and were dependent on the wrong signals.

Through IoT, every component in a device becomes smarter, getting the ability to identify any issue and even come up with solutions for the same. This process is rapid in comparison to an external diagnostic mechanism.

When it comes to the usual devices, the initial sign that something is not right becomes known when the machine stops working suddenly. If this happens, you cannot do anything but get it repaired or get a new one, and that is bound to take some time.

IoT enabled devices can eliminate this waiting time through constant monitoring of their functions, and get in touch with technical support if the need comes up for it.

Instant Customer Analysis with Smarter CRM

When used in collaboration with a reliable CRM or customer relationship management tool, IoT becomes capable enough to do a lot more than collect and organize customer data. It can accurately and correctly analyze that data as well, paving the way for the further actions needed in the context of said customer data.

For marketers, this data is priceless as the chain of buyers is generally long and making sound decisions take more time. The entire process is streamlined through IoT devices by helping people figure out if the prospect is in the purchase journey.

If that comes to be the case, businesses can make every second of a work day count for solving the issues and providing clients with accurate information, ultimately helping them to close a deal successfully.

Supports Social Media

When social platforms like Facebook and Twitter arrived at the scene a few years earlier, marketers were not entirely convinced if these sites were good enough to be targeted.

Fast forward to the present and a majority of marketers speak out that the traffic considerably increased after investing a constant time in social media marketing. IoT has already been optimized for usage along with social media, helping automated posts consistently generated with the help of smart devices themselves.

IoT also helps to prepare for the development of new online communities, reaching out to new potential customers, who were not connected earlier. Similarly, when merged with social media, IoT devices will assist the marketers to identify and derive benefits from the latest market trends.

A Hundred Percent Click-Through-Rate (CTR)

The ultimate objective of IoT in Marketing is enabling a smarter, more relevant brand of advertising. With the growing number of devices once unconnected, they are being provided with sensors and consistent network accessibility, changing the advertising scenario for both marketers and customers as well.

Marketers no more depend on popup ads and banners on a website. What is also true is that IoT devices will never be able to process such dated marketing tactics even.

Conclusion:

To put in a single phrase, IoT lets the marketers always keep a step ahead of their customers regularly. It is correct that IoT makes the formulation and implementation of marketing strategies more comfortable than ever before.

5 Misconceptions About Women Returning to Work after a Career Break

In the corporate sector, it is not rare to come across ambitious women struggling to return to their “once flourishing careers”.

 

You will agree that there is some disconnect when it comes to women willing to resume their career after a sabbatical and the jobs available at a particular time in various companies. A fundamental reason to which can attribute this issue is the presence of many myths and misconceptions built over time.

These misconceptions lead to the undermining of this experienced, talented and hard-working pool of well deserving female candidates.

 

women-returning-to-work

 

Here are some of the misconceptions related to the women who return to work after a considerable career break:

 

There is a Huge Difference between Work Flexibility & Part-Time Job

The University of Edinburgh Business School researched in 2015, showing that more than 70% of the participants looked for a job with a certain degree of work flexibility. Flexibility, however, is not the same as a part-time job.

‘Part-time’ is now considered as a supposedly derogatory word, taken in the same breath with the jobs less organized in their strategy, have low status, and are taken up by people not ready to commit to a particular position fully.

It is high time that we ensure to keep more focus on the value they bring and deliver, rather than looking at the clocks repeatedly to find out the amount of time they are present in the office.

It can be quickly sorted out to think about the actual output and offer flexibility as to when and where the allotted work gets completed.

As a firm, it is essential that the people at the upper management show a healthy amount of trust in women and consider offering them a considerable degree of flexibility. If women employees can meet their work deadlines and commitments with managing their home and family as well, there is no harm to make things a little eased out for them.

 

Women Returning to Work after a Break, lack Confidence (Really?)

Many times it is felt that once a woman returns to work after a considerable gap, the previous level of confidence goes amiss. Hilariously, the exact opposite of it is true. Through their role, these women have accumulated a life experience like no other.

These women have managed all kinds of big and small events, and have also taken a lot of varying emotions head-on- illness, grief, relocation to other cities and countries, and raising children as well. It all makes them durable, ensuring that they will be remaining unfazed in critical situations.

The moment you throw a challenge at them, be sure that they will chalk up an effective plan pretty quickly. Quite a good number of women mentioned confidence as an issue to their triumphant return after a long break.

Rather than the lack of confidence, when there is a career break of a few years, there is quite a lot of catching up to do in terms of trends. For instance, if a woman took a break of about five or seven years, she might have to cover up a lot in the area of digital marketing. It is an area that has witnessed an increase in the last few years.

Women can then get back to the present by taking up relevant courses to get up to speed. This will only boost the confidence, showing how it can be a pleasant prospect not to undermine women, but let them work at their full potential.

 

Women taking a Career Break are Not Ambitious!

Any individual gives a lot of thought before taking a final call on returning to work after a considerably long gap. Returning to work requires a vast amount of effort on their part. Trying to take care of the gap created at home, looking after the financial calculations once again, and not to mention getting another excellent job of course.

Women returning from a long break do not lack ambitions in any aspect. On the contrary, women prefer self- actualization in such a situation. Women continuously look out for challenging tasks, where they can test their intellect and stay surrounded by like-minded people.

A majority of women aspire to be role models for their children, more importantly, their daughters. These women also want to make a difference with the long years they have to contribute to their professional careers.

Some women find it better not to take up any job if they think that the tasks will not be challenging enough for them. It is where they feel that their impact will be more pronounced, is the job they will always take up, making their return to work life more visible and active.

 

Only Maternity Break qualifies for an unavoidable Career Break

Not every woman is returning to work after a maternity break. There are plenty of other reasons like family relocation, redundancy, care of elderly relatives, and even starting up a new business for stepping away from their corporate life.

It is important not to ditch the image of women as mothers who leave their established jobs to look after their babies. In real life, things are never as regular and predictable as they seem to be.

 

Women Returnee have Diminished Skill Sets as compared to the ones with No CareerBreak

A lot of people tend to assume that the working skills of women become irrelevant after they have been away taking care of other things in their life. What is missed here is that the wisdom, knowledge, and experience they gain from being apart from their usual workplace only makes them come back to the corporate table with a lot more value. Breaks can recharge, refresh and bring about a new focus for the company business.

It also becomes easier to develop new skills and apply them to increase the growth and productivity of the organization. Sticking to the old stereotypes will only block an excellent company asset in women contribute to the sustenance of the company.

There is no substitute for the right talent and skills. And, as an organization compromising on those skills while hiring leads to self-destruction. However, judging a candidate based on their Valid career breaks instead of evaluating them on their skill sets & past work experience, will only hinder your growth as a brand, as a company, and as managers too.

At GoodWorkLabs we promote Diversity at Work, in the form of gender equality, age, religion, past work experience & much more. For us, a candidate’s skill sets, attitude, energy & confidence comes before anything else. We believe in providing equal opportunity to each deserving candidate irrespective of the stereotypical factors, be it for in-house hiring or for Staff Augmentation.

If you think you have promising capabilities to be a part of such open non-judgemental work culture, Join Us today!

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