IBM Bluemix – A Mix Of Amazing Things

IBM Bluemix is a cloud platform as a Service based on open standards such as Cloudfoundry, Docker & Openstack. Bluemix comes in 3 deployment models – Public , Dedicated & Local. Bluemix Public is a multi-tenant where as Dedicated & Local are single tenant environments. Dedicated resides on IBMs Softlayer datacenter and Local resides behind your firewall. You have choice of deployment models which may not be available with Amazon or google.

Many enterprises have hybrid cloud requirements so Bluemix and other IBM Cloud offerings would be able to offer end to end solutions.

Watson based cognitive services, integrated DevOps , range of mobile backend services , database & analytics services makes IBM Bluemix a very rich platform. There are over 150+ services on the Bluemix platform.

Its very difficult to compare pricing as most of the public PaaS offerings are never easy to compare. For example, the cost of Bluemix Services are based on API calls (& storage) and there are no charges for data traffic. Many vendors may charge you for the data going out of their datacenter.

Recently IoT became has become a big tech to invest in. It is far easy to use BlueMix with Arduino or Raspberry Pi than anything else. Number of projects on Github, documentation, community help on Stackoverflow are enormous.

Advantages Of IBM Bluemix

1. Simplicity and speed: By focusing on the DevOps model, Bluemix can reduce the downtime of redeploying applications. Continuous delivery is one way this can be provided. The integrated environment provided by Bluemix allows developers to automatically deliver code without the hassle of building and debugging installation scripts. This reduces the time needed to manage code delivery and puts it in the hands of the testers and user community faster. The application can be deployed to multiple spaces which allow segregation of environments for development, testing and production. Automatically delivering code keeps developers focused on coding, not installation.

2. Agility: Bluemix allows developers to focus on delivering business value, rather than on maintaining the development environment, by scaling environments elastically based on business demand. Instead of manually deploying workloads, Bluemix will automatically redeploy workloads to other virtual machines (VMs) if there is an outage. To provide continuous availability, Bluemix abstracts the underlying architecture and keeps the manageability of services and applications at an easily understood level. Users are able to stop or start applications and define how much memory is associated with each application while Bluemix manages the rest.

3. Tools: With Bluemix, developers have the freedom to choose the development tools that work best for them. Developers don’t always want to work with the same tool sets and Bluemix provides several options, including the following:

• Command line: The Cloud Foundry (CF) command line provides integration for developers that prefer coding without an integrated development environment (IDE). This is also helpful for developing automation scripts with Bluemix. The CF application programming interfaces (APIs) can be integrated with multiple languages, frameworks and services.
• Eclipse: Since Eclipse is widely used by developers, they can continue to use the tools with which they are comfortable. The Cloud Foundry integration can be installed from the Eclipse Marketplace. This provides integration with Bluemix from the Eclipse client.
• Web IDE: Developers can work with the Web IDE directly in Bluemix. This allows modification of the application without any development environment installed on the developers’ laptops.

4. Source control: Bluemix also comes with integration to several source control management (SCM) systems. These include Git, GitHub and Jazz SCM. These environments can be configured to deliver application changes continuously. Open source Cloud Foundry applications can be forked and loaded to Bluemix. This provides a great place to start development of a new project.

5. Services marketplace: Services leverage APIs and software development kits (SDKs) that can quickly and easily be incorporated with Bluemix applications. Although IBM provides many services, Bluemix offers an open and flexible ecosystem which allows other companies to provide services that can be integrated into applications. Companies can be both providers and users of services. Two types of services are available:

The “Managed Service Offering” is not available in the beta, but will be available soon. Services in the marketplace can be at no charge or have a pay as you go (PAYG) pricing model. These services are available to all Bluemix customers.

“User Provided Services” can be added so that organizations can share services within their organization. This promotes more reuse and standardization of services within the company.

Why Python is best for back-end coding & websites

Python has been one of the most popular programming languages among developers. With access to a wide variety of frameworks and libraries, developing web applications on Python becomes easier. Also, Python has been designed keeping in mind OOP (object-oriented programming), thus making Python a perfect choice for coders.

5 reasons to develop your website on Python

In this article, we are going to talk about why it is super beneficial for you to build your company’s website on a thriving software such as Python.

1) Easy to Read and Quick Development

Python is an easy to read language. Unlike others, Python codes are not cramped with semi colons and curly brackets through out. It has a set of rules that guides every developer through the entire process. So in case of any interim development, any developer can pick up the code from where it was last left.

Due to this nature of easy readability, development of the code in Python is very straightforward. It is a dynamic versatile language that allows for quick deployment of projects.

2) Best for Integration and Data Science

Python makes a great choice for any data integration tasks. It is very versatile and has many ready-made tools, thus making it a preferred language either for automation of small tasks or integration and communication of huge data bases and asset management.

Also, Python has garnered a lot of importance in the Data Scientists. It is widely used for scientific and numeric computing and integrating large amounts of statistics data with web apps.

3) Highly Secure

Since Python is built with a purpose to be a simple application, the chances for vulnerability to rise in the language are less. Mostly, languages that use a lot of code are always at a risk of being manipulated. The simplicity of its code makes it a more secure platform.

4) Trusted by big brands

It is a very popular software development language. Most of the big brands such as Quora, Instagram, Dropbox, Reddit, NASA etc have integrated most of their workflows with Python. Due to the ease and availability of frameworks like Flask and Django, Python has become the go-to web development language that most brands are quickly adopting.

5) Multiple benefits apart from back-end management

Python was once highly recommended for back-end developments and integrations, but as we have discussed, the language is so versatile and has so many code libraries that it can support multiple modules. With Python, websites can be highly customized in a way to boost user performance and engagement.

Python is also used for:

• Website Development
• Machine Learning and Data Analysis
• Database management with Django
• API Developments
• Automation and Maintenance

In Conclusion

Thus, Python is the best software language to chose if your business requires a custom website to cater to customer requirements. If you need help in developing your website on Python, then just drop us a quick message with your requirements and we shall get the best minds working it.

Predictions For 2017-18

Disruption has moved from an infrequent inconvenience to a consistent stream of change that is redefining markets and entire industries. In 2016, we saw the astonishing rise of Pokémon Go, which demonstrated accelerated digital change in areas such as augmented reality. Gartner’s top strategic predictions for 2017 and beyond describe not only the disruptive effects of digital business innovation but how secondary ripple effects will often prove to be more disruptive than the original disruption.

Three high-level trends emerge from the predictions:

• Digital experience and engagement will draw people into non-stop virtual interactions
• Business innovation will create extraordinary change from mundane concepts
• Secondary effects will be more disruptive than the initial digital change

Gartner’s Top 10 Predictions for 2017 and Beyond

1. Immersive Shopping Experience – By 2020, 100 million consumers will shop in augmented reality.

Whether they allow you to try on makeup or place virtual furniture in your home, immersive technologies such as AR increase consumer engagement by enabling them to fully explore features and conveying additional information that can aid in a buying decision. Popular applications, such as Pokémon Go, will help propagate the technology and bring it into the mainstream. 1 in 5 global brands will use AR for shopping by the end of 2017.

2. Voice First Browsing – By 2020, 30% of web browsing sessions will be done without a screen.

Many teens already use voice search daily and new audio-centric technologies, such as Google Home and Amazon’s Echo, are turning “voice first” interactions into ubiquitous experiences. By eliminating the need to use your hands and eyes for browsing, vocal interactions extend the web experience to multiple activities, such as driving, cooking, walking, socializing, exercising, operating machinery, etc. By the end of 2017, watch for room-based screenless devices to be in more than 10 million homes.

3. Mobile Apps Decline – By 2019, 20% of brands will abandon their mobile apps.

Many brands are finding that their mobile apps are not paying off. They simply haven’t delivered the level of adoption and customer engagement that companies expected. App stores are crowded and the cost of application support in not only maintenance, upgrades and customer support but also marketing to drive downloads, exceeds original ROI calculations. Google’s effort to make the mobile web more “app like,” will gain traction, and companies will opt to reduce their losses by allowing their apps to expire. Watch for Apple’s reluctant embrace of the mobile web as a vehicle for customer engagement.

4. Algorithms at Work – By 2020, algorithms will positively alter the behavior of over 1 billion global workers.

Employees, already familiar with behavior influencing through contextual algorithms on consumer sites such as Amazon, will be influenced by an emerging set of “persuasive technologies” that leverage big data from myriad sources, mobile, IoT devices and deep analysis.

JPMorgan Chase uses an algorithm to forecast and positively influence the behavior of thousands of investment bank and asset management employees to minimize mistaken or ethically wrong decisions. Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic uses influence algorithms to guide pilots to use less fuel. By year end 2017, watch for at least one commercial organization to report a significant increase in profit margins because it used algorithms to positively alter its employees’ behaviors.

5. Blockchain Grows Up – By 2022, a blockchain-based business will be worth $10 billion.

Blockchain technology is established as the next revolution in transaction or event recording. A blockchain ledger provides an immutable, shared view of all transactions between engaging parties in a distributed, decentralized network. While the Bitcoin blockchain ledger is itself well-understood, blockchain remains an immature technology. By 2020, new businesses and business models will emerge based on smart contracts and blockchain efficiencies. These smart contracts automate at a reliability, customization level and speed not achievable with traditional business systems.

6. Digital Giants Everywhere – By 2021, 20% of all activities an individual engages in will involve at least one of the top-seven digital giants.

Many of us interact with at least one of the digital giants (by market capitalization: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent) in our digital worlds of web search, mobile, social networking, messaging and music streaming. As the physical, financial and healthcare worlds become more digital, many of our activities will be connected and within reach of the digital giants. Note that collectively, the digital giants will have direct and indirect knowledge of what we do as individuals and the fundamental issue will be what they do with the data.

7. Innovation Requires Greater Investment – Through 2019, every $1 enterprise invest in innovation will require an additional $7 in core execution.

Many organizations have adopted a bimodal style of work to jumpstart innovation. While exercises are designed to experiment and “fail fast,” those that do receive approval for implementation involve a level of complexity, scale, and business change ramifications that may not have been considered in the initial planning stage.

8. IoT Saves Trillions – By 2022, IoT will save consumers and businesses $1 trillion a year in maintenance, services, and consumables.

Digital twins capture real-time data, allowing smarter maintenance and service schedules for physical objects such as large pumps, airframes, and turbines. When the sensor-enabled real world twin sends data to the digital twin, it can simulate the physical state, allowing the digital twin to be inspected instead of the physical object. This would be helpful for a submerged sewage pump or any other asset in which on-site inspection is inconvenient, costly or hazardous.

Consumers, too, will benefit when they can extend the life of the oil in their cars from a prescriptive replacement “every 5,000 miles” to replacement triggered by a measurement of the engine’s performance.

Emerging and established companies need to keep in mind these predictions, especially the tech leaders during hiring and procurement. Investments need to be smarter, better and more calculative in nature.

Source: Gartner

Solve For India

Google on Friday announced a new initiative called “Solve for India”.  Google with this innovative program plans to expand and boost the start-up ecosystem and inspire new-age entrepreneurs to “Solve for India” and its untapped potential. As the name suggests “Solve in India”, Google intends to work on solving problems that majority of the Indians have been facing from the past few decades.

With enhanced connectivity and the ever growing Internet user base, it provides an opportunity to everyone to pursue their dreams and curate solutions for Indians. Google is going to offer the same with the “Solve in India” program.

Below are the features of the initiative:

1. “Solve for India” program is set to inspire the emerging group of entrepreneurs in cities like  Jaipur, Pune, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkatta, Indore, Nagpur, Kanpur, Madurai, and Chennai.

2. It will provide a platform for developers, entrepreneurs in the above mentioned cities to collaborate with experts and understand latest Google technologies. They will also get support and other assistance directly from Google.

3. For startups who’re looking to build scalable solutions, Google will provide over $20,000 of cloud credits under this program to boost their growth.

4. Developers can also expect to build on their skills and learn from experts on latest in Android, Firebase, Machine learning, Cloud APIs, Progressive Web Apps and Indian Language Translation solutions.

5. Entrepreneurs will be able to learn from a plethora of Google’s program starting from Google Launchpad mentoring program. It will help them to build, scale and accelerate early stage product ideas into category leaders.

“Majority of India’s Internet users are Indian language users, and over 80 per cent of them access the Internet from their mobile phones. But the current Indian startup ecosystem is building products for English speaking audience and caters only to 15 per cent of the population. There’s growing number of entrepreneurs in smaller Indian cities who are focusing on building solutions that caters to the real needs of India. Through this initiative we want to bring the best of Google under one program and join forces with them to help create solutions that serve the needs of a billion Indians,” says Karthik Padmanabhan, Program Manager Lead for Google India.

Virtual Reality to Practical Confidence.

“People think every creative idea possible has already happened, unfortunately, technology is greedy, it wants more.”

In this hotchpotch of a world that we live in, sometimes some souls lack behind in certain basic skills such as communication and decision-making. It is either due to lack of exposure or hereditary to put it in simpler terms. Most of us are afraid of the stage or fear facing a huge crowd. And some of us live with that fear forever, protecting ourselves in a cocoon not realizing how it affects our overall growth. It is not just the basic skills that need confidence. It can be your professional skills as well. And it is time proven that confidence can only be harnessed through practice and gaining experience.

Virtual reality is capable of stimulating experiences in our mind that as of now no other tech can match up to. It can virtually make you face your worst fears and teach you to cope with them. VR can fool your mind that you’re already well versed with something which you may or may not have experienced in reality.

Let us discuss 7 possibilities on how VR can train the mind:

1. Medical Training: Medical students can now perform surgical procedures on live 3D models of the human body instead of corpses till they perfect the procedure. They will get a hands-on experience with virtual patients and emergency cases. This will result in medical professionals with experience and embedded with confidence.

2. Stage fear: There are already mobile apps that let you practice in front of a virtual audience in your choice of environment. From best man speeches, lectures and interactive talks, you can practice them beforehand and be more confident at delivering your words. Soon, there will be Tedx talk environments for the enlightened ones as well.

3. Meditation: Imagine meditating in the middle of a forest under a banyan tree sitting on a couch. Virtual reality can take you anywhere you want, with minimal noise and utmost peace. Stimulating the senses in such an environment can calm our emotional facade.

4.Therapy: Stress and mental fatigue can break down anyone. Virtual reality can provide relief to the affected by psychologically planned scenarios, creating a therapeutic environment or interacting with a long distanced loved one in a VR environment.

5. Military Training: A trainee soldier or a trainee pilot can now experience real-life attack scenarios and respond accordingly. The military will save tremendously on their training costs and in turn, will gain soldiers who are ready for the brunt of their profession.

6. Sports: Virtual Reality can entirely change the way a batsman, footballer, athlete or a race car driver practices. It can simulate different environments, difficulty and fatigue levels to keep the players geared up for the action by enhancing their confidence levels.

7. Surrealism: Sometimes, all we need is time by ourselves. It is a proven fact that solitude once in a while can do wonders. Virtual reality can set up an environment of your choice, on a beach, on the top of a hill or just floating in the outer space. This will immensely help you feel better and drive your productivity sky high.

Escaping reality is not a bad idea, in fact, it is one of the best ideas mankind has had. Right from books, media, and gaming, we have been constantly evolving ourselves to diverge from reality for a few moments. And when technology is in our hands, why not use it and improve our personality, stimulate our minds for an improved performance and in the overall process boost our confidence.

How effective will it be to embrace AI as a marketing enabler in today’s organizations? What will be the key problems that can be solved with the help of AI? How can AI give sales and marketing the much needed competitive edge to sustain and run a thriving business?

Let’s take a look at these questions and get a quick overview of the problems AI can solve for your business’ sales and marketing division.

The rise and rise of AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been gaining tremendous traction in recent times. Multiple disciplines such as NLP and machine learning have shown the business world the type of problems Artificial Intelligence can solve. Right from providing a substantial reduction in cost overheads to boosting employee productivity, the number of areas that can be impacted by the smart use of AI is abundant. One such discipline that is ripe for embracing AI is the sales and marketing team.

Where do sales and marketing come in?

Throughout the customer acquisition journey, there are tons of routine tasks, documentation, and paperwork to be done. You may be surprised to know that only 20% of the sales rep’s time is spent on actual sales closing. The rest is spent on follow-up, monitoring, tracking, and support functions. It is these areas that can witness a dramatic surge in productivity with the help of AI. Let’s look at the three top benefits of having an AI system in your marketing team –

1. Qualifying leads

The leads qualification process is a tedious one. These include steps like

• Deep research on the right fit client for your product or services,
• Trying to phone or email the gate-keepers to find the right person within the target company,
• Carrying out a detailed vetting process as outlined in your marketing strategy

These are the key areas where AI can show its maximum impact.

2. Lead nurturing

The golden “Rule of Seven” stipulates seven engagements with leads before they remember your brand. Many inbound leads collapse due to lack of lead nurturing, or untimely interaction. This is where AI can fit in. It can not only keep track of which stage of the buying journey a prospect is in, but can also send personalized messages at the right interval – a positive sales conversion potential.

3. The human element

Today’s sales funnel is highly automated and looks robotic. As a result, the human touch is sorely missing from the sales conversion process. With the smart integration of AI into the various marketing functions, the human touch can be brought into many interactions with the lead. This helps make a deeper connection with the customer and enable conversions of leads to sale at a much swifter pace.

Wrapping it up

While lead quality and sales conversion cycle may not be made fully hassle-free, with the introduction of AI, issues with follow up and human connection can be mitigated for faster sales conversion.

At Goodworklabs we can drive the positive impact of AI to bolster your business margins. Do connect with us for a quick consultation.