Remote Project Management Tips for Work from Home

posted on September 24, 2021

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While the work from home concept has been around for the past two years, with the ongoing pandemic, work from home is slowly becoming non-negotiable. Over 69% of organizations have been moving more employees to work remotely, while a massive 16% have moved their entire operations to remote execution. There are several benefits to an organization moving more employees towards working remotely. These include lower onboarding costs, overheads, and investment into infrastructure.

Any organization’s success in these work-from-home endeavors is contingent on exceptional management skills adapted to the modern work environment. Ensuring professionals equipped with a PMP certification training assures any business that strong management skills can be translated to employees sitting at different locations for strong and optimized business activity execution. While work from home or remote productivity can seem intimidating for businesses to adopt, given current environmental and social circumstances, finding the best policies to adapt to the organization may differ between staying afloat or sinking during this trying time.

What is Remote Project Management?

Remote Project Management is the act of organizing a team of professionals that work off-premise. Despite the geographical differences between team members, the objective is to ensure that relevant information is shared and activities conducted to ensure the business continues as usual. Team members may be seated at a distance of a few kilometers away, but others may be located in different cities and time zones. As a result, 87% of employees claim they feel less pressure or stress within their work environment, and 30% complete more activities within less than the allocated time. In addition, the organization’s rising productivity rates and benefits in terms of costs and expenditures are moving more teams to remote management. 

There are three core types of teams that conduct business activities remotely;

  1. Flex Teams: Execution teams are offered the option to work remotely and from a unified space as needed or as instructed by the organization.
  2. Hybrid Teams: Comprised of team members that work remotely full time while the rest work from a suitable location. 
  3. Fully Remote Teams: As the name implies, fully remote teams consist of professionals that coordinate projects and activities from the comfort of their homes or separate working spaces. 

Remote Project Management offers several benefits. As previously mentioned, the need to invest in infrastructure, overhead costs month on month, and onboarding/training new employees can cost heavily without adequate returns. Remote Project Management allows businesses to invest in the bare minimum and encourage employees to institute better working practices and regulations to enjoy the perks they experience with remote working. 

Employees enjoy flexible working hours and the ability to work at any location. Spending more time with their families and building their lives outside of work allows increased productivity. This is caused by the ability to adapt their natural energy cycles to more efficient time dedication. The flexibility of working from anywhere, at any time, with the understanding of deadlines helps businesses reduce their turnover rates and achieve a better quality of performance. The reduced stress also makes for happier employees and a more comfortable corporate environment. 

Businesses are only as good as the willingness and execution abilities of their teams. Limiting professional hiring to the surrounding geographical area can often coax businesses to make rash decisions that are ultimately not as beneficial as expected. With a growing number of Generation Z professionals penetrating the workforce, their skills allow them to optimize the quality of their work with the comfort of using technology as needed. 

Efficient Remote Project Management

While there are a growing number of benefits with remote Project Management, there are also some drawbacks. Coordination across different cities and time zones can be stressful. When meetings are missed, putting activities back on schedule can be time-consuming. Additionally, building a corporate culture fostering unity can be difficult with team members who aren’t too familiar with each other and are unlikely to meet and bond. 

Therefore it is up to the Project Management professional (a project manager or business manager) to consider the best tools and practices to create strong remote management. Considerations include;

1. Giving Team Members Room and Trust

Since personal and professional environments are blurred with remote working, businesses must respect and understand the same. Working in different cities and time zones often means activities are conducted with different routines and timeframes than others. Ensure the project manager is offering adequate consideration and deadlines are set up concerning everyone’s availability. 

Attempting to micromanage can be demoralizing. Since employees are likely to be more productive in WFH environments, it is more than unlikely constant supervision or intrusion is necessary.

2. Keep Deadlines Crystalline

Effective management of remote teams works aggressively with ensuring realistic deadlines are created and met. A single document outlining tasks and when they should be executed will help all team members plan accordingly. Avoid using words like “ASAP” or “At Your Convenience.” Offer firm non-negotiable end dates to activities to keep the business running as it should 

3. Clear Feedback

Ensure employees are working at the pace they should be and executing requirements as needed. If an employee is slacking, be sure to alert them as early as possible with a professional attitude. Constructive criticisms only assist businesses with better internal activities and offer employees an opportunity to reassess their approach. 

4. Introduce the Right Tools 

With many softwares and tools that assist remote Project Management on the market, picking the right fit for your organization is imperative to its success. In addition, a small Project Management tool helps automate some degree of the process for better communication and collaboration. 

Conclusion

Effective remote Project Management is heavily dependent on the professional managing the team. Ensure a certified individual sits at the helm of the remote management operation for best success. With a growing number of professionals conducting operations remotely, it is up to the organization to ensure best practices are adopted to ensure business continuity and even success in a time of uncertainty. Keeping employees motivated but safe is critical to keeping businesses afloat; remote Project Management offers a middle ground to achieve both while maintaining the trajectory towards achieving organizational goals.

The post Remote Project Management Tips for Work from Home appeared first on SiteProNews.

6 Foolproof Tactics for a Thriving Online Enterprise

posted on September 23, 2021

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Anyone can open a business.

You only need to register your enterprise by completing some forms, make payments here and there, obtain the required permits, present a legit product, fulfill orders — and boom, you’re officially a business owner.

Succeeding as a company, however, is a completely different matter, though.

It entails applying the best strategies under particular industry conditions and some evergreen essentials, among other factors.

Here are some tactics you should know and implement for a thriving enterprise online:

1. Improve Your Customer Support

Customers are uber-essential for your business to prosper. Without them, you won’t have anyone to sell your products to. That translates to zero or minimal income.

However, this doesn’t mean they’re cash cows. Rather, they are people whose problems you can solve with your solutions.

Customers are also people with whom you form meaningful business relationships. To make them love your brand, don’t just offer excellent products. Take care of your dealings with them as well.

That said, invest in streamlining and improving your customer support. Doing so shows that you truly value your shoppers’ patronage and want to nurture it in return.

Do this by:

  • Responding promptly and correctly to their queries
  • Assisting and solving any issues they have with your products and services
  • Providing valuable, beneficial information (not just sales-oriented copies)
  • Communicating courteously, and others.

To bolster your customer support, maximize technologies with powerful and practical capabilities, including app integrations.

For instance, use customer service ticketing tools for timely help desk assistance and documentation of requests.

Customer relationships management (CRM) platforms let you harmonize your marketing, support communications, and consumer data for personalized business services, and so on.

2. Prioritize Your Cybersecurity

Security should be among your top priorities when operating your business on the Internet. Otherwise, you’ll be susceptible to cyber-attacks that can eat up your money and even shut down your enterprise.

Enhance your online security with these tips:

  • Provide sufficient cybersecurity training for employees. Include recognizing phishing and other fraudulent tactics, creating strong login credentials, etc.
  • Restrict access to private information. Encrypt valuable files (including online transactions and communications), and permit only relevant position-holders in your company to retrieve them.
  • Regularly duplicate essential data assets. This includes your customer data, software code, and other resources your business is built upon (and can cause closing down when lost).
  • Automate the duplication process for guaranteed safety and efficiency. For example, if you created your app on Microsoft Azure DevOps, you can use Backlight Up for instant and daily Azure DevOps backup activities.
  • Install and frequently update your firewalls, software patches, and antivirus and antimalware tools.

3. Digitize Your Documents and Processes

Replace paper-based documents and traditional methods of completing tasks with digital ones.

Doing so reduces your operational costs and administrative workload. That translates to more savings and time for more profitable ventures.

A classic digitization strategy is using cloud-based tools for your workflows, reports storage and submission, communications, and others.

Modern rental companies provide an example. When examining their machines before and after renting them out, they use electronic equipment inspection forms.

Technicians only carry their tablets or smartphones around often-large equipment to tick checklists and capture photos and videos.

They can then hit “Send” to submit the report to the operations manager, who receives notifications and can approve the document or requested repairs immediately.

Renting customers can also sign electronically to acknowledge the report and get the equipment fast.

This is much more convenient than carrying a pen, paper, and clipboard around the huge machine, going to the office, placing the report on the desk, and heading to the shop to sign.

Similarly, electronic tools and methods help your team work faster and accommodate more clients. You can process payments quickly and enhance the customer experience, encouraging buyers to return.

4. Produce Top-Notch, Compelling Content

Creating compelling content lets you provide value and solutions for your customers’ real-life problems. This persuades them to keep consuming your material and saying “yes” to your offers.

You can write blog posts, long-form guides, or a series of themed write-ups. You can also display breath-taking product visuals with jaw-dropping effects to wow your shoppers.

For instance, if you’re selling bicycles, speeding up your product video gives the illusion of accelerated performance. It intensifies the content’s impact, thrills your viewers, and gives them the adrenaline boost to want the item.

Consider these other content ideas:

  • Infographics sharing relevant industry, product, or other statistics
  • Educational webinars and podcasts
  • Stories and live videos showcasing your company culture, etc.

If you already have a library of various digital content materials, repurpose your content in creative ways.

This lets you freshen up your posts, share information from new angles, and even save brainstorming time and effort.

When doing that, choose content materials with the highest engagement. Then repackage them in other equally interactive formats to maintain or bolster your SEO, traffic, and conversions.

5. Build a Functional, Attractive Website

Websites act like your brick-and-mortar stores or offices — only virtual. So it’s only right that you design your storefront, interiors, and systems appropriately like you would your physical shops.

Begin by using (or switching to) the right platforms designed for your business type.

Let’s say you’re an ecommerce store. In that case, maximize straightforward ecommerce site builders. They have functionalities for payment processing, product marketing, sales pipelines, and others.

Next, follow these tactics:

  • Develop customer-centered website experiences
  • Set up an intuitive interface and navigation
  • Display search buttons
  • Simplify your checkout, sign-up, and similar processes
  • Use blocks and sections for neat layouts
  • Mind your page loading speed by minimizing or eliminating heavy elements, etc.

6. Hire the Right Person for the Job

Tap talents with relevant skills, abilities, and work backgrounds to take charge of various business aspects.

You can get a mix of highly experienced, novice but competent, and intermediately knowledgeable talents.

This lets you distribute tasks according to their difficulty level and other requirements and create a balanced working culture.

Here are some ideas to guide your talent recruitment process (for existing employees, full-time workers, consultants, freelancers, agencies, etc.):

  • Understand your business needs and requirements
  • Identify your ideal talent team
  • Streamline and enhance your hiring experience
  • Manage candidate relationships and communications
  • Know your talents’ motivational factors (and not just focus on what you want to gain).

Gear Up to Build a Thriving Enterprise Online

With these and other strategies, you can begin or continue developing a thriving online business. They are a balance of marketing, security, customer, and other essentials to attend to.

Remember, your implementation might not be perfect at first, but keep going until you get into the rhythm and the ideal results.

Business success rarely happens overnight — so don’t give up too easily on attaining your company goals. You’ll get to them in no time!

The post 6 Foolproof Tactics for a Thriving Online Enterprise appeared first on SiteProNews.

IoT in Healthcare: 10 Practical Applications of IoT in Medical Industry

posted on September 23, 2021

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The healthcare industry, which is renowned for being an early user of new technologies, continues to develop by using the enormous Web-connected cosmos known as the Internet of Things (IoT). Medical software development with modern technologies is useful for patients and health professionals and allows them to connect and analyze health information and patient health data.

Internet of Things innovation improves patient-doctor communication through remote access and online consultations. It also assists clinics or hospitals in tracking personnel and patients with IoT-based healthcare devices that also aid in the treatment of chronic conditions. With the help of Internet of Things consulting firms that assist in understanding IoT technologies, provide a plan to decrease expenses, streamline operations, and offer services for IoT systems.

Examples of IoT in Healthcare Applications

Here are Internet of Things (IoT) applications for public health, smart sleep, medicine refills, improving hospital treatment, online care, and tracking, and chronic illness management.

Hygenix Hand Hygiene Platform

Hygenix wanted to leverage wearable technology to provide healthcare professionals with actionable feedback on the frequency and quality of hand hygiene via smart wristbands. The idea was to use sensors to track staff’s movements at the medical facility and notify them of the proper timing and duration of hand hygiene events. The ITRex company created IoT solution to monitor handwashing events of hospital staff.

Newleafs Analytics

Nexleaf’s solutions seek to enhance health problems in developing nations by improving vaccinations. Coldtrace, as an example, is a wireless remote tracking for vaccine freezers in medical centers and health institutions, allowing healthcare practitioners to deliver life-saving injections safely. It has a sensing probe installed within a refrigeration system, which transmits data about current temperatures and grid power and sends notifications updates to the watching staff.

Aspect Software Platform

The Aspect Software Platform interacts with diagnostic equipment to provide test findings to doctors, patients, and medical personnel through a secure and private communication system, as well as highly-customizable methodologies. Moreover, Aspect manages everything transparently, from transmitting test findings to tracking instrument performances. Patients may even be notified when the results are ready.

QuiO

QuiO is a wireless cloud-based platform that links various clinical devices connected to medicines, exercise, and wellness for patients with chronic diseases. The applications enable healthcare professionals and caretakers to see anomalies and react to data more efficiently. Moreover, individuals may also get customized advice on coping with illnesses and engaging in research programs freely.

Spry Health

Spry Health enables medical institutions to increase safety by detecting early indications of deteriorating patients. In addition, Spry’s Loop wearables gadget has a monitoring capacity of a medical bed in the form of a fitness tracker. Its features include facilitating patients’ constant vital monitoring and the ability to check patients’ condition through the internet and gather actionable findings that lead to improved treatment.

Eight

Eight combines comfy mattresses with sleep-sensing software that evaluates data and delivers it to your mobile phones to calculate your optimum sleep temperatures. The app may also be used to control smart lighting and smart door locks.

AdhereTech

AdhereTech smart medication bottles with their specialty medicine for patients are utilized just like a regular bottle and send text or phone alarms for missing dosages. It also gives customized assistance with prescription refills and health problems. According to Avella pharmacy, AdhereTech has increased time on treatment by 26 %, replenishments by 9 percent, and dosages adherent by 15 percent over the past several years. They also produce 1 to 2 extra fills of specialty medicines per patient each year.

Aeris

Aeris is basically a plug-and-play system enabling medical device makers and healthcare professionals to keep in touch with patients to ensure they follow medical recommendations such as prescription and timing. In many instances, this tracking (through the use of sensors) allowed patients to stay in the house, reducing travel duration and hospital expenses.

AutoBed

The AutoBed technology can supervise up to 1200 mattresses, handle 80 bedroom orders at once, and take account of other patient needs such as nurse availability.

Philips E-Alert

Philips’ E-Alert, which is used to check MRI operation, compares environmental variables to specific criteria and sends notifications if those targets are met. Notifications may be delivered through email and text message, or they can be linked into a local alarm system.

Ensa

Ensa seamlessly integrates health records and biometrics monitors to offer consumers health and supplements suggestions. Special aspects include Apple HealthKit and Dexcom CGM synchronization, up-to-date healthcare guidance from authorized sources, and connection to an online medication store.

Conclusion

The recent development in IoT technology has allowed medical equipment to do actual monitoring that was previously unavailable to physicians. It has assisted healthcare practitioners in diagnosing a variety of health problems and also helped medical facilities reach more people at once and provide quality treatment at a low cost. Because of this, it has shifted the medical industry away from a hospital-centric system and toward a more patient-centric one.

The post IoT in Healthcare: 10 Practical Applications of IoT in Medical Industry appeared first on SiteProNews.

Covering Climate Change: A Sentiment Analysis of Major Newspaper Articles from 2010 – 2020

posted on September 23, 2021
By Amy M. Patronella - This research lies at the nexus of political communication theory relating to emotional affect and political processing and the burgeoning field of sentiment analysis. News coverage can affect opinion both through the information it provides and the emotional reaction it generates. To better understand the affective content of news coverage of climate change, we mobilized two dictionary tools to perform an unsupervised sentiment analysis. Using 2,017 articles about climate change from 11 major U.S. newspapers between 2010-2020, this study assesses both the valence and top eight basic emotions...

Elevate Your LinkedIn Profile to Promote Your Personal Brand

posted on September 22, 2021

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These days, like it or not, your digital image is everything. How we present ourselves on social platforms can make or break our chances of career success. 

Boosting your personal brand can open doors you may not know existed. A top-notch LinkedIn profile is the way to find those doors.

With a strong profile, you can widen your network by showcasing your experience, skills, and achievements.

Read on to find out how to promote your personal brand by crafting a strong LinkedIn profile that shows off your best professional qualities. 

Your Profile is a Branding Opportunity

Think of your LinkedIn profile like that nice outfit you’d wear for an interview or a business meeting at an upscale restaurant. That profile should make you stand out and look your best. 

It’s on a par with a well-composed resume. 

A lackluster, basic profile doesn’t make a great first impression, does it?

LinkedIn has many attractive accessories for that profile “outfit” to ensure your brand is engaging and enticing. Take advantage of these features—don’t sell yourself short.  

LinkedIn’s algorithm rewards users with complete profiles. You’re far more likely to show up in search results with a complete profile. LinkedIn assigns different strengths to profiles based on their completeness, and there’s a huge advantage given to those who utilize all the bells and whistles. 

So—

How do you make your LinkedIn profile pop? 

Avoid Humdrum Headlines 

By default, LinkedIn uses your current job title as the headline. That’s all well and good. But, customizing the headline can highlight your expertise or vision for your brand. Think of your headline as your brand’s motto.

Your headline is often the first thing potential employers and network connections see, so make it stand out. 

LinkedIn headlines have a limit of 120-characters (with spaces). This is equivalent to about 18 words.

Recipe for a delicious headline: 

  • Job title or area of expertise
  • Company name
  • Accomplishment/selling point

Example: 

ESOL Program Coordinator | Top Academy English School | Delivering Exceptional Curriculum for Over 15 Years | Second Language Acquisition Specialist 

This headline is much more impressive than if it had just had the job title. 

And your picture should match the professionalism the headline conveys. 

Pick the Perfect Pic

Having a professional picture on LinkedIn is essential to your brand. 

A photo done by a professional photographer is best—the lighting will be perfect and the picture will be flattering. 

If this is out of your budget, simply use a decent camera and soft lighting. Your picture should reflect your current appearance. Take a fresh picture if a couple of years have gone by. 

  • Specs: Square—400 x 400 pixels, under 8 MB in size. Make sure it’s high resolution. And your picture should take up at least 60% of the frame. 
  • Appearance: your expression should be friendly, yet professional. Often, a nice smile, with teeth showing is preferable to closed-mouth smiles. Try not to over-filter your picture. If you want to use a filter, select one with a natural look. 
  • Attire: your clothing should fit with your brand. Wear something you’d wear to your workplace…unless your workplace is home. PJs won’t give the best impression! 

The bottom line: a professional photo will get a user 14 times more views on average than other types of profile pictures.

Make the Background Section Count

You’ve probably seen that stark blue default background image plenty of times on profiles for those who’re starting off in their careers or are LinkedIn newbies. 

But, this space is golden for building your credibility and showing off something you’re good at. 

This space can be devoted to something directly related to your current field, or a side gig. Your profile will really pop and enhance your personal brand if you pick a decent background picture. 

LinkedIn recommends the following: 

  • A JPG or PNG file of an image that’s long and narrow, less than 8 MB and 1584 x 396 pixels. 

Adding that background photo is easy-peasy.

  1. Click the Me icon at the top of your homepage
  2. Click on “View profile”
  3. Select the camera icon located at the top right corner of your intro section
  4. Then upload photo, and click “Open”
  5. Click “Apply”

Don’t Skip the Summary Section 

This section is one of the first places that’s checked out by those visiting your profile. 

If you’re a job seeker, recruiters will definitely check out this section, so compose a summary that shows your hard skills first and foremost. 

So, not this:

“Energetic, innovative, and adaptable data analyst.”

But, this: 

“Data analyst with over six years experience performing analyses, with expertise in SQL, Oracle, and Python.”

The latter is a line for a summary they can sink their teeth into. 

Plus, your summary should include: 

  • Data—percentages, dollar amounts, and numerals for any of your accomplishments adds credibility
  • White space—Long blocks of text aren’t reader-friendly in our fast-paced, digital world. Studies have shown that using white space is more pleasant on the eyes. Short, to-the-point paragraphs will keep their attention.
  • Keywords—adding keywords from job descriptions into your summary can improve your chances of getting noticed by potential employers
  • Personality—people want to know who you are. That’s why they’re looking at your profile. Nothing conveys your personal brand better than your own personality. 

For example:

“My penchant for dark chocolate and espresso are what keep me plugging away at my artistic tote bag business!” 

From the “Summary” section, you can move on to sharing your professional and educational background, plus all the skills you’ve acquired.

Wow Them with Your Work, Skills, and Education

It’s obvious that your personal brand is a product of your experience, skills, and education. 

If you don’t add to these sections, your profile will be sorely lacking. And your personal brand will not be communicated. 

Experience section: Don’t rehash your resume

Don’t be tempted to copy/paste your work experience from your resume to the LinkedIn “Experience” section. 

You have more freedom with the LinkedIn Experience section. You can add experience outside of what is typically included on the “relevant experience” resume. Freelance work or side gigs can be included. This section shouldn’t be as weighty as your resume. Avoid giving details for every position. Summarize and highlight your biggest achievements.

Also, no need to shy away from the first person—using “I” and a conversational tone is welcome. 

After you document your past and current jobs concisely, it’s time to move on to the next section of your LinkedIn profile: “Education.”

Education section: Include every college or university

A neat feature of LinkedIn is that when you peruse their jobs, it will tell you how many school alumni are applying for the job. 

Hint, hint—

You can hit up the alumni who work there and mention your interest in the job, which can increase your chances if they have any influence on who’s hired. Therefore, it’s a sensible idea to add any and all higher education institutions you’ve attended.

And, for those who don’t have a college degree, make sure to add any formal training you’ve had. Showing you’ve taken the initiative and completed a course is worth displaying. 

After “Education” is the “Skills” section. 

Skills section: Let your skills shine—and endorse others’

The “Skills & endorsements” section will add a lot of flavor to your personal brand on LinkedIn. A healthy section will include 10+ skills. But, don’t add skills that you aren’t truly familiar with.  

The skills you select make you more searchable. 

After you add the skills, you can click and drag them to arrange them in whatever order you like. Ideally, place the most important skills regarding your brand at the very top. 

Lacking a skill you’d like to learn? Check out LinkedIn Learning, chock-full of videos, tutorials, and almost any professional topic you can think of. 

Next, skills endorsements matter.

On LinkedIn there’s a definite “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” approach to endorsements. 

In other words, if you want to get endorsed, do unto others. 

When you’re endorsed, it increases your credibility. People will trust your brand. 

To endorse someone else’s skills:

  • Click on their profile and go to “Skills & endorsements” 
  • Find the skill you wish to endorse and click the plus sign
  • Use the form that pops up to rate the person’s proficiency and explain how you’ve been able to see the skill in action

Of course, don’t be an endorsement spammer! Only endorse if you know the person’s work and can feel confident in the contact’s skill you’re endorsing. 

Once you feel confident with your profile, no shame in feeling a tad vain. Time to create a LinkedIn vanity URL.

Create a LinkedIn Vanity URL 

Whether you’re a fan of vanity plates or not, a vanity URL on LinkedIn is great for your personal brand. 

It’s a branded link that’s snappier and shorter than the URL that LinkedIn produces by default. 

This is a way to attract an audience because the message is clear. 

A vanity link displays a condensed, focused message—your brand. 

A LinkedIn vanity URL with your personal or company name makes it easier for networking contacts to find you, plus it looks more professional. 

Say goodbye to that messy string of characters, numbers, and symbols and change to a vanity LinkedIn URL: 

  1. Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage with the drop-down arrow
  2. Click “View Profile”
  3. Click “Edit public profile & URL”
  4. The Public profile settings page will open
  5. Click the pencil icon on the right sight under “Edit your custom URL”
  6. Enter what you would like to be in your custom URL
  7. Don’t forget to click “Save”

If you’ve gone through all the steps above, your personal brand has gotten a major upgrade on LinkedIn. This will boost your chances of getting noticed and a new job in line with your skills and interests if that’s what you’re in the market for.

With all the profile pieces in place, build your connections, create engaging content, and your personal brand will shine.

To Wrap Up

LinkedIn is the place to promote yourself professionally. It’s the best way to promote your personal brand. Plus, the networking possibilities are endless.

And—

If you’re looking to attract job possibilities, LinkedIn is a top resource for recruiters. In fact, more than 95% of recruiters use LinkedIn’s tools to find the perfect candidate for a job. Over 57 million companies are on the site, with over 15 million jobs postings. 

So, get those LinkedIn profiles in tip-top shape to give your personal brand a major boost.

The post Elevate Your LinkedIn Profile to Promote Your Personal Brand appeared first on SiteProNews.

Best hidden iOS 15 features you didn’t know existed

posted on September 22, 2021
Apple's iOS 15 is here and includes a lot of notable features. Sometimes features that seem minor can lead to massive workflow improvements. Don't miss these hidden iOS 15 features.

Have You Thought of the Name of This Country That Tops the Crypto Trading Leaderboard?

posted on September 22, 2021

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The protracted adventure of Bitcoin and its numerous challengers and copycats in the $2.22 trillion worldwide cryptocurrency market appears to have no end in sight. Despite this, only a small percentage of Americans have any functional or direct experience with it. In 2020, just in the USA only a small number of people have knowledge about cryptocurrency. However, it is catching on far faster all over the world.

Statista aggregated 55 separate research reports from the Statista Global Consumer Survey to find the nations where Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are most popular, providing some of the most comprehensive statistics on the issue. The findings demonstrate a clear pattern. Africans, Asians, and South Americans are far more likely than Europeans, North Americans, and Australians to own or utilize bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Cardano, TPR Coins, etc.  

Introducing the King of Crypto Leaderboard

The king of cryptocurrencies is Africa’s greatest economy. In Nigeria, nearly one-third of respondents — 32 percent — said they had used or owned any form of cryptocurrency in 2020. In comparison, only 6% of Americans said the same thing.

Nigeria’s particular culture and circumstances, as per Bitcoin.com, are propelling the movement. Poverty, which affects 87 million of Nigeria’s 200 million people, is a significant factor, and crypto transactions are inexpensive. Another explanation for the development is that Nigerians are far more likely to use their phones to make payments and send money. Finally, in Nigeria, double-digit inflation is the norm rather than the exception, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which are limited in number, act as a hedge against inflation.

Almost a third of Nigerians agreed that this was true of them. According to Bitcoin.com, the hefty expense of transporting money across borders in the traditional manner has prompted many people to turn to local bitcoin exchanges that cater to overseas workers and their families. Businesses in Nigeria have recently begun to include crypto plugins in their phone payment options, providing yet another method for Nigerians to use bitcoin in their daily lives.

Case Study

Abolaji Odunjo, a tiny businessman selling mobile phones in a bustling Lagos street market, made a significant improvement to his business by beginning to pay his suppliers with bitcoin.

Odunjo gets his phones and accessories from China and the UAE. For speed and convenience, he added, his Chinese vendors requested payment in cryptocurrency.


He has increased his profits as a result of the change, as he no longer has to buy dollars in Nigerian naira or pay money-transfer costs. It’s also an illustration of how bitcoin, the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency, is finding practical applications in Africa that it hasn’t found elsewhere.

As per statistics given by roughly 20 bitcoin users and five cryptocurrency exchanges, Odunjo is one of many persons at the core of a stealthy bitcoin explosion in Africa.

According to data from U.S. blockchain research firm Chainalysis, monthly cryptocurrency transfers to and from Africa of less than $10,000, which are often conducted by individuals and small enterprises, increased by more than 55 percent in a year.

The number of monthly transfers increased by about half, to 600,700, according to Chainalysis, which claims the study is the most comprehensive ever to map out global crypto use. Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy, as well as South Africa and Kenya, saw a lot of action.

This is a significant shift for bitcoin, which, despite its origins as a payment instrument over a decade ago, has primarily been utilized for financial speculators’ speculation rather than commerce.

Why is Africa seeing such a boom?

Some factors are working behind this boom. Young, tech-savvy people; difficulties buying USD from local currencies; and the complicated and costly money transfer process.

Bitcoin users in five nations, ranging from Nigeria to Botswana, said that cryptocurrency was assisting them in becoming more flexible and profitable in their enterprises, as well as allowing those working in Europe and North America to keep more of the money they send home.

However, dangers abound

Many nations do not regulate bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and their legal status is unknown, so there is no safety net and limited redress if you lose money.

Many people rely on unofficial brokers to change their native currency to and from bitcoin. Prices fluctuate, and buying and selling is a technological procedure that necessitates technical understanding.

In June, minor bitcoin transfers in Nigeria totaled about $56 million, up nearly 50% from the previous year. The number of transactions increased by more than 55% to 120,000.

However, determining how cryptocurrencies are used in specific places is difficult. Digital coins provide a high level of anonymity, and while the value of transactions may be monitored on the blockchain, a user’s identity or location cannot.

Chainalysis, which tracks crypto movements for financial institutions and law enforcement in the United States, collected the information by analyzing web traffic and trade trends, despite the fact that virtual private networks can disguise locations. It distinguished between transactions of less than $10,000 and higher quantities commonly used by professional dealers.

Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy has been battered by low petroleum prices and COVID-19, prompting the central bank to weaken the naira twice this year. As a result, Odunjo and other importers are having to spend more to buy dollars that are becoming increasingly scarce.

Rise of Bitcoin in Nigeria

Because of the naira’s depreciation, many Nigerians are turning to bitcoin as a way to buy items from other countries without having to acquire dollars.

Yellow Card, which has offices in five countries, projected a five-fold rise in monthly crypto volumes in 2020, from $5 million in August to $25 million in August. According to the research, workers utilizing bitcoin for remittances was a key issue.

Bitcoin fees vary based on the exchange or broker, but for shipping 100 pounds, they would normally be around 2%-2.5 percent.

Conclusion

Exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) brokers, on the other hand, are both vulnerable to hackers and scams.

And, while bitcoin is useful for transfers, it isn’t widely accepted on the ground; for example, stores and landlords rarely accept it. This means that monies sent by workers must be converted back to regular currency by friends or family, frequently through a broker at their end, posing added risk.

However, the majority of bitcoin users claimed that many OTC brokers, who rely on word-of-mouth evaluations, operated reliably in an increasingly competitive industry and were hesitant to jeopardize their reputations.

And for an increasing number of people, the benefits exceed the risks.

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Business Process Outsourcing: A Guide to BPO Types, Market Trends, & More

posted on September 21, 2021

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From startups to multinational corporations, companies of all sizes are discovering the benefits to outsourcing in both front and back-office operations. Because of its beneficial nature, the BPO industry keeps growing, from CAGR estimates of 3.53% this 2021 to 4% moving forward.

Infographic Courtesy of: optiBPO.com

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Lenovo extends TruScale as-a-service model to its entire portfolio

posted on September 21, 2021

Lenovo is expanding its TruScale pay-per-use model to cover its all data-center productsâ€â€servers, storageâ€â€and client-side devicesâ€â€laptops, tablets.

This transition to a fully integrated, end-to-end, as-a-service model is part of the company’s “One Lenovo†strategy of providing its entire portfolio of clients and servers as a fully managed, on-premises cloud environment through TruScale leasing.

One Lenovo simply means laptops and desktops will be sold along with data-center products together all under one sales program. Lenovo will launch a new channel program in 2022 to encompass the One Lenovo strategy.