B2B Connection

What’s machine learning? That’s a complicated question. So where do we begin? The machine learning story is not a simple one, especially given the fact that what goes by that name in 2019 differs in many ways from the machine learning technology of the past. What’s more complicated is the fact that the internet is bursting with descriptions of machine learning at every imaginable level of expertise and abstraction. Try punching the term into a search engine and expect to find yourself digging through a mixed bag of technical discussions, academic publications, user forums, blogs, tech reporting, and so on. To cut through the noise and clear away confusion, it’s best to establish a clear foundation. What we can do is start with a simple, working definition of machine learning and use it, and the basic concepts connected with it, to better understand some fundamental issues around this rapidly developing technology and its growing practical applications. This article provides a brisk but deep dive into the world of machine learning by addressing the following key issues: What is it? How it differs from past technologies? How it is being used to guide decision-making and improve performance within many different kinds […]

Your website can be a revenue-generating machine when you optimize it with your users in mind. But if you want to generate more leads, and more revenue, then implementing effective user experience (UX) best practices is a must. There are many tools that can help you on your UX journey, including A/B testing tools, Digital Experience platforms, ecommerce software, and other tools aimed to optimize your website and enhance your strategy. Consider these six effective UX strategies you can use to leverage revenue-producing results from your website. 1. Optimize Your Landing Pages Your landing pages are the face of your online presence and will help generate revenue by leading prospects down the sales funnel and increase your conversion rate. For instance, you can create landing pages that help prospects make a purchase and use clearly identifiable buttons for carrying out the transaction. Making sure the content on your site is consistent on your landing pages is also another way to streamline and optimize your website. For example, if you’re offering a free trial on your site, your landing page should mirror that message. 2. Make Site Navigation Natural A site that is hard to navigate can drive down your revenue […]

What is Data Science? The best starting point is to clarify what a data science platform is and what it can be used for. There is so much buzz around data science and its close analogs machine learning, deep learning and AI, that what is actually meant by these terms continues to perplex. Data science is a technical discipline that is all about using code and data to build complex models that can make predictions in the world. Data science as a discipline uses machine learning and deep learning are techniques for building data science models. What kinds of things can data science predict? Models built by data scientists are used to predict actual events in the real world. Examples of the kinds of questions that data science models can answer include: How can I reduce customer churn? How can I optimize my supply chain to ensure on-time delivery? How can I ensure that the right site visitors are seeing the right ad? How many units of product x will I sell next year? How can I spot errors on health insurance claims? How can I detect a data breach at the moment it happens? Some questions, however, are harder to […]

Big data is big capital in today’s tech markets. Technological advances that make it cheaper and easier than ever to store and process large quantities of digital information. Thanks to these advances, the analysis of big data, or data analytics, is a flourishing sector of the tech economy. Many products and services offered by tech companies rely on their collection and analysis of huge, complex data sets from increasingly diverse sources. Big data is conventionally defined in terms of the three Vs: a greater variety of data arriving in increasing volumes with ever-higher velocity. It is important to understand these three Vs a little more in depth. Why? In order to understand what big data companies have to offer and which ones to watch in 2018. 1. Variety Whereas traditional data was neatly structured, big data is unstructured or semi-structured, as from text, audio, and video sources. What this means is that these and other new data types require a preprocessing that traditional data did not. Data from sensors, tweets, encrypted packets, audio recordings, photographs, e-mail, books, presentations, and documents, and so on are all qualitatively different from one another. They do not all fit neatly or in the same […]

Every business faces the same challenge: to make a consistent profit while continually growing and improving customer satisfaction. The way businesses achieve this goal has changed in recent years, with software at the core of business success. Just like their customers, businesses are not looking for a solution that works. They are looking for the best experience possible. They are looking for a software solution that increases productivity, lowers cost, and improves the bottom line. This is where software-as-a-service (SaaS) comes in. “Companies have woken up to the fact that people want outcomes, not ownership. They want customized experiences, and they want continuous improvement, not planned obsolescence. This isn’t a software story anymore. The table stakes have been raised for every industry.” – Tien Tzuo Founder and CEO, Zuora SaaS companies like Salesforce, HubSpot CRM, and Zendesk have paved the way businesses of all sizes to strategically use software for business processes. Software giants like Microsoft, Amazon and IBM now focus a larger portion of their effort on SaaS products and offerings. The combination has translated into a business environment run largely using SaaS products. Even with the growth of software-as-a-service, some companies and business leaders are left wondering what […]

You can’t develop software without also creating bugs or flaws that cause it to behave incorrectly or in ways not intended by the design. It is imperative to squash these bugs as quickly possible since multiple bugs in a released software application can negatively affect the business processes of your customers and create significant customer support problems. What are Bug Tracking Systems? Bug tracking systems are programs that keep track of the defects or errors, also known as ‘bugs,’ in software development projects. Bug tracking software allows you to track bugs from inception through resolution. They provide a way to report each bug as it occurs. You are able to log the date and time the bug was noticed, who reported it, who is working on it, what the observed defective behaviors are, and issue severity. They also allow you to track the steps taken to reproduce and resolve the bug along with the resolution outcomes. Advantages of Bug Tracking Systems The main point of bug tracking software is to have an overview of each bug’s life cycle, status, and resolution. Bugs can be entered into the system by internal members of the software development team and, sometimes, by end users. System […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Functional Testing Tools. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. Here are the winners in each segment, listed in order of research frequency on TrustRadius. We have also provided insights on how to pick the right functional testing software based on your needs and current industry trends. Overall Top Rated Selenium TestComplete Sauce Labs Top Rated by Enterprises Selenium TestComplete Sauce Labs Top Rated by Mid-Sized Companies Selenium HP UFT TestComplete Top Rated by Small Businesses BrowserStack What are functional testing tools? In agile and DevOps environments, automated testing is an integral part of the product development process where the software is tested automatically to make sure that it conforms to the requirements. Test processes run continuously and are fully integrated with development and delivery. Unit, functional and nonfunctional testing are run automatically and are orchestrated by continuous integration and delivery tools. Functional testing is one flavor of testing, but is perhaps the most costly and time-consuming step in continuous testing. Functional testing is often referred to as “black box testing” as this kind […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Rapid Application Development / Low Code Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. Here are the winners in each segment, listed in order of research frequency on TrustRadius. We have also provided insights on how to pick the right rapid application development software based on your needs and current industry trends. Overall Top Rated Appian OutSystems Nintex Workflow Platform Mendix Oracle Application Express KiSSFLOW Top Rated by Enterprises Quick Base Nintex Workflow Platform Oracle Application Express Mendix KiSSFLOW Top Rated by Mid-Sized Companies OutSystems Mendix Oracle Application Express KiSSFLOW Nintex Workflow Platform Top Rated by Small Businesses OutSystems Mendix What is low code software? Traditional code-centric software development is complex with long development cycles that inhibit development agility. Both low code and no code platforms are designed to solve this problem. Low code / no code application development framework options rely on graphical user interfaces (GUIs) allowing business users to design complex applications without having to learn complex computer languages. The ability for non-coders to build powerful applications without having to learn complex […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for NoSQL Databases. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. Here are the winners in each segment, listed in order of research frequency on TrustRadius. We have also provided insights on how to pick the right NoSQL database based on your needs and current industry trends. Overall Top Rated Cassandra Redis MongoDB Amazon DynamoDB Top Rated by Enterprises Cassandra Redis Amazon DynamoDB Couchbase Data Platform Top Rated by Mid-Sized Companies Cassandra Redis Couchbase Data Platform HBase Top Rated by Small Businesses Redis IBM Cloudant What are NoSQL databases? Traditional relational databases store data in highly structured tabular form, with multiple rows and columns. While these data stores are highly flexible, easy to maintain, and effective for data stored on a single server, they do not scale very well in a distributed system. Distributed systems using inexpensive storage and processing power are often used in environments where there is a need for high availability and speed. NoSQL databases are designed to be used across large distributed systems. They are notably much more scalable and much faster at handling […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Relational Databases. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. Here are the winners in each segment, listed in order of research frequency on TrustRadius. We have also provided insights on how to pick the right relational databases based on your needs and current industry trends. Overall Top Rated Microsoft SQL Server Oracle Database Oracle Database 12c DB2 Sequel Pro Top Rated by Enterprises Microsoft SQL Server Oracle Database Oracle Database 12c DB2 Top Rated by Mid-Sized Companies Microsoft SQL Server Amazon Relational Database Service Oracle Database 12c SQL Developer Top Rated by Small Businesses Microsoft SQL Server MySQL Sequel Pro What are relational databases? Many new database types have emerged in the last 10 years, including Hadoop, NewSQL, and NoSQL. But the primacy of the standard, relational database workhorse remains in place. Relational databases continue to be a critical component of data architectures. Relational databases differ from other database types in that the data is stored in a highly structured form that still forms the foundation for information infrastructure in most organizations. A relational […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Platform-as-a-Service Solutions. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. Here are the winners in each segment, listed in order of research frequency on TrustRadius. We have also provided insights on how to pick the right PaaS solution based on your needs and current industry trends. Overall Top Rated Microsoft Azure OpenShift Heroku Mendix Google App Engine AWS Elastic Beanstalk AWS Lambda Top Rated by Enterprises Microsoft Azure OpenShift Mendix AWS Elastic Beanstalk AWS Lambda Salesforce App Cloud Top Rated by Mid-Sized Companies Mendix Google App Engine Salesforce App Cloud AWS Elastic Beanstalk AWS Lambda Top Rated by Small Businesses Heroku OpenShift Mendix Google App Engine Oracle Cloud Platform What is Platform-as-a-Service? Platform-as a-Service (PaaS) is a category of cloud computing services that provide a computing platform and a solution stack as a service. It is a set of tools and services designed to make coding and deploying applications much more efficient. A PaaS platform can be a very good way to develop scalable web applications with modest up-front investment. The emergence of PaaS is […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for System Monitoring Software.  The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. Here are the winners in each segment, listed in order of research frequency on TrustRadius. We have also provided insights on how to pick the right system monitoring software based on your needs and current industry trends. Overall Top Rated ConnectWise Automate Nagios Ivanti Endpoint Manager Kaseya Virtual System Administrator (VSA) LogicMonitor Top Rated by Enterprises Nagios Ivanti Endpoint Manager Top Rated by Mid-Sized Companies Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager LogicMonitor Kaseya Virtual System Administrator (VSA) Top Rated by Small Businesses ConnectWise Automate Pingdom What is system monitoring software? System monitoring software provides tools that help you manage and monitor the performance of all your technology solutions in one place, which can include networks and applications or devices such as servers, computer systems, printers, storage, and even mobile devices. These systems generally support IT professionals in accessing and analyzing the health of all computing systems, whether they are on-site or remote. System monitoring software can send alerts if failures, slow downs, or other downtime […]

With the increased availability of intuitive development tools, online reference materials, and how-to videos, more people than ever are creating their own mobile apps. The result is that an individual or an organization with the right idea can find success on Apple and Google’s app stores. Even with all these advantages, however, the mobile application market is one of the most fiercely competitive marketplaces in modern business. Because of this, there are many factors that a developer should consider before writing even the first line of code. Market factors can change quickly in tech. Once-universal best practices can fall by the wayside in favor of new ones. Users can be can also be fickle. Failure to cater to their wants and needs can result in a product that could be dead on arrival. Therefore, your app’s success depends on much more than a clever name and a stylish pitch deck. As a member of the tech industry, I’ve seen firsthand how app creators conceptualize their ideas. They change and adjust them through iterative development, and pull all the elements of their app together for its launch. And while not every app hits its mark, I’ve noticed the products that succeed […]

What do vendors actually mean when they say their products are “AI-driven”, or “contain built-in machine learning capabilities?” (if they mean anything at all). Certainly, technology buyers have become pretty cynical about the use of these terms to sell a product. A recent Resulticks survey, reported in Adweek, found that: 47% of marketers consider AI to be overhyped 20% of marketers think vendors don’t know what they are talking about 40% of marketers surveyed say that the expression “artificial intelligence” makes them feel skeptical, and 12% feel exhausted   Let’s take a closer look at these technologies and what they can do. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the broadest and vaguest term in this domain. AI has been around since the 1950s and is really a superset of machine learning and deep learning. The essence of AI is developing computer systems that can perform tasks that are normally thought to require human intelligence. Hal, the artificially intelligent machine from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey is probably the first thing that springs to mind in the popular imagination when somebody brings up AI. While at a practical level we may be a long way from Hal, there have been significant advances […]

Containers exist because they solve an important problem: how to make sure that software runs correctly when it is moved from one computing environment to another. In an agile, DevOps world, this has become more critical than ever. Agile methodologies are based on frequent and incremental changes in the code versions, such that frequent testing and deployment are required. The DevOps engineer has to manage the IT infrastructure as per the requirement of supported software code that is dedicated in a hybrid multi-tenant environment. There is a need to have the required resources for provisioning and getting the appropriate deployment model and also validating and monitoring the performance. DevOps engineers frequently move software from a test environment to a production environment and to ensure that the required resources for provisioning and getting the appropriate deployment model are in place, and also validating and monitoring the performance. For example, a different version of a required software library may be running. Or maybe the target machine uses a different compiler or loader. Incompatibilities of this kind can cause headaches for DevOps engineers. The Initial Solution: Virtualization One well-known solution to this problem is virtualization. Virtualization has been around for decades and is […]

When you need to share data with people outside of your company or organization, a Virtual Data Room (VDR) can provide you with a secure, online environment. A VDR is a series of extranet to which outside users are given access. Customers or partners log in with a username and password that determines their identity and which portions of the extranet they can access. Frequently used by attorneys, accountants, M&A principals and other professionals, VDR’s create a space for all relevant parties to review sensitive documents while decreasing the need for physical in-person meetings (and the costs associated), as well as hard copies of documents. When you start exploring VDRs, you may think, why would I use a VDR when I could use a cloud-based storage system like Dropbox for free? While Dropbox may be great for sharing files that are too large to email, its security levels do not ensure complete privacy for documents uploaded. If you’re navigating an important merger or acquisition, for instance, and need to share highly-sensitive financial documents, it could be catastrophic if those documents were viewed by the wrong person. For this reason, some major companies like IBM have restricted employees from using Dropbox, […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for IT Service Management Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. IT Service Management (ITSM) is a process-based practice intended to align the delivery of information technology (IT) services with needs of the enterprise, emphasizing benefits to customers. The main focus is to deliver satisfactory service to the end user customer. ITSM involves a shift from managing IT as stacks of individual components to focusing on the delivery of end-to-end services using best practice process models. From a software product standpoint, ITSM tools focus on the specific area of what most users think of as service desk to streamline service delivery within the IT domain. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated ServiceNow ServiceNow is a single cloud-based platform designed to improve IT service levels by offering automated and trackable workflows for companies. IT teams can use the software to customize help desk features and track requests on the dashboard, and other departments can […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Data Center Backup Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. As data centers grow in complexity, data center backup software is increasingly crucial. Modern data backup solutions must be virtualization-aware, and have data protection that covers physical/virtual servers, databases, enterprise applications including SaaS products, mobile endpoints and public infrastructure platforms. Modern data center backup tools typically utilize the cloud, backing up encrypted data automatically, which is de-duped before being stored in a secure location. The following products are all broadly similar, if not identical. Beyond core backup and replication functionality, vendors sometimes create additional differentiation around factors like cost, usability, and quality of customer service and support. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Veeam Backup & Replication Veeam Backup & Replication Software is a data center backup solution providing recovery and protection of data for virtual, physical, and cloud workloads. Users praise the speed and simplicity of the backup creation process, and the […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Remote Desktop Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Remote Desktop Software, or Remote Administration Software, allows users, usually IT professionals providing maintenance, to gain access to a computer remotely when physical access is not possible. The typical scenario is when an IT technician takes control of a remote machine to troubleshoot problems, install patches or perform other maintenance tasks. Remote access tools are also sometimes used to provide remote access to a personal computer if, for example, someone is traveling and needs to retrieve a file. Although these tools are all broadly similar, there are feature and pricing differences and some products are free. More advanced or paid products tend to have enterprise-level features like secure access, user management, broad platform support, automatic connection, file transfer, VPN connection management, session record, etc. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated TeamViewer TeamViewer offers remote support and web conferencing capabilities. It offers an array […]

There is no denying that open source software has emerged as a powerful force in the development of modern enterprise technologies. Some of the hottest developments in software technology have emerged with strong links to the open source movement. A good example of this is the Internet of Things (IoT), one of the most talked about technology developments in recent years. Open source software plays a key role in its emergence: It is Linux-based, and open source networking standards make it possible for smart devices from different manufacturers to talk to each other. But although open source software is in the vanguard of many emerging technologies, it will not necessarily eclipse more traditional proprietary software. Get a group of techerati in the same room to discuss the relative merits of open source versus proprietary software, and you’re bound to elicit some strong opinions. However, regardless of where you stand in the open source vs. proprietary debate, you probably use tools every day that were developed with open source programs. Many in the tech industry argue that the collective action of open source development results in better programs and code—an argument which does carry some statistical weight. On the other hand, […]