Categories
Business

The Steps You Can Take To Boosting Business Productivity And Increasing Your Profits

For the success of your business, productivity and profitability go hand in hand. But what are the best ways to help boost your business to increase sales and revenue? We’ll be delving into the key areas to invest time and money in for your business to help it become more successful and ensure you can reach your goals. Take a look below to find out more.

The Importance Of Digital Marketing

With the rise in popularity of online business, more and more businesses are investing increasing time and money into their digital marketing efforts. If you want to be able to keep up with competitors, investing in this area of your business is vital.

It offers a cost-effective and efficient way to reach a global audience, enabling businesses to transcend geographical boundaries. Digital marketing provides measurable and trackable results, allowing companies to analyze and optimize their strategies in real-time. With the majority of consumers relying on online platforms for information and purchases, a strong digital presence is crucial for brand visibility and customer engagement. Social media, search engine optimization, and email campaigns facilitate direct communication with the target audience, fostering brand loyalty. Embracing digital marketing empowers businesses to adapt to market trends, stay competitive, and enhance overall growth.

Investing In Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is a strategic imperative for business growth in the contemporary marketplace. With consumers increasingly relying on online channels, a well-executed digital marketing strategy ensures visibility and relevance. Building a great website with features designed by tools such as Canva and Issuu helps to make your website look great and draw in more customers. Targeted advertising through platforms like Google Ads and social media allows businesses to reach specific demographics, optimizing return on investment. Analytics tools enable precise measurement of campaign performance, facilitating data-driven decisions for continuous improvement. Moreover, digital marketing fosters customer engagement, building brand loyalty through personalized interactions. In an era where online presence is synonymous with credibility, allocating resources to digital marketing is essential for sustained competitiveness and long-term success.

The Different Kinds Of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing encompasses diverse strategies, each tailored to engage specific audiences and achieve distinct objectives. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is foundational, optimizing web content to enhance visibility on search engines and attract organic traffic. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, on platforms like Google Ads, allows businesses to bid on keywords, paying only when users click on their ads.

Social Media Marketing leverages platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to connect with target audiences, build brand awareness, and drive engagement. Content Marketing focuses on creating and sharing valuable content to attract and retain audiences, positioning the brand as an authoritative resource.

Email Marketing remains a powerful tool for direct communication with existing or potential customers. It involves sending targeted messages, newsletters, or promotions to nurture leads and maintain customer relationships. Influencer Marketing leverages the credibility of influencers in a particular niche to endorse products or services, reaching their engaged followers. Influencer marketing is projected to reach $21.1 billion.

Affiliate Marketing involves partnering with affiliates who earn commissions for driving traffic or sales to the business. Video Marketing utilizes engaging videos on platforms like YouTube to convey messages and connect with audiences emotionally.

Additionally, Mobile Marketing targets users on smartphones and tablets through mobile apps, websites, or SMS. Remarketing involves showing ads to users who have previously interacted with a brand’s website or content, reinforcing brand awareness, and encouraging conversions.

Understanding and integrating these diverse digital marketing types into a comprehensive strategy allows businesses to navigate the dynamic online landscape effectively, maximizing their reach and impact in the digital realm.

TV And Radio Advertising

Radio and TV adverts remain potent tools for business promotion, offering a broad reach and high impact. Radio ads leverage the power of audio to create memorable brand messages, often reaching a diverse audience during various dayparts. They are cost-effective and suitable for local or national campaigns. TV adverts, with their visual appeal, convey a brand’s narrative with compelling storytelling and visuals. They captivate audiences, building brand recognition and trust. Both mediums provide an opportunity to tailor messages to specific demographics, making them versatile tools for businesses seeking to enhance their visibility and connect with a wide audience in a multimedia landscape.

Boosting Your Business’s Reputation

Boosting your business reputation is pivotal for revenue growth. A positive reputation fosters consumer trust, increasing customer loyalty and repeat business. Satisfied customers become brand advocates, attracting new clients through positive word-of-mouth and referrals. A strong reputation also bolsters online visibility, as positive reviews and testimonials enhance search engine rankings, attracting a broader audience. Additionally, a reputable business is more likely to secure partnerships and collaborations, expanding its market reach. Customers are increasingly scrutinizing a company’s reputation before making purchasing decisions, making it a critical factor in attracting and retaining customers, ultimately translating into improved revenue streams.

Increasing Word-Of-Mouth Sales

To boost word-of-mouth sales, prioritize exceptional customer experiences. Deliver outstanding products or services that exceed expectations, prompting satisfied customers to share their positive experiences with others. Encourage online reviews and testimonials, actively engaging with feedback to demonstrate responsiveness. Implement referral programs offering incentives to existing customers for recommending your business. Foster a strong brand identity and unique selling proposition that makes your business memorable and shareable. Cultivate a community around your brand through social media engagement, events, or loyalty programs. Prioritize transparency and authenticity, as customers are more likely to share emotionally resonating experiences. By consistently delivering value and creating memorable interactions, you can organically increase word-of-mouth sales and cultivate a loyal customer base.

Encouraging Customer Loyalty

Building customer loyalty is a cornerstone for increasing sales and revenue. Begin by providing exceptional customer service, ensuring every interaction is positive and memorable. Create loyalty programs offering exclusive perks, discounts, or rewards to incentivize repeat business. Personalize communication and offerings based on customer preferences, fostering a sense of individualized attention. Seek and act on customer feedback to demonstrate responsiveness and commitment to improvement. Consistently deliver high-quality products or services to build trust and satisfaction. Utilize targeted marketing campaigns to stay top-of-mind with customers, reinforcing your brand’s value. Encourage customer engagement through social media, creating a community around your brand. By prioritizing customer loyalty, businesses can cultivate a dedicated customer base that generates repeat sales and becomes a powerful advocate, contributing to positive word-of-mouth marketing and ultimately boosting overall sales and revenue.

Automating Processes

Automation is a transformative force that significantly enhances business productivity across various sectors. Automation reduces manual workload by streamlining repetitive tasks, such as data entry, invoicing, and customer support, allowing employees to focus on strategic, high-value activities. Workflow automation tools, like CRM systems or project management software, optimize task distribution and collaboration, fostering seamless operations. Automated marketing campaigns improve targeting and personalization, increasing the efficiency of customer outreach. In manufacturing, robotic automation accelerates production cycles, minimizing errors and enhancing precision. Additionally, automation enhances data analysis, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making. As businesses embrace automation, they boost efficiency and accuracy and create a foundation for scalability, adaptability, and sustained growth in an increasingly competitive and dynamic business environment.

In conclusion, implementing strategies to boost business productivity, such as automation, efficient customer relationship management, and streamlined processes, is paramount for achieving sustained revenue growth. By prioritizing exceptional customer experiences, fostering loyalty, and embracing innovative technologies, businesses can create a resilient foundation for success. Increased productivity not only optimizes internal operations but also enhances customer satisfaction, ultimately driving higher sales and revenue. As the business landscape evolves, a commitment to ongoing improvement and adaptability will be essential, ensuring that organizations remain competitive and well-positioned for continued success in an ever-changing market.

Categories
News

Tamoco joins the Google Cloud Partner Advantage Program and launches its Smart Visitation Data on Google Cloud Marketplace

  • Tamoco is one of the first geospatial companies to offer fully customizable visitation data on Google Cloud Marketplace
  • Google Cloud Marketplace enables joint customers of Tamoco and Google Cloud to explore, quickly access datasets and integrate them into their daily workflows.
  • Other Tamoco solutions include raw geospatial data and uplift analysis reporting
  • Tamoco is also joining the Google Cloud Partner Advantage Program.


Tamoco, a leader in geospatial powered intelligence, has announced the availability of its Smart Visitation Data on Google Cloud Marketplace. Google Cloud customers can now access powerful insights into venue visitation by accessing data in just a few clicks.

Tamoco’s Smart Visitation Data enables powerful insights into changing visitation trends, analysis into venue, brand, stock and category performance, and the ability to compare current visitation to historical trends.

This partnership will allow Google Cloud customers to easily integrate high-value geospatial visitation data in context within their analytics and workflows to more accurately connect the offline world to online studies of trends and patterns.

The availability of this dataset comes as a part of Tamoco joining the Google Cloud Partner Advantage program.

Sam Amrani, Founder & CEO, Tamoco:

“Offering Tamoco’s Smart Visitation Data on Google Cloud Marketplace is a huge step in our strategy of driving better accuracy and accessibility in the world of Geospatial. This partnership will facilitate even smarter use cases across multiple industries as Google Cloud customers look to innovate with Geospatial data.”

About Tamoco

Tamoco is an award-winning geospatial company that is making the power of location accessible for all. Its suite of location products solves problems across several industries such as marketing, advertising, real estate, and retail.

Its Smart Visitation Data leverages cutting-edge technology to verify visits in challenging-to-measure locations and uses ML to verify and filter incorrect data points for a more reliable and holistic view into consumer behaviour.

Categories
News

Tamoco’s Smart Visitation Data Now Immediately Available On Bloomberg Enterprise Access Point

Tamoco, the leader in geospatial powered intelligence, has today announced that its Smart Visitation Data is instantly accessible to Bloomberg Data License customers via the Bloomberg Enterprise Access Point. 

Customers will be able to access Tamoco’s verified and filtered visitation data as part of Bloomberg’s Alternative Data catalog, providing a complete view into footfall and visits from a pool of over 200m devices.

This dataset covers over 5,068 brands across 402 categories in the US, dating back to January 2019, enabling powerful filtering criteria for unique insights into venue visitation.

Tamoco’s Smart Visitation Data enables powerful insights into changing visitation trends, analysis into brand and stock performance, and the ability to compare current visitation to historical trends. 

Leveraging these datasets through the Bloomberg Enterprise Access Point allows Bloomberg Data License clients to easily integrate high-value geospatial visitation data in context within their analytics and workflows,  to more accurately connect the offline world to online studies of trends and patterns.

To make the data easy to use, Tamoco’s Smart Visitation Data incorporates the Global Legal Entity Identifier System and associates brands to their corresponding Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)  allowing organizations to link Tamoco’s Points of Interests to  corporate identities.

“We’ve been very impressed with what initial uses of this dataset have been able to achieve. We’re confident that making it available through the Bloomberg Enterprise Access Point will facilitate even smarter use cases across multiple industries as the word aims to recover from the impact to businesses over the past few years.”

 

About Bloomberg Enterprise Access Point

Bloomberg’s Enterprise Access Point is a web-based data marketplace for clients to easily discover and act on Bloomberg data products. It can be used to browse datasets, examine metadata, download and test sample datasets prior to acquisition, and immediately put them to use within an organization. It provides access to Bloomberg’s OneData offering including standardized reference, regulatory, pricing, and quantitative data.

 

About Tamoco’s Smart Visitation Data

Tamoco is an award-winning geospatial company that is making the power of location accessible for all. Its suite of location products solves problems across several industries such as marketing, advertising, real estate, and retail. 

Its Smart Visitation Data leverages cutting-edge technology to verify visits in challenging to measure locations and uses ML to verify and filter incorrect data points for a more reliable and holistic view into consumer behavior.

For more information, visit www.tamoco.com. Follow us on Twitter @tamocotech and follow us on LinkedIn.

Categories
Business

5 Great Ways to Use and Share Geospatial Data on Social Media

5 Great Ways to Use and Share Geospatial Data on Social Media

 

Most of the geospatial data use cases require showing data on a map. Whether you’re in business or not, chances are you’ve used geospatial data. Most of us who are always on our phones use this data on a daily basis. So, what does geospatial data entail?

In its most basic form, geospatial data is information that has a geographic aspect to it. If you’ve ever planned a road trip, searched for the closest hotel or pizza shop online, or even synced your location with your Facebook or Instagram posts, you’ve worked geospatial data.

Geospatial data, also known as geodata or spatial data, describe something with location data on it—address, city, ZIP code, latitude, etc. Whether it’s natural or man-made, if it can be drawn on a map, it’s geospatial.Geospatial data has many use cases. In this post, we’ll look into how you can use and share geospatial data on social media. 

Let’s dive in!

1. Exploring Undisclosed Spaces

Geospatial data helps us explore and understand the world, and it can help us discover uncharted territories. Caves and underground spaces, for example, can be difficult to spot and explore.

With geospatial data, you can create a photographic interpretation or a digital model of a location or space that has never been explored before. You can then use a collage maker to create a collage of breathtaking images based on geospatial data and share them on social media.

Hikers, explorers, mountain climbers, and archeologists use geospatial data to better understand hidden spaces on the earth’s surface.

2. Mapping

Mapping lays the foundation for using geospatial data.

Geospatial data is most commonly used in visualizing the area the data describes. Whether the data is about transportation routes, building footprints, or any other point of interest, a precisely-drawn map based on accurate location data can have a lot of uses in today’s world.

In the business world, geospatial mapping helps businesses achieve accurate location data to facilitate marketing and growth. 

The maps can show segments, such as the following.

  • Demographics of customers or prospects
  • The proximity of the proposed business to public utilities
  • Social economic backgrounds of the prospects (income, occupation, etc.)

Individuals can also use geospatial mapping to better understand a location. For example, travelers can use this data to know their way around a particular area.

3. Consumer Insights

Geospatial data can prove extremely helpful in providing you with consumer insights. These insights can give you an edge over the competition.

For example, you can look up the shops customers visit before or after they visit yours. To illustrate, suppose you run a spa-like business. You may notice that a lot of your customers go to the gym or yoga studios after leaving your business.

This might tell they’re either coming to cool down or fuel up after a workout. You can use this knowledge to cross-sell some of your offerings.

4. Urban Planning

Geospatial data is used in urban planning by allowing modeling and spatial analysis of urban environments. Getting all the required data for land maps, site selection, and planning applications can be challenging, and the data collection and quality are improved by advances in geospatial technology.

Using a moving vehicle, it’s easier to collect massive data sets about city blocks or large areas quickly and efficiently. This data can be used for urban growth, particularly in determining the right direction of expansion. When applied appropriately, geospatial data can help discover new sites for further development.

5. Logistics and Supply Chain

Logistics is a crucial component of supply chain management.

It encompasses many supply chain processes, including purchasing and delivering raw materials, packaging, warehousing, and shipping of products.

Effective transportation of products (finished goods) from one point to another is key to business success. And this is where geospatial data comes in. Organizations use effective geospatial mapping to optimize routes. Through this, businesses can accelerate delivery time, increasing customer satisfaction.

Moreover, geospatial data also provides visuals to be used by businesses to track their progress in defined geographical locations.

6. Analyzing Competition

A viable marketing strategy should provide insights into what the competition is doing.

In other words, you’ll need to conduct a competitor analysis. This may involve knowing who your competitors are, what they offer, how their products are priced, and what they’re planning to do. But how do you acquire this data? Geodata can help!

Geospatial data provides competitive intelligence to your business. It lets you see and know your geographical influence compared to your competitors.

Through this data, you can determine whether consumers are finding your business more accessible than others businesses around you.

Wrapping Up

Geospatial data is any data that has a geographic aspect to it. This data may be complex but has many uses, particularly for business owners. It can be used to explore undisclosed spaces, improve logistics and supply chain processes, provide competitive intelligence, and enhance urban planning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Retail

Leveraging Local Intelligence In The Retail Industry

In this modern era of technological advancements, it would be wrong to say that the retail market isn’t seeing similar growth. The number of online customers is evolving swiftly, and demands for more personalization are emerging. Retail industries are becoming more powerful as they are integrating with the latest artificial intelligence tools.

In 2019, the global market size of location intelligence was valued at USD 10.6 billion, and it is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 15.2% over the forecast period. Moreover, according to GSMA, the total number of IoT connections accounted for 9.1 billion in 2018 and is estimated to reach over 25.2 billion in the same period. 

Location intelligence is becoming more crucial for retailers with every passing day in providing measurable offline results, scalable audience insights, and better audience targeting. 

Here are the five ways how location intelligence proves to be revolutionizing retail industries. 

Customer Insights

If retail leaders start utilizing location intelligence, this can prove beneficial for them by provoking valuable customer insights. Technology can be used for this purpose called geo-enrichment. This technology efficiently converts customer’s residential addresses into useful insights. This way, retailers can utilize modern geographic information systems to generate smart maps and identify customer’s popular locations accurately and effectively. Retailers can accumulate information about numerous customer demographics and their behaviors. This helps business leaders to develop a better understanding of customer localities that are loyal. Business owners can optimize staff performance and have a better customer behavior experience by incorporating location intelligence in retail industries. 

Indoor mapping of retail shops is another thing that can immensely help with customer insights. Using this technology, retail stores can learn buying patterns of customers and then use this data to push different kinds of products and promotions.

Trade Area Analysis

Trade area analysis is essential for retailers to select suitable locations of a new store, define sales targets, and study competitor strength. Retailers can choose appropriate stores where they can easily access their target audience with trade area analysis. Location intelligence helps business owners have real-world insights about different customer demographics and behaviors around prospective retail sites. 

Also, business leaders can better understand which other locations their customers will consider for shopping. Thanks to location intelligence, retailers can collect data to measure customer trends and whether the customer demographic is growing or shrinking in a particular area. Location intelligence can offer data-driven approaches for trade area analysis in retails. 

Asset Tracking 

Retail businesses require a wide range of products to meet the ever-changing demands of customers. Late product delivery set’s a wrong impression on customers. This immensely affects customer delivery and staff productivity. Retailers can continuously track the location of their delivery staff and for the management of supply chains. Thankfully, location intelligence can also immensely usher identity verification of retail store staff members during asset tracking. 

Retailers can develop custom location applications that can be easily installed on mobile devices of their delivery staff. Location intelligence helps with asset tracking and can prove to be beneficial for business retailers. Business owners can track the precise location of a delivery executive in real-time and calculate accurate ETA. This way, retailers can track the location of all delivery executives on a centralized system.

Virtual Geo-Fences

Retails can set up virtual geo-fence for marketing. Business owners have the liability to define a certain radius around their store based on their store size. By utilizing this, retailers can push notifications regarding ongoing product discounts, deals, and offers when customers get in and out of geo-fence. Retailers can alert their customers by using this approach about products and discounts when they are in proximity to the store. Moreover, retailers can utilize innovative machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to improve sales and product suggestions. 

Let us consider an example. Suppose a customer wants to purchase coffee. There’s a high possibility that the same customer wants sugar and milk. Location intelligence is utilized for enhanced product suggestions and allows retailers to prepare themselves for ever-changing customer preferences. 

Competitive Strength Analysis 

Analysis of the competitor market is mandatory for retailers and business owners before selecting a new retail site. Location intelligence proves to be a game-changer in this scenario. Location intelligence assists business owners in measuring competitor’s market share and perforation in a particular geographical location. Also, this helps retailers to understand customer’s loyalty to themselves and their competitors. If their customers tend to visit other stores, the retailers can utilize this opportunity in the best possible way and capture less loyal customers of their competitors. A retailer can use Data-driven approaches with the help of location intelligence. 

Invest Today For Long Term Business Protection

Location intelligence has great potential to protect your business against criminal acts and fraudulent activities in the long term. Today, everything is prone to digitization due to the rapid evolution of technologies. The utilization of data and insights from experts for efficient and accurate business decisions is becoming a new normal, proving to be revolutionizing the world. 

In this current competitive environment, if you want to enhance your business’s security, it’s high time to invest in location intelligence technology. The utilization of local-based data helps the identification of those areas where you are overspending and underspending. Moreover, it helps develop a better understanding of your business operations and identity area of enhancements and how your retail store operates. It is much more straightforward to prove your compliance to stakeholders and customers with precise and versatile map data. Just start investing today for the long-term protection of your businesses. 

Categories
Data

How Top Businesses are Using Geospatial Data in 2021

Uber, Google, Wendy’s, CDM Smith Inc, and Amazon – you couldn’t get a much more diverse set of organizations. A search engine, a fast-food chain, to an online retail store – these businesses might be diverse in terms of their operations, but they’re all linked by certain business practices. 

That is, these top business players all utilize geospatial data to optimize their operations for a healthier bottom line. In this article, you’ll discover what geospatial data is and how it’s used by these top 5 businesses to gain a competitive edge.

Ready?

Let’s jump straight to it.

 

What is geospatial data?

Geospatial data is also known as place-based or location-based data, such as longitudes, latitudes, stress addresses, and postal codes. Geospatial data analysis collects, displays, and manipulates GIS – Geographic Information System – data like imagery, satellite photographs, and historical data. The aim is to collect, store, retrieve, and display vast amounts of information in a spatial context.

For instance, can you imagine life without GPS?

In this vein, you’ll likely remember buying a paper map to plan your routes from one place to another. This system was slower, hard work, and vulnerable to human error. Today, geospatial data has been a game-changer when it comes to providing location/place-based information. Whether it’s MapQuest, Pokémon Go, Google Maps, or the in-dash car navigation system, everyday citizens use geospatial data more than they know. 

 

How do top businesses use geospatial data?

Just as we rely on geospatial information every day, leaders worldwide use geospatial data to guide them towards making the right decisions at the right time. With that said, let’s take a closer look at how Uber and other top businesses are using geospatial data to optimize their strategic decisions for efficient operations and sustained business growth.

 

Uber 

In 2019, Uber brought in $14.1 billion in revenue, showing exponential growth from 2013 (where revenue equals $0.1 billion). Founded in 2009 by Garrett Camp, the organization has since grown into a disruptive tycoon that’s ripped up the cab industry by storm. 

Central to its success comes geospatial technology. 

With the Uber app, the user can request a cab. This user’s location is then taken and matched with the closest driver. The driver accepts this match and is guided by applying it to the user’s location to transport the user to their chosen destination. This entire process draws from the application’s geospatial data. 

This isn’t the only way Uber uses geospatial data — there are countless others. For instance, the application identifies areas with the highest need for drivers and advises active drivers to be near those hotspots during high demand times. 

Without geospatial data, Uber would not be the business disruptor it is today.

 

Google 

Google is the goliath of the business world. In the third quarter of 2020, Google’s revenue amounted to $46.03 billion, up from $38 billion in the preceding quarter. Taking a good chunk out of this revenue comes from Google’s map application, which brings $4.3 billion a year.

Google maps has 154.4 million monthly unique users. And behind every map, there’s a much more complex system, the key to your queries but hidden from your view.

This more in-depth system contains the logic of places, all the left and right turns, freeway on-ramps, speed limits, traffic conditions, you name it. And to produce such a system, Google uses geospatial data provided by a third party to deliver digital maps and other dynamic content for navigation and location-based services.

 

Wendy’s

Square hamburgers, sea salt fries, and the addictive Frosty, this fast-food giant brought home $1.687 billion in revenue in 2020. 

What’s the secret to Wendy’s success?

I say geospatial data

Wendy’s carefully researches locations, leveraging mapping software and census data (population information). The fast-food chain searches for sites with a high population and potential customers and looks at household demographics, average income, and nearby businesses. 

But this analysis doesn’t stop when the right site has been found. Wendy’s continues to examine this geospatial data after construction at the given location. Before construction, prior construction results can then be compared to continuously tweak and improve their GIS analytics model and processes.

 

CDM Smith Inc

CDM Smith Inc is a global engineering and construction firm providing solutions in water, environment, transportation, energy, and other facilities. In 2015 the organization’s revenues totaled over $500 million, and one of the reasons for the success has been the organization’s use of geospatial data. 

That is, for CDM Smith Inc, geospatial data provides design and engineering capabilities to create plans, layouts, and maps. GIS applications for design and engineering make use of both imaging and planning functions. Such functions mean geospatial data is commonly used in industries such as landscape engineering, environmental restoration, commercial and residential construction, and development. CDM uses geospatial data for environmental engineering and remediation projects. 

 

Amazon

In 2019, the online retail platform, Amazon, reported a net income of $11.59 billion, up from a $10 billion U.S. net income in the previous year. To stay ahead of the curve, Amazon is always coming up with new and innovative ways of doing business. And one example is Amazon’s Prime Air drone project, expected to officially launch on August 31st, 2020.

By integrating GIS with Artificial Intelligence, it’s possible to fly drones over much larger distances than other previous attempts. Amazon has jumped on this bandwagon, delivering packages by drones. The aim is to deliver packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using unmanned aerial vehicles – drones – operational thanks to geospatial data.

 

Gain a competitive edge by using geospatial data

As technology advances, geospatial data is becoming more complex, with widening business potential. At the end of this article, we saw how Amazon is combining GIS software with Artificial Intelligence (drones) to expand the use of both. Does this represent the future of things to come regarding geospatial data?

Geospatial data analysis has the potential to: 

  • Match consumer demographic data with spatial information about the places they live 
  • Validate existing GIS data sets 
  • Monitor and report weather 
  • Survey habitats 
  • Model landscapes 
  • Assess disaster damage 

While these are just a few examples, by combining geospatial data with AI, the possibilities of its use are expanding. To grasp a competitive edge, and be a top player in the business arena, dig deep and see how you can leverage geospatial data technology for your business operations.

Categories
Business

How to Keep Track of All Your Business Expenses

When you run a business, whether large or small, one of the most important aspects of your success is the way you handle your finances. As a business, you’ll have expenses—there’s simply no way around it. However, the way that you manage them can have an impact on your profit. 

From paying your taxes to managing your payroll and keeping track of your travel expenses, there are a number of reasons why expense administration is paramount to the smooth running of your company.

Stay organized

While your individual home expenses may consist of tracking expenses through keeping all of your receipts, this won’t fly when it comes to your business expenses. Not only is it terribly hard to keep track of numerous receipts, but it can also be a nightmare to go through all of them when it’s time for tax season or staying aware of how much your business is spending. This is why automating how you track your expenses and using an online bill pay service is a game-changer. 

Use apps for tracking expenses

Along the same lines as the above-mentioned tip, using a receipt scanner and software helps you have all your business expenses in one place. Platforms like Spendesk even offer virtual employee debit cards to help keep track of your teams’ business expenses.  You can easily keep track of your money and where it’s going, which can go far in how you run your company and save for emergencies. From categorizing expenses to keeping track of the little things, being organized with your finances is key to the success of your business. Apps are a great way to achieve this. Learn more about your business’s debits and credits here.

Consider hiring a professional

If you simply don’t have time to take care of your business finances because you’re busy managing teams and networking with clients, hiring a professional can go far in helping you control business expenses. While it does mean making an investment, the benefits found in hiring someone to handle your finances can make a world of difference for you. Through their expertise, they can make sure the company is saving, only spending what’s necessary, and profiting as you should be. Hiring a professional accountant or best accounting firms investing in cloud-based bookkeeping software will provide you with an in-depth analysis of your expenses.

Have a business credit card

Most large businesses that have been around for a while already have a dedicated account for their expenses. If you’re a small business just starting out, chances are you’re still using your personal credit card. Maybe it’s been easier that way. However, this can become confusing and even detrimental to the success of your company as it grows because you’ll have all of your money and expenses lumped in one place. There are apps and websites that not only make it easy to open a business account, but to manage it all from one place. This way, keeping track of your business expenses is streamlined and you’ll know where your company money is and what you’re spending it on. 

Review expenses and accounting every so often

Whatever option you choose, it’s a good idea to go back to it and reevaluate how things are going. In some instances, what works for one company may not be the best for yours due to different kinds of products or services and ways of operating. With your financial health being one of the most important aspects of your business, it’s important to get it right. Even if you have hired a professional, it’s still a good idea to check in and make sure they’re helping you get your money’s worth.Learn more about efficient project accounting tactics and how it impacts your business.

The Bottom Line

Your financial health as a small business is important. Haphazardly keeping track of your expenses simply won’t cut it in this day and age. Fortunately, with the help of today’s technology and financial professionals in your area, you can easily track your expenses and make sure your small business is making a profit. 

How to Keep Track of All Your Business Expenses

Categories
Business

3 Tips to Finding the Best Candidates When Hiring

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and, when it comes to growing a successful business, you can’t afford to have a link that’s anything less than strong. The first step to building an unstoppable team for your company is to hire the right candidates from the get-go.  That’s why you need a Core HR solution.

With these three tips, you’ll be well on your way to a chain that’s truly unbreakable. 

#1 Get Creative with Recruiting

Don’t let your recruiting efforts fizzle on your website. While a posting on your careers page is a must, make sure you’re also expanding your recruitment horizons by placing job listings on online platforms like:

  • LinkedIn – LinkedIn connects millions of enthusiastic professionals, industry veterans, and recent grads in an easy-to-search digital networking space. Take advantage of its premium features and messaging capabilities to reach out directly to the professionals that catch your eye (like in dating, sometimes you have to make the first move) you can use a LinkedIn scraper to obtain their email addresses. 
  • Social media – Platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and more are practically overflowing with young professionals showing off their talents, skills, and passions. For candidates that break the mold, reach out to smaller influencers, and see who bites. And who knows? They might be a great catch.  

#2 Cast a Wide Net

A person is far more than their college GPA and branded resume. Sometimes, a piece of paper doesn’t do a candidate justice. While straight-arrow, by-the-book candidates are highly valuable, try to diversify your team by sprinkling in some creative thinkers with unorthodox backgrounds. 

Consider out-of-the-box candidates like:

  • Older professionals with deep-rooted IT skills in another field—their years of experience in collaboration and unique know-how can do wonders for your team.  
  • People with non-traditional educational paths. Maybe they went to trade school and are brilliant welders with a penchant for writing. Perhaps they’re high school grads who taught themselves how to code. Whatever it may be, a lack of a standard college education doesn’t have to be a flaw—it can be what sets them apart. Here is an article by Lensa which talks about high paying jobs that do not necessarily need a qualification or a college degree. 

However, make sure you’re supplementing your interviews and resume checks with some good ol’ vetting. No matter how shiny your new hire’s CV or how strapping their suit, you can never go wrong with a background check and a quick look at their tradeline. Or take some inspiration and use pre-employment assessments during the hiring process.

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#3 Know How to Sell Yourself

If you want to hire the best talent in your industry, or you are looking at hiring inside sales representation you’ll need to foster a company culture that shines brighter than the rest, especially if you’re a smaller business. If you don’t have the capital to offer the pay and benefits that larger companies can, you must know how to sell yourself to highly coveted candidates, just like you would to potential investors. It’s also a great idea to have an employee onboarding process and employee onboarding software to start off as you mean to go on.

While some professionals may turn away from a growing company, you just need to focus on the ones that are attracted to your immense potential. To make them see the light, you must offer:

Don’t Settle for Anything Less Than Excellent

Hiring talent is a two-way street. If you want to hire impressive candidates, you’ll need to impress them too. No matter what, building your A-Team takes time. Be patient, don’t settle, and you’ll get there eventually. Happy hiring. 

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Business

How Learning Institutions Make Use of Geospatial Data

Geospatial data statistically represents items and occurrences in a specific geographical location. The occurrences can either be induced by man or natural. The geographical information can cover maps, the interconnection of locations, and more. Collected data is instrumental in various ways, including facilitating pinpoint predictions and guiding insightful decision-making. Studying geospatial data for a prolonged duration makes one understand why things happen where and when. However, the question has always been how an educational institution benefits from this data type. Here are some common ways schools utilize geospatial data.

Tools like Google Maps operate under geospatial analysis, and they help individuals find the fastest route to their destination. Such tools help students stay punctual in school, especially the new ones who are yet to learn more about the school. These applications blend in the virtual and real world, making them interactive and easy to operate. They also create easy and safe routes that students can use to school.

Furthermore, they can be used to trace hard-to-find students. The geographical information system uses a data system that operates after data entry and analysis. Some geospatial apps even monitor one’s routine, making it easy for students to stay organized and keep time. Remember, time management is a serious issue among students, and improperly managing time is one reason students get overwhelmed with assignments and ask, “Should I pay someone to do my essay uk?”

Marking Remote Learning Attendance

Institutions are embracing remote learning, and there is a need to streamline this learning mode to match up to the seriousness of attending a physical class. Therefore, institutions utilize the GIS to ensure students attend lessons offered online. Through GIS, lecturers can locate all students. The system gives an accurate location of every student during class time so that the student does not lie about their whereabouts. Monitoring students’ attendance using this system improves their performance since they will not be missing out on important lessons.

Monitoring Professionals

Educational institutions also use GIS to locate their professionals offering various services. Both students and the administration can use the geospatial system to locate professional services around the school. Colleges are big, with many offices available; therefore, the geospatial system minimizes the need to physically locate a lecturer or any other employees around the school since one can use their phone or tablet to find an individual and their specific location. The administration can also use it to track whether professionals in the institution report to work and areas where service is needed by teachers or other employees within the school.

Learning Tool

The geographical information system plays a significant role in developing learning processes. It is particularly essential for those taking geography since the GIS can navigate the environment and present comprehensive details we cannot see. It is also instrumental in helping students locate some of the major landmarks taught in class. Also, the system allows teachers to choose the best field trip locations without physical inquiries.

Some lessons may require a teacher to guide students on different location-based events. For example, when giving a lesson on “myths about legends from Egypt,” the teacher can prepare for the lesson without necessarily making a trip to Egypt. The geographical information system also applies to other subjects like mathematics and physics. For example, an instructor can use the system when providing lessons on the square area of a particular place in or out of school.

Rating College Safety

The safety of students and staff within the confines of the institution is vital. It is possible to monitor the security of a place manually; however, with the GIS, it is much easier and accurate. It makes monitoring various security patterns in the school compound and noting any suspicious activities possible. The GIS plays a primary role in monitoring and giving an alert of any natural disasters that are likely to occur within the school compound. A geospatial system makes it possible to monitor the population in an institution, which is also among the ways schools can improve their safety since any strange movement can be noticed and dealt with early.

Promoting Project-Based Learning

Most learning institutions use geospatial data to promote project-based learning. The geographical information system allows students to frame, identify, and solve problems. It improves an individual’s problem-solving skills in matters involving natural hazards, energy, and other issues we experience within our location. Project-based learning means active participation, which is a way to keep students more involved in class projects and real-world issues. Students engaged in project-based learning become great scientists and decision-makers in the various careers they will pursue.

Community Connection

Schools use GIS to help students connect deeper with their surroundings. Through the GIS, students and their instructors can engage in local discussions and develop solutions to issues experienced in their area. They can also take part in local planning. For example, if most students use bikes to get to school, they can suggest the development of a new bike trail. GIS also helps students collect local data, meaning they cannot run short of data during exams or research projects.

Monitoring Infrastructure Development

Going around physically to monitor infrastructure development can be quite tasking. However, with the geographical information system, college administrations can monitor the development around the school by following up on the new and existing buildings that may need repair. They also follow up on the usage of this infrastructure.

Final Take

We cannot overstate the use of GIS in school settings, seeing as it has made some activities in educational institutions less tasking. Most institutions embrace the technology since it extends even to remote learning. Features such as Google Earth present an augmented reality that can be used for demonstrations for remote and physical learners.

The geospatial analysis technology is represented in applications such as Google Maps, Google Earth, Mergin Maps, and much more. These applications help the administration and students create the best routes around school, monitor infrastructure and professional services, promote project-based learning, and more. Geospatial technology has experienced robust growth across various industries, and its impact has also been felt in the educational sector.

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Business

Secure Coding Practices in Game Development for Protecting User Data

Game developers are increasingly facing the challenge of securing game-user data. Even though most game developers focus on creating a fun environment for their users to enjoy, they should not forget about security concerns. In this article, we will discuss how to secure coding practices in game development to protect user data and information from external threats.

Importance of Secure Coding in Game Development

The importance of secure coding in game development cannot be overstated. It is a top priority for all parties involved: the developers themselves, their users, the gaming industry as a whole and even members of the gaming community at large.

Security is essential for protecting user data from hackers and malicious actors who may want to access or steal it. If you have any doubt about this point, just look at recent events such as data breaches affecting major companies like Uber and Equifax (which was actually two separate incidents). These breaches resulted in millions of people having their personal information compromised and they were just the latest high-profile examples!

Data Security in Game Development

Data security is important for all businesses, but it’s especially crucial in game development. Data leaks can be damaging to your reputation and brand. They can also be embarrassing if they reveal sensitive information about your company or employees. And if you’re dealing with sensitive user data, the cost of a data breach could be enormous not just financially but also legally (think GDPR). This is why any reputable AAA game art studio turns to experts in the field to ensure their data is secure at the highest level.

Data security breaches have happened at some of the biggest companies in tech: Facebook lost control over user information when Cambridge Analytica used its platform to harvest data from millions of people; Google was fined $6 billion by the European Union after allegations that it manipulated search results; Uber concealed a cyberattack affecting 57 million users that occurred in 2016; Equifax announced a massive breach impacting 145 million Americans’ personal details including credit card numbers and social security numbers; Marriott revealed plans to launch an investigation into how its Starwood Hotels division had been hacked earlier this year resulting in 500 million guests being affected by the breach…the list goes on!

Authentication and Authorization

Authentication and authorization are two methods used in game development to ensure that only authorized users can access a system or resource. Authentication is the process of proving who you are, while authorization determines what actions you may perform based on your identity. Authentication methods include things like passwords and biometrics (like fingerprints), while authorization methods include access control lists (ACLs) and role-based access control (RBAC). Both authentication and authorization should be included when developing secure software systems.

A secure authentication method uses unique identifiers that cannot be replicated by an attacker to verify someone’s identity. For example: if an attacker steals your username/email address combination from one website then tries it on another site where they don’t have an account yet, they won’t be able to log into either site because those credentials aren’t valid anymore since they’ve already been used somewhere else before! This concept applies for any type of credential: if someone steals my password then tries using it elsewhere without my knowledge or consent then bad things happen because now I’m locked out from all my other accounts too!

Input Validation and Sanitization

Input validation is the process of validating user input before accepting it. Input sanitization is the process of sanitizing user input after accepting it. Both are important because they prevent malicious users from exploiting vulnerabilities in your app.

Input validation ensures that only appropriate data is entered into an application, while input sanitization cleans up potentially dangerous data such as HTML tags or SQL injection attacks before they reach your database layer or any other sensitive parts of your software stack.

Data Encryption

Encryption is a process of encoding data so that only authorized parties can read it. Encryption is required to protect user data, as well as communications between game servers and clients. Encryption also protects against hackers and cheaters who try to steal your game’s secrets by intercepting network traffic or modifying the code on their own computers.

Secure Communication Protocols

HTTPS and TLS

HTTPS is a secure protocol that ensures that all data sent between your server and client is encrypted, so it can’t be intercepted or tampered with by third parties. TLS is a standard for encrypting data sent over the internet, which includes HTTPS.

Encryption

Encryption protects data from being read by unauthorized parties through the use of cryptographic algorithms and keys. It’s important to note that even if you’re using HTTPS/TLS, if you don’t encrypt your sensitive information before sending it across an open connection (like the internet), then anyone else who has access to that connection could potentially see what they’re sending even if they don’t know how exactly how the encryption works!

Secure Keys

When using encryption, there needs to be some sort of key generated so both sides know how much data they should keep secret versus making publically available (for example: credit card numbers). This key must remain secret at all times; otherwise hackers will be able to break into any system where this key exists without knowing anything else about how those systems work!

Patch Management and Updates

If you’re developing a game, one of the most important things is to keep it secure. In order for this to happen, you need to ensure that your users’ data is protected and not compromised. One effective method of achieving this is through patch management: applying updates from developers, such as kevurugames.com, as soon as they become available. However, there are other ways in which you can protect your users’ information from being leaked or stolen by hackers and cybercriminals.

User Education and Awareness

You should also consider training users on security issues. Security awareness training is a great way to help people understand the importance of protecting their data, how to do so, and what types of threats might exist.

Training can be set up in many ways you could send out emails about new policies or changes in the system; you could create posters that go up around your office; you could even hold live presentations for groups of employees at once (or even better: individualized sessions).

You’ll want to measure how effective your training has been over time by asking questions like: Are there any gaps in knowledge? Do people feel more confident about protecting themselves against threats? Do they know where they should go if they see something suspicious happening on our platform?

There are many ways to secure your data while coding, but these are a few that help prevent accidental leaks of user data.

Authentication and Authorization

This is the process of ensuring that only authorized users can access restricted resources on your system. You can also use it to verify if an account has been compromised by an attacker or infected with malware. Authentication is done through passwords, biometrics and tokens while authorization uses access control lists (ACLs) which specify what actions a user can perform on different objects in the system.

Input Validation/Sanitization

Validating input means checking for format errors before processing it further into the program’s logic. Sanitizing means removing malicious characters from input fields so as not expose them directly into memory where hackers could exploit them later on during execution time when running code inside their own programs which could potentially allow them full control over any computer systems connected through network connections such as Wi-Fi signals etc.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that secure coding is important for game developers. It’s your responsibility as a developer to ensure that the user data you collect and store is safe from malicious attacks. This means using strong passwords, encrypting data when possible, limiting access to sensitive information on your servers through authentication/authorization protocols and more.