{"global":{"lastError":{},"locale":"en","locales":{"data":[{"id":"de","name":"Deutsch"},{"id":"en","name":"English"}],"loading":false,"error":false},"currency":{"id":49,"name":"EUR"},"currencies":{"data":[{"id":49,"name":"EUR"},{"id":124,"name":"RUB"},{"id":153,"name":"UAH"},{"id":155,"name":"USD"}],"loading":false,"error":false},"translations":{"company":{"role-vendor":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Vendor","ru":"Производитель"},"role-supplier":{"ru":"Поставщик","_type":"localeString","en":"Supplier"},"products-popover":{"en":"Products","de":"die produkte","ru":"Продукты","_type":"localeString"},"introduction-popover":{"en":"introduction","ru":"внедрения","_type":"localeString"},"partners-popover":{"ru":"партнеры","_type":"localeString","en":"partners"},"update-profile-button":{"en":"Update profile","ru":"Обновить профиль","_type":"localeString"},"read-more-button":{"en":"Show more","ru":"Показать ещё","_type":"localeString"},"hide-button":{"ru":"Скрыть","_type":"localeString","en":"Hide"},"user-implementations":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Deployments","ru":"Внедрения"},"categories":{"en":"Categories","ru":"Компетенции","_type":"localeString"},"description":{"ru":"Описание","_type":"localeString","en":"Description"},"role-user":{"en":"User","ru":"Пользователь","_type":"localeString"},"partnership-vendors":{"ru":"Партнерство с производителями","_type":"localeString","en":"Partnership with vendors"},"partnership-suppliers":{"en":"Partnership with suppliers","ru":"Партнерство с поставщиками","_type":"localeString"},"reference-bonus":{"ru":"Бонус за референс","_type":"localeString","en":"Bonus 4 reference"},"partner-status":{"ru":"Статус партнёра","_type":"localeString","en":"Partner status"},"country":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Country","ru":"Страна"},"partner-types":{"en":"Partner types","ru":"Типы партнеров","_type":"localeString"},"branch-popover":{"ru":"область деятельности","_type":"localeString","en":"branch"},"employees-popover":{"_type":"localeString","en":"number of employees","ru":"количество сотрудников"},"partnership-programme":{"ru":"Партнерская программа","_type":"localeString","en":"Partnership program"},"partner-discounts":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Partner discounts","ru":"Партнерские скидки"},"registered-discounts":{"en":"Additional benefits for registering a deal","ru":"Дополнительные преимущества за регистрацию сделки","_type":"localeString"},"additional-advantages":{"ru":"Дополнительные преимущества","_type":"localeString","en":"Additional Benefits"},"additional-requirements":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Partner level requirements","ru":"Требования к уровню партнера"},"certifications":{"ru":"Сертификация технических специалистов","_type":"localeString","en":"Certification of technical specialists"},"sales-plan":{"ru":"Годовой план продаж","_type":"localeString","en":"Annual Sales Plan"},"partners-vendors":{"en":"Partners-vendors","ru":"Партнеры-производители","_type":"localeString"},"partners-suppliers":{"ru":"Партнеры-поставщики","_type":"localeString","en":"Partners-suppliers"},"all-countries":{"_type":"localeString","en":"All countries","ru":"Все страны"},"supplied-products":{"ru":"Поставляемые продукты","_type":"localeString","en":"Supplied products"},"vendored-products":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Produced products","ru":"Производимые продукты"},"vendor-implementations":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Produced deployments","ru":"Производимые внедрения"},"supplier-implementations":{"en":"Supplied deployments","ru":"Поставляемые внедрения","_type":"localeString"},"show-all":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Show all","ru":"Показать все"},"not-yet-converted":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Data is moderated and will be published soon. Please, try again later.","ru":"Данные модерируются и вскоре будут опубликованы. Попробуйте повторить переход через некоторое время."},"schedule-event":{"en":"Events schedule","ru":"Pасписание событий","_type":"localeString"},"implementations":{"en":"Deployments","ru":"Внедрения","_type":"localeString"},"register":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Register","ru":"Регистрация "},"login":{"en":"Login","ru":"Вход","_type":"localeString"},"auth-message":{"en":"To view company events please log in or register on the sit.","ru":"Для просмотра ивентов компании авторизируйтесь или зарегистрируйтесь на сайт.","_type":"localeString"},"company-presentation":{"ru":"Презентация компании","_type":"localeString","en":"Company presentation"}},"header":{"help":{"ru":"Помощь","_type":"localeString","en":"Help","de":"Hilfe"},"how":{"_type":"localeString","en":"How does it works","de":"Wie funktioniert es","ru":"Как это работает"},"login":{"en":"Log in","de":"Einloggen","ru":"Вход","_type":"localeString"},"logout":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Sign out","ru":"Выйти"},"faq":{"_type":"localeString","en":"FAQ","de":"FAQ","ru":"FAQ"},"references":{"de":"References","ru":"Мои запросы","_type":"localeString","en":"Requests"},"solutions":{"ru":"Возможности","_type":"localeString","en":"Solutions"},"find-it-product":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Selection and comparison of IT product","ru":"Подбор и сравнение ИТ продукта"},"autoconfigurator":{"_type":"localeString","en":" Price calculator","ru":"Калькулятор цены"},"comparison-matrix":{"ru":"Матрица сравнения","_type":"localeString","en":"Comparison Matrix"},"roi-calculators":{"ru":"ROI калькуляторы","_type":"localeString","en":"ROI calculators"},"b4r":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Bonus for reference","ru":"Бонус за референс"},"business-booster":{"ru":"Развитие бизнеса","_type":"localeString","en":"Business boosting"},"catalogs":{"ru":"Каталоги","_type":"localeString","en":"Catalogs"},"products":{"en":"Products","ru":"Продукты","_type":"localeString"},"implementations":{"ru":"Внедрения","_type":"localeString","en":"Deployments"},"companies":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Companies","ru":"Компании"},"categories":{"ru":"Категории","_type":"localeString","en":"Categories"},"for-suppliers":{"ru":"Поставщикам","_type":"localeString","en":"For suppliers"},"blog":{"ru":"Блог","_type":"localeString","en":"Blog"},"agreements":{"ru":"Сделки","_type":"localeString","en":"Deals"},"my-account":{"_type":"localeString","en":"My account","ru":"Мой кабинет"},"register":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Register","ru":"Зарегистрироваться"},"comparison-deletion":{"ru":"Удаление","_type":"localeString","en":"Deletion"},"comparison-confirm":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Are you sure you want to delete","ru":"Подтвердите удаление"},"search-placeholder":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Enter your search term","ru":"Введите поисковый запрос"},"my-profile":{"ru":"Мои данные","_type":"localeString","en":"My profile"},"about":{"_type":"localeString","en":"About Us"},"it_catalogs":{"_type":"localeString","en":"IT catalogs"},"roi4presenter":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Roi4Presenter"},"roi4webinar":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Pitch Avatar"},"sub_it_catalogs":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Find IT product"},"sub_b4reference":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Get reference from user"},"sub_roi4presenter":{"en":"Make online presentations","_type":"localeString"},"sub_roi4webinar":{"en":"Create an avatar for the event","_type":"localeString"},"catalogs_new":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Products"},"b4reference":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Bonus4Reference"},"it_our_it_catalogs":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Our IT Catalogs"},"it_products":{"en":"Find and compare IT products","_type":"localeString"},"it_implementations":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Learn implementation reviews"},"it_companies":{"en":"Find vendor and company-supplier","_type":"localeString"},"it_categories":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Explore IT products by category"},"it_our_products":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Our Products"},"it_it_catalogs":{"en":"IT catalogs","_type":"localeString"}},"footer":{"copyright":{"ru":"Все права защищены","_type":"localeString","en":"All rights reserved","de":"Alle rechte vorbehalten"},"company":{"de":"Über die Firma","ru":"О компании","_type":"localeString","en":"My Company"},"about":{"de":"Über uns","ru":"О нас","_type":"localeString","en":"About us"},"infocenter":{"de":"Infocenter","ru":"Инфоцентр","_type":"localeString","en":"Infocenter"},"tariffs":{"de":"Tarife","ru":"Тарифы","_type":"localeString","en":"Subscriptions"},"contact":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Contact us","de":"Kontaktiere uns","ru":"Связаться с нами"},"marketplace":{"en":"Marketplace","de":"Marketplace","ru":"Marketplace","_type":"localeString"},"products":{"de":"Produkte","ru":"Продукты","_type":"localeString","en":"Products"},"compare":{"ru":"Подобрать и сравнить","_type":"localeString","en":"Pick and compare","de":"Wähle und vergleiche"},"calculate":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Calculate the cost","de":"Kosten berechnen","ru":"Расчитать стоимость"},"get_bonus":{"de":"Holen Sie sich einen Rabatt","ru":"Бонус за референс","_type":"localeString","en":"Bonus for reference"},"salestools":{"ru":"Salestools","_type":"localeString","en":"Salestools","de":"Salestools"},"automatization":{"en":"Settlement Automation","de":"Abwicklungsautomatisierung","ru":"Автоматизация расчетов","_type":"localeString"},"roi_calcs":{"de":"ROI-Rechner","ru":"ROI калькуляторы","_type":"localeString","en":"ROI calculators"},"matrix":{"en":"Comparison matrix","de":"Vergleichsmatrix","ru":"Матрица сравнения","_type":"localeString"},"b4r":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Rebate 4 Reference","de":"Rebate 4 Reference","ru":"Rebate 4 Reference"},"our_social":{"ru":"Наши социальные сети","_type":"localeString","en":"Our social networks","de":"Unsere sozialen Netzwerke"},"subscribe":{"de":"Melden Sie sich für den Newsletter an","ru":"Подпишитесь на рассылку","_type":"localeString","en":"Subscribe to newsletter"},"subscribe_info":{"ru":"и узнавайте первыми об акциях, новых возможностях и свежих обзорах софта","_type":"localeString","en":"and be the first to know about promotions, new features and recent software reviews"},"policy":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Privacy Policy","ru":"Политика конфиденциальности"},"user_agreement":{"ru":"Пользовательское соглашение ","_type":"localeString","en":"Agreement"},"solutions":{"ru":"Возможности","_type":"localeString","en":"Solutions"},"find":{"en":"Selection and comparison of IT product","ru":"Подбор и сравнение ИТ продукта","_type":"localeString"},"quote":{"ru":"Калькулятор цены","_type":"localeString","en":"Price calculator"},"boosting":{"ru":"Развитие бизнеса","_type":"localeString","en":"Business boosting"},"4vendors":{"en":"4 vendors","ru":"поставщикам","_type":"localeString"},"blog":{"ru":"блог","_type":"localeString","en":"blog"},"pay4content":{"_type":"localeString","en":"we pay for content","ru":"платим за контент"},"categories":{"en":"categories","ru":"категории","_type":"localeString"},"showForm":{"ru":"Показать форму","_type":"localeString","en":"Show form"},"subscribe__title":{"en":"We send a digest of actual news from the IT world once in a month!","ru":"Раз в месяц мы отправляем дайджест актуальных новостей ИТ мира!","_type":"localeString"},"subscribe__email-label":{"ru":"Email","_type":"localeString","en":"Email"},"subscribe__name-label":{"ru":"Имя","_type":"localeString","en":"Name"},"subscribe__required-message":{"_type":"localeString","en":"This field is required","ru":"Это поле обязательное"},"subscribe__notify-label":{"ru":"Да, пожалуйста уведомляйте меня о новостях, событиях и предложениях","_type":"localeString","en":"Yes, please, notify me about news, events and propositions"},"subscribe__agree-label":{"_type":"localeString","en":"By subscribing to the newsletter, you agree to the %TERMS% and %POLICY% and agree to the use of cookies and the transfer of your personal data","ru":"Подписываясь на рассылку, вы соглашаетесь с %TERMS% и %POLICY% и даете согласие на использование файлов cookie и передачу своих персональных данных*"},"subscribe__submit-label":{"ru":"Подписаться","_type":"localeString","en":"Subscribe"},"subscribe__email-message":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Please, enter the valid email","ru":"Пожалуйста, введите корректный адрес электронной почты"},"subscribe__email-placeholder":{"en":"username@gmail.com","ru":"username@gmail.com","_type":"localeString"},"subscribe__name-placeholder":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Last, first name","ru":"Имя Фамилия"},"subscribe__success":{"ru":"Вы успешно подписаны на рассылку. Проверьте свой почтовый ящик.","_type":"localeString","en":"You are successfully subscribed! Check you mailbox."},"subscribe__error":{"ru":"Не удалось оформить подписку. Пожалуйста, попробуйте позднее.","_type":"localeString","en":"Subscription is unsuccessful. Please, try again later."},"roi4presenter":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Roi4Presenter","de":"roi4presenter","ru":"roi4presenter"},"it_catalogs":{"_type":"localeString","en":"IT catalogs"},"roi4webinar":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Pitch Avatar"},"b4reference":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Bonus4Reference"}},"breadcrumbs":{"home":{"ru":"Главная","_type":"localeString","en":"Home"},"companies":{"ru":"Компании","_type":"localeString","en":"Companies"},"products":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Products","ru":"Продукты"},"implementations":{"ru":"Внедрения","_type":"localeString","en":"Deployments"},"login":{"ru":"Вход","_type":"localeString","en":"Login"},"registration":{"ru":"Регистрация","_type":"localeString","en":"Registration"},"b2b-platform":{"ru":"Портал для покупателей, поставщиков и производителей ИТ","_type":"localeString","en":"B2B platform for IT buyers, vendors and suppliers"}},"comment-form":{"title":{"ru":"Оставить комментарий","_type":"localeString","en":"Leave comment"},"firstname":{"ru":"Имя","_type":"localeString","en":"First name"},"lastname":{"en":"Last name","ru":"Фамилия","_type":"localeString"},"company":{"ru":"Компания","_type":"localeString","en":"Company name"},"position":{"en":"Position","ru":"Должность","_type":"localeString"},"actual-cost":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Actual cost","ru":"Фактическая стоимость"},"received-roi":{"ru":"Полученный ROI","_type":"localeString","en":"Received ROI"},"saving-type":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Saving type","ru":"Тип экономии"},"comment":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Comment","ru":"Комментарий"},"your-rate":{"ru":"Ваша оценка","_type":"localeString","en":"Your rate"},"i-agree":{"en":"I agree","ru":"Я согласен","_type":"localeString"},"terms-of-use":{"en":"With user agreement and privacy policy","ru":"С пользовательским соглашением и политикой конфиденциальности","_type":"localeString"},"send":{"ru":"Отправить","_type":"localeString","en":"Send"},"required-message":{"_type":"localeString","en":"{NAME} is required filed","ru":"{NAME} - это обязательное поле"}},"maintenance":{"title":{"en":"Site under maintenance","ru":"На сайте проводятся технические работы","_type":"localeString"},"message":{"ru":"Спасибо за ваше понимание","_type":"localeString","en":"Thank you for your understanding"}}},"translationsStatus":{"company":"success"},"sections":{},"sectionsStatus":{},"pageMetaData":{"company":{"title":{"en":"ROI4CIO: Company","ru":"ROI4CIO: Компания","_type":"localeString"},"meta":[{"name":"og:image","content":"https://roi4cio.com/fileadmin/templates/roi4cio/image/roi4cio-logobig.jpg"},{"name":"og:type","content":"website"}],"translatable_meta":[{"name":"title","translations":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Company","ru":"Компания"}},{"translations":{"_type":"localeString","en":"Company description","ru":"Описание компании"},"name":"description"},{"name":"keywords","translations":{"ru":"Ключевые слова для компании","_type":"localeString","en":"Company keywords"}}]}},"pageMetaDataStatus":{"company":"success"},"subscribeInProgress":false,"subscribeError":false},"auth":{"inProgress":false,"error":false,"checked":true,"initialized":false,"user":{},"role":null,"expires":null},"products":{"productsByAlias":{},"aliases":{},"links":{},"meta":{},"loading":false,"error":null,"useProductLoading":false,"sellProductLoading":false,"templatesById":{},"comparisonByTemplateId":{}},"filters":{"filterCriterias":{"loading":false,"error":null,"data":{"price":{"min":0,"max":6000},"users":{"loading":false,"error":null,"ids":[],"values":{}},"suppliers":{"loading":false,"error":null,"ids":[],"values":{}},"vendors":{"loading":false,"error":null,"ids":[],"values":{}},"roles":{"id":200,"title":"Roles","values":{"1":{"id":1,"title":"User","translationKey":"user"},"2":{"id":2,"title":"Supplier","translationKey":"supplier"},"3":{"id":3,"title":"Vendor","translationKey":"vendor"}}},"categories":{"flat":[],"tree":[]},"countries":{"loading":false,"error":null,"ids":[],"values":{}}}},"showAIFilter":false},"companies":{"companiesByAlias":{"gconnect":{"id":4876,"title":"GConnect","logoURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/uploads/roi/company/GConnect_logo.png","alias":"gconnect","address":"","roles":[{"id":2,"type":"supplier"},{"id":3,"type":"vendor"}],"description":"GConnect is an outsourcing company with many years of experience in the area of its business activity. Supporting stable customer relationships, we provide services in the IT sector and in various office works. Our principal places of business are situated in Switzerland and in Ukraine (Dnipro) where all activities are carried out in our own office buildings.\r\nGConnect was founded in 1993 in Switzerland and for the last 15 years, the team has grown to over 35 employees engaged primarily in Ukraine.\r\nThe name GConnect originates from the words ‘Group‘ and ‘Connect‘ and customers from Switzerland with employees in Ukraine have fused into one community.\r\nSource: https://www.gconnect.ch/about-us/","companyTypes":["supplier","vendor"],"products":{},"vendoredProductsCount":1,"suppliedProductsCount":1,"supplierImplementations":[],"vendorImplementations":[],"userImplementations":[],"userImplementationsCount":0,"supplierImplementationsCount":0,"vendorImplementationsCount":0,"vendorPartnersCount":0,"supplierPartnersCount":0,"b4r":0,"categories":{"32":{"id":32,"title":"IT outsourcing","description":"<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">IT outsourcing</span> is the use of external service providers to effectively deliver IT-enabled business process, application service and infrastructure solutions for business outcomes.\r\nOutsourcing, which also includes utility services, software as a service and cloud-enabled outsourcing, helps clients to develop the right sourcing strategies and vision, select the right IT service providers, structure the best possible contracts, and govern deals for sustainable win-win relationships with external providers.\r\nOutsourcing can enable enterprises to reduce costs, accelerate time to market, and take advantage of external expertise, assets and/or intellectual property. IT outsourcing can be implemented both ways: outsides or within the country. \r\nIT outsourcing vendors can provide either a fully managed service, meaning they take full responsibility of all IT maintenance and support, or they can provide additional support for an internal IT team when needed, which is known as co-sourced IT support. A company using IT outsourcing can choose to use one provider for all their IT functions or split the work among multiple providers. \r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Specific IT services typically outsourced include:</span>\r\n<ul><li>Application development</li><li>Web hosting</li><li>Application support</li><li>Database development</li><li>Telecommunications</li><li>Networking</li><li>Disaster recovery</li><li>Security</li></ul>\r\n<p class=\"align-center\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Reasons for Outsourcing</span></p>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Reduce Cost.</span> More often than not, outsourcing means saving money. This is often due to lower labor costs, cheaper infrastructure, or an advantageous tax system in the outsourcing location.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Access Skills That Are Unavailable Locally.</span> Resources that are scarce at home can sometimes be found in abundance elsewhere, meaning you can easily reach them through outsourcing.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Better Use Internal Resources</span>. By delegating some of your business processes to a third party, you’ll give your in-house employees the opportunity to focus on more meaningful tasks.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Accelerate Business Processes.</span> When you stop wasting time on mundane, time-consuming processes, you’ll be able to move forward with your core offering a lot faster.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Share Risks.</span> When you delegate a part of non-focus functionality by outsourcing it to a third-party vendor, you give away the responsibility and related risks.","materialsDescription":"<h3 class=\"align-center\">What are the Types of IT Outsourcing?</h3>\r\n<p class=\"align-left\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Project-Based Model.</span> The client hires a team to implement the part of work that is already planned and defined. The project manager from the outsourced team carries full responsibility for the quality and performance of the project.</p>\r\n<p class=\"align-left\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Dedicated Team Model.</span> The client hires a team that will create a project for them, and they will work only on that project. Unlike the project-based model, a dedicated team is more engaged in your project. In this model, an outsourced team becomes your technical and product advisor. So it can offer ideas and suggest alternative solutions.</p>\r\n<p class=\"align-left\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Outstaff Model.</span> It's a type of outsourcing in IT when you don't need a full-fledged development team and hire separate specialists. Sometimes the project requires finding a couple of additional professionals, and you're free to hire outstaff workers to cover that scope of work.</p>\r\n<h3 class=\"align-center\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What are IT Outsourcing examples?</span></h3>\r\nThe individual or company that becomes your outsourcing partner can be located anywhere in the world — one block away from your office or on another continent.\r\nA Bay Area-based startup partnering with an app development team in Utah and a call center in the Philippines, or a UK-based digital marketing agency hiring a Magento developer from Ukraine are both examples of outsourcing.\r\n<h3 class=\"align-center\">Why You Should Use IT Outsourcing</h3>\r\nNow that you know what IT outsourcing is, its models, and types, it's time to clarify why you need to outsource and whether you really need it. Let's go over a few situations that suggest when to opt for IT outsourcing.\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">You are a domain expert with idea</span></li></ul>\r\nIf you're an industry expert with the idea that solves a real problem, IT outsourcing is your choice. In this case, your main goal is to enter the market and test the solution fast. An outsourced team will help you validate the idea, build an MVP to check the hypothesis, and implement changes in your product according to market needs. It saves you money, time and lets you reach the goal.\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">You have an early-stage startup</span></li></ul>\r\nIt's a common case that young startups spend money faster than they get a solid team and a ready-to-market product. The Failory found that financial problems are the 3rd reason why startup fails. So it makes more sense to reduce costs by hiring an outsourced team of professionals while your business lives on investor's money. You may employ a full-cycle product development studio covering all the blind spots and bringing your product to life.\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">You need a technical support</span></li></ul>\r\nEven if you already have a ready solution, but it demands some technical improvements – frameworks for backend components, new language, integrations with enterprise software, UX&amp;UI design – it makes more sense to find an experienced partner. There are many functions that IT outsourcing can cover, and again it saves you the time you'd otherwise spend on looking for qualified staff.<br /><br /><br />","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_IT_outsourcing.png","alias":"it-outsourcing"},"567":{"id":567,"title":"Graphics Design","description":" Graphic design is the process of visual communication and problem-solving through the use of typography, photography, and illustration. The field is considered a subset of visual communication and communication design, but sometimes the term &quot;graphic design&quot; is used synonymously. Graphic designers create and combine symbols, images and text to form visual representations of ideas and messages. They use typography, visual arts, and page layout techniques to create visual compositions. Common uses of graphic design include corporate design (logos and branding), editorial design (magazines, newspapers and books), wayfinding or environmental design, advertising, web design, communication design, product packaging, and signage.\r\nGraphic design is applied to everything visual, from road signs to technical schematics, from interoffice memorandums to reference manuals.\r\nDesign can aid in selling a product or idea. It is applied to products and elements of company identity such as logos, colors, packaging and text as part of branding (see also advertising). Branding has become increasingly more important in the range of services offered by graphic designers. Graphic designers often form part of a branding team.\r\nGraphic design is applied in the entertainment industry in decoration, scenery and visual story telling. Other examples of design for entertainment purposes include novels, vinyl album covers, comic books, DVD covers, opening credits and closing credits in filmmaking, and programs and props on stage. This could also include artwork used for T-shirts and other items screenprinted for sale.\r\nFrom scientific journals to news reporting, the presentation of opinion and facts is often improved with graphics and thoughtful compositions of visual information - known as information design. Newspapers, magazines, blogs, television and film documentaries may use graphic design. With the advent of the web, information designers with experience in interactive tools are increasingly used to illustrate the background to news stories. Information design can include data visualization, which involves using programs to interpret and form data into a visually compelling presentation, and can be tied in with information graphics.","materialsDescription":"<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is graphic design and what does it include?</span>\r\nGraphic design is a design process that combines text and graphics in a way that is intended to communicate a specific message.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Where is graphic design used?</span>\r\nYou will find graphic design in company logos, printed materials like brochures, posters, signs, greeting cards, postcards, business cards, billboards and ads. Advances in technology have brought us the digital environment complete with websites, online ads, virtual brochures and presentations, and so very much more.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What do graphic designers use to create these designs?</span>\r\nGraphic designers can use hand-illustrated designs as well as computer-aided designs thanks to a wide range of software with nearly endless digital design tools. The availability of software like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop have become staples of the graphic designer.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What can a graphic designer do that I can’t do?</span>\r\nA graphic designer does more than just put their creative skills to work. Though most graphic designers are intuitively creative already, they have generally spent time studying numerous design principles. It’s vital to understand how to use design elements to transmit the required messages and values as well as evoke a certain feeling in the viewer. As a visual communicator, they leverage these design elements and use concepts such as color, typography, space, balance, form and lines to create their visual message.\r\nSome graphic designers are also able to understand the more technical aspects of the design required to create digital assets for a company. For example, a web designer is often able to create wireframes, workflows, and sitemaps and understand how to develop easy navigation for the user experience.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What else does a graphic designer accomplish as part of the work they produce for a client?</span>\r\nBesides turning their client’s vision, brand image and value proposition into a graphic display, a designer will undertake many specialty tasks as part of a graphic design project. The specialty tasks include collaborating on the concept (usually with a team), attending meetings about the project, paying attention to what customers are clicking on, doing presentations that explain the various potential designs, revising designs, and preparing asset files for others on the team and for client use.","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_Graphics_Design.png","alias":"graphics-design"},"601":{"id":601,"title":"Custom Software Development","description":" Custom software (also known as bespoke software or tailor-made software) is software that organization for some specific organization or another user. As such, it can be contrasted with the use of software packages developed for the mass market, such as commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software, or existing free software.\r\nSince custom software is developed for a single customer it can accommodate that customer's particular preferences and expectations. Custom software may be developed in an iterative process, allowing all nuances and possible hidden risks to be taken into account, including issues which were not mentioned in the original requirement specifications (which are, as a rule, never perfect). In particular, the first phase in the software development process may involve many departments, materchode including marketing, engineering, research and development and general management.\r\nLarge companies commonly use custom software for critical functions, including content management, inventory management, customer management, human resource management, or otherwise to fill the gaps present in the existing software packages. Often such software is legacy software, developed before COTS or free software packages offering the required functionality became available.\r\nCustom software development is often considered expensive compared to off-the-shelf solutions or products. This can be true if one is speaking of typical challenges and typical solutions. However, it is not always true. In many cases, COTS software requires customization to correctly support the buyer's operations. The cost and delay of COTS customization can even add up to the expense of developing custom software. Cost is not the only consideration, however, as the decision to opt for custom software often includes the requirement for the purchaser to own the source code, to secure the possibility of future development or modifications to the installed system.\r\nAdditionally, COTS comes with upfront license costs which vary enormously but sometimes run into the millions (in terms of dollars). Furthermore, the big software houses that release COTS products revamp their product very frequently. Thus a particular customization may need to be upgraded for compatibility every two to four years. Given the cost of customization, such upgrades also turn out to be expensive, as a dedicated product release cycle will have to be earmarked for them.\r\nThe decision to build custom software or go for a COTS implementation would usually rest on one or more of the following factors:\r\n<ul><li>Finances - both cost and benefit: The upfront license cost for COTS products mean that a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the business case needs to be done. However it is widely known that large custom software projects cannot fix all three of scope, time/cost and quality constant, so either the cost or the benefits of a custom software project will be subject to some degree of uncertainty - even disregarding the uncertainty around the business benefits of a feature that is successfully implemented.</li><li>Supplier - In the case of COTS, is the supplier likely to remain in business long, and will there be adequate support and customization available? Alternatively, will there be a realistic possibility of getting support and customization from third parties? In the case of custom software, software development may be outsourced or done in-house. If it is outsourced, the question is: is the supplier reputable, and do they have a good track record?</li><li>Time to market: COTS products usually have a quicker time to market</li><li>Size of implementation: COTS comes with standardization of business processes and reporting. For a global or national organization, these can bring in gains in cost savings, efficiency and productivity, if the branch offices are all willing and able to use the same COTS without heavy customizations (which is not always a given).</li></ul>","materialsDescription":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Why is custom software such a large investment?</span>\r\nBuilding a custom web application is a time-consuming endeavor. It takes time to learn the processes of your business, to gather requirements, to flesh out your needs, and to build the software. Put simply, time is money.\r\nWhile it’s a large investment, by investing in custom software, you’ll own the code instead of having a long-term licensing agreement with another software company.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">How could my business benefit from custom software?</span>\r\nA custom business software solution increases process efficiency through process automation. When business processes are properly automated, they minimize the waste in time and resources that the original processes contained.\r\nThink of it this way: with software that already exists, you have to modify your process to meet software capabilities. With custom software, you can build a system around the existing processes you have in place. You took a lot of time to develop those processes, so why should you revamp your business?\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is IP and how important is it that I own it?</span>\r\nIP stands for Intellectual Property. When you deal with anything creative, you have to think about copyright and the intellectual property on that work and that includes the creation of software code.\r\nThis gets back to the question of buying vs. building. If there is an existing solution that can suit your needs just fine, then it makes sense to buy, but the software developer owns the code and you are basically licensing the software from there. However, if you need a specialized solution that is customized to your needs and decide to go the custom development route, then the question of who owns the code is an important one.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">I’m thinking about hiring someone offshore; what should I watch out for?</span>\r\nIn short, everything. Language barriers and lack of proximity lead to breakdowns in communication and quality. Do yourself a favor and stay local.\r\nOn a related note, if you’re thinking about hiring for the position internally, think about this: it takes around three people to complete a successful custom software project. If you hire someone internally, their salary might cost what it would take to build with us, and you get a whole team when you work with us. Plus, if your software developer decides to leave, they take their knowledge with them. If one of our team members leave, our whole team shares the knowledge so you’re not left in the dark.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">If things don’t go well, am I sunk?</span>\r\nWe make communication and transparency are top priorities so this doesn’t happen. Right out of the gate we work hard to make sure that not only the project is a good fit, but the relationship with the client is as well. Through each step of the process and the build, we keep you in the loop weekly so you know what to expect and what is happening, but a good development company should have places in their process/relationship where you can cleanly exit. Make sure you know what the process is for leaving and what those different ‘leaving’ options are.","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_Custom_Software_Development.png","alias":"custom-software-development"},"609":{"id":609,"title":".Net Development","description":" .NET Framework is a software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large class library named Framework Class Library (FCL) and provides language interoperability (each language can use code written in other languages) across several programming languages. Programs written for .NET Framework execute in a software environment (in contrast to a hardware environment) named Common Language Runtime (CLR), an application virtual machine that provides services such as security, memory management, and exception handling. As such, computer code written using .NET Framework is called &quot;managed code&quot;. FCL and CLR together constitute the .NET Framework.\r\nFCL provides user interface, data access, database connectivity, cryptography, web application development, numeric algorithms, and network communications. Programmers produce software by combining their source code with .NET Framework and other libraries. The framework is intended to be used by most new applications created for the Windows platform. Microsoft also produces an integrated development environment largely for .NET software called Visual Studio.\r\n.NET Framework began as proprietary software, although the firm worked to standardize the software stack almost immediately, even before its first release. Despite the standardization efforts, developers, mainly those in the free and open-source software communities, expressed their unease with the selected terms and the prospects of any free and open-source implementation, especially regarding software patents. Since then, Microsoft has changed .NET development to more closely follow a contemporary model of a community-developed software project, including issuing an update to its patent promising to address the concerns.\r\n.NET Framework led to a family of .NET platforms targeting mobile computing, embedded devices, alternative operating systems, and web browser plug-ins. A reduced version of the framework, .NET Compact Framework, is available on Windows CE platforms, including Windows Mobile devices such as smartphones. .NET Micro Framework is targeted at very resource-constrained embedded devices. Silverlight was available as a web browser plugin. Mono is available for many operating systems and is customized into popular smartphone operating systems (Android and iOS) and game engines. .NET Core targets the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), and cross-platform and cloud computing workloads.","materialsDescription":"When Microsoft formally introduced its .NET strategy in mid-2000, analysts were confused about how the company would pull off such a massive platform shift. Over two years later, they're still wondering. But .NET isn't vaporware, and it's not a pipe dream. In fact, .NET is happening today.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What is .NET?</span>\r\nActually, .NET is many things, but primarily it's a marketing term for a set of products and technologies that Microsoft is creating to move personal and enterprise computing beyond the PC desktop and into a distributed Internet-based environment. So .NET--which was originally called Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS)--is also a platform, one that Microsoft sees as the successor to Windows. The .NET platform is based on Web services which are, in turn, defined by a language called XML.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What is XML?</span>\r\nXML--the eXtensible Markup Language--is a self-descriptive, data definition language. It's structure is similar to HTML, the language of the Web, but it's far more powerful because it's not limited to a static list of language constructs (&quot;tags&quot;) that the language's authors supply. Instead, XML is extensible and dynamic: Programmers can define new types of data using XML and then describe that data so that others will know how to use it.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What are Web services?</span>\r\nWeb services are functions exposed by server-side applications. They are programmable units that other applications (and Web services) can access over the Internet.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Does .NET require Windows?</span>\r\nTechnically, no, but realistically, yes. It's possible the .NET platform could be ported to other operating systems, such as Linux, FreeBSD, the Macintosh, or whatever, and indeed, some work is being done now in this area. However, .NET very much requires Windows today, on both the server and the client. One might say that .NET and Windows have a symbiotic relationship going forward.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Is .NET is being ported to Linux?</span>\r\nYes. A company called Ximian is porting the standards-based parts of .NET to Linux as you read this, and the work is amazingly far along. Code-named Mono, this project seeks to bring the C# programming language, the Common Language Runtime (CLR, see below), and other .NET features to Linux.\r\nOn a related note, Microsoft has contracted Corel (makers of CorelDRAW and Word Perfect) to port .NET to FreeBSD.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Isn't .NET just another name for COM, COM+, Windows DNA, or some other previous Windows technology?</span>\r\nActually, no. Microsoft spent considerable time and effort developing and promoting a set of Windows technologies that was at various times called OLE, COM, COM+, and Windows DNA (Distributed InterNet Architecture) but .NET is not the next iteration. Windows DNA, which was the final umbrella term for this set of technologies, was based around a concept where Windows-based software components could expose their services for other local and remote Windows software components. But though this sounds passingly similar to .NET, Windows DNA is very much based on proprietary Windows technologies. By comparison, .NET is based on open standards (XML and various related technologies), so it will be much easier for other vendors to adopt the platform and write compatible software. So we can eventually expect to see .NET clients and servers on platforms other than Windows.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">So what technologies are part of .NET?</span>\r\n.NET is comprised of several related technologies, including:\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic; \"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">.NET Framework</span></span> - A runtime environment and set of standard services which .NET capable applications and services can utilize. Implemented as a code library, the .NET Framework includes the Common Language Runtime (CLR), the .NET run-time environment; ASP .NET, a Web applications platform; and ADO .NET, for data store access.\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic; \"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">.NET Compact Framework</span></span> - A subset of the .NET Framework designed for Pocket PCs, Microsoft Smart Phones, and other Windows CE .NET-based mobile devices.\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic; \"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">MSN consumer services</span></span> - Microsoft will use its consumer-oriented MSN online service to expose Web services to individuals. The current version, MSN 8, includes the .NET Passport's authentication services, email, address book, calendaring and tasks, and other similar services.\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic; \"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">.NET Enterprise Servers</span></span> - An extensive set of Microsoft server software that runs on Windows servers, including Application Server, BizTalk Server, Exchange Server, Host Integration Server, Internet Security and Acceleration Server, SQL Server, and many others. Microsoft is currently shipping many such server products, but they are all based on Windows DNA currently, not .NET. Future server products--beginning with Windows .NET Server 2003, due in April 2003--will actually be based on .NET technologies for the first time.\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic; \"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Visual Studio .NET</span></span> - Microsoft's .NET development environment, with support for languages such as Visual Basic .NET, Visual C++ .NET, Visual C# .NET, and Visual J#, which all target the .NET Framework. Other vendors can add other language capabilities to Visual Studio .NET, and the suite can be used to target a wide range of applications and services, including .NET Web services, Windows applications, and Web applications. Note that Visual Studio .NET is not required to create .NET applications and services: Developers can download the .NET Framework for free; this download includes compilers for Visual Basic .NET, Visual C++ .NET and Visual C# .NET.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">OK, so what's the point? How does this make my life better?</span>\r\nWith apologies to Microsoft for stealing the term, .NET enables a better PC ecosystem. That is, by making life easier for everyone involved with PCs, the benefits are cross-pollinated. Here's how .NET makes life easier on various groups:\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Programmers</span></span> - Because developers now have a consistent, language-neutral programming environment, they can create better applications and services more quickly. And because .NET encompasses such a wider range of functionality, those applications and services can be connected to back-end services via the Internet, offering better, and more exciting functionality.\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">IT administrators</span></span> - Because .NET applications and services do away with the &quot;DLL Hell&quot; found in previous Windows applications, they are amazingly easy to distribute and install.\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">End users</span></span> - For the reasons listed above, and many others, a new generation of .NET applications and services will provide new types of connected functionality. Access your email from anywhere. Pay for products online without typing in your credit card information. Access weather, traffic, music, and other personal information from a variety of devices, from anywhere in the world. The future is all connected, and .NET will get us there.","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_Net_Development.png","alias":"net-development"},"615":{"id":615,"title":"Web Development","description":" Web development is the work involved in developing a website for the Internet (World Wide Web) or an intranet (a private network). Web development can range from developing a simple single static page of plain text to complex web-based internet applications (web apps), electronic businesses, and social network services. A more comprehensive list of tasks to which web development commonly refers, may include web engineering, web design, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development.\r\nAmong web professionals, &quot;web development&quot; usually refers to the main non-design aspects of building websites: writing markup and coding. Web development may use content management systems (CMS) to make content changes easier and available with basic technical skills.\r\nFor larger organizations and businesses, web development teams can consist of hundreds of people (web developers) and follow standard methods like Agile methodologies while developing websites. Smaller organizations may only require a single permanent or contracting developer, or secondary assignment to related job positions such as a graphic designer or information systems technician. Web development may be a collaborative effort between departments rather than the domain of a designated department. There are three kinds of web developer specialization: front-end developer, back-end developer, and full-stack developer. Front-end developers are responsible for behavior and visuals that run in the user browser, while back-end developers deal with the servers.\r\nSince the commercialization of the web, web development has been a growing industry. The growth of this industry is being driven by businesses wishing to use their website to advertise and sell products and services to customers.\r\nThere are many open source tools for web development such as BerkeleyDB, GlassFish, LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack and Perl/Plack. This has kept the cost of learning web development to a minimum. Another contributing factor to the growth of the industry has been the rise of easy-to-use WYSIWYG web-development software, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, BlueGriffon and Microsoft Visual Studio. Knowledge of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) or of programming languages is still required to use such software, but the basics can be learned and implemented quickly.\r\nAn ever-growing set of tools and technologies have helped developers build more dynamic and interactive websites. Further, web developers now help to deliver applications as web services which were traditionally only available as applications on a desk-based computer. This has allowed for many opportunities to decentralize information and media distribution. Examples can be seen with the rise of cloud services such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox and Google Drive. These web services allow users to interact with applications from many locations, instead of being tied to a specific workstation for their application environment.\r\nExamples of dramatic transformation in communication and commerce led by web development include e-commerce. Online auction sites such as eBay have changed the way consumers find and purchase goods and services. Online retailers such as Amazon.com and Buy.com (among many others) have transformed the shopping and bargain-hunting experience for many consumers. Another example of transformative communication led by web development is the blog. Web applications such as WordPress and Movable Type have created blog-environments for individual websites. The increased usage of open-source content management systems and enterprise content management systems has extended web development's impact at online interaction and communication.\r\nWeb development has also impacted personal networking and marketing. Websites are no longer simply tools for work or for commerce, but serve more broadly for communication and social networking. Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter provide users with a platform to communicate and organizations with a more personal and interactive way to engage the public.","materialsDescription":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What is the Priority of a Web Developer?</span>\r\nTo answer the question “What is a web developer?”, we must first look at what a web developer does and how they do it.\r\nA web developer or programmer is someone who takes a web design – which has been created by either a client or a design team – and turns it into a website. They do this by writing lines and lines of complicated code, using a variety of languages. Web developers have quite a difficult job, because they essentially have to take a language we understand, such as English, and translate it into a language that a computer understands, such as Python or HTML.\r\nAs you can imagine, this can take a lot of time and effort and requires an intricate understanding of various programming languages and how they are used. Different types of developers specialize in different areas, which means that large web projects are usually a collaboration between several different developers.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What Types Of Web Developers Are There?</span>\r\nUnfortunately, the question “What does a web developer do?” doesn’t have one simple answer. As noted above, there are some different types of web developers, each of which focuses on a different aspect of the creation of a website.\r\nTo understand what is a web developer it is crucial to know that the three main types of developers are front-end, back-end, and full-stack. Front-end developers are responsible for the parts of a website that people see and interact with, back-end developers are responsible for the behind the scenes code that controls how a website loads and runs, and full-stack developers do a bit of everything.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Front-End Developer</span>\r\nA front-end developer is someone who takes a client or design team’s website design and writes the code needed to implement it on the web. A decent front-end web developer will be fluent in at least three programming languages – HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.\r\nHTML allows them to add content to a website while splitting it into headings, paragraphs, and tables. CSS lets a decent developer style the content and change things like colors, sizes, and borders. JavaScript allows the inclusion of interactive elements, such as push buttons. We will go into more detail about these languages later.\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic; \"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">So, what do web developers do when they work on the front end of a website?</span></span>\r\n<ul><li>What is a web developer responsible for is that they make sure that all of the content that is needed for the website is clear, visible, and found in the right place. In some cases front-end developers may also have content writing skills, allowing them to create the content for the website as they go.</li><li>They make sure that the right colors are in the right places, especially concerning text colors, background colors, and headers. Some of the best front-end developers are also very good designers, allowing them to tweak things as they go.</li><li>They make sure that all outbound links are correctly formatted, that all buttons work properly, and that the website is responsive and attractive. Mobile design is usually a big part of the job, while it is also important to make sure that a website will display correctly on all web browsers.</li></ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Back-End Developer</span>\r\nWhile it may seem like front-end developers have a difficult job making sure that a website looks great, works well, and contains the correct content, back-end developers have it much worse. While front-end developers are responsible for client-side programming, back-end developers have to deal with the server-side.\r\nThis means that they have to create the code and programs which power the website’s server, databases, and any applications that it contains. The most important thing as a back-end developer is the ability to be able to create a clean, efficient code that does what you want it to in the quickest way possible. Since website speed is a major consideration when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), it is a large factor when developing the back-end.\r\nTo fully explain what is a web developer it is essential to know that back-end developers use a wide range of different server-side languages to build complicated programs. Some of the most popular languages used include PHP, Python, Java, and Ruby. JavaScript is also becoming increasingly widespread as a back-end development language, while SQL is commonly used to manage and analyze data in website databases.\r\nSince different websites have different needs, a back-end developer must be flexible, able to create different programs, and they absolutely must have a clear, in-depth understanding of the languages that they use. This is very important to make sure that they can come up with the most efficient method of creating the required program while making sure that it is secure, scalable, and easy to maintain.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Full-Stack Developer</span>\r\nIf you are looking for a quick, simple answer to the question “What is a web developer?”, then a full-stack developer is probably the closest thing that you’re going to get. Full-stack developers understand both front and back-end strategies and processes, which means that they are perfectly positioned to oversee the entire process.\r\nIn the case of small websites that don’t have a huge development budget, a full-stack developer will often be employed to build the entire website. In this case, it is extremely important for them to have a complete, in-depth understanding of both front and back-end development and how they work.\r\nLearning full-stack development techniques has a huge range of benefits, including:\r\n<ul><li>You will end up with the knowledge to be able to create an entire website on your own. This makes you a lot more employable, increasing your job security in the future.</li><li>As a full-stack developer, you will understand the connections between the front and back-ends of a website, allowing you do build efficient and effective programs for all parts of the website.</li><li>Full-stack developers are often employed to oversee large projects for big web development companies. Positions like this are likely to be paid more than standard web development positions, making them more attractive to developers. Full-stack defines what is a web developer.</li></ul>\r\nAlthough most developers start with either front or back-end specializations, there are a lot of reasons why you should consider branching out and learning both. It will make you a lot more employable, will give you a greater understanding of the whole concept of what is web development, and will make it easier for you to create entire websites on your own.","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_Web_Development.png","alias":"web-development"},"639":{"id":639,"title":"HTML Development","description":" Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaScript.\r\nWeb browsers receive HTML documents from a web server or from local storage and render the documents into multimedia web pages. HTML describes the structure of a web page semantically and originally included cues for the appearance of the document.\r\nHTML elements are the building blocks of HTML pages. With HTML constructs, images and other objects such as interactive forms may be embedded into the rendered page. HTML provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists, links, quotes and other items. HTML elements are delineated by tags, written using angle brackets. Tags such as &lt;img /&gt; and &lt;input /&gt; directly introduce content into the page. Other tags such as &lt;p&gt; surround and provide information about document text and may include other tags as sub-elements. Browsers do not display the HTML tags, but use them to interpret the content of the page.\r\nHTML can embed programs written in a scripting language such as JavaScript, which affects the behavior and content of web pages. Inclusion of CSS defines the look and layout of content. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), former maintainer of the HTML and current maintainer of the CSS standards, has encouraged the use of CSS over explicit presentational HTML since 1997.","materialsDescription":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is HTML5?</span>\r\nHTML5 contains powerful capabilities for Web-based applications with more powerful interaction, video support, graphics, more styling effects, and a full set of APIs. HTML5 adapts to any device, whether desktop, mobile, tablet, or television. HTML5 is an open platform developed under royalty-free licensing terms.\r\nPeople use the term HTML5 in two ways:\r\n<ul><li>to refer to a set of technologies that together form the future Open Web Platform. These technologies include HTML5 specification, CSS3, SVG, MathML, Geolocation, XmlHttpRequest, Context 2D, Web Fonts (WOFF) and others. The boundary of this set of technologies is informal and changes over time;</li><li>to refer to the HTML5 specification, which is, of course, also part of the Open Web Platform.</li></ul>\r\nAlthough it would be great if people used one term to refer to the specification and another term to refer to a set of specifications, in practice people use the term both ways.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">HTML5 has been cited by many thought leaders as the future of the Web. Why is HTML5 generating this excitement?</span>\r\nThere is huge demand for open standards that allow the creation of rich internet applications. Watching videos, finding the nearest restaurant, accessing emails while being offline are just some of the powerful new capabilities enabled by the set of specifications in development at W3C.\r\nOne aspect that interests W3C, in particular, is enabling people to combine different technologies. W3C works to ensure not just interoperable support in the software of a single specification, but compatibility among specifications.\r\nEven though HTML5 is still a draft, browser vendors are deploying features and generating a lot of excitement in the IT industry. This experience, in turn, allows W3C to revise its drafts. In this way, the final standard can transparently inform implementers where they need to pay close attention to security and privacy issues.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">When can I use HTML5?</span>\r\nPeople can already use parts of the platform that interoperate, but W3C's mission is global interoperable, to ensure that the web is available to all. Not all elements are fully implemented yet and some of them provide builtin fallback mechanisms, such as &lt;video&gt; or &lt;input&gt;. One can use HTML5 today, knowing the existing limitations and ensuring proper fallbacks.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Which Web Browsers support HTML5?</span>\r\nW3C encourages implementation and testing long before a specification becomes a standard to ensure that two people can read a specification independently and write interoperable software. Early adopters provide implementers and W3C with tremendously valuable feedback because they help identify where interoperability issues exist.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Do you think that the benefits of HTML5, such as its neutrality, rich graphics, no need plug-ins, outweigh the security risk it carries?</span>\r\nNow entering its third decade, the Web has evolved from a Web of documents into a formidable platform for networked applications that let us share information and services over the Internet. In this highly connected environment, it is important that powerful Web applications be designed with sensitivity to user privacy and security needs. The risks associated with modern Web applications are familiar to the HTML5 community.\r\nHTML5 and related specifications are being developed in W3C's open standards process. This process allows an expert review of features along with their security and privacy implications. Rich functionality that was previously available only through proprietary plugins is now documented in an open specification for all experts to review and improve. We're pleased to see the HTML5 specifications subject to rigorous public review since that helps make the Web a more secure environment.\r\nSome security issues are not confined to HTML5. W3C and IETF are working closely to specify technologies and protocol extensions to mitigate some issues (such as cross-site request forgery and cross-site scripting).\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Will there be an HTML6?</span>\r\nNo work is currently happening on HTML6 but feature requests that are not planned to be addressed in HTML5 are available at listed under HTML.next.","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_HTML_Development.png","alias":"html-development"},"645":{"id":645,"title":"JavaScript development","description":" JavaScript, often abbreviated as JS, is a high-level, just-in-time compiled, object-oriented programming language that conforms to the ECMAScript specification. JavaScript has curly-bracket syntax, dynamic typing, prototype-based object-orientation, and first-class functions.\r\nAlongside HTML and CSS, JavaScript is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web. JavaScript enables interactive web pages and is an essential part of web applications. The vast majority of websites use it, and major web browsers have a dedicated JavaScript engine to execute it.\r\nAs a multi-paradigm language, JavaScript supports event-driven, functional, and imperative (including object-oriented and prototype-based) programming styles. It has APIs for working with text, arrays, dates, regular expressions, and the DOM, but the language itself does not include any I/O, such as networking, storage, or graphics facilities. It relies upon the host environment in which it is embedded to provide these features.\r\nInitially only implemented client-side in web browsers, JavaScript engines are now embedded in many other types of host software, including server-side in web servers and databases, and in non-web programs such as word processors and PDF software, and in runtime environments that make JavaScript available for writing mobile and desktop applications, including desktop widgets.\r\nThe terms Vanilla JavaScript and Vanilla JS refer to JavaScript not extended by any frameworks or additional libraries. Scripts written in Vanilla JS are plain JavaScript code.\r\nAlthough there are similarities between JavaScript and Java, including language name, syntax, and respective standard libraries, the two languages are distinct and differ greatly in design. JavaScript was influenced by programming languages such as Self and Scheme. The JSON serialization format, used to store data structures in files or transmit them across networks, is based on JavaScript.\r\n&quot;JavaScript&quot; is a trademark of Oracle Corporation in the United States. It is used under license for technology invented and implemented by Netscape Communications and current entities such as the Mozilla Foundation.","materialsDescription":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is JavaScript?</span>\r\nJavaScript is a client-side as well as a server-side scripting language that can be inserted into HTML pages and is understood by web browsers. JavaScript is also an Object-based Programming language.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What are the differences between Java and JavaScript?</span>\r\nJava is a complete programming language. In contrast, JavaScript is a coded program that can be introduced to HTML pages. These two languages are not at all inter-dependent and are designed for different intent. Java is an object-oriented programming (OOPS) or structured programming languages like C++ or C whereas JavaScript is a client-side scripting language.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Do I have to buy JavaScript?</span>\r\nNo--there is nothing to buy. The JavaScript interpreter is included in all major Internet Browsers--so as long as you have an Internet Browser, you're all set. JavaScript source files are written using an ordinary text editor, such as Notepad.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is JScript?</span>\r\nJScript is Microsoft's version of Netscape's JavaScript. Each Internet Browser vendor creates their own version of what is collectively known as JavaScript---however, the latest versions of these browsers are moving towards the ECMA Script standard.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Who 'owns' JavaScript?</span>\r\nECMA governs the standard features of JavaScript---however, each vendor writes the code for their own versions of JavaScript.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What are the features of JavaScript?</span>\r\n<ul><li>JavaScript is a lightweight, interpreted programming language.</li><li>JavaScript is designed for creating network-centric applications.</li><li>JavaScript is complementary to and integrated with Java.</li><li>JavaScript is complementary to and integrated with HTML.</li><li>JavaScript is open and cross-platform.</li></ul>","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_JavaScript_development.png","alias":"javascript-development"},"649":{"id":649,"title":"QA - Quality assurance","description":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Quality Assurance (QA)</span> is defined as an activity to ensure that an organization is providing the best possible product or service to customers. QA focuses on improving the processes to deliver Quality Products to the customer. An organization has to ensure, that processes are efficient and effective as per the quality standards defined for software products. Quality Assurance is popularly known as <span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">QA Testing. </span>\r\nQA establishes and maintains set requirements for developing or manufacturing reliable products. A quality assurance system is meant to increase customer confidence and a company's credibility, while also improving work processes and efficiency, and it enables a company to better compete with others.\r\nQuality assurance helps a company create products and services that meet the needs, expectations and requirements of customers. It yields high-quality product offerings that build trust and loyalty with customers. The standards and procedures defined by a quality assurance program help prevent product defects before they arise.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Quality assurance utilizes one of three methods:</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Failure testing, </span>which continually tests a product to determine if it breaks or fails. For physical products that need to withstand stress, this could involve testing the product under heat, pressure or vibration. For software products, failure testing might involve placing the software under high usage or load conditions.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Statistical process control (SPC),</span> a methodology based on objective data and analysis and developed by Walter Shewhart at Western Electric Company and Bell Telephone Laboratories in the 1920's and 1930's. This methodology uses statistical methods to manage and control the production of products.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Total quality management (TQM),</span> which applies quantitative methods as the basis for continuous improvement. TQM relies on facts, data and analysis to support product planning and performance reviews.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Quality assurance in software.</span> Software quality assurance&nbsp; management (SQA) systematically finds patterns and the actions needed to improve development cycles. Finding and fixing coding errors can carry unintended consequences; it is possible to fix one thing, yet break other features and functionality at the same time.\r\nSQA software has become important for developers as a means of avoiding errors before they occur, saving development time and expenses. Even with SQA processes in place, an update to software can break other features and cause defects - commonly known as bugs.\r\n\r\n","materialsDescription":"<h1 class=\"align-center\"> Differences between Software testing and SQA services</h1>\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">SQA tools</span></li></ul>\r\n- Is about engineering process that ensures quality\r\n- Involve activities related to the implementation of processes, procedures, and standards.\r\n- Process focused \r\n- Preventive technique\r\n- Proactive measure\r\n- The scope of software quality testing tools applied to all products that will be created by the organization\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Software Testing</span></li></ul>\r\n- Software Testing is to test a product for problems before the product goes live\r\n- Involves actives concerning verification of product Example - Review Testing\r\n- Product focused\r\n - Corrective technique\r\n- Reactive measure\r\n- The scope of Software Testing applies to a particular product being tested\r\n<h1 class=\"align-center\">Manual QA testing services Vs Automated Quality Assurance Testing</h1>\r\nSoftware testing is a huge domain, but it can be broadly categorized into two areas: manual testing and automated testing. Both of them can be used to achieve the best results, but it is always worth knowing the difference between the two. Each testing type – manual and automated – comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. \r\nYou can choose between manual and quality assurance testing services based on a variety of factors. These include:\r\n- Project requirements\r\n- Timeline\r\n- Budget\r\n- Expertise\r\n- Suitability<br /> \r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Manual Testing &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></li></ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Exploratory Testing:</span> This scenario requires a tester’s expertise, creativity, knowledge, analytical and logical reasoning skills. With poorly written specifications and short execution time, human skills are a must to test in this scenario.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Ad-Hoc Testing:</span> It is an unplanned method of testing where the biggest difference maker is a tester’s insight that can work without a specific approach.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Usability Testing:</span> Here you need to check the level of user-friendliness and check the software for convenience. Human observation is a must to make the end user’s experience convenient.\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Quality Assurance automation tools</span></li></ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Repeated Execution:</span> When you need to execute a use case repeatedly, automated testing is a better option.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Regression Testing:</span> Automated automated QA software is better here because the code changes frequently and the regressions can be run in a timely manner\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Performance:</span> You need an automated QA testing software when thousands of concurrent users are simulated at the same time. Additionally, it is a better solution for load testing.\r\n\r\n","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_Quality_assurance.png","alias":"qa-quality-assurance"},"673":{"id":673,"title":"MS SQL Development","description":" Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system, or RDBMS, that supports a wide variety of transaction processing, business intelligence and analytics applications in corporate IT environments. It's one of the three market-leading database technologies, along with Oracle Database and IBM's DB2.\r\nLike other RDBMS technologies, SQL Server is primarily built around a row-based table structure that connects related data elements in different tables to one another, avoiding the need to redundantly store data in multiple places within a database. The relational model also provides referential integrity and other integrity constraints to maintain data accuracy; those checks are part of a broader adherence to the principles of atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability - collectively known as the ACID properties and designed to guarantee that database transactions are processed reliably.\r\nThe advanced security features supported in all editions of Microsoft SQL Server starting with SQL Server 2016 SP1 include three technologies added to the 2016 release: Always Encrypted, which lets user update encrypted data without having to decrypt it first; row-level security, which enables data access to be controlled at the row level in database tables; and dynamic data masking, which automatically hides elements of sensitive data from users without full access privileges.","materialsDescription":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is MS SQL?</span>\r\nMS SQL is short for Microsoft SQL Server. It is a relational web hosting database that is used to store web site information like blog posts or user information. MS SQL is the most popular type of database on Windows servers. It is not free but it has many advanced features that make it suitable for businesses.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What are the features of MS SQL?</span>\r\nIn basic terms, an MS SQL database is capable of storing any type of data that you want. It will let you quickly store and retrieve information and multiple web site visitors can use it at one time. You will use SQL statements to accomplish all of this. In more technical terms, most versions of MS SQL have the following features:\r\n<ul><li>Buffer management</li><li>Logging and Transaction</li><li>Concurrency and locking</li><li>Replication services</li><li>Analysis services</li><li>Notification services</li><li>Integration services</li><li>Full-text search service</li><li>Stored procedures</li><li>Triggers</li><li>Views</li><li>Sub-SELECTs (i.e. nested SELECTs)</li></ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is MS SQL used for?</span>\r\nMS SQL is the database of choice for web applications on a Windows platform (using .NET or ASP). These languages make is extremely easy to connect to the MS SQL database. It is also used for many popular content management systems and other scripts.","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_MS_SQL_Development.png","alias":"ms-sql-development"},"729":{"id":729,"title":"IT Project Deployment Services","description":" Companies invest in projects for the implementation of IT systems that are consistent with the organization's values, with the goal of realizing a business vision, stable support for operational activities, and gaining competitive advantages. In this regard, technological projects are becoming increasingly large-scale, affecting more departments of the organization, and pose a risk to the company if the operation of information systems is disrupted.\r\nThe introduction of new IT requires the project team to carry out at least two principal stages:\r\n<ul><li>pre-project analysis of the enterprise, when, with the help of specialists in the proposed IP and specialists of the enterprise, compliance and discrepancies between the system and its future use is revealed. As a result of the survey, ways to eliminate inconsistencies are determined based on the initial assessment of the required resources and time. The survey is conducted using questions and answers, to some extent formalized, and special software tools that allow you to describe the processes of the system and the enterprise and compare them visually. No changes take place at the enterprise unless individual employees are distracted from their direct duties, which is both a virtue and a disadvantage of this approach;</li><li>trial implementation carried out on the most characteristic site of work. Based on this test work, a general assessment of future implementation is determined and a fundamental decision is made on the use of IP.</li></ul>\r\nThere is a lot of confusion and substitution of the concept of “project team” with the idea of ​​it as a “group”, “pack”, “family”, etc. There are several understandings that there is a modern “project team/group” and “integrated project team”, however, the fundamental characteristic of the team is that it does not exist outside the project. A team with all its human strengths and weaknesses is a necessary and inseparable element of any project. It is a developing element of the technology of the project and affects the project itself.\r\nThe project itself is not “done” - it is made by people, and where people are affected by the influence of biology, instincts, gender parameters, “conscious” and “unconscious”, etc. If people are in the organizational “system” (family, flock, group, team, etc.), systemic effects arise that should be foreseen in the formation of a set of people due to the competent selection, placement and development of the team in the right direction. This is not just an ordinary organizational question, but a question of the depth of understanding of the essence of the project, its management and the skill of the leader.","materialsDescription":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is an IT project?</span>\r\nAn IT project is a project that includes work related to information technology.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is information technology?</span>\r\nInformation technology is a technology aimed at the creation, development and support of information systems.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What are the main ideas underlying the project team model of an IT project?</span>\r\n<ul><li>interdependent and interrelated roles in a small group;</li><li>determination of the role, special mission and area of ​​responsibility for each member of the project team;</li><li>distributed project management and responsibility;</li><li>each is focused on the success of the project and is set to work throughout the project cycle;</li><li>communication between project team members is a key success factor;</li><li>users and training staff are included in the project team;</li><li>parallel engineering - parallel work of all team members on a project.</li></ul>","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_IT_Project_Deployment_Services.png","alias":"it-project-deployment-services"},"735":{"id":735,"title":"Installation and configuration","description":" Installation or setup is the act of making the system or program ready for execution. Because the process varies for each program and each computer, programs (including operating systems) often come with an installer, a specialized program responsible for doing whatever is needed for their installation. The configuration is an arrangement of functional units according to their nature, number, and chief characteristics. Often, configuration pertains to the choice of hardware, software, firmware, settings, and documentation. The configuration affects system function and performance.\r\nSome computer programs can be executed by simply copying them into a folder stored on a computer and executing them. Other programs are supplied in a form unsuitable for immediate execution and therefore need an installation procedure. Once installed, the program can be executed again and again, without the need to reinstall before each execution.\r\nCommon operations performed during software installations include:\r\n<ul><li>Making sure that necessary system requirements are met</li><li>Checking for existing versions of the software</li><li>Creating or updating program files and folders</li><li>Adding configuration data such as configuration files, Windows registry entries or environment variables</li><li>Making the software accessible to the user, for instance by creating links, shortcuts or bookmarks</li><li>Configuring components that run automatically, such as daemons or Windows services</li><li>Performing product activation</li><li>Updating the software versions</li></ul>\r\nThese operations may require some charges or be free of charge. In case of payment, installation costs means the costs connected and relevant to or incurred as a result of installing the drivers or the equipment in the customers' premises. ","materialsDescription":"<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What does &quot;Installation&quot; mean?</span>\r\nInstallation is the process of making hardware and/or software ready for use. Obviously, different systems require different types of installations. While certain installations are simple and straightforward and can be performed by non-professionals, others are more complex and time-consuming and may require the involvement of specialists.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What does the &quot;Configuration&quot; mean?</span>\r\nThe way a system is set up, or the assortment of components that make up the system. Configuration can refer to either hardware or software, or the combination of both. For instance, a typical configuration for a PC consists of 32MB (megabytes) main memory, a floppy drive, a hard disk, a modem, a CD-ROM drive, a VGA monitor, and the Windows operating system.\r\nMany software products require that the computer have a certain minimum configuration. For example, the software might require a graphics display monitor and a video adapter, a particular microprocessor, and a minimum amount of main memory.\r\nWhen you install a new device or program, you sometimes need to configure it, which means to set various switches and jumpers (for hardware) and to define values of parameters (for software). For example, the device or program may need to know what type of video adapter you have and what type of printer is connected to the computer. Thanks to new technologies, such as plug-and-play, much of this configuration is performed automatically.","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_Installation_and_configuration.png","alias":"installation-and-configuration"},"739":{"id":739,"title":"Deployment and Integration Services","description":" The number of various solutions implemented by customers today is quite large. Often, the subsystems of the seemingly unified IT landscape are either weakly connected with each other, or the interaction between them is established in the mode of transferring files and data by mail or “from hand to hand”.\r\nWestern IT vendors, following a certain trend, offer the customer complete and unified solutions. Such blocks of subsystems solve a specific task and form separate IT centers, which also require the mutual integration of infrastructures. This, oddly enough, is even more difficult, as a complete solution does not allow to penetrate deeply and get access to the required information or control subsystems.\r\nNevertheless, the integration and interconnection of information flows can significantly simplify business processes and lead to an increase in the efficiency of interaction both inside and outside the company (with customers and partners).\r\nThe integration task itself is important for business, as it provides a qualitatively new level of services. This is especially important for companies where IT is the immediate tool for achieving business goals. But it is equally important to make integration optimal in the light of minimizing not only the cost of purchasing equipment and software but also preserving previous IT investments.","materialsDescription":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">The main types of implementation and integration services offered by companies:</span>\r\n<ul><li>Designing IT architecture for integration solutions in the field of analytics, automation and monitoring of business processes;</li><li>Development and integration of network infrastructure subsystems, including scalable telecommunications equipment, server equipment and workstations;</li><li>Defining a single platform and developing a solution for integrating enterprise applications, data and business processes;</li><li>Implementation and maintenance of integrated integration solutions in the field of enterprise management (ERP-systems);</li><li>Implementation and maintenance of integration solutions in the field of accounting and analysis of sales and customer relations (CRM-system);</li><li>Implementation and maintenance of integration solutions in the field of accounting and financial analysis;</li><li>Impairment, testing and development of solutions for ensuring information security of a business.</li></ul>","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_Deployment_and_Integration_Services.png","alias":"deployment-and-integration-services"},"812":{"id":812,"title":"SMM","description":" Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Although the terms e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social media marketing is becoming more popular for both practitioners and researchers. Most social media platforms have built-in data analytics tools, which enable companies to track the progress, success, and engagement of ad campaigns. Companies address a range of stakeholders through social media marketing, including current and potential customers, current and potential employees, journalists, bloggers, and the general public. On a strategic level, social media marketing includes the management of a marketing campaign, governance, setting the scope (e.g. more active or passive use) and the establishment of a firm's desired social media &quot;culture&quot; and &quot;tone.&quot;\r\nWhen using social media marketing, firms can allow customers and Internet users to post user-generated content (e.g., online comments, product reviews, etc.), also known as &quot;earned media,&quot; rather than use marketer-prepared advertising copy.\r\nSocial media marketing involves the use of social networks, consumer's online brand-related activities (COBRA) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) to successfully advertise online. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter provide advertisers with information about the likes and dislikes of their consumers. This technique is crucial, as it provides the businesses with a &quot;target audience&quot;. With social networks, information relevant to the user's likes is available to businesses; who then advertise accordingly. Activities such as uploading a picture of your &quot;new Converse sneakers to Facebook&quot; is an example of a COBRA. Electronic recommendations and appraisals are a convenient manner to have a product promoted via &quot;consumer-to-consumer interactions. An example of eWOM would be an online hotel review; the hotel company can have two possible outcomes based on their service. A good service would result in a positive review which gets the hotel free advertising via social media. However, a poor service will result in a negative consumer review which can potentially harm the company's reputation.\r\nSocial networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, MySpace etc. have all influenced the buzz of word of mouth marketing. In 1999, Misner said that word-of mouth marketing is, &quot;the world's most effective, yet least understood marketing strategy&quot; (Trusov, Bucklin, &amp; Pauwels, 2009, p. 3). Through the influence of opinion leaders, the increased online &quot;buzz&quot; of &quot;word-of-mouth&quot; marketing that a product, service or companies are experiencing is due to the rise in use of social media and smartphones. Businesses and marketers have noticed that, &quot;a persons behaviour is influenced by many small groups&quot; (Kotler, Burton, Deans, Brown, &amp; Armstrong, 2013, p. 189). These small groups rotate around social networking accounts that are run by influential people (opinion leaders or &quot;thought leaders&quot;) who have followers of groups. The types of groups (followers) are called: reference groups (people who know each other either face-to-face or have an indirect influence on a persons attitude or behaviour); membership groups (a person has a direct influence on a person's attitude or behaviour); and aspirational groups (groups which an individual wishes to belong to).","materialsDescription":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What is social media marketing?</span>\r\nSocial media marketing is the new trend for online businesses and a new angle on the role of word-of-mouth marketing. By harnessing the growing popularity and usage of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, social media marketing can be used to develop networks and business leads through the sharing of information and contacts. However, it’s also a difficult medium to make work effectively, since social media sites are used differently to other types of website – such as search engines or online shopping sites – so that companies need to commit time and have a clearly planned strategy in place for using these tools.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Which are the most popular social media sites?</span>\r\nSocial media websites are usually defined by their ability for interaction, so that users can add comments and reviews, or interact in the form of an online community. The original social media sites were discussion forums and community sites, and these were then followed by blogs for online content publication and discussion. Social bookmarking sites (such as Delicious) and news publication sites (such as Digg) have enjoyed periods of popularity, but the enormous growth in the use of social networking sites in the last few years has been focused around Facebook, Twitter and, for the business community, LinkedIn.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What are the advantages of social media for businesses?</span>\r\nThe best strategy for social media is to build an audience of people that are receptive to purchasing your products and services – locally and globally – in a quick and highly effective way. By communicating with this audience it can ensure that your business remains ‘front of mind’ and creates a channel for new business leads. Social media also facilitates rapid feedback for businesses to improve their products and services and some companies are using this as listening platforms to monitor the conversations about their brands. They realise that a personal touch brings benefits, so that customer service and interaction with businesses is becoming social.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What are the disadvantages of social media for businesses?</span>\r\nSocial media marketing can be time-consuming and it can sometimes be hard to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the effort that needs to be put into it. Any social media marketing campaign requires a clear strategy from the outset, an allocated resource to manage it, and a policy for every eventuality. There are numerous stories of large companies that have mishandled the social media platform and created a PR disaster, but there are also many companies that are now using this medium extremely effectively as a communication and marketing channel. Whatever approach your business takes, social media can’t be ignored and the importance of monitoring and managing your online reputation is now an essential element of an overall marketing approach.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What are the core elements of a social media marketing strategy?</span>\r\nAs noted above, the importance of having a clear strategy from the outset can’t be over-emphasised – who is your target market, what do you want to achieve, and how are you going to do it. Building a network is the first stage, and a relevant community is more important than a high number of followers for the sake of it. You need to develop an integrated marketing approach to attract followers and to sustain these with relevant content – such as news, advice, product updates or offers. Participating in social media is also a two-way conversation and so you need to monitor comments and discussions and to respond appropriately. It’s also important to know the different tools available, how people use them, and what are the various options available to get the most from your marketing efforts.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">How can Facebook be used effectively?</span>\r\nFacebook helps businesses to develop relationships with their customers and raise the visibility of their company by helping it to connect and grow. It’s more effective for building quality relationships with potential customers rather than generating immediate sales and this can be done by setting up a business page and/or by creating groups. Good, or interesting, news travels fast, so it can be an extremely effective medium for spreading the word and improving the ‘buzz’ about a business if you can get the “word-of-mouth” process to work. Facebook advertising is also available which can be used to target users by location and interests, and is charged on a Cost-Per-Click or Cost-Per-Thousand basis.","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon-SMM.png","alias":"smm"}},"branches":"Information Technology","companySizes":"1 to 50 Employees","companyUrl":"https://www.gconnect.ch/","countryCodes":["CHE","UKR"],"certifications":[],"isSeller":true,"isSupplier":true,"isVendor":true,"presenterCodeLng":"","seo":{"title":"GConnect","keywords":"","description":"GConnect is an outsourcing company with many years of experience in the area of its business activity. Supporting stable customer relationships, we provide services in the IT sector and in various office works. Our principal places of business are situated in ","og:title":"GConnect","og:description":"GConnect is an outsourcing company with many years of experience in the area of its business activity. Supporting stable customer relationships, we provide services in the IT sector and in various office works. Our principal places of business are situated in ","og:image":"https://old.roi4cio.com/uploads/roi/company/GConnect_logo.png"},"eventUrl":"","vendorPartners":[],"supplierPartners":[],"vendoredProducts":[{"id":2806,"logoURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/GConnect_logo.png","logo":true,"scheme":false,"title":"GConnect Software Development","vendorVerified":0,"rating":"1.00","implementationsCount":0,"suppliersCount":0,"supplierPartnersCount":0,"alias":"gconnect-software-development","companyTitle":"GConnect","companyTypes":["supplier","vendor"],"companyId":4876,"companyAlias":"gconnect","description":"GConnect AG specializes in outsourcing solutions for the implementation of IT technologies and management. Our outsourcing model of cooperation has been experiencing since 2008 and proved to be effective. The main office of GConnect, which is located in Zurich (Switzerland), and our outsourcing office in Dnipro (Ukraine) provide support and staff placement for solutions that improve the quality of business support and significantly reduces the costs of resources that are associated with the core business. We have the opportunity to meet the quality requirements of our customers under mutually beneficial terms.\r\nOur team includes highly qualified specialists in different areas – certified software developers, designers, testers, system administrators, researchers in the field of fundamental and technical sciences (Ph.D.), technical proof-readers, and translators.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Cooperation with GConnect AG will help you in the following:</span>\r\n<ul><li>To concentrate on the main tasks, reduce and control their operating costs</li><li>To introduce new technologies and automate business processes</li><li>To save management resources for staff</li><li>To overcome the deficit of talents</li></ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Our main services</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Software Development</span></span>\r\n<ul><li>ASP.NET</li><li>Web Development</li></ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Microsoft Dynamics NAV</span></span>\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Microsoft SharePoint</span></span>\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Outsourcing Services</span></span>","shortDescription":"GConnect is an outsourcing company with many years of experience in the area of its business activity.","type":null,"isRoiCalculatorAvaliable":false,"isConfiguratorAvaliable":false,"bonus":100,"usingCount":18,"sellingCount":6,"discontinued":0,"rebateForPoc":0,"rebate":0,"seo":{"title":"GConnect Software Development","keywords":"","description":"GConnect AG specializes in outsourcing solutions for the implementation of IT technologies and management. Our outsourcing model of cooperation has been experiencing since 2008 and proved to be effective. The main office of GConnect, which is located in Zurich","og:title":"GConnect Software Development","og:description":"GConnect AG specializes in outsourcing solutions for the implementation of IT technologies and management. Our outsourcing model of cooperation has been experiencing since 2008 and proved to be effective. The main office of GConnect, which is located in Zurich","og:image":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/GConnect_logo.png"},"eventUrl":"","translationId":2807,"dealDetails":null,"roi":null,"price":null,"bonusForReference":null,"templateData":[],"testingArea":"","categories":[{"id":601,"title":"Custom Software Development","alias":"custom-software-development","description":" Custom software (also known as bespoke software or tailor-made software) is software that organization for some specific organization or another user. As such, it can be contrasted with the use of software packages developed for the mass market, such as commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software, or existing free software.\r\nSince custom software is developed for a single customer it can accommodate that customer's particular preferences and expectations. Custom software may be developed in an iterative process, allowing all nuances and possible hidden risks to be taken into account, including issues which were not mentioned in the original requirement specifications (which are, as a rule, never perfect). In particular, the first phase in the software development process may involve many departments, materchode including marketing, engineering, research and development and general management.\r\nLarge companies commonly use custom software for critical functions, including content management, inventory management, customer management, human resource management, or otherwise to fill the gaps present in the existing software packages. Often such software is legacy software, developed before COTS or free software packages offering the required functionality became available.\r\nCustom software development is often considered expensive compared to off-the-shelf solutions or products. This can be true if one is speaking of typical challenges and typical solutions. However, it is not always true. In many cases, COTS software requires customization to correctly support the buyer's operations. The cost and delay of COTS customization can even add up to the expense of developing custom software. Cost is not the only consideration, however, as the decision to opt for custom software often includes the requirement for the purchaser to own the source code, to secure the possibility of future development or modifications to the installed system.\r\nAdditionally, COTS comes with upfront license costs which vary enormously but sometimes run into the millions (in terms of dollars). Furthermore, the big software houses that release COTS products revamp their product very frequently. Thus a particular customization may need to be upgraded for compatibility every two to four years. Given the cost of customization, such upgrades also turn out to be expensive, as a dedicated product release cycle will have to be earmarked for them.\r\nThe decision to build custom software or go for a COTS implementation would usually rest on one or more of the following factors:\r\n<ul><li>Finances - both cost and benefit: The upfront license cost for COTS products mean that a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the business case needs to be done. However it is widely known that large custom software projects cannot fix all three of scope, time/cost and quality constant, so either the cost or the benefits of a custom software project will be subject to some degree of uncertainty - even disregarding the uncertainty around the business benefits of a feature that is successfully implemented.</li><li>Supplier - In the case of COTS, is the supplier likely to remain in business long, and will there be adequate support and customization available? Alternatively, will there be a realistic possibility of getting support and customization from third parties? In the case of custom software, software development may be outsourced or done in-house. If it is outsourced, the question is: is the supplier reputable, and do they have a good track record?</li><li>Time to market: COTS products usually have a quicker time to market</li><li>Size of implementation: COTS comes with standardization of business processes and reporting. For a global or national organization, these can bring in gains in cost savings, efficiency and productivity, if the branch offices are all willing and able to use the same COTS without heavy customizations (which is not always a given).</li></ul>","materialsDescription":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Why is custom software such a large investment?</span>\r\nBuilding a custom web application is a time-consuming endeavor. It takes time to learn the processes of your business, to gather requirements, to flesh out your needs, and to build the software. Put simply, time is money.\r\nWhile it’s a large investment, by investing in custom software, you’ll own the code instead of having a long-term licensing agreement with another software company.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">How could my business benefit from custom software?</span>\r\nA custom business software solution increases process efficiency through process automation. When business processes are properly automated, they minimize the waste in time and resources that the original processes contained.\r\nThink of it this way: with software that already exists, you have to modify your process to meet software capabilities. With custom software, you can build a system around the existing processes you have in place. You took a lot of time to develop those processes, so why should you revamp your business?\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is IP and how important is it that I own it?</span>\r\nIP stands for Intellectual Property. When you deal with anything creative, you have to think about copyright and the intellectual property on that work and that includes the creation of software code.\r\nThis gets back to the question of buying vs. building. If there is an existing solution that can suit your needs just fine, then it makes sense to buy, but the software developer owns the code and you are basically licensing the software from there. However, if you need a specialized solution that is customized to your needs and decide to go the custom development route, then the question of who owns the code is an important one.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">I’m thinking about hiring someone offshore; what should I watch out for?</span>\r\nIn short, everything. Language barriers and lack of proximity lead to breakdowns in communication and quality. Do yourself a favor and stay local.\r\nOn a related note, if you’re thinking about hiring for the position internally, think about this: it takes around three people to complete a successful custom software project. If you hire someone internally, their salary might cost what it would take to build with us, and you get a whole team when you work with us. Plus, if your software developer decides to leave, they take their knowledge with them. If one of our team members leave, our whole team shares the knowledge so you’re not left in the dark.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">If things don’t go well, am I sunk?</span>\r\nWe make communication and transparency are top priorities so this doesn’t happen. Right out of the gate we work hard to make sure that not only the project is a good fit, but the relationship with the client is as well. Through each step of the process and the build, we keep you in the loop weekly so you know what to expect and what is happening, but a good development company should have places in their process/relationship where you can cleanly exit. Make sure you know what the process is for leaving and what those different ‘leaving’ options are.","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_Custom_Software_Development.png"},{"id":32,"title":"IT outsourcing","alias":"it-outsourcing","description":"<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">IT outsourcing</span> is the use of external service providers to effectively deliver IT-enabled business process, application service and infrastructure solutions for business outcomes.\r\nOutsourcing, which also includes utility services, software as a service and cloud-enabled outsourcing, helps clients to develop the right sourcing strategies and vision, select the right IT service providers, structure the best possible contracts, and govern deals for sustainable win-win relationships with external providers.\r\nOutsourcing can enable enterprises to reduce costs, accelerate time to market, and take advantage of external expertise, assets and/or intellectual property. IT outsourcing can be implemented both ways: outsides or within the country. \r\nIT outsourcing vendors can provide either a fully managed service, meaning they take full responsibility of all IT maintenance and support, or they can provide additional support for an internal IT team when needed, which is known as co-sourced IT support. A company using IT outsourcing can choose to use one provider for all their IT functions or split the work among multiple providers. \r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Specific IT services typically outsourced include:</span>\r\n<ul><li>Application development</li><li>Web hosting</li><li>Application support</li><li>Database development</li><li>Telecommunications</li><li>Networking</li><li>Disaster recovery</li><li>Security</li></ul>\r\n<p class=\"align-center\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Reasons for Outsourcing</span></p>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Reduce Cost.</span> More often than not, outsourcing means saving money. This is often due to lower labor costs, cheaper infrastructure, or an advantageous tax system in the outsourcing location.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Access Skills That Are Unavailable Locally.</span> Resources that are scarce at home can sometimes be found in abundance elsewhere, meaning you can easily reach them through outsourcing.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Better Use Internal Resources</span>. By delegating some of your business processes to a third party, you’ll give your in-house employees the opportunity to focus on more meaningful tasks.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Accelerate Business Processes.</span> When you stop wasting time on mundane, time-consuming processes, you’ll be able to move forward with your core offering a lot faster.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Share Risks.</span> When you delegate a part of non-focus functionality by outsourcing it to a third-party vendor, you give away the responsibility and related risks.","materialsDescription":"<h3 class=\"align-center\">What are the Types of IT Outsourcing?</h3>\r\n<p class=\"align-left\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Project-Based Model.</span> The client hires a team to implement the part of work that is already planned and defined. The project manager from the outsourced team carries full responsibility for the quality and performance of the project.</p>\r\n<p class=\"align-left\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Dedicated Team Model.</span> The client hires a team that will create a project for them, and they will work only on that project. Unlike the project-based model, a dedicated team is more engaged in your project. In this model, an outsourced team becomes your technical and product advisor. So it can offer ideas and suggest alternative solutions.</p>\r\n<p class=\"align-left\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Outstaff Model.</span> It's a type of outsourcing in IT when you don't need a full-fledged development team and hire separate specialists. Sometimes the project requires finding a couple of additional professionals, and you're free to hire outstaff workers to cover that scope of work.</p>\r\n<h3 class=\"align-center\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What are IT Outsourcing examples?</span></h3>\r\nThe individual or company that becomes your outsourcing partner can be located anywhere in the world — one block away from your office or on another continent.\r\nA Bay Area-based startup partnering with an app development team in Utah and a call center in the Philippines, or a UK-based digital marketing agency hiring a Magento developer from Ukraine are both examples of outsourcing.\r\n<h3 class=\"align-center\">Why You Should Use IT Outsourcing</h3>\r\nNow that you know what IT outsourcing is, its models, and types, it's time to clarify why you need to outsource and whether you really need it. Let's go over a few situations that suggest when to opt for IT outsourcing.\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">You are a domain expert with idea</span></li></ul>\r\nIf you're an industry expert with the idea that solves a real problem, IT outsourcing is your choice. In this case, your main goal is to enter the market and test the solution fast. An outsourced team will help you validate the idea, build an MVP to check the hypothesis, and implement changes in your product according to market needs. It saves you money, time and lets you reach the goal.\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">You have an early-stage startup</span></li></ul>\r\nIt's a common case that young startups spend money faster than they get a solid team and a ready-to-market product. The Failory found that financial problems are the 3rd reason why startup fails. So it makes more sense to reduce costs by hiring an outsourced team of professionals while your business lives on investor's money. You may employ a full-cycle product development studio covering all the blind spots and bringing your product to life.\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">You need a technical support</span></li></ul>\r\nEven if you already have a ready solution, but it demands some technical improvements – frameworks for backend components, new language, integrations with enterprise software, UX&amp;UI design – it makes more sense to find an experienced partner. There are many functions that IT outsourcing can cover, and again it saves you the time you'd otherwise spend on looking for qualified staff.<br /><br /><br />","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_IT_outsourcing.png"}],"characteristics":[],"concurentProducts":[],"jobRoles":[],"organizationalFeatures":[],"complementaryCategories":[],"solutions":[],"materials":[],"useCases":[],"best_practices":[],"values":[],"implementations":[]}],"suppliedProducts":[{"id":2806,"logoURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/GConnect_logo.png","logo":true,"scheme":false,"title":"GConnect Software Development","vendorVerified":0,"rating":"1.00","implementationsCount":0,"suppliersCount":0,"supplierPartnersCount":0,"alias":"gconnect-software-development","companyTitle":"GConnect","companyTypes":["supplier","vendor"],"companyId":4876,"companyAlias":"gconnect","description":"GConnect AG specializes in outsourcing solutions for the implementation of IT technologies and management. Our outsourcing model of cooperation has been experiencing since 2008 and proved to be effective. The main office of GConnect, which is located in Zurich (Switzerland), and our outsourcing office in Dnipro (Ukraine) provide support and staff placement for solutions that improve the quality of business support and significantly reduces the costs of resources that are associated with the core business. We have the opportunity to meet the quality requirements of our customers under mutually beneficial terms.\r\nOur team includes highly qualified specialists in different areas – certified software developers, designers, testers, system administrators, researchers in the field of fundamental and technical sciences (Ph.D.), technical proof-readers, and translators.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Cooperation with GConnect AG will help you in the following:</span>\r\n<ul><li>To concentrate on the main tasks, reduce and control their operating costs</li><li>To introduce new technologies and automate business processes</li><li>To save management resources for staff</li><li>To overcome the deficit of talents</li></ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Our main services</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Software Development</span></span>\r\n<ul><li>ASP.NET</li><li>Web Development</li></ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Microsoft Dynamics NAV</span></span>\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Microsoft SharePoint</span></span>\r\n<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Outsourcing Services</span></span>","shortDescription":"GConnect is an outsourcing company with many years of experience in the area of its business activity.","type":null,"isRoiCalculatorAvaliable":false,"isConfiguratorAvaliable":false,"bonus":100,"usingCount":18,"sellingCount":6,"discontinued":0,"rebateForPoc":0,"rebate":0,"seo":{"title":"GConnect Software Development","keywords":"","description":"GConnect AG specializes in outsourcing solutions for the implementation of IT technologies and management. Our outsourcing model of cooperation has been experiencing since 2008 and proved to be effective. The main office of GConnect, which is located in Zurich","og:title":"GConnect Software Development","og:description":"GConnect AG specializes in outsourcing solutions for the implementation of IT technologies and management. Our outsourcing model of cooperation has been experiencing since 2008 and proved to be effective. The main office of GConnect, which is located in Zurich","og:image":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/GConnect_logo.png"},"eventUrl":"","translationId":2807,"dealDetails":null,"roi":null,"price":null,"bonusForReference":null,"templateData":[],"testingArea":"","categories":[{"id":601,"title":"Custom Software Development","alias":"custom-software-development","description":" Custom software (also known as bespoke software or tailor-made software) is software that organization for some specific organization or another user. As such, it can be contrasted with the use of software packages developed for the mass market, such as commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software, or existing free software.\r\nSince custom software is developed for a single customer it can accommodate that customer's particular preferences and expectations. Custom software may be developed in an iterative process, allowing all nuances and possible hidden risks to be taken into account, including issues which were not mentioned in the original requirement specifications (which are, as a rule, never perfect). In particular, the first phase in the software development process may involve many departments, materchode including marketing, engineering, research and development and general management.\r\nLarge companies commonly use custom software for critical functions, including content management, inventory management, customer management, human resource management, or otherwise to fill the gaps present in the existing software packages. Often such software is legacy software, developed before COTS or free software packages offering the required functionality became available.\r\nCustom software development is often considered expensive compared to off-the-shelf solutions or products. This can be true if one is speaking of typical challenges and typical solutions. However, it is not always true. In many cases, COTS software requires customization to correctly support the buyer's operations. The cost and delay of COTS customization can even add up to the expense of developing custom software. Cost is not the only consideration, however, as the decision to opt for custom software often includes the requirement for the purchaser to own the source code, to secure the possibility of future development or modifications to the installed system.\r\nAdditionally, COTS comes with upfront license costs which vary enormously but sometimes run into the millions (in terms of dollars). Furthermore, the big software houses that release COTS products revamp their product very frequently. Thus a particular customization may need to be upgraded for compatibility every two to four years. Given the cost of customization, such upgrades also turn out to be expensive, as a dedicated product release cycle will have to be earmarked for them.\r\nThe decision to build custom software or go for a COTS implementation would usually rest on one or more of the following factors:\r\n<ul><li>Finances - both cost and benefit: The upfront license cost for COTS products mean that a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the business case needs to be done. However it is widely known that large custom software projects cannot fix all three of scope, time/cost and quality constant, so either the cost or the benefits of a custom software project will be subject to some degree of uncertainty - even disregarding the uncertainty around the business benefits of a feature that is successfully implemented.</li><li>Supplier - In the case of COTS, is the supplier likely to remain in business long, and will there be adequate support and customization available? Alternatively, will there be a realistic possibility of getting support and customization from third parties? In the case of custom software, software development may be outsourced or done in-house. If it is outsourced, the question is: is the supplier reputable, and do they have a good track record?</li><li>Time to market: COTS products usually have a quicker time to market</li><li>Size of implementation: COTS comes with standardization of business processes and reporting. For a global or national organization, these can bring in gains in cost savings, efficiency and productivity, if the branch offices are all willing and able to use the same COTS without heavy customizations (which is not always a given).</li></ul>","materialsDescription":" <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Why is custom software such a large investment?</span>\r\nBuilding a custom web application is a time-consuming endeavor. It takes time to learn the processes of your business, to gather requirements, to flesh out your needs, and to build the software. Put simply, time is money.\r\nWhile it’s a large investment, by investing in custom software, you’ll own the code instead of having a long-term licensing agreement with another software company.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">How could my business benefit from custom software?</span>\r\nA custom business software solution increases process efficiency through process automation. When business processes are properly automated, they minimize the waste in time and resources that the original processes contained.\r\nThink of it this way: with software that already exists, you have to modify your process to meet software capabilities. With custom software, you can build a system around the existing processes you have in place. You took a lot of time to develop those processes, so why should you revamp your business?\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What is IP and how important is it that I own it?</span>\r\nIP stands for Intellectual Property. When you deal with anything creative, you have to think about copyright and the intellectual property on that work and that includes the creation of software code.\r\nThis gets back to the question of buying vs. building. If there is an existing solution that can suit your needs just fine, then it makes sense to buy, but the software developer owns the code and you are basically licensing the software from there. However, if you need a specialized solution that is customized to your needs and decide to go the custom development route, then the question of who owns the code is an important one.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">I’m thinking about hiring someone offshore; what should I watch out for?</span>\r\nIn short, everything. Language barriers and lack of proximity lead to breakdowns in communication and quality. Do yourself a favor and stay local.\r\nOn a related note, if you’re thinking about hiring for the position internally, think about this: it takes around three people to complete a successful custom software project. If you hire someone internally, their salary might cost what it would take to build with us, and you get a whole team when you work with us. Plus, if your software developer decides to leave, they take their knowledge with them. If one of our team members leave, our whole team shares the knowledge so you’re not left in the dark.\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">If things don’t go well, am I sunk?</span>\r\nWe make communication and transparency are top priorities so this doesn’t happen. Right out of the gate we work hard to make sure that not only the project is a good fit, but the relationship with the client is as well. Through each step of the process and the build, we keep you in the loop weekly so you know what to expect and what is happening, but a good development company should have places in their process/relationship where you can cleanly exit. Make sure you know what the process is for leaving and what those different ‘leaving’ options are.","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_Custom_Software_Development.png"},{"id":32,"title":"IT outsourcing","alias":"it-outsourcing","description":"<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">IT outsourcing</span> is the use of external service providers to effectively deliver IT-enabled business process, application service and infrastructure solutions for business outcomes.\r\nOutsourcing, which also includes utility services, software as a service and cloud-enabled outsourcing, helps clients to develop the right sourcing strategies and vision, select the right IT service providers, structure the best possible contracts, and govern deals for sustainable win-win relationships with external providers.\r\nOutsourcing can enable enterprises to reduce costs, accelerate time to market, and take advantage of external expertise, assets and/or intellectual property. IT outsourcing can be implemented both ways: outsides or within the country. \r\nIT outsourcing vendors can provide either a fully managed service, meaning they take full responsibility of all IT maintenance and support, or they can provide additional support for an internal IT team when needed, which is known as co-sourced IT support. A company using IT outsourcing can choose to use one provider for all their IT functions or split the work among multiple providers. \r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Specific IT services typically outsourced include:</span>\r\n<ul><li>Application development</li><li>Web hosting</li><li>Application support</li><li>Database development</li><li>Telecommunications</li><li>Networking</li><li>Disaster recovery</li><li>Security</li></ul>\r\n<p class=\"align-center\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Reasons for Outsourcing</span></p>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Reduce Cost.</span> More often than not, outsourcing means saving money. This is often due to lower labor costs, cheaper infrastructure, or an advantageous tax system in the outsourcing location.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Access Skills That Are Unavailable Locally.</span> Resources that are scarce at home can sometimes be found in abundance elsewhere, meaning you can easily reach them through outsourcing.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Better Use Internal Resources</span>. By delegating some of your business processes to a third party, you’ll give your in-house employees the opportunity to focus on more meaningful tasks.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Accelerate Business Processes.</span> When you stop wasting time on mundane, time-consuming processes, you’ll be able to move forward with your core offering a lot faster.<br /><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">To Share Risks.</span> When you delegate a part of non-focus functionality by outsourcing it to a third-party vendor, you give away the responsibility and related risks.","materialsDescription":"<h3 class=\"align-center\">What are the Types of IT Outsourcing?</h3>\r\n<p class=\"align-left\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Project-Based Model.</span> The client hires a team to implement the part of work that is already planned and defined. The project manager from the outsourced team carries full responsibility for the quality and performance of the project.</p>\r\n<p class=\"align-left\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Dedicated Team Model.</span> The client hires a team that will create a project for them, and they will work only on that project. Unlike the project-based model, a dedicated team is more engaged in your project. In this model, an outsourced team becomes your technical and product advisor. So it can offer ideas and suggest alternative solutions.</p>\r\n<p class=\"align-left\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">Outstaff Model.</span> It's a type of outsourcing in IT when you don't need a full-fledged development team and hire separate specialists. Sometimes the project requires finding a couple of additional professionals, and you're free to hire outstaff workers to cover that scope of work.</p>\r\n<h3 class=\"align-center\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; \">What are IT Outsourcing examples?</span></h3>\r\nThe individual or company that becomes your outsourcing partner can be located anywhere in the world — one block away from your office or on another continent.\r\nA Bay Area-based startup partnering with an app development team in Utah and a call center in the Philippines, or a UK-based digital marketing agency hiring a Magento developer from Ukraine are both examples of outsourcing.\r\n<h3 class=\"align-center\">Why You Should Use IT Outsourcing</h3>\r\nNow that you know what IT outsourcing is, its models, and types, it's time to clarify why you need to outsource and whether you really need it. Let's go over a few situations that suggest when to opt for IT outsourcing.\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">You are a domain expert with idea</span></li></ul>\r\nIf you're an industry expert with the idea that solves a real problem, IT outsourcing is your choice. In this case, your main goal is to enter the market and test the solution fast. An outsourced team will help you validate the idea, build an MVP to check the hypothesis, and implement changes in your product according to market needs. It saves you money, time and lets you reach the goal.\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">You have an early-stage startup</span></li></ul>\r\nIt's a common case that young startups spend money faster than they get a solid team and a ready-to-market product. The Failory found that financial problems are the 3rd reason why startup fails. So it makes more sense to reduce costs by hiring an outsourced team of professionals while your business lives on investor's money. You may employ a full-cycle product development studio covering all the blind spots and bringing your product to life.\r\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">You need a technical support</span></li></ul>\r\nEven if you already have a ready solution, but it demands some technical improvements – frameworks for backend components, new language, integrations with enterprise software, UX&amp;UI design – it makes more sense to find an experienced partner. There are many functions that IT outsourcing can cover, and again it saves you the time you'd otherwise spend on looking for qualified staff.<br /><br /><br />","iconURL":"https://old.roi4cio.com/fileadmin/user_upload/icon_IT_outsourcing.png"}],"characteristics":[],"concurentProducts":[],"jobRoles":[],"organizationalFeatures":[],"complementaryCategories":[],"solutions":[],"materials":[],"useCases":[],"best_practices":[],"values":[],"implementations":[]}],"partnershipProgramme":null}},"aliases":{},"links":{},"meta":{},"loading":false,"error":null},"implementations":{"implementationsByAlias":{},"aliases":{},"links":{},"meta":{},"loading":false,"error":null},"agreements":{"agreementById":{},"ids":{},"links":{},"meta":{},"loading":false,"error":null},"comparison":{"loading":false,"error":false,"templatesById":{},"comparisonByTemplateId":{},"products":[],"selectedTemplateId":null},"presentation":{"type":null,"company":{},"products":[],"partners":[],"formData":{},"dataLoading":false,"dataError":false,"loading":false,"error":false},"catalogsGlobal":{"subMenuItemTitle":""}}