Data mining is used today by companies with a strong consumer focus on organizations, such as retail, financial, communication, and marketing. It enables these companies to determine relationships among internal factors, such as price and product positioning and external factors, such as economic indicators, competition, and customer demographics. It also enables them to determine the impact on sales, customer satisfaction, and corporate profits. Many companies collect and refine massive quantities of data. Data mining techniques can be implemented rapidly on existing software and hardware platforms to enhance the value of existing information resources in order to integrate with new products and systems as they are brought on-line.

Data mining techniques are the result of a long process of research and product development. This evolution began when business data was first stored on computers, continued with improvements in data access, and more recently, generated technologies that allow users to navigate through their data in real time. Data mining takes this evolutionary process beyond retrospective data access and navigates to prospective and proactive information delivery. Data mining automates the process of finding predictive information in large database. Questions that traditionally required extensive hands-on analysis can now be answered directly from the data and even more quickly. Data mining uses data on past promotional mailings to identify the targets most likely to maximize return on investment in future mailings. Data mining tools sweep through databases and identify previously hidden patterns in one step.

Data mining techniques can yield the benefits of automation on existing software and hardware platforms that are used by outsourced software development companies. This technique can be further implemented on new systems as existing platforms are upgraded to develop new products. When data mining tools are implemented on high performance using parallel processing systems, they can analyze massive database in minutes. Faster processing means that users can automatically experiment with more models to understand complex data.

Data mining consists of five major elements:

• Extract, transform, and load transaction data onto the data warehouse system.

• Store and manage the data in a multidimensional database system.

• Provide data access to business analysts and information technology professionals.

• Analyze the data by application software.

• Present the data in a useful format, such as graph or table.

Offshore product development companies are providing business process outsourcing services, such as data mining and data entry services. Team of highly skilled and efficient people, with a singular focus on data processing, data mining, and data entry outsourcing services caters to the data entry projects of a varied nature and type. Comprehensive data warehouses that integrate operational data with customer, supplier, and market information have resulted in an explosion of information. Competition requires timely and sophisticated analysis on an integrated view of the data. However, there is a growing gap between more powerful storage and retrieval systems and the users’ ability to effectively analyze and act on the information they contain.

The world is shifting from traditional to techno savvy. Companies are now getting furnished with advance technology & IT services. The success of Information Technology companies lie with the increased need of software development services and this is reason that software development services market is booming. Nowadays, companies are offering their services in offshore product development. To achieve success, many companies turn to the software application development firms to get the complete IT and software solution for their needs. They consider that basic software are costly and even do not fulfill their overall needs. Even the services provided by the software development company are cheaper than buying new and exclusive software. Several trends are emerging within the area of outsourced software development.  Some of the most important trends are as follows:

Cloud Computing – Cloud computing comes into focus only when you think about what IT always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. Cloud computing levels the playing field for small companies to compete against large, established companies at a reasonable and predictable cost. The cloud is just one example of a virtualized computing platform, and the next generation of developer tools must enable developers to build software that deploys and performs well in cloud and other virtual environment. 

Agile Development – Agile development helps to standardize management and daily programmer work, enforcing a small, controllable level and also encouraging good communication across the team. Agile development processes, including Scrum, test-driven development, and continuous integration are commonly used in the enterprise and smaller development shops, often in combination with other development practices. Within Microsoft, many teams have integrated elements of Agile development practices to their process.  Visual Studio 2010 opens the door for Agile methodologies, offering support for some Agile processes, such as unit testing and iteration planning.  We will continue to support more Agile methodologies as we will move forward. Agile management is not only for managers rather it is for the whole team to have a good understanding about their own development and management process.

Modern scripting language – These languages encourage good practices and methods, changing our attitude towards programming and program design. Embracing elegant and simple solutions becomes expectation with time, thus we will be striving for elegance and quality to improve all of our further designs and codes.

The world of gaming and entertainment seems to be ever changing and developing, broadening its customers and showing new sides of entertainment we probably never considered possible. There is a transformation happening in the world of games and entertainment industry. Fueled by changing technology, everything from who plays, to what they play, to how they play it, is in a state of evolution.

The entertainment and gaming industry includes about more than 1000 companies all over the world. The major technology advancements push the rapid change in the gaming and entertainment industry. Higher speed, more advanced visual technology enhances the gaming experience. Just a few years ago, mobile gaming was not much more than lightweight entertainment on underpowered devices. The genre was a novelty. Now, you can’t talk about gaming’s future without mention of mobile platforms. We’re heading slowly towards a new market where we have different cost structures and different hardware archetypes. We’re probably looking at a gaming industry future where some consoles become truly multi-purpose home entertainment platforms – music, movie, digital video recording and gaming enabled devices are such where direct delivery becomes the dominant reality.

We develop games by adopting a software engineering approach, combining the technical aspects of games programming, including graphics, artificial intelligence, user interfaces and vision with the quality assurance. Our expertise lies in clearly perceiving the business goals of our customers, choosing the most appropriate technology and efficiently designing and developing solutions that cater to the identified business needs. We, as a Custom Software Development company help our customers achieve new heights with reduced Time-To-Market and substantial cost saving. The benefits include high-performance gaming experience, leverages the potential success brought in by popular mods, user-friendly mods/plugins that replace almost all the artistic assets in the original game, and sometimes core aspects of game play. We have an exclusive and dedicated team of professional developers for developing the gaming & entertainment applications. We believe in giving the customers utmost benefits at minimum cost.

There are many segments in the gaming & entertainment industry which includes:

1. Casino Gaming
2. Online Gaming
3. Mobile Gaming
4. Gaming standard and Compliance
5. Responsible Gaming

Gaming and entertainment industry is also finding itself more and more in mainstream industry today as there always seems to be a new game out or brand new console game that will be popular in the market all over the world.

An issue tracking software comprises of software packages that maintains and manages any problems that arises in an organization. An issue tracking system contains a site that has all details concerning each of their customers. An issue tracking system also contains a file that has information on features and designs of a system, which is available on the help desk.

Issue tracking software is helpful for many reasons. When it comes to running a business and keeping track of large amounts of data, things can sometimes go wrong to the point of your not knowing how to fix them. However, with an issue tracking software, problems with your project or database will be dealt with and solved immediately.

Issue tracking software installs a help desk right into your computer so that when something happens to your system database or the information system things can be controlled. Having someone at your aide can be of immense help, especially if computer maintenance is not where your strength lies. There is the feature of reporting the issue either over e-mail or by phone. This ensures that the help you receive will be intelligible and benefits your specific problem in a timely manner.

Issue tracking software does more than helping you to solve Issues. It lets you keep track of the status of the project like how far the project has reached in the execution stage. It helps you to assess your team’s Issue tracking efforts and you will be able to assess the important project metrics, such as testing, project progress, and more. Issue tracker software also lets new team members get up to speed quickly. They can see how far the software application is developed, what issues are open and closed, and who is assigned to each issue. A good Issue tracking software application should let you arrange the issues by categories too. You can easily track who is assigned what in the team. Issue tracker software can be a great management tool.

One of the important uses of Issue tracking software is to create a knowledge base so that team members and eventually the support staff can see the procedures used to solve issues. The new issue will be similar to one that has already been fixed, so by just looking at older issues, the new ones can be solved. Issue tracking software helps in generating reports. This is an imperative management tool and saves the time that managers spend on compiling information for reports so that they can actually spend more time in managing and less time in pushing paper. It can also be used in the employee appraisal process.

Issue tracking especially for large projects is a very complex process. A planned approach to software development with a detailed and automated process for addressing those issues that come up during development and even after the development when the application is in maintenance mode. Issue tracking software helps you manage issues by increasing the productivity, reducing downtime, more satisfied customers and greater communications between all the team members and other teams.

Q3 Technologies will be exhibiting at the IndiaSoft Meet to be held on 10 – 12 March 2010, at Jaipur, India.

IndiaSoft 2010 is the country’s first IT event which provides the IT companies an excellent platform to showcase their IT products and services. IndiaSoft helps the participants to understand about technology, market development and dynamics about the industry. This meet will be visited by IT buyers from Latin America, Africa, CIS, Asean, North America, Europe, Japan, Middle East region.

India Soft is covering various areas of outsourcing and globalization. At IndiaSoft conference we get to meet industry leaders, executives, and practitioners who are leveraging global services to tackle economic challenges and to strategically grow their business. The Conference will provide the opportunity to network with global speakers and panelists including top enterprise executives, global sourcing providers and industry and business analysts.

Q3 technologies is also looking forward to an active participation in the exhibition. We will be displaying our IT products & services to make useful business alliance with the customer from all over the world. This year IndiaSoft focuses on commercialization of new and emerging technologies. IndiaSoft provides an opportunity to Exhibitors as well as Buyers globally looking for outsourcing IT services & solutions including KPO, BPO, Banking, Finance, Insurance, Telecommunications, Media & Entertainment, Bio Informatics, Engineering Design, Travel, Hotel, Hospitality, Logistics, and much more…under one roof. There will be around 100 Indian IT Tier II and III companies displaying their IT services and around buyers from 70 countries for business networking. This year the exhibition will emphasize on commercialization of new and emerging technologies.

Companies gain new customers from participating in exhibitions like IndiaSoft. Q3 technologies got many new customers last year from this event and we are hoping to get many more this year too by having a successful show at the event.

Dot Net Nuke is an open source application. Dot Net Nuke is a Web Application Framework which consists of its own Content Management System.  Dot Net Nuke is a free Application from Microsoft which is yet another benefit. It is written using Windows ASP.NET Framework and VB.net. It is mostly used for the Creation, Distribution and management of Websites, Intranet and Extranet and can Customized through Modules and Skins. Dot Net Nuke is made with a Motive to provide Administrators, Designers, Web developers and People of other niches with ease of management and use. User Interface provided by DNN makes it even easier for everyone to manage other things which can be really difficult at times. Every element of your Dot Net Nuke website can have specific security settings applied to allow or deny users from seeing, editing, or administering the different parts of your site. Easily keep your website up to date. Simply login from anywhere in the world and add the content you require.

Q3 Technologies confirms its participation at CeBIT 2010, to be held in Hannover, Germany from 2^nd – 6^th March 2010.

Germany is a significant market for Q3 technologies as this will be Q3’s fourth year in a row at CeBIT. Q3 is committed to providing the German market with superior Software products and services. At CeBIT, Q3 Technologies would be showcasing its expertise across a gamut of innovative solutions built around cutting edge technologies in Microsoft .Net, Java, Cloud and other open source platforms.

CeBIT provides an opportunity for companies to come together and present their strategies and products. The key target groups are users from industry, the wholesale/retail sector, skilled trades, banks, the services sector, government agencies, science and all users interested in technology.

Ramana Rao, VP of Engineering Q3 Technologies shared his opinion on Scrum and Agile development methods used by Indian software companies. “I think Scrum and Agile development methods have started making their mark in India. As a matter of fact, many companies have started moving away from the traditional Waterfall model. The change is imminent as customers start getting unequivocal in their demand of “quickly watch things working”. Companies will be successful as long as they are able to manage shorter learning curves, impose strict quality guidelines within constantly dwindling development iteration’s and at the same time reduce rework.”

Ramana also talked about the new Project Management approaches in India that have gained popularity in recent times. He mentioned “CMMi benchmarks stipulated by Software Engineering Institute (SEI) will continue to provide a significant and solid process and management foundation and will help companies to improvise on their project planning, execution, monitoring and delivery mechanisms.  In the context, it is pertinent to note that, of recent, best practices stated by PMI (Project Management Institute) are gaining a lot of popularity in the Indian IT Industry circles. The good thing is that both of the above approaches share a lot in common and  chances of conflict are none or minimal.”

Q3 Technologies will also be exhibiting at the IndiaSoft Meet to be held on 10 – 12 March 2010, at Jaipur, India. This meet will be visited by IT buyers from Latin America, Africa, CIS, Asean, North America, Europe, Japan, Middle East region.

MS Sharepoint is the latest technology that integrates well with Microsoft business applications and tools. Microsoft Windows Sharepoint Services enable you to share and handle information and documents in a systematic and secured way. Sharepoint has drastically changed our day-to-day communication and the way we interact with each other. One of the most popular software packages for businesses today is Microsoft SharePoint Server.

Sharepoint adds a new dimension to the way of communication. Sharepoint services include various tools for improving the productivity. Sharepoint tools can be used to help the users connect and exchange information/resources they need. Most of the Microsoft Office System programs are integrated in it. This integration makes it easier for the users to use the system quickly. Sharepoint Services can also be used for storage and retrieval of documents. Sharepoint is quite useful for its scalability. You can configure Sharepoint Services from a web browser or command line utilities. You need not to install any huge or complicated application on your desktop for connecting and configuring the Sharepoint Services.

Sharepoint services also helps to manage the documents quite effectively and even control the user level access for documents. You can define which documents can be accessed by which user. Users can access one version of the file and make changes in it. You have the ability to view the revisions and restore it to previous versions. One of the important things is that SharePoint is specifically designed to handle the documents and version control. SharePoint handles this with comprehensive version control and a check in/out system to maintain document integrity. Template based solutions are also available with Sharepoint services. You can use application templates to customize. It also provides advanced business controls. Using this advanced control, you can secure your information. It allows you to set permissions even down to the document or item level.

One of the main benefits of using Microsoft SharePoint Server is the ability to manage and control the content that is entering or leaving your business. The platform can also be used to access documents and workspaces that need to be shared among a number of individuals, such as databases and commonly used forms. Microsoft SharePoint Server is a very popular program for businesses, because it helps to improve business processes without the requirement of extensive training. Many different types of users would be able to use Microsoft SharePoint Server effectively and the platform allows for easier control of many business processes. Microsoft SharePoint Server also gives users the ability to organize and edit their documents quickly and easily. Documents can be organized using any number of different criteria. The collaborative editing is also possible using the applications available with the software. Microsoft SharePoint Server also includes updated navigation features and the ability to search documents using a number of different methods. Many companies are using SharePoint as a content management system to host an Internet site. There is no limit to the layout or functionality of a SharePoint site.

In simple words, Software Testing can be defined as the process of validating and verifying that a software application meets the stated requirements. Software Testing is a method of identifying faults in the product before it is released. This includes defects in the software code and its execution, as well as any potential gap between what the code is supposed to do and what it actually does. Software Testing can be implemented at any time in the development process. However, most of the test effort occurs after the requirements have been defined and the coding process has been completed.

Software testing is a process that ensures that the new software that will be released will work. Software testing helps the developers to find out whether there are technical problems in particular software before it is released. Software testing also ensures that the software that is being released by its manufacturer has passed standard quality tests. Software testing helps to avoid the hassles and cost that may be caused by faulty software’s that have been released in the market. When software that has not gone through software testing is sold in the market, it is likely to have technical issues that can arise from the software usage. This may have costly result particularly when software is used in applications that are crucial in the operation of business organizations.

There are mainly two types of software testing used by all software testing companies in India and across the globe, Manual testing and Automated testing. Manual software testing generally involves manual interaction with application, and observing the outcomes very carefully. In addition to this, a manual testing allows the tester to execute random testing in comparison to automated testing. However, automated testing is different from manual testing. Automated testing provides you with the facility to run automation against code that changes regularly to identify regressions in a sensible manner. Automated testing provides you the ability to run automation in mainstream scenarios. The latest techniques in software testing increase the quality of software products in a number of ways:

1) reduces the cost of software development and testing.

2) reduces the time spent on the development of new software products.

3) Improves the software performance. The benefits of using software testing tools directs to increase in team motivation and decrease in the time of testing the application.

Agile methodology is an approach to project management. It helps team respond to the unpredictability of building software through incremental, iterative work cadences, known as sprints. Agile software development is a framework utilized for software development projects. It was born out of frustration within traditional project management activities. An Agile methodology minimizes risk in software development.

Some of the principles behind the Agile manifesto are:

• Customer satisfaction by rapid, continuous delivery of useful software.

• Working software is delivered frequently.

• Working software is the principal measure of progress.

• Close, daily cooperation between business people and developers.

• Simplicity.

• Self-organizing teams.

• Regular adaptation to changing circumstances.

Agile software development is a framework for software engineering that promotes development processes throughout the life-cycle of the project. Agile allows your team to identify the most critical features of the software that can be completed within a short time frame and it delivers a complete build with this set of limited features as the first iteration. Once that is done, you can move those features to production or continue on to the next iteration. Agile projects are released to production months where Waterfall projects normally span a year or more before they are released to production.

Agile methods emphasize real time communication, preferably face-to-face, over written documents. Most agile teams are located in a bullpen and include all the people necessary to finish the software. At a minimum, this includes programmers and the people who define the product such as product managers, business analysts, or actual customers. The bullpen may also include testers, interface designers, technical writers, and management. Agile software development focuses on keeping code simple, testing often, and delivering functional bits of the application as soon as they’re ready. The goal of agile software development is to build upon small client-approved parts as the project progresses, as opposed to delivering one large application at the end of the project.

Advantages of Agile

• Agile methodology has an adaptive team which is able to respond to the changing requirements.

• The team does not have to invest time and effort in delivering the product.

• Face to face communication and continuous inputs from customer representative.

• The documentation is the crisp and to the point to save time.

• The end result is the high quality software in least possible time duration and satisfied customer.

Cloud computing has emerged as a better way to run your business. Instead of running your applications yourself, they run on a shared data center. When you use any application that runs in the cloud, you just log in, customize it, and start using it. That’s the power of cloud computing.

Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that’s often used to represent the Internet in flow charts and diagrams.

The majority of cloud computing infrastructure, as of 2009, consists of reliable services delivered through data centers and built on servers with different levels of virtualization technologies. The services are accessible anywhere that provides access to networking infrastructure. Clouds often appear as single points of access for all consumers’ computing needs. Commercial offerings are generally expected to meet quality of service requirements of customers and typically offer SLAs. Open standards are critical to the growth of cloud computing, and open source software has provided the foundation for many cloud computing implementations.

A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that differentiate it from traditional hosting. It is sold on demand, typically by the minute or the hour; it is elastic — a user can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time; and the service is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs nothing but a personal computer and Internet access). Significant innovations in virtualization and distributed computing, as well as improved access to high-speed Internet and a weak economy, have accelerated interest in cloud computing.

A cloud can be private or public. A public cloud sells services to anyone on the Internet. (Currently, Amazon Web Services is the largest public cloud provider.) A private cloud is a proprietary network or a data center that supplies hosted services to a limited number of people. When a service provider uses public cloud resources to create their private cloud, the result is called a virtual private cloud. Private or public, the goal of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to computing resources and IT services.

Businesses are running all kinds of apps in the cloud these days, like CRM, HR, accounting, and custom-built apps. Cloud-based apps can be up and running in a few days, which is unheard of with traditional business software. They cost less, because you don’t need to pay for all the people, products, and facilities to run them. And, it turns out they’re more scalable, more secure, and more reliable than most apps. Plus, upgrades are taken care of for you, so your apps get security and performance enhancements and new features—automatically.

Finally, cloud applications don’t eat up your valuable IT resources, so your CFO will love it. This lets you focus on deploying more apps, new projects, and innovation. In nutshell, Cloud computing is a simple idea, but it can have a huge impact on your business.