Technology


Archive for the ‘Mobile Technologies’ Category

Q3 signs a contract to develop a native iPhone application.

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

Q3 has signed up a contract with a Telecommunications Company based in Southern Europe to develop a native iPhone application. This iPhone application would enable the user to place and receive phone calls over WiFi or 3G networks using VoIP.
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Blackberry Application Development

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

BlackBerry is massively popular among outsourced product development business users as its business friendly features prove very helpful to users. A BlackBerry phone’s usability is enhanced by downloading several third party solutions that are available and easy to download as well as use. With BlackBerry in your hand, you can virtually do anything and stay in touch with anyone at anytime. It is the new short cut of staying connected. Blackberry’s success has led to more than 28 million users of this smart phone brand. This fame led to the gradual development of Blackberry applications and outsourced software development market that has made this industry an ever growing and advancing field of survival. As and when, newer Blackberry mobile phones are launched with advanced features and exclusive technology; it is a challenge for the Blackberry application developers to beat the competition. Many applications and software are developed and launched in the market either for free or trial packs or buy-and-use packs, that composes of various messenger applications, games, internet browsers, themes, and advanced e-mailing software. All these features are largely downloaded and used by users.

Blackberries and iPhones have all become the latest and greatest items for any aspiring business executive. There is a great deal of potential profit to be made with the careful and tactical creation of relevant software applications. Once upon a time, software services and blackberry application development was the exclusive domain of a powerful oligarchy of outsourced product development companies and there was little room for anyone else. With the advent of the internet and more specifically software outsourcing websites, this has radically leveled the playing field, meaning that even if a person has no technical or programming experience whatsoever, they too can take the big boys on and give them a run for their money.

The software outsourcing company provides the technical know-how as well as experience and knowledge required for the successful completion of a project. All they need is a project outline by the person who is hiring them and they can take it from there. BlackBerry application development witnessed a speedier growth with the increasing demand of BlackBerry handsets. Slowly and gradually, more number of BlackBerry software development companies are emerging. This has led to boosting of the BlackBerry applications market. Several mobile application developers were entering this sector in awe of opportunity to create something that would mesmerize people. BlackBerry being mostly the first choice of buyers, saw the increase in developers choosing BlackBerry solutions market.

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Master Data Management

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Master Data Management basically includes a set of tools for managing and controlling master data. Master data is basically the data, which is shared by many applications of a system and is very useful for the operation of a offshore product development company business.

Master data management is a very important tool, which ensures that multiple versions of the same master data are not used within a system as this might lead to inconsistency. Master data includes data, such as customers, products, employees, location, and records, which are keys for a business. The data chosen as master data by an organization depends upon the key elements of the respective organization.Master data can be further classified into sub entities. Consistency of the master data is very crucial for an offshore product development  organization. Consistency mainly signifies that the same master data should be used by all the operations of an organizational system. Master data as well as all the copies of it used by an organization should be accurate and consistent.

Master data management is very important because master data is shared across many operations and applications in an outsourced product development organizational system. An error in the master data might result in errors in all the operations and applications using the master data. For example, an error in the price of a product in the product master will lead to an error in price of all the batches of the particular product. Master data management is also very important for maintaining data quality and integrity.

Outsourced software development companies nowadays use a single set of master data in order to avoid data inconsistency. Maintenance of a single set of master data is a very complex and challenging task and requires thorough analysis and advanced tools. For example, the same customer can have many different phone numbers. The tool used should be able to recognize that the different phone numbers belong to the same person and should be able to integrate them. The tool should perform all the tasks without losing the data quality and integrity.

Mobile Technology

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Mobile computing allows people to use IT without being tied to a single location. Any business with staff that works away from the office can benefit from using it.

Mobile IT devices can also change the way you do business – new technologies lead to new ways of working, and new products and services that can be offered to your customers. They can bring new business opportunities – for example the spin-off businesses surrounding the mobile phone industry.

Mobile application development technology is exactly what the name implies – technology that is portable. Examples of mobile IT devices include; laptop computers, palmtop computers or personal digital assistants, mobile phones and ’smart phones’ – high-end phones with more advanced capabilities, global positioning system (GPS) devices, wireless debit/credit card payment terminals

Mobile  devices can be enabled to use a variety of communications technologies such as:

  1. wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) – a type of wireless local area network technology
  2. Bluetooth – connects mobile devices wirelessly
  3. ‘third generation’ (3G), global system for mobile communications (GSM) and general packet radio service (GPRS) data services – data networking services for mobile phones
  4. dial-up services – data networking services using modems and telephone lines
  5. virtual private networks – secure access to a private network

It is therefore possible to network the mobile device to a home office or the internet while travelling. Mobile computing can improve the service you offer your customers. For example, you could use your laptop computer to give a presentation. You could then transfer PDFs of your product literature to your client’s computer. Or you could connect remotely to your diary to arrange a follow-up appointment. Alternatively, you can enable customers to pay for services or goods without having to go to the till. For example, by using a wireless payment terminal diners can pay for their meal without leaving their table.

More powerful solutions can link you directly into the office network while working off site, for instance to access your company’s database or accounting systems. For example, you could set up a new customer’s account, check prices and stock availability, place an order online. This leads to great flexibility in working – for example, enabling home working, or working while traveling. Increasingly, networking ‘hot spots’ are being provided in public areas that allow connection back to the office network or the internet.

Mobile phones and their network vary very significantly from provider to provider and country to country. However the basic communication method of all of them is through the electromagnetic microwaves with a cell base station. The cellular companies have large antennas, which are usually mounted over towers, buildings and poles. The cell phones have low-power transceivers that transmit voice and data to the nearest sites usually within the 5 to 8 miles (8 to 13 kilometers away).

When a mobile device or phone is turned on, it registers with the mobile telephone exchange or switch. It is a unique identifier and is alerted by the mobile switch when there is an incoming phone call. The handset listens for the strong signals from the nearest base stations. When a user moves, the mobile device hand-off to various nearest sites during phone calls or while waiting between calls it reselect the nearest cell phone sites.

Web Content – Interactive Marketing Solution

Friday, May 14th, 2010

All types of marketing share a common goal. They aim to highlight the features of a product or service. In order to achieve that goal, the website owner always goes in search of yet another interactive marketing solution. The website owner seeks assistance with its interactive marketing team.

Using interactive marketing solution, the website owner seeks to develop a greater familiarity with the desires of the website viewer who take the time to view their website. Such a solution helps the website owner to fashion a website that appeals to the internet user. Many offshore product development companies are increasingly providing interactive marketing solutions.

Interactive online marketing frequently makes use of e-mail messages. Those messages are commonly sent with a signature file. Signature files appear in every message sent by the website owner, who has made skillful use of the e-mail software. Signature files facilitate a response from the person who got the e-mail message, which can contain important marketing information. That is why e-mail should be considered as an example of interactive marketing. Many offshore product development  services show the website owner how to use interactive banner ads. Such ads contain all of the essential elements of interactive marketing. Interactive marketing can also call for the use of interactive digital marketing. Digital marketing assists with the collection of data. Every response is quickly and easily recorded, and is thus made available to the website owner.

Many Web developers have failed to realize that Web content goes far beyond the text of the website. Only text is not synonymous or identical to content. You should not think that content is all about words, sentences, paragraphs, and pages. Here is the reality: Web content is about user interactivity. There are many, many types of content. Everything on your website is content. Think of things this way, users want to experience your website and not just reading an endless stream of words. For both the online and offline advertising, you create content. Content will continue to evolve, with the introduction of new types of content. Some of the most popular websites on the Web keep on adding interactive content to get and keep people’s attention.

To remain competitive, every website should do something unique to make it more attractive. If you are not creating or overhauling your website into a totally web 2.0 sites then interactive content is a great way to start. Users do not necessarily create their own interactive content, rather they use interactive tools on the websites to educate themselves, answer their obvious questions, or just have fun. Examples of these interactive tools are online games, online calculators, blogs, maps, journals, voting, and comment boxes. Interactive content is best when it is colorful, easy to use and engaging while still managing to be useful, helpful and informative.

No connectivity? Switch to Electric Net

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

Imagine yourself in a distant corner of the country, dealing with a project. Your mobile phone is out-of-range and you need urgent feedback from your colleagues in the metros. What would you do to get connected to internet? Head to your nearest electric connection point, plug, and surf. This could be the future of internet connectivity.

Electric internet, or high-speed Web access via power lines, is taking its baby steps in the country. Almost every building has a power plug, its future looks immensely bright, especially in rural areas where broadband through cable TV lines or phone wires are absent.

Power line communications can also be used to interconnect personal computers used in homes or other networked consumer peripherals.

In any outsourced product development company, To access broadband internet over power lines (BPL), the net-accessing device (usually a computer) would need only to plug a BPL modem into any outlet in a building equipped with the connection.

The major change in infrastructure would be the use of fiber optic cabling in place of the regular power lines. Journals state that digital power lines can carry data at almost the same speeds as broadband digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable lines.

Earlier this week, Power Grid Corporation of India had finalized a Rs 100-crore project with BGR Energy Systems for laying fiber optic cables instead of the existing load dispatch centre microwave links. The plan spans 4,235 km, covering five northern states — Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board had recently given a similar contract to BGR Energy, albeit in a smaller scale. Indian companies L&T and Telecommunications Consultants India (TCIL) and foreign firms such as VISCOS of Japan, ELETEL of Finland and LS Cables of Korea were also interested in the ambitious venture of Power Grid Corporation.

Once the infrastructure is in place, Power Grid Corporation has to initiate plans for internet via power lines, such as leasing lines to private operators.

However, the present development accounts to only a first step in power line communication. There is much to be done before you can actually get the plug-and-play internet. Hindrances from network interference and interfaces like old transformers might affect broadband delivery, though many of these can be cleared with improved technology. Also, the involvement of private service providers, cost of setting up the entire infrastructure; and the ultimate consumer expenses are yet to be worked out. High frequency communication may use large portions of the radio spectrum for communication, or may use select bands, based on the technology. With the government ready to rollout 3G spectrum to operators, building smart grids to deliver high-quality broadband to rural areas will attract investors.

Software Development Companies

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Software Development companies develop unmatched software while making use of advance technologies, which is affordable. Outsourced Software development Companies has changed over a period. They are nowadays focusing on qualitative, timely delivered and cost-effective development services. Software development companies have grown largely over the past couple of years with major IT giants establishing their base. The number of software development companies in India has increased to a number no one could have ever imagined.

Software companies are providing all kinds of IT solutions under one roof apart from outsourcing their services globally. This growth has led to a huge competition between software development companies. Every company is working to outdo each other to climb the ladder of success. This has increased the demand for software developers. Skilled developers are being paid highly by multinationals. The key is to possess good IT knowledge and skills. Apart from good manpower, software companies need to pay attention to the budget planning and project management that is to maintain right balance between quality and cost. Technical skills and business skills are also equally important. Also, attention has to be paid to services in terms of innovation, skills, cost, time, and quality. Knowledge management and team management are of equal importance.

In India, there are a number of software development companies, who can provide with all kinds of software solutions with best quality and prices. Offshore software development companies in India are skillful in distinguished technologies and are competent of delivering outstanding results in cost effective manner. With so much potential, knowledge base, enthusiasm and willingness, it is not a difficult task to meet the escalating demands of the lucrative software development field. Software Development Company in India has a bright future, as it is the best option for offshore clients who are in search for alternative source with comparative inexpensive labor but upgraded technology. Software Development Company follows the entire software development life cycle. This is executed with the help of the expert professional staff including the software architects, project managers and the quality analysts, which contributes toward the growth of the company in the market.

Role of a Software Developer.

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

A Software Developer is a person who analyzes the problem and gathers the information about a particular program. Based on the analysis, the programmer makes error free software that meets all the requirement of the company. The developer is also responsible for developing software within the fixed period in any offshore software development services. He should do proper documentation of the program so that it will be easier for a newcomer to easily understand the code and modify it according to required needs.

Software developers create things that matter to individuals, team, organizations, countries, and civilization. Software developers have the honor of delivering the stuff of pure intellectual effort that can heal, serve, entertain, connect, and liberate, freeing the human spirit to pursue those activities that are purely and uniquely human. Developers manage their time differently. Some developers prefer to work alone for hours while others like to discuss with one or two teammates throughout the day. Some work best in the morning and others in the evening. Programmers are rarely very productive when working for eight consecutive hours. Occasional rest breaks in between the working hours help to achieve the focus.

Software developers’ job is tough because individuals and organizations depend on the objects software developers create; they have an obligation to deliver software of quality in a manner that applies scarce human and computing resources intentionally and wisely. As professionals, software developers also have a moral responsibility. Software development is a human activity, not only because it emanates from the human intellect, but also requires the cooperative activity of others to make it real. As professionals, software developers constantly seek better ways to deliver quality software that matters, simply because their tasks are too complex to squander their time and energy. This is why software developers look at successful projects, analyze why they were successful, and similarly look at failed projects so that software developers may learn from their mistakes. Software developers have a relatively limited toolbox. They are expected to be able to use the development environment including compiler and debugger for the language(s) they have chosen as well as a handful of the common tools that every member of a development team is expected to know how to use. These tools are typically integrated into one platform that functions as both a compiler and debugger. This is typically the same tool that was used to learn the language so learning a development environment is not typically a big challenge. In some organizations, a basic familiarity with the automated testing tools is also required. This includes unit level testing tools designed to test basic code assumptions as well as tools designed to perform system level tests. Generally, others primarily operate testing tools; however, developers may need to activate scripts written by others to verify that their changes have not adversely affected the build.

Issue Tracking Software

Friday, March 12th, 2010

An issue tracking software comprises of software packages that maintains and manages any problems that arises in an outsourced software development 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.

In an offshore software development company, 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 announces its participation at IndiaSoft 2010.

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

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 – An open source application

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

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.

Software Testing

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

In simple words, Software Testing can be defined as the process of validating and verifying that a software application meets the stated requirements. In any organization, whether offshore product development or outsourced software development, 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.

Also, learn about Issue tracking software used for software testing.

Web Conferencing

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Web conferencing is basically a web meeting which is interactive not only in terms of audio and video but also by allowing the sharing of documents and files and viewing them online. It is a means that brings people together from multiple locations to share information in an interactive environment with other users over the Internet. Web conferencing increases productivity by having decision makers located in a single place to discuss strategic topics pertaining to business.

Web technology has replaced face-to-face meetings among sales teams and executive boards because it saves travel costs and increases productivity. Web conferencing is a technology that places crucial information in a visually appealing way at the fingertips of professionals. How you choose to use web conferencing will very much depend upon your line of work. Web conferencing is relatively a new communications phenomenon that offers numerous benefits and advantages.

Efficiency – Nowadays, it is very essential to get your view across in a clear way. Quality communication can help to move your business forward and boost its success. By using web conferencing to connect with peers and clients, you will be able to deliver messages effectively and efficiently.

Builds Relationships – Web conferencing helps you to create strong bonds with others by allowing you to communicate with them in a personal way, even when you are sitting at different locations. It can also help meeting participants residing in different locations to work together in an interactive and dynamic way.

Eliminates Geographical Distances – Web conferencing can bridges the geographical distances by allowing for virtual meeting experiences that are same as face-to-face meeting. No matter where the meeting participants may be located, this type of conferencing brings everyone together into a single working environment, allowing for more fulfilling and productive discussions.

Saves Time and Money – Web conferencing helps you to streamline your work, which leads to significantly reducing your travel time allowing you to conduct productive and engaging meetings without ever leaving your office. Online conferencing makes collaborating with colleagues and clients highly convenient by reducing the need to travel. Web conferencing also allows you to save money.

Versatility and Flexibility – Web conferencing provides you the benefit from its high level of versatility and flexibility. From team collaborations to providing training and orientation to new employees, web conferences have multiple uses and can meet numerous communications requirements.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solutions

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

ERP or Enterprise resource planning is a term used in conjunction with Enterprise Resource Planning software which is used to manage and coordinate all functions, resources and information of a business, available on a shared data source. ERP is a strategic tool, which helps the company to gain a competitive edge by integrating all business processes and optimizing the resources available so as to manage the enterprise as a whole.

ERP has many advantages which can benefit the company in the long run.  ERP helps in faster processing of information and reduces the burden of paperwork. It gives customer satisfaction in terms of prompt responses and follow ups. It helps in having a say over your competitor and adapting to the ups and downs of the market and business fluctuations. ERP is suitable for global operations as it encompasses all the domestic jargons, currency conversions, diverse accounting standards, and multilingual facilities. ERP helps to control the data and facilitates the necessary contacts to acquire the same. It helps in streamlining of financial and administrative systems.

One of the greatest benefits of incorporating ERP as a key business strategy is its ability to fundamentally eliminate multiple systems with no more redundancy. Individual agencies can hereby share important information in a standardized way, proving for a reduction in time spent doing this and a resulting improvement in productivity. All-in-all costs are reduced by implementing ERP for discovering only the best practices for all the business processes needed to be carried out.

ERP is a technology formed with the fusion of small, separate segments of an enterprise to form a larger, interactive unit. The atmosphere of ERP is inevitable and the architecture is robust. You can analyze data across all departments and interpret most important information. Information flow across boundaries experiences least viscosity, providing customized business solutions.

Modern businesses run systems, IT networks and corporate applications and manage business processes that often become unwieldy, complex and difficult to manage. An ERP solution with its business process transformation capabilities is generally favored by enterprise IT managers, chief information officers and chief technology officers to integrate and better manage business operations and ever-increasing business applications and network systems. The solution in its early deployment stages integrates key business processes and functions such as finance, manufacturing, purchase, production planning, human resources, sales and marketing.

A successful implementation of ERP software can result in medium-term business benefits. Top management are able to get real-time insight into business activities and operations across locations and can adjust short-term strategic objectives and goals. Employees can access and manage enterprise applications on demand. Over time, businesses learn to be more quick, competitive and productive.

Agile Development

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

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.

Scrum Development – Art of an incremental approach.

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Scrum is a simple Agile method for software development. Scrum is one model of the Agile movement and represents a typical shift from “waterfall,” a traditional project management approach that, until recently, has dominated software development. Scrum assumes that the software development process is complicated and unpredictable and treats it as a controlled black box instead of a theoretical, fully-defined process.

Characteristics of a good Scrum tool are:

1) It must not have a fixed process flow. The team must be able to tweak the process to fit their culture and organization.

2) It must be simple enough to enable not get in the way. The team must drive the project rather than the tool.

3) It must produce status and progress reports that are customizable and accessible to the business. Feedback is the process that keeps Scrum / Agile on track in a world of changing priorities.

4) The process must have a business value driven approach. In other words the project management tool must drive business value and make business value delivery clear to the team and stakeholders.

Another characteristic of Scrum is that the software development process isn’t treated as a linear process. Scrum, however, doesn’t prescribe a sequence in which the activities must be implemented. A project can start with any activity, and can change between activities at any time. This increases the project’s flexibility and productivity.

To manage these processes with flexibility, Scrum supplies techniques and controls to manage this unpredictable process. The Scrum method is deliberately designed as a framework that can be applied to existing processes. A key principle of Scrum is its recognition that during a project the customers can change their minds about what they want and that unpredicted challenges cannot be easily addressed in a traditional predictive or planned manner. As such, Scrum adopts an empirical approach—accepting that the problem cannot be fully understood or defined, focusing instead on maximizing the team’s ability to deliver quickly and respond to emerging requirements.

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Best practices for an effective Project Management

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Project Management is the correct utilization of time involving the resources, people, money and the related sub-resources.  Factors like how efficiently the time, resources, quality and ultimately money is managed directly influence a company’s growth. Project Management is the blend of components like control, leadership and teamwork. Today, Project Management is a professional discipline with a body of knowledge and a specific set of skills.

A Project is successfully managed when the goals are achieved by the intelligent application of principles. Project Management opportunities not only exist for project managers but also for those who are part of a support team in a project or for team leaders with part of a project. Project Management is the model by which organization seeks to minimize the risks and costs of change, and maximize the benefits. Project Management takes strategic planning and proper implementation, which is possible only with proper training and knowledge.

The four basic elements of a project are as under

  • Resources: It includes people, tools, and material
  • Time: It includes job durations, and delays
  • Money: It includes costs, losses, and profit
  • Scope: It includes project size, goals, and necessities

Project management ensures that responsibilities are clearly defined and that resources are focusing on specified objectives. The project management process also provides a structure for communication within and across organizational boundaries. All the projects follow similar processes. This has led to the development of project management tools and techniques that can be applied to all projects.

Good planning is an essential criterion for a successful project management. A detailed and precise plan is the essential factor for successfully managing a project. Planning should also accommodate changes in environment. A person in charge of the project should continuously update their plan in line with recent changes. The process of project management includes defining the goals of the project, setting project objectives, specifying tasks based on the goals to be achieved, need of resources and budget, timelines and completion dates. Furthermore, proper project management includes implementing the project plan to make sure that each step is being properly followed. Highly organized would properly define a well-considered project management plan following carefully differentiated steps to complete the project. Feasibility studies would be the first step, followed by project planning then implementation, evaluation, and finally maintenance or support.

ANDROID PLATFORM – Easy system for mobile application development.

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. The Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications on the Android platform using the Java programming language. New age of communication has brought up amazing innovations for the mobile users as Android has shown its presence as a new platform for mobile application development. Android platform was released in year 2007 serving the mobile users all over for the quality application development.

Additional applications are playing amazing role in the modern times when people are getting crazy about latest versions of new high profile mobiles. There are thousands of applications available on the internet to download in various categories, such as security applications, fun applications, business applications, internet applications, utility applications, and many more. Users of new generation are multiplying rapidly with the demand of custom mobile applications to run on their respective mobiles.

Android mobile application development is done by following the guidelines of the Android SDK (Software Development Kit) provided by the Google. It is an easy system for developers to build attractive and custom designs of applications. It provides the set of developing tools, which can be used smartly for molding the creativity to real applications. The tools provided by the Android SDK are debugger to test the programs and find bugs, various libraries, tutorials, ample codes and handset emulator. High performance and quality applications can be developed by using the SDK since it provides great built-in features and high level flexibility to develop smart mobile applications. Using the SDK, Android developers not only develop applications for companies but also for the individual businessmen from various business industries.

In-built libraries of the Android allows developer to create rich applications and tools provided which helps in running, debugging & testing these applications instantly. Android allows developer to make such applications that facilitate user to take full advantages of the mobile set, for instance by using these applications users can use all the attracting features like camera, SMS facilities, MMS facilities and many more features of the handset. Android is the open source product, according to experts it will continue to render cutting-edge technologies for the users with the emerging time. Android platform is the boon for the developer’s community for building innovative and quality applications for their clients.

Android holds the promise of unprecedented benefits for consumers, developers, and manufacturers of mobile services and devices. Handset manufacturers and wireless operators are free to customize Android in order to bring to market innovative new products at a faster pace and at a much lower cost. Developers will have complete access to handset capabilities and tools that enable them to build more compelling and user-friendly services, 11bringing the Internet developer model to the mobile space. And consumers worldwide will have access to less expensive mobile devices that feature more compelling services, rich Internet applications and easier-to-use interfaces — ultimately creating a superior mobile experience.

Q3 technologies at OutsourceWorld 2009

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Q3 Technologies is a large diversified technology company offering technology consulting and outsourcing software products and applications development services to the global IT industry, will be exhibiting at the OutsourceWorld 2009 that is going to be held in New York (USA) from 11th Nov’09 to 12th Nov’09. This will be Q3 Technologies’ second participation at the OutsourceWorld.

OutsourceWorld is a pure-play business trade platform for executives who have a need to outsource business services. OutsourceWorld is the premier industry event, which focuses on sourcing and globalization and provides an excellent platform for software companies to reach out to the global market. OutsourceWorld is an event crafted for business leaders charged with strengthening their organization, improving competitiveness and increasing profit margins in an economy that has undergone significant structural changes.

At Global Sourcing Forum and Expo (GSFE), participating companies would get an opportunity to learn from influential leaders, executives, and practitioners who are leveraging global services to tackle economic challenges and to strategically grow their business.

This event is unique as it brings academics, thought leaders, sourcing executives and global suppliers from over 25 countries, all in just 2 days under one roof to discuss debate and learn about the challenges and opportunities posed by changes in their industry. This event has a great significance for medium and large-sized companies that are increasingly adopting global sourcing and offshoring as a competitive tool.

Exhibitors like Q3 technologies use this platform as a launch pad for their latest products. This is a 2 day IT event that will have the largest presence of  IT and ITES (IT enabled companies) companies with their innovative IT products & services. In addition, Q3 will explore established and emerging client destinations and follow best practices to successfully source, manage and deliver global services.

At OutsourceWorld 2009, Q3 technologies would be showcasing its expertise across a gamut of innovative solutions built around cutting-edge technologies in Microsoft .Net, Java and other open source platforms.

The next few days will see hectic activities in the company’s development center (India) and overseas offices as preparations are made for OutsourceWorld 2009. Q3 Technologies will also be exhibiting at the ESC IT Meet to be held on 9th Nov’09 at Bogota, Colombia. This meet will have presence of  software companies with their innovative IT products & services.

Wireless application development facilitates mobile users with wireless devices to access services instantly

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Wireless application development is a method of developing applications for wireless devices designed to provide technology-independent access to the Internet and advanced telephony services. It is an open standard for applications that uses wireless communication. The best part of the application development is that it facilitates mobile users with wireless devices to simply access and network the information and services instantly. Moreover, wireless application can be developed on any operating system, such as PalmOS, Windows CE, and JavaOS.

The increasing popularity of these applications enabled us to have a platform where one can easily switch the information flow between Internet and wireless operator networks. This technology also offers an easy-to-use and extremely convenient communications and information tool.

Beyond standardizing, the factors, such as wireless application reliability and flexibility have also enabled many companies to allow their employees to access mobile data. Employees can access a full series of corporate services and information anywhere and any time using this technology. This technology acts as a service platform, which is a major advantage and making it as a preferred choice. This technology also helps in enabling rapid pilot solutions and conducting online business in secure and well-organized manner.

However, while creating wireless applications there are some major architecture types that one has to take care of:

• Smart client applications permitting offline access to vital data and providing integration with enterprise data sources for periodic updates.

• Online-only (dumb) wireless internet applications provide real-time browser-based content to wireless devices.

Living in modern technology-oriented world has helped us to send all the critical information and messages within a matter of seconds. With the boom in communication technology, there has been extreme increase in the growth of wireless application development companies. These days many firms have started providing appropriate wireless applications to fit your wireless needs by making the best use of wireless technologies, such as WML Script, J2ME, and XML. Today we view this technology as an extension to web applications that allow data to be accessed via remotely handheld devices, like cell phones.

 
Customer Speaks
 
 
Our Team Lead from Q3 was in Chicago with AMB this week. We have been involved in many demonstrations and meetings with customers and partners including Microsoft. We have been asking a lot of the Q3 AMB Team and they have surpassed my expectations on deliverables and efforts to deliver new features and functions, such as the new Address Correction, Cross Database, the e-commerce website, new data sources, testing - this product is near impossible to break, and more. These have been important for all of our prospects, customers and business partnerships.

I truly thank the team for their professionalism, efforts beyond most others and retaining a great and excited attitude and work ethic. Though I must say they have worked with these ethics and strength from their first days on this project.

For these reasons AMB has very long plans for utilizing Q3 and this team for years to come. Thank you, Q3 AMB Team !!
Steven Meister
CEO, AMB Dataminers Inc.
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