In today's competitive business climate, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is becoming a more viable option for companies looking for simplicity, functionality, and versatility.SaaS, or Software-as-a-Service, is a cloud-based way of delivering software to consumers. Instead of buying and downloading a program, SaaS users subscribe to it. A SaaS framework can be accessed and used from any internet-connected computer. The application itself is hosted on cloud servers that may be located far from the user's location.SaaS offers the best value and Return on Investment (ROI) among cloud-based models, attracting larger budgets.Some popular examples of SaaS include:? BigCommerce? Google Apps? Salesforce? Dropbox? MailChimp? ZenDesk? DocuSign? Slack? HubspotHere are some features of SaaS that will bowl you over:<h3 id="-1-easy-scalability-integration">#1 Easy Scalability &amp; Integration</h3>The SaaS CRM model allows for rapid scaling, so if your company decides to increase the number of CRM users, it can be achieved in a day. SaaS framework eliminates the need for lengthy requests, testing, IT architecture changes, additional software installations, and waiting period for upscaling.As the application's use grows, the SaaS provider takes care of scaling it up by adding more database space or computing resources. One can simply change the subscription, and more users will have access to a SaaS solution.Because of its inherent scalability, cloud-based SaaS allows businesses to grow with ease. Companies can pick and choose the features they need based on their business needs. Companies that have already migrated to the cloud have learned how to scale rapidly. In fact, 20% of businesses have seen an overall reduction in time to market, leaving on-premise rivals in the dust.<h3 id="-2-high-security-levels">#2 High-security Levels</h3>According to a report by LogicMonitor, security is the top concern among 66% of all IT professionals when it comes to implementing an enterprise cloud computing strategy.SaaS providers distribute their servers around various geographical locations and maintain automated backups, ensuring a higher degree of protection than your own company might provide. SaaS can be much more secure than on-premise applications with the right technologies and best practices. The organizations will have several choices for maintaining control of security infrastructure, such as encryption of customer data.Pre-existing disaster recovery mechanisms are in effect in cloud SaaS to handle possible device failures. This ensures that the company's data will be accessible and safe even though there is a data breach or a device failure. Most SaaS models are known for their enterprise-level security, which is more comprehensive than many centralized, on-premise solutions.<h3 id="-3-increased-collaboration">#3 Increased Collaboration</h3>SaaS development improves a company's ability to facilitate cooperation across teams and departments due to the facilitation of file sharing and distinct ease of accessibility and understanding across systems.In today?s world, the need for a streamlined and unique collaboration framework is of topmost priority. You need SaaS because it allows you to? Get the whole team together (no matter how dispersed they are)? Incorporate ideas that can be easily exchanged and brainstormed.? Examine the development of the project in real-time.? Ascertain that everybody is on the same page.? Acquire from everyone exactly what is expected of them.?61% of businesses leading the pack in terms of cloud deployment said that SaaS products offer them increased collaboration, both internally and externally.?? IBM Center for Applied Insights<h3 id="-4-new-releases-regular-updates">#4 New Releases &amp; Regular Updates</h3>SaaS framework allows each user to easily customize applications to suit their business processes without disrupting the shared infrastructure. These customizations are unique to each company or consumer, and they can maintain the upgrades in their SaaS applications.When a provider uses SaaS, the solution is upgraded and made available to their customers. Upgrades and new launches are less expensive and time-consuming than the standard model that requires you to purchase and install an update kit (or pay for specialized services to get the environment upgraded).As a result, SaaS providers can update their products more often, with less risk to their customers and a lower adoption rate.<h3 id="-5-reduced-costs-flexible-payment-structures">#5 Reduced Costs &amp; Flexible Payment Structures</h3>For a variety of purposes, SaaS can provide notable savings. First and foremost, it removes both the initial purchase and implementation costs, as well as ongoing costs such as repairs and improvements. SaaS software can be quickly downloaded and managed. Businesses do not have to invest a huge amount in hardware installations. Instead, they can choose from several different pricing models.Another benefit is that you can quickly scale your client base because SaaS allows small and medium companies to use software that they would not have used otherwise due to the high licensing cost. Maintenance costs are also reduced because the SaaS provider owns the environment shared by all customers who use the service.According to reports, you'll save 15% on IT investment and 16.7% on IT maintenance costs if you move to the cloud.<h3 id="-6-easy-accessibility">#6 Easy Accessibility</h3>SaaS applications can be accessed from any computer anywhere. This provides a lot of versatility for businesses: workers can work from anywhere in the world, and users can access their files from anywhere.Furthermore, most users have several devices and turn them out frequently; they don't need to reinstall SaaS applications or buy new licenses every time they switch devices.The SaaS CRM, which is hosted in the cloud and accessible through the internet, is ideal for salespeople who spend the majority of their time on the road.<h3 id="-7-no-substantial-initial-payment">#7 No Substantial Initial Payment</h3>There are no high upfront costs with SaaS since it follows the pay-as-you-go model. To use CRM as a tool, you pay a monthly or annual subscription fee.One of the reasons why smaller businesses and start-ups prefer SaaS is that they do not have the financial resources to invest in a CRM solution, even though it is considered business-critical. Rather than paying an enormous upfront cost as needed in an on-premise solution, SaaS can be considered because of the subscription-based method it offers. It also eliminates the extreme financial risk of buying expensive software.<h3 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h3>To sum up, the key advantages of SaaS CRM are:&gt; The absence of IT issues, implying that the user is not required to purchase, install, or manage any hardware.&gt; No high upfront license fees, particularly for maintenance and upgrades.&gt; SaaS provides a versatile and scalable IT solution that is compatible with a variety of other business tools, allowing for easy customization.SaaS offers an interesting alternative to conventional business software installation (traditional model), which requires you to create the server, install the program, and configure it. Instead, the applications are hosted on a remote cloud network that can be accessed through the web or an API, and it functions similarly to a rental.The advantages of SaaS are numerous. Businesses all over the world are migrating to the cloud, where they can rent resources conveniently and live a worry-free life.

Toulika Das

Premium reporting on technology, startups, VC funding, and software from Techfastly tagged with Business. Read about trends and strategies for Business.

Business

7 Reasons Why SaaS Will Skyrocket Your Company's Growth

Imagine you?re having a pleasant day at work - surfing the web, breezing your way through tasks &amp; assignments.Suddenly, a message pops up on your screen, ?YOU?RE UNDER ATTACK!? As dramatic as it sounds, that is not what a typical ?cyber attack? looks like. A cyber attack is an attack carried out by cybercriminals on a single or numerous computers or networks utilizing one or more computers. A cyber attack can be used to maliciously destroy systems, steal data, or use a compromised computer as a launchpad for future attacks.It may show up in the form of anything - an anonymous email containing a malicious link or an apparently harmless pop-up, siphoning off tremendous chunks of data from your computer once you click on it. Personal information like bank account details, passwords, credit card details, and could be retrieved by cybercriminals.Here is a closer look at ten major mistakes that companies tend to overlook while designing their web pages/software and some preventive measures to avoid them.<h3 id="1-no-penetration-testing">#1 No Penetration Testing</h3>Penetration tests are one of the most effective techniques to combat possible threats. This is a method of testing your software's security before an attacker has a chance to do so.To do so, testers employ technologies that simulate hacking scenarios in order to detect and alter security flaws. Penetration testing allows your firm or development team to identify security vulnerabilities, compliance loopholes and replicate the real-world effects of a large-scale data breach.<ul><li>Prevention: Provide information about in-scope targets to the penetration tester. Search for other information that was neglected, unknown, or not disclosed. Next, after finding a potential vulnerability, carry out a ?vulnerability assessment? to obtain preliminary information and discover any potential security flaws that could allow an outside attacker to obtain access to the environment or technology under test. After evaluating the vulnerability assessment results, validate, attack, and exploit those vulnerabilities using manual methodologies, human intuition, and their backgrounds. </li></ul><h3 id="2-using-hardcoded-passwords-instead-of-encrypted-passwords">#2 Using Hardcoded Passwords Instead of Encrypted Passwords</h3>Hardcoding passwords is a phrase that relates to placing non-encrypted (plain text) passwords and other confidential data (such as private keys) into source code. Although software engineers may not realize it, their source code is (or will be) frequently made public.Hardcoded passwords are especially risky because they are easy targets for password guessing vulnerabilities, which allow hackers and malware to take control of firmware, devices (such as health monitoring equipment), systems, and software.<ul><li>Prevention: In order to safeguard your company?s data, passwords should be encrypted. Encryption protects your company's data and information from potential risks, ensuring that even if an intruder gets access to your sensitive data, they'd be unlikely to be able to read any of it. </li></ul><h3 id="3-using-components-with-known-vulnerabilities">#3 Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities</h3>Using code from a random user on GitHub or a forum may be convenient, but it comes with the danger of exposing yourself to a severe web security vulnerability.It is always wise to do some investigation and possibly some auditing before introducing new code. Otherwise, an outside party might gain administrative access to your system, posing a severe cyber threat. <ul><li>Prevention - Do not copy-paste code from unknown sources and be cautious while employing such components. Examine the code you're about to put into your software carefully, as a faulty code could damage the software beyond repair.</li></ul><h3 id="4-no-third-party-code-testing">#4 No Third Party Code Testing</h3>While developing software, one must always perform third-party code testing to ensure the full efficiency and effectiveness of the software as offered by the company.On several occasions, proper testing is not done for third-party applications or codes which are integrated. <ul><li>Prevention - To begin, it is critical to understand exactly what code is being used and for what purpose. Secondly, it is even more important to ensure that it has been tested and confirmed to be reliable before you introduce it to your software or system.</li></ul><h3 id="5-thinking-it%E2%80%99s-just-about-malware">#5 Thinking It?s Just About Malware</h3>Malware is still a crucial component of an attacker's early foothold. However, once inside, they frequently employ a variety of tactics to move laterally throughout your network. In many cases, this entails operating under the radar by harvesting sensitive data and detecting vulnerabilities using lawful administrator or ethical hacking techniques.<ul><li>Prevention - Monitor and fend off other serious cyber threats like Phishing, Ransomware, Trojan horse, computer viruses, etc. Install reliable anti-virus software, avoid clicking on suspicious links or ?offers? which look too good to be true or download attachments from unknown sources. Back-up data regularly.</li></ul><h3 id="6-broken-authentication">#6 Broken Authentication</h3>This is a collection of issues that can arise as a result of faulty authentication, though not all these issues are derived from the same source.&gt; The URL might contain session ID and leak it to someone else via the referer header.&gt; Passwords may not be encrypted during storage or transmission.&gt; Because the session IDs are likely to be predictable, acquiring access is easier.&gt; Session fixation may be possible.&gt; Session hijacking, incorrectly configured timeouts, or HTTP (no SSL security) are all possibilities.<ul><li>Prevention - Using a framework is the simplest way to avoid this web security risk. You might be able to do this correctly, but the former is far more straightforward. If you do decide to write your own code, be exceedingly cautious and educate yourself on the potential risks. </li></ul><h3 id="7-security-misconfiguration">#7 Security Misconfiguration</h3>Some common examples of security misconfiguration issues are:&gt; Running the application with debugging enabled in production.&gt; On the server, directory listing is enabled, which exposes sensitive information.&gt; Using outdated software (like WordPress plugins, old PhpMyAdmin).&gt; Default keys and passwords are not changed.&gt; Providing attackers with error handling information, such as stack traces.<ul><li>Prevention - Have a good (ideally automated) ?build and deploy? procedure in place that includes the ability to run tests during deployment. Post-commit hooks are a common answer to security misconfiguration, as they prevent code from being released with default passwords and/or with development code.</li></ul><h3 id="8-cross-site-request-forgery-csrf">#8 Cross-site Request Forgery (CSRF)</h3>Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) is a type of attack that causes an authenticated user to do undesirable actions on a web application.Since the web browser is misled into submitting a falsified request by a less privileged attacker, cross-site request forgery is a classic example of a confused deputy attack against a web browser.<ul><li>Prevention - Keep a secret token in a hidden form field that the third-party site can't see. You should always double-check this secret field. When changing sensitive settings on some websites, you may be asked for your password as well (for example, password reminder email) although this is done mainly to prevent abandoned sessions (for example in an internet cafe).</li></ul><h3 id="9-insecure-direct-object-references">#9 Insecure Direct Object References</h3>This is a classic example of relying on user input and paying the price in the form of a security flaw. A direct object reference exposes an internal object to the user, such as a file or database key. The issue here is that the attacker can supply this reference and if authorization is not enforced (or is flawed), the attacker can gain access to or perform actions that they should not. Let?s say, the code includes a download.php module that reads and allows users to download files by specifying the file name with a CGI parameter (e.g., download.php?file=something.txt). The developer removed authorization from the code, either by accident or out of laziness. The intruder will now use this to download any device files that the PHP user has access to, such as the application code or other documents. The attacker can now use this to download any device files that the PHP user has access to, such as the application code or any data left on the server, such as backups.<ul><li>Prevention - Whitelist the options and perform user authorization correctly and consistently. The problem may usually be avoided by keeping data internally rather than relying on it being given from the client via CGI parameters. Most frameworks have session variables that are ideal for this.</li></ul><h3 id="10-unvalidated-redirects-and-forwards">#10 Unvalidated Redirects And Forwards</h3>Assume the destination site has a redirect.php module with a GET parameter of a URL. By manipulating the parameter, a URL on targetsite.com can be created that directs the browser to malwareinstall.com. When the user clicks the link, they will see targetsite.com/blahblahblah, which they believe is safe to click.They have no idea that this will redirect them to a malware drop (or any other harmful) page. Alternatively, the attacker may send the browser to targetsite.com/deleteprofile?confirm=1 and delete the profile.It's worth noting that cramming unprocessed user-defined input into an HTTP header can result in header injection, which is a negative thing.<ul><li>Prevention - Redirects should be avoided at all costs (they are seldom necessary). Have a list of valid locations to redirect to that are static. Whitelist the user-defined parameter, however difficult this may be. </li></ul>It takes just five minutes - or less - for a hacker to access &amp; change all of your company data, steal it or use it illegally if you are unaware. That is why cybersecurity is more important than ever in this era of technology, especially in 2021.

The 10 Worst Cyber Security Mistakes Companies are Making?and How to Avoid Them

The key marketing strategy in business nowadays is to identify the emerging marketing trends that affect the customer buying pattern. While some marketing strategies tend to remain constantly rewarding in terms of sales, new ones always pop up with every passing year. Understanding the B2B sectors in terms of marketing strategy can keep you ahead in the competition. It can fetch you more sales and conversions.&nbsp;That is why we have taken a close look at the emerging trends of this year and as a result, come up with a few prominent ones.The Top B2B Marketing Trends in 2021 have been highlighted below.<h3 id="1-increasing-dominance-of-artificial-intelligence-ai">1. INCREASING DOMINANCE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)</h3>Artificial Intelligence or AI enables businesses to reveal the value of their data, scale up content for a more diverse outreach plan, and give a more comprehensive view of customers and how to serve them.Artificial intelligence can be used in the corporate world to gain a competitive advantage and enhance efficiency. Automated interactions with customers, partners, and employees are becoming more common and can be hailed as one of the top B2B marketing trends in 2021. Data analysis plays a very prominent role in AI and will help in facilitating B2B marketing. Moreover, by automating operations, you may multiply your productivity immensely. Chatbots are an essential component of websites, apps, and any other business structure in today's world. More customers are expecting and receiving faster responses, better services, and a 24-hour agent to meet their needs.<h3 id="2-rise-in-social-commerceselling-on-social-media">2. RISE IN SOCIAL COMMERCE - SELLING ON SOCIAL MEDIA</h3>As the world is still stuck in a pandemonium of the COVID-19 virus, businesses are experiencing an upsurge in customers buying their products through social media.Social commerce involves directly using social media platforms to sell products and services to consumers. However, it is not the same as e-commerce, contrary to the popular notion. There is a slight difference between the two.E-commerce refers to a website or dedicated brand application shopping experience. By definition, social commerce enables customers to buy their products through their experience on social media.Today's prominent players in social commerce are Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest.<h3 id="3-focus-on-original-content">3. FOCUS ON ORIGINAL CONTENT</h3>No one wants to read the same information repeatedly in a recycled manner and that is why customers always respond best to 'original content'. This may appear to be overstated, but it remains true to this day. Be it graphics, writing blog content, preparing ad copies, etc., your original creation will always work best with your target audience. Remember, they are waiting for a fresh experience, something unique that you have to offer along with your product. You will get the highest ROIs (return on investments) when you use original content rather than some copy-pasted or slightly alternated versions. Here are some tricks to help you do that:<ul><li>Brainstorm content ideas.</li><li>Mix short-form and long-form content.</li><li>Add quirky graphics or high-quality images to support your content.</li><li>Add keywords research strategies while publishing content.</li><li>Sell it to your prospective customers, B2B leads, etc.</li><li>Invest in paid promotional strategies. </li></ul><h3 id="4-video-content-rules-the-day">4. VIDEO CONTENT RULES THE DAY</h3>No matter what type of business you are in, video marketing will always reward you beyond expectations. Think about it - more than 70% of B2B buyers watch product videos alone as part of their market research. Videos are used by 86% of businesses as a marketing tool. Video marketing incorporates an important aspect of the B2B buyer's journey mainly because of its visual appeal. More than 93% of marketers believe that video is an essential element in their B2B as well as B2C marketing strategies. Especially after the pandemic struck, market research shows that video content consumption has skyrocketed. Here are some video ideas for your B2B marketing strategy:<ul><li>Informative videos/product demo videos</li><li>Customer testimonial videos</li><li>Event teasers, event recap videos</li><li>Company news</li><li>Behind-the-scenes video </li></ul>Videos will enable you to show off your products or your teamwork and educate your clients interestingly and effectively. <h3 id="5-invest-in-paid-ads-on-social-media">5. INVEST IN PAID ADS ON SOCIAL MEDIA</h3>The importance of paid ads in B2B marketing is monumental, and it is only increasing day by day. Especially in 2021, digital marketing and investing in paid ads is one of the top B2B marketing trends. Social media platforms are an excellent lead generation tool solely because more than 50% of B2B marketers use them for research. Investing in paid ads is a foolproof way to acquire those highly valued B2B leads. Don't just post ads on social media; create high-quality content and promote them. Nearly 97% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn, which is why it is a key tool for marketing strategies for your business. The same is for Facebook, which 91% of B2B marketers use worldwide for business purposes.<h3 id="6-refine-your-email-marketing-tactics">6. REFINE YOUR EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS</h3>Do you remember those days when emails were regarded as long and dull pieces of text that were immediately discarded from your inbox? They seem ancient today. For B2B marketers, emails offer an engaging, consistent, and reliable medium of distribution. Even 60% of B2B marketers believe in its effectiveness, believing it to be a viable revenue-generating platform. Email marketing is, without a doubt, one of the top B2B marketing trends in 2021. A successful way to hone your email marketing strategy is described below. <ul><li>Craft attractive subject lines.</li><li>Include a clear and concise call-to-action(CTA) per email, not more than one in quantity.</li><li>Make sure your email marketing list consists of only potential customers who fit in your target audience description.</li><li>Cold emails can increase your B2B marketing game by almost 16 times, according to research.</li><li>Personalize your emails. Wish your clients on special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries etc. </li></ul><h3 id="7-customer-retention-through-targeted-marketing">7. CUSTOMER RETENTION THROUGH TARGETED MARKETING</h3>New B2B customers are interestingly and effectively good, but a long-term customer retention strategy is needed to grow your business in terms of a good reputation. Building rapport with existing customers is the golden rule of retention marketing. Existing B2B customers should always be specially treated in terms of marketing. That is because selling a product to a current customer is always easier, faster, and less exhausting than selling to a stranger.How can you do that?<ul><li>Establish clear and open lines of communication.</li><li>Provide customer care &amp; support and answer their queries in simple, actionable terms.</li><li>Gather feedback, take surveys to see where you need to improve.</li><li>Appreciate them frequently for showing customer loyalty.</li><li>Give special offers, coupons &amp; discounts, etc.</li></ul>According to a Harvard study, a 5% in customer retention can increase your profits by 95%. This type of marketing is especially effective when you are on a tight budget.<h3 id="8-explore-the-realm-of-augmented-reality">8. EXPLORE THE REALM OF AUGMENTED REALITY</h3>With the increase in technological advancements, the rise of Augmented reality or AR has benefitted the B2B marketing realm to a unique extent. It enables businesses to provide customers with one-of-a-kind experiences through the use of their mobile devices or tablets. As augmented shopping experiences are becoming increasingly popular, brands are engaging AR to let consumers have a 'taste' of things before they buy them. B2B organizations are now using augmented reality to improve their sales presentations, product demos, and brand introductions. Without the need for an app, the technology is now available to organizations of all sizes. It's incredibly effective, cool and is one of the top B2B marketing trends that you cannot miss.<h3 id="9-utilise-micro-influencers-to-your-advantage">9. UTILISE MICRO-INFLUENCERS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE</h3>Influencer marketing is the fastest-growing method of acquiring new customers as part of your B2B marketing strategy.Someone who has 1,000 to 100,000 followers on social media can be termed as a 'micro-influencer'. In the B2B buying cycle, an influencer is someone who clients trust, someone who knows a particular niche and can positively influence buyer decisions.According to one study, B2B companies can manage an 11x yearly ROI through micro-influencer marketing compared to traditional techniques. Social media experts say that 94 % of B2B marketers who have attempted influencer marketing believe it is extremely beneficial.<h3 id="10-optimize-your-website-for-voice-searches">10. OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE FOR VOICE SEARCHES</h3>Siri or Alexa or Cortana, even, are being used daily in our lives for answering queries or performing simple actions like telling the weather forecast, taking down notes, calling or texting someone, or simply chatting. Another great thing is when we are searching for something we don't always have to type in the words manually. Instead, we can just use our voice to talk to these artificial assistants and they'll provide the desired search results. Optimizing the website for voice searches is something a lot of B2B marketers are doing nowadays, and lately has been one of the top B2B marketing trends. Voice search is in high demand among today's audience, with over one billion queries conducted by voice internationally, according to a study. Furthermore, this figure is predicted to reach 5 billion by the end of 2021 and 6.4 billion by 2022.<h3 id="ending-note">ENDING NOTE</h3>Companies grow and evolve in their marketing strategies each year. Technology is developing with each passing day and for some, it may seem daunting. However, if you learn some simple tips and tricks, you can turn the game in your favour any day. The main aim is to know your competition and stay on top of the latest B2B marketing trends. Some of the aforementioned B2B marketing trends will come in handy.Lastly, make sure your company has the right marketing tools to keep the customers in the spotlight. Only then, they will return the favour.

Premium reporting on technology, startups, VC funding, and software from Techfastly tagged with Digital Marketing. Read all about Digital Marketing here.

Digital Marketing

Top 10 B2B Marketing Trends That You Cannot Miss

We hear the term cloud migration or moving to the cloud very often in our daily lives. Sharepoint, Zoom, Office 365, Google Drive, or Gmail - you have most likely used one or more of these. As a result, you are also likely to have interacted with ?cloud?. Cloud is essentially a virtual data center on the Internet i.e. an Internet server where you can store or access data without having to keep them in your computer?s hard drive. In this blog, we will highlight some of the major benefits of cloud migration. These help us in performing our jobs easily. <h2 id="what-is-cloud-migration">What is Cloud Migration? </h2>The process of migrating business applications and data from on-premise architecture to the cloud, which is a virtual supply of scalable computational, network, and storage resources, is known as cloud migration. There are four types of cloud migration. They are lift and shift, shift to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), application refactoring, and re-platforming namely. Cloud migration is essential for expanding the business infrastructure. When you are migrating to the cloud, you need to be clear on your end goals. With that in mind, let?s dive into what makes cloud migration so unique and essential in today?s world. <h3 id="benefits-of-cloud-migration">Benefits of Cloud Migration</h3>Cloud migration services enable you to manage your IT infrastructure totally from a distance while eliminating the security risk, hassle, and cost of maintaining on-premise infrastructure. It is something that helps us to process and, or move our digital assets. For many companies, cloud migration is a huge blessing. That?s because, with cloud migration, their data can expand and grow within their existing infrastructure without affecting their business performance or customer experience.Let us delve a little deeper into the numerous wonders cloud migration can accomplish for us. Now that we have a better understanding of what it is and how it can help us, we are ready to learn about its benefits in detail. Some of the most valuable benefits of cloud migration are: ? Easy Integration and Access? Increased Staff Flexibility and Collaboration? Reduced Infrastructure Complexity? Enhanced Security? Easy Flexibility and Scalability? Simplified, Built-in Monitoring? Improved Cost Management Easy Integration and AccessBased on corporate demands and consumer desires, cloud migration services and applications are constantly developed, updated, and expanded. Normally, a company that uses a data center would have to do an infrastructure refresh regularly to maintain its data center software and hardware current and functional. This is a long-consuming, costly, and monotonous activity that wastes valuable time and resources. Instead, at the end of a hardware refresh cycle, enterprises can now transfer apps and other data to the cloud. In the cloud, the cloud provider handles hardware and software updates. This helps to save two essential assets. Namely, your money and your time. It also helps to ensure that the applications are always backed up by the most recent infrastructure. Increased Staff Flexibility and CollaborationWith cloud migration, companies can now have increased staff flexibility and enhance collaboration in all respects. Your team won't need to be in a certain location to deploy, upgrade, or fix issues with any of the machines they're using thanks to cloud services. In comparison to the requirement of being on-site, this makes it a more flexible option. Besides that, since everyone is on the same page with the cloud's uniformity in resource allocation and deployment processes, collaboration can be much easier, eliminating the need for shadow IT. Reduced Infrastructure ComplexityCloud migration helps to lessen the infrastructure complexity by a lot. In reality, cloud systems tend to overlook the difficulty of the infrastructure that forms the basis of the layout used to deploy automated technologies. These cloud systems force them all to work together to provide the required services. Alternatively, you can enter some information about what is needed and begin the essential assistance. Because those particular intricacies are no longer a part of your process, you can save a lot of time. Cloud infrastructure may be launched and put to work in minutes, rather than waiting weeks or months for physical equipment to arrive. Furthermore, cloud-based resources such as managed cloud databases simplify the deployment of new services, allowing smaller development teams to accomplish more. Enhanced SecurityThe cloud provides significantly higher security than traditional data centers since it stores your business information and data centrally. Many built-in security capabilities, including security analytics, frequent upgrades, and cross-enterprise visibility, are available from the majority of notable cloud providers. Just about all cloud providers handle some of the more difficult security issues. These may be issues like preventing unauthorised traffic from accessing the machines where your company's data and applications are stored. And they also ensure that their systems receive automatic security updates to keep them safe from the latest known security threats. Many public clouds provide built-in security measures as well as specialised cloud security tools to assist protect an organization's resources. In many circumstances, the cloud provider performs security patching automatically. Easy Flexibility and ScalabilityCompanies just need to pay for the cloud resources they utilise, eliminating the need to pay for and maintain IT assets that are only used occasionally. Organizations can change their resources on-demand if demand increases or if they require more powerful computing resources. Many businesses use a hybrid cloud strategy, in which some workloads are moved to the cloud while others remain on-premises. This allows them to get the most out of their existing IT expenditures. (Hybrid clouds may also provide benefits in terms of industry compliance.) Most cloud platforms have a global presence, allowing businesses to improve performance by bringing workloads closer to their users or customers. Simplified, Built-in MonitoringAlready many cloud providers offer monitoring, which makes it possible for you to be informed when an app or machine is having difficulties or is down. Organizations can manage and monitor their on-premises data centres and cloud resources from a single screen if the cloud provider provides a central management platform. Of course, compared to keeping a check on the state of your services on your own, this process of cloud migration can save you a lot of time. A way of reviewing, watching, and managing the operational process in a cloud-based IT infrastructure is known as cloud monitoring. Websites, servers, applications, and other cloud infrastructure are checked for availability and performance using manual or automated management strategies. Improved Cost ManagementThe public cloud host provides the necessary hardware for web servers, as well as security, maintenance, upgrades, and stack configuration. Many public cloud providers operate on a "pay as you go" basis. A data center?s price comprises more than simply your initial investment. Some cloud providers also offer autoscaling, that is, helping you to automate groups of resources. This autoscaling feature allows you to add numerous settings when needed. You can also turn them off when they are not needed. This cost-effective strategy can save even more money because you'll only be charged for the time those additional systems are on. Rather than needing to maintain additional equipment up and running all the time to deal with peak loads, this is an efficient system. As a direct consequence, your services can automatically respond with the number of resources mandated. This will help you to avoid both outages and unnecessary expenses at any particular time. <h3 id="how-to-prepare-for-cloud-migration">How To Prepare For Cloud Migration? </h3>A large-scale cloud migration requires more meticulous preparation across the organization than migrating individual workloads to the cloud, which is very simple. A well-defined strategy is needed for successful cloud migration. Also, participation from key business, technical, and leadership stakeholders are the foundations of successful migration planning are of utmost importance. Some notable cloud providers include:<ol><li>Amazon Web Services</li><li>Microsoft Azure</li><li>Google Cloud Platform</li><li>Alibaba Cloud</li><li>IBM</li><li>Dell Technologies</li><li>Hewlett Packard Enterprise</li><li>Cisco Systems</li><li>Oracle</li><li>Salesforce</li><li>SAP</li></ol>What are some of the key areas to focus on while planning for cloud migration? Here are a few:A. Security - If security isn't built in from the start, cloud migration might pose a serious security risk. The cloud's most significant benefit - data is available from anywhere, at any time. It is also its biggest weakness as it may be susceptible to various kinds of cyberattacks like hacking, data theft, etc. if not secured properly. On the bright side, the planning stage of a cloud migration project is the ideal opportunity to re-evaluate current IT and operational security in order to guarantee that the new platform is as secure as feasible.B. Work on your budget - When you are looking forward to cloud migration, make sure you have enough money set out. Make sure you've factored in one-time and recurring software licensing expenses, as well as maintenance fees, migration tool prices, external contractors, and, of course, the costs of the public or private cloud infrastructure. To ensure that your future cost forecasting needs are as precise as possible, understand how costs scale as your workload or user count grows.C. Examine your data fields' mapping - You'll need to map fields/tables from the old database to the new one unless your new program is an upgrade of an on-premise product going directly to its cloud equivalent. It's possible that this should be outsourced to professionals who have done similar work before. <h3 id="ending-note">Ending Note</h3>If there is one thing technology has taught us - it is that data is the most crucial asset in today?s world. With cloud migration, you can safely store, access and manipulate that data according to your needs, even remotely. Cloud migrations have various advantages for both your company and your customers. It's also worth thinking about moving to the cloud as an opportunity to take advantage of new software capabilities. The cloud often contains sophisticated time-saving features that your on-premise software may sometimes lack. Don?t judge it before you even try it!

Cloud Migration: Why And How?

Chatbots are a game-changing invention in the realm of automation and machine learning. They assist not only business owners and e-commerce giants but also the employees and customers in various ways. As technology advances, the requirement for natural language processing (NLP) to increase chatbot functionality grows. Before we dive into the technicalities and importance of NLP for chatbots, let?s discuss the fundamentals of NLP and AI chatbots. <h3 id="what-is-nlp">What is NLP?</h3>NLP or Natural Language Processing is a type of artificial intelligence technology that helps chatbots to communicate with humans through speech or text. Many a time, people carrying out conversations with bots wonder to themselves - ?It doesn?t understand precisely what I am saying?. This is where NLP can actually help. NLP, based on deep learning is an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that aids a chatbot in analyzing and comprehending natural human language. It evaluates the intention of user input and then generates responses depending on a conceptual framework in the same way that a human would.The basic difference between traditional AI chatbots and NLP-based chatbots is that rule-based AI Chatbots only provide information on the basis of keywords. Whereas, NLP-based chatbots try to understand the intent behind the human user?s query or request and take action based on that. <h3 id="ai-chatbots">AI Chatbots</h3>AI Chatbots or Artificial Intelligence chatbots are text or voice-based software applications intended to provide human users with service and information. Through simulation of the original scenario, they offer a perfect alternative to traditional human-to-human communication.Chatbots are nothing but computer programs that you can communicate with via messaging apps, chat windows, or voice calling applications. These integrated virtual assistants respond to customers' questions in a cost-effective, prompt, and systematic manner.The working of AI chatbots is simple and effective. They work in two steps, mainly. The first is to identify the meaning of the question asked by the human user. They collect data and gather information about the question asked. After that, they give answers based on either previously recorded queries or a relatively custom answer based on what the user asked. This disparity depends entirely on the smartness or intelligence of the chatbots.<h3 id="challenges-with-ai-chatbots">Challenges with AI Chatbots</h3>AI chatbots, for all the glitz and glamour of artificial intelligence technology, are not without their own limitations. Some of the various challenges we can face with AI chatbots are listed below.A. Humans can improvise and try to come up with an answer to a unique problem on the spot, while AI has trouble doing so. AI chatbots can fall apart if faced with a completely fresh and unforeseen problem. It can adopt one of the two ways - either the AI will have to delegate the problem to a human. Or it will try to solve it, but because of a lack of moral judgement, it will most definitely fail.B. To function, AI chatbots require a significant amount of time and effort. That is, it takes time for everything to be fully operational and produce tangible benefits. It can take a long time to set up, implement, and learn something new. In terms of their knowledge base and the way they are supposed to engage with consumers, bots require ongoing supervision, maintenance, and optimization. To break it down in simple words, you must provide new and relevant data (content) to the bot regularly in order for it to respond to client questions effectively.C. Another most crucial disadvantage with AI chatbots is the enormous amount of data they may collect in the process of delivering assistance. This may put the customers or users at serious risk of identity theft. AI chatbots may collect addresses or geolocation of users. They can also collect and store information about your payment or savings account i.e. banking details. While using AI chatbots, you are often required to fill in your full legal names and other information that can be used to steal a person's identity.<h3 id="why-does-your-chatbot-need-nlp">Why Does Your Chatbot Need NLP?</h3>Chatbots are designed for a variety of reasons, including FAQs, customer support, virtual assistance, and much more. Almost always, chatbots without natural language processing rely heavily on pre-programmed static data. They lack empathy and human-like judgement. Therefore, they are poorly equipped to deal with human languages, which vary in emotions, intent, and feelings to communicate each individual enquiry. NLP can distinguish between the many types of requests made by humans, significantly improving the customer experience.A. Natural language processing (NLP) aids AI in determining the best answer by providing meaning and context to text-based user inputs. AI that relies on language inputs is largely useless without NLP. For example, NLP enables technology like Amazon's Alexa or Apple?s Siri to understand what you are saying and respond appropriately. Without Natural Language Processing, chatbots would be unable to give much assistance.B. Chatbots that use natural language processing (NLP) are able to comprehend language principles, linguistic structure, and spoken syllables. As a result, it enables you to interpret a large volume of unstructured data and text.C. NLP enables chatbots to grasp and decode dialect and acquire abbreviations in the same way that humans do, as well as comprehend different emotions through sentiment analysis.D. Costing is a critical component of every business's growth and profitability. On this front, NLP is something that you must deploy in order to manage your finances. NLP-based chatbots can help reduce expenses related to manual labour and other resources engaged in repetitive operations. They can also help with other costs associated with customer retention. This will help in increasing efficiency and optimising the overall work performance.E. When you use chatbots, you will see an improvement in customer retention. This is because using NLP based chatbots decreases the time and cost of gaining a new client by enhancing existing customer loyalty. Chatbots give clients the attention and time they desire, making them feel valued and appreciated. This is the case especially for millennials, who want instant responses and solutions for their inquiries.<h3 id="how-can-natural-language-processing-nlp-overcome-natural-communication-barriers">How Can Natural Language Processing (NLP) Overcome Natural Communication Barriers?</h3>Advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) is overcoming natural communication barriers each day. For example, chatbots with NLP skills can detect and analyse spelling and grammatical faults. It can then offer a number of suggestions or corrections for the human user to choose from. NLP allows the chatbot to interpret your actual meanings despite the inaccuracies. This intent-driven feature will be able to make connections between customers and businesses. This will ensure that your chatbot is someone customers will want to talk to when contacting your business. Worldwide affairs, political changes, government policy statements, and the fundamental economic environment in an area all influence financial market movements. To evaluate the climate, NLP-based systems may read news, press releases, and other financial reports. This capability improves the efficiency of computerized financial advisors.<h3 id="benefits-of-nlp-based-chatbots">Benefits of NLP Based Chatbots</h3>When it comes to Natural Language Processing, programmers can train the chatbot on a variety of interactions and conversations. The developer can also teach different examples of content that the chatbot might encounter while interacting with human users or customers. This tends to provide it with a much broader base from which to analyze and interpret questions more efficiently.With personalization at the forefront, companies are striving to make an effort to teach their chatbots about the many default responses and how they might make customers' life easier. As a result, the chatbot will be able to streamline more personalized, unique responses. The chatbots will be able to interpret and answer new queries or commands and improve the customer's experience based on their demands. All of these credits go to natural language processing (NLP) technology.Customers in the newer generations would rather text a brand or business than call and chat with a human customer service provider. In the age of instant gratification and a chance to interact with emerging technology, chatbots are what millennials prefer. Thus, if you want to cater to this niche market, you'll need to design a chatbot with NLP.<h3 id="future-thoughts">Future Thoughts</h3>Experts in business, market intelligence, and research and consultancy businesses are optimistic about the future of NLP-based chatbots. Very soon, almost all enterprises across every industry, as well as governments, will begin deploying AI solutions. In the creation of intelligent real-world applications, natural language processing (NLP) will be very critical. Businesses must innovate and make use of developing technology to improve customer relationships, production performance, and cost structures.<h3 id="summing-up">Summing Up</h3>In conclusion, we must remember that NLP cannot fully guarantee that a chatbot will answer efficiently to all messages. Nonetheless, natural language processing (NLP) technology is important enough to decide a chatbot's sustainability. Chatbots that use natural language processing (NLP) can help you improve your business operations and elevate your client experience while also enhancing overall growth and profitability. It gives you technological benefits to sustain in the market by saving you time, effort, and money, which leads to higher user satisfaction and involvement in your company.

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Why Your Bussiness Needs NLP Chatbots?

Broken access control allows hackers to tamper with any events, semaphores, or message queues as root. Let's dive into how to prevent and safeguard against broken access control, and why should you never ignore it.

One of the most common weaknesses of online apps is faulty access control, so it's crucial to comprehend this type of vulnerability and know how to avoid it.

Why Should You Never Ignore Broken Access Control?

Why Should You Never Ignore Broken Access Control? | Techfastly

<h2>Introduction</h2>The internet has improved our lives today, but it has also presented a significant issue regarding securing your data. Broken access control is a severe security flaw that allows attackers to carry out any operation (access, change, or delete) outside of the intended permissions of an application.Broken Access Control became "the most critical online application security concern" in 2021, rising from fifth to first place on the OWASP Top 10. One of the most common weaknesses of online apps is faulty access control, so it's crucial to comprehend this type of vulnerability and know how to avoid it.<h2>Broken Access Control: What is it?</h2>Broken access control is when an application or system's intended permissions are violated, and attackers can access, alter, delete, or do other actions. Broken access control refers to a class of vulnerabilities that include situations where regular users can gain access to admin-only capabilities by altering URL parameters, viewing or changing another user's data, or privilege escalation.Developers usually need to pay more attention to how challenging it is to implement a reliable access control mechanism. Many of these schemes are accidental creations that have developed naturally with the website. In these situations, access control rules are introduced throughout the code in numerous places. Since it is so tricky, the ad-hoc collection of rules becomes practically impossible to comprehend as the site gets closer to deployment.<h2>Access Control Types</h2>From users' perspective, access control can be divided into three categories:<ul><li>Context-Dependent Access Control Access to resources and functionality is restricted by context-dependent access control techniques based on the application's state or the user's engagement with it. Access controls that depend on the context stop a user from doing improperly. Access to resources and functionality is restricted by context-dependent access control techniques based on the application's state or user engagement. Access controls that depend on the context stop a user from doing improperly. &nbsp;</li><li>Vertical Access Control Based on the types of users, vertical access control techniques limit access to sensitive functions. Different user types can access various program operations thanks to vertical access controls. For instance, a user's account may be able to be modified or deleted by an administrator but not by a regular user. Based on the types of users, vertical access control techniques limit access to sensitive functions. &nbsp;</li><li>Horizontal Access Control Horizontal access control systems limit users who are specifically permitted to access resources to those users only. Different users can access a portion of the same type of resources with horizontal access controls. For instance, a user of a banking application can only access their own accounts to observe transactions and make payments. Horizontal access control systems limit users who are expressly permitted to access resources to those users only.</li></ul><h2>Why Should You Take Broken Access Control Seriously?</h2>Many of these problematic access control methods are simple to find and take advantage of. A request for features or content that shouldn't be allowed is frequently all that is necessary. The effects of an inadequate access control system can be disastrous once a defect is found. An attacker may be able to change or remove content, carry out unwanted operations, or even take over site administration in addition to accessing unauthorized content.&nbsp;<h3>Impact of Broken Access Control&nbsp;</h3>Organizations that don't effectively establish or manage access controls run the danger of several different things. Data breaches are one of the most frequent and potentially harmful dangers. If an attacker is successful in getting access to sensitive information, they could be able to exploit it to commit crimes like fraud or identity theft. Data breaches can also harm an organization's brand and result in money losses.Violations of compliance are another concern connected to faulty access controls. Organizations that adhere to rules like HIPAA or PCI DSS must ensure access controls do as well. Insufficient access controls within an organization may result in fines or other consequences.Finally, operational problems can result from malfunctioning access controls. Attackers may be able to disable or harm key systems if they can access them, resulting in considerable downtime and financial loss.<h2>Best Practices of Access Control&nbsp;</h2><figure class="image"><img src="https://iaxds62ruoojbg1k4180.cleaver.rocks/images/posts/9b577a59-4b92-43bd-8b6c-87c42a9ab589.png"></figure><ul><li>Businesses should keep up the principle of least privilege by giving users only those rights necessary to carry out their tasks.</li><li>Restrict by default: An application should be set up to deny access by default for security reasons, even if no explicit access control rules are matched.</li><li>Check permissions for each request: Verify permissions accurately for each request, whether it is from a server-side script, an AJAX script, or another source.</li><li>Ensure access control policies are created with static resources included and are permitted.</li><li>The right site should be used for authorization checks. Never depend on statements for client-side access control.</li><li>If the authorization check fails, leave it securely.&nbsp;</li><li>Implement integrity and unit tests for authorization logic.</li></ul><h2>How To Prevent Broken Access Control?</h2>There are certain access control restrictions on almost all websites. As a result, an access control policy needs to be explicitly written down. The design documentation also needs to include a strategy for enforcing this regulation. If this documentation is missing, a website is probably exposed.It is crucial to inspect the code that implements the access control policy. Such code ought to be cleanly organized, modular, and probably centralized. A thorough code review should be conducted to verify the access control implementation's accuracy. Additionally, penetration testing can be pretty helpful in figuring out whether the access control system has any issues.The best way is to find out how webpage modifications are made, where they are tested, and how they are sent to the live server. You are interested in learning how those communication routes are secured if administrators can make changes remotely. Only authorized administrators should be permitted access by carefully going over each interface. Ensure only allowed data may be viewed if there are different categories or groupings of data that can be accessed through the interface.&nbsp;<h3>Access Validation</h3>Access validation is the most reliable method of preventing IDOR vulnerabilities and assaults. The system should be able to reject the request after verifying that the user does not possess the required credentials in the event that an attacker attempts to alter the reference provided in order to tamper with an application or database.Web applications, in particular, should rely on server-side access control rather than client-side access control to prevent manipulation by adversaries. To ensure there are no gaps in the process, the application should check at many levels, including the data or object.<h2>How to Safeguard Yourself Against Broken Access Control?</h2>The most crucial step is to consider the access control requirements of an application and document them in a web application security policy. We strongly advise using an access control matrix to define the access control rules. There is no definition of what it means to be secure for that site without the security policy being documented. The policy should specify which users can access the system and what features and materials each user category should access. It is essential to thoroughly test the access control system to ensure it cannot be circumvented. This testing necessitates using numerous accounts and multiple attempts to access restricted information or features.1. Client Side Caching Many people use shared computers at airports, libraries, schools, and other public access points to access online applications. Browsers typically save cached versions of online pages that hackers can use to access otherwise inaccessible areas of websites. To prevent sensitive information-containing pages from being cached by users' browsers, developers should employ several methods, such as HTTP headers and meta tags. &nbsp;2. Insecure IDs Most websites employ some id, key, or index to refer to users, roles, content, objects, or functions. An attacker can freely test the access control system to see what they can access if they can guess these ids and the given values are not checked to make sure they are approved for the current user. Web applications shouldn't rely on any IDs' confidentiality as security. &nbsp;3. File Permissions The file system of the underlying platform's platform provides access control lists, which are used by many web and application servers. There are always files kept locally on the web and application server that should not be publicly accessible, including default files, configuration files, and scripts placed on most web and application servers, even if practically all data is saved on backend servers. The OS's permissions mechanism should only be used to label files intended to be exposed to web users as readable, most folders should not be visible, and only a few files, if any, should be declared executable. &nbsp;Final Thoughts Broken access control flaws can have significant repercussions. Malware could expose confidential information and cause more damage and attacks. Beyond the data, businesses must deal with litigation, damage control, market share and valuation loss, delayed system repairs, and a long list of other issues. Making sure your system is secure is more crucial than ever because exploits and assaults are more frequent than ever. Developing a strategy for implementing effective access control will be easier if you know typical risks and use best practices.

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