IT planning serves as a lifeline for companies, helping them navigate the ever-changing world of technology and business. A well-designed IT plan includes strong cybersecurity measures to protect important information and prevent expensive data breaches. However, many businesses struggle to put these plans into action. 

Limited resources, not having dedicated IT staff, or not being familiar with complex technology can make startup and small businesses attractive targets for cybercriminals. In the same way, large companies face a set of tech-related challenges due to their size, complexity, and scale of operations. With a vast user base and critical operations, maintaining high availability of IT systems is essential.

If there’s no solid plan for recovering from disasters, long periods of downtime can happen after hardware failures or other big problems. Additionally, if a business’s IT planning and systems don’t keep up as the business grows, it can be hard to expand smoothly, and performance might drop. This is where managed services can help out.

What Is Managed Services?

Managed Services is when a company hires an outside expert to take care of certain tasks related to technology. Instead of handling everything on their own, the company lets the expert, called a managed services provider (MSP), handle things like fixing computer problems, keeping data safe from cyber attacks, and making sure all the technology works well.

How Managed Services Foster Business Efficiency And Continuity

Let’s delve into how MSPs drive business efficiency and continuity:

• Delivering Comprehensive Cyber Protection

Managed IT services, such as KMTech’s modern workplace, are the perfect solution for businesses seeking comprehensive cyber protection. They integrate robust cyber security measures, shielding end users from the most recent cyber threats and vulnerabilities. 

The MSP assesses the performance of critical systems, applications, and network components. This includes evaluating response times, uptime, and system resource utilization. Based on the audit report and discussions, the MSP collaborates with the client to create a detailed action plan. This plan outlines specific steps, timelines, and responsible parties for addressing the identified issues and implementing improvements.

MSPs play a critical role in designing, implementing, and maintaining these solutions to provide comprehensive cybersecurity protection. We tailor these cybersecurity solutions to the specific needs of each organization, considering factors such as industry regulations, risk tolerance, and the size of the business.

• Offering Strategic IT Counsel

A managed IT service becomes your strategic technology partner, working closely with you to understand every detail of how your business operates. This partnership goes beyond just fixing technical issues – it delves into the heart of your company’s operations and goals. Whether it’s optimizing workflows, streamlining communication, or ensuring data security, their insights and guidance are invaluable.

Through their best practice review process, a meticulously charted IT strategic roadmap is furnished. This roadmap outlines precise tactical steps, steering your trajectory toward your envisioned future state. Each phase is accompanied by prioritization and budgetary estimates, facilitating your preparedness and planning.

MSPs manage relationships with various technology vendors on behalf of businesses, ensuring that software licenses, hardware warranties, and other vendor-related matters are effectively handled. They help businesses evaluate the security and reliability of vendor products and services, mitigating potential risks to the organization. This enables businesses to focus on their core competencies.

• Swiftly Addressing IT Concerns for Uninterrupted Operations

A dedicated and adept service desk team stands ready to address all your IT concerns promptly, effectively removing the disruptions caused by technological issues. Leveraging remote monitoring tools, the service ensures round-the-clock vigilance over your environment, guaranteeing its continuous operation.

We can resolve many issues remotely without visiting on-site. MSPs use remote access tools to troubleshoot and fix problems, minimize downtime, and reduce response times. When clients need on-site assistance, MSPs send technicians to their location. These technicians have the equipment and skills to diagnose and address complex issues that they can’t fix remotely.

After resolving an issue, MSPs conduct a thorough root cause analysis to understand why the problem occurred. This analysis helps prevent similar issues from recurring in the future.

• Enhancing Cost-Savings for Businesses

Managed services providers offer valuable avenues for businesses to save money in diverse ways. With subscription-based pricing models, MSPs provide cost predictability, eradicating the need for substantial upfront investments or unforeseen expenses. Furthermore, they alleviate the financial burden of hiring and training in-house IT staff, offering access to a proficient team without the associated costs of full-time employees.  

MSPs also bring specialized expertise to the table, spanning cybersecurity, cloud computing, and network management. This knowledge safeguards against costly errors and downtime stemming from technical issues. By embracing preventive maintenance and proactive monitoring, MSPs avert potential problems, mitigating costly downtime and emergency repairs. Productivity receives a boost as MSPs optimize IT systems, curbing interruptions and enabling employees to focus on their core responsibilities. 

Scalability becomes seamless with MSPs, facilitating quick adjustments to services as business needs evolve. This eliminates the requirement for significant infrastructure investments during periods of growth. Moreover, rapid issue resolution and comprehensive support reduce downtime, thereby minimizing financial repercussions.

• Bolstering Legal and Regulatory Compliance

MSPs can assist in implementing robust cybersecurity measures and data protection protocols. They ensure that sensitive information is stored, processed, and transmitted securely, aligning with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, or CCPA.

Collaboratively, managed services providers devise comprehensive IT and data usage policies. They facilitate the creation of incident response plans, charting the course of action in the event of a security breach or compliance breach. These measures mitigate risks, curb damage, and showcase proactive compliance endeavors.

In the event of an audit or regulatory inquiry, MSPs can provide documentation, evidence, and reports showcasing the organization’s compliance efforts and adherence to regulations. Moreover, MSPs contribute to business continuity planning and disaster recovery efforts, ensuring that organizations can quickly recover from disruptions while staying compliant.

Conclusion

Managed services provide a holistic view of an organization’s IT landscape, helping enhance efficiency, security, and overall performance through informed decision-making. They can easily scale up or down based on a business’s needs. By offloading cybersecurity and technology management to MSPs, businesses can free up internal resources to focus on core activities that directly contribute to revenue generation and business growth.

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The Best Strategy for Legacy System Migration

If your company is working with old IT infrastructure, chances are it isn’t working optimally anymore. It’s called a legacy system, and while it might have been efficient before, it’s probably setting the company back now. It’s time for a change. This article explains legacy system migration and the best strategies.

Types of Legacy Systems

There are many reasons for a system to be deemed a “legacy system.” Here are the types of legacy systems.

• End of life: This one has reached the end of the road, like an outdated framework or programming language. It could still be used, but your developers prefer newer ones.
• Outdated architecture: The architecture could be outdated or no longer works for the company. For example, some companies might migrate from a monolith to microservices.
• Lack of internal system knowledge or skill: Sometimes, people who know how to operate the system have left the company, and newer employees find it hard to understand.
• The system can’t be upscaled: Perhaps the company grew out of the system, and it can’t handle too many requests.
• Updating the system is challenging: The tools aren’t easily updated or take longer than they should, compared to other systems.

Examples of Legacy Systems

Blackberry

Blackberry is the most mainstream example of a legacy system. Once upon a time, the smartphone company had a big market share. Then, the iPhone came with its app store, touchscreen, and other advanced capabilities.

It wasn’t just that their hardware, with the clunky keyboard, was outdated. The software also failed to catch up with newer phones. For example, Blackberry users could only send text messages to other Blackberry users. And unlike other big names, they weren’t quick to include an app store with new apps other than the built-in ones.

Insight Global

Insight Global is a staffing agency whose old system held tons of sensitive data, including security numbers and payroll data. They had an internal backup system that they relied on. However, that system was subject to ransomware attacks. A major data breach was inevitable.

To prevent more ransomware attacks, the company migrated from its internal system to a backup software called Vaeem, armed with better protection against ransomware. The new software stood the test and was effective at restoring data numerous times.

The Challenges Legacy System Migration

In the long run, migrating is a good option to stay updated and keep up with market demands. However, it’s not an easy choice, as the company will face obstacles and challenges.

Challenge 1

Changing the whole system means you will stop the operations and start anew. This could hinder progress for a while and affect the business overall. It happens especially if the migration involves ripping the old system apart and replacing it with a new one. Agencies and fast-paced businesses will suffer the most from this drastic change.

Challenge 2

Migration can be expensive for a couple of reasons. The first one is that business software costs a lot, which makes sense. We’re talking about a system that will run a whole company. The second reason is that the company is probably already paying for the license for the old system. So, payment overlaps will occur until the new system is settled.

Challenge 3

The third problem is that point-to-point integration makes it harder to update. Hand-coded point-to-point integrations during a system migration can lead to a tangled web of brittle application architecture that keeps you stuck with the same system. A mapping tool, such as a model-to-model one or a model-driven engineering tool, is a great way to work around this problem.

Depending on the legacy system, these are some challenges the company might face when migrating. Other issues include hardware and software compliance, software license compliance, and user data audits.

Legacy System Migration Strategy

Determine the Data to be Transferred

The first step is to identify the data to be transferred and the format you want it to be transferred into after migration. Sensitive data needs extra protective measures, ensuring it doesn’t get breached or leaked.

Check All Requirements Before You Start

This includes time, financial, and technical requirements. Migration takes time in most cases. You either prepare for operations to halt or have tools to work with instead, during the process. Migration costs should also be accounted for before it starts, because once you begin, it will be hard to pause, stop, or return to the old system. The same applies to technical requirements; you’ve got to be sure that this system will work well with your business.

Backup Data

Again, once you start, it’s hard to stop. All data should be accessible at any stage. Whether the migration works or fails, you will still be able to retrieve all the data.

Plan the Migration Process

A SWOT analysis will help you plan every aspect effectively, business and technical-wise. Everything from external factors to employee education and training to compliance and security measures will be included in the analysis. It will also help you prepare for the obstacles.

Test the New System

Testing should occur every step of the way to be sure that everything is in place. Once the migration is complete, you test the system to be sure it is successful and as effective as intended.

In Conclusion

System migration is a challenging yet unavoidable step for all companies that started long ago. We’ve mentioned two specific examples that show how it could make or break a business. It’s crucial for any company looking to remain in the game for years to come.

This article is a brief introduction to system migration. We encourage you to go through various systems that work best for your company’s business goals. Cloud computing is one option that many companies are adopting nowadays, where all data is stored in a cloud, not in the company’s on-premise infrastructure.

At nandbox, we adopted a cloud-based system, which helped us build one of the best no-code app builders on the market. The nandbox app builder, launched in 2016, allows users to create native apps using a visual interface and simple drag-and-drop mechanisms. Start the 14-day free trial now!

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Chat GPT-4 is Revolutionizing Natural Language Processing and AI

Chat GPT-3 was the talk of Q1 2023 with its advanced AI capabilities. However, the chatbot came up short regarding certain aspects, like understanding the full context of the conversation and considering previous answers, etc. We can predict that subsequent Chat GPT-4 will be the talk of Q2 2023. It’s already gaining traction with its new, more advanced abilities, stealing the show from GPT-3. And all of it is for good reasons; the new chatbot has taken natural language processing (NLP) and AI to a new level. Let’s discuss how in this article.

Briefly, What is GPT-4?

Chat GPT (Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer) is a chatbot created by OpenAI developers. So far, Chat GPT has released two versions based on two language models that came out in November 2022 and March 2023. The two versions are GPT-3.5 (Chat GPT 3) and GPT-4, respectively. The language models were trained by consuming large amounts of text data to grasp the context of the input and provide appropriate output.

GPT-4 isn’t merely a chatbot; it has many other functions. It can:

• Answer questions,
• Write long responses or essays,
• Solve equations,
• Write songs or poetry,
• Play games,
• Debug code,
• Solve tests,
• Emulate a Linux System
• Simulate an ATM
• Simulate a Chat Room

What is Natural Language Processing?

NLP, a computer science field, is the processing of human languages by AI or machines to understand and respond to them. Computational linguistics, statistical analysis, machine learning, and deep learning are some of the language models that fall under that field.

It takes most people a few years to truly master any language, and the same goes for machines. Human language is full of idioms, metaphors, sarcasm, homonyms, homophones, grammar and usage exceptions, sentence structure variations, and more, making it impossible for machines to interpret its meaning before the advent of natural language processing.

NLP and AI

Natural language processing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are all terms that are frequently used interchangeably with one another. There is a difference between the three, though.

Machine learning and natural language processing are two types of AI. Chatbots powered by AI employ machine learning and NLP, each for specific purposes. Again, natural language processing aims to decipher and make sense of human-provided text or audio data containing human language. Machine learning, however, uses algorithms to learn from past interactions to shape future ones. The AI bot wouldn’t be functional without both of them working together.

Chat-GPT can comprehend and react to user-provided conversational data thanks to the integration of natural language processing and machine learning. Chat-GPT uses the GPT-4 language model to generate natural-sounding dialogue. As a result, users can have a more natural conversation with the AI bot and receive more relevant responses.

The Effect of Chat GPT-4 on Human-Computer Interaction

In our case, human-computer interaction is any linguistic exchange between a human and a machine or computer. Thanks to NLP and ML/AI, the interactions between both have evolved drastically. A human can hold a somewhat fruitful conversation with a chatbot. At a basic level, you can ask a business page on Facebook Messenger one of the preset questions, and you’ll immediately get a relevant answer.

Now, with more advanced chatbots, you can get answers based on custom questions related to the product or service. In other words, chatbots can now perform customer service duties. Before, the answers were accurate if the questions were generic and common. But now, with Chat GPT-4, a new possibility is seen on the horizon. Chat-GPT 4 can answer complex questions, deriving context from previous questions by the same person. It can also perform tasks like booking appointments or flights, making it an ideal virtual assistant.

Chat GPT-4, if used by companies to provide customer service or support, could be less expensive than hiring human agents. The conversation between the bot and the customer could be more engaging than before with less repetitiveness. And it could be a more effective and less sulky virtual assistant. In other words, if Chat GPT-4 delivers on its promises, it will be a game changer in the field of Chatbot-based customer service.

Chat GPT-4 Can Enhance Conversational AI

The customer support example can be applied to any conversation between chatbots and humans. Now a human can ask questions related to any field and get an engaging appropriate answer better than before. The conversation will sound natural and less scripted than one generated by different chatbots. With the new model, GPT-4, the response should be even more realistic, responsive, and diverse than ever before.

Humans can use it in many applications in various fields. Users can now get more advanced answers in creative fields, like music, writing screenplays and technical articles, and mimicking the user’s writing style. Chat GPT-4 is capable of comprehending, interpreting, understanding, and responding to human language better than any chatbot before.

The Disadvantages of GPT-4

Like any technological tool, GPT-4 can be disadvantageous if misused. Users can unknowingly spread false information because the answers aren’t always accurate. Other users might share false news on purpose for malicious intentions.

The way it mimics any person’s speech or writing style is helpful for content creators looking to reduce working hours. However, it can also be used to impersonate public figures, which is problematic, as you can imagine. People fear, at some point, the absence of distinguished characteristics between text written by humans and automated bots.

Another concern is that GPT-4 will inspire some people to converse with bots more and engage with real humans less. Experts fear a significant decrease in meaningful human interactions because of the emergence of advanced chatbots.

Moreover, customer support representatives fear AI replacing them. While bots aren’t %100 there yet, it’s not far off, and they have good reasons to worry. GPT-4 came out months after GPT-3.5 as a more advanced model; there’s no telling how AI will progress in a year.

While the future of AI is uncertain, we know that the future of app development is no code. Sign up now for the nandbox native no-code app builder and become part of the emerging movement.

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How to Update Your Business App and Why You Should Do It Regularly!

Seasoned mobile app developers know the importance of updating their apps frequently. As you may notice, mobile apps like Facebook and WhatsApp release updated versions regularly, to name a few examples. However, many new developers are unaware of the importance of maintaining and updating their software, that it is not as tough as they may believe, and that the advantages exceed the disadvantages. This blog post is a complete guide on why, how, and when to update your business app.

Reasons to Regularly Update Your Business App

Reason #1: To Fix Bugs

Bugs in apps cause lags, errors, and crashes. If the app developers write secure code, the number of bugs will be minimized, but they cannot be avoided altogether.

Unfortunately, testing your app before launch isn’t always sufficient, especially for the Android version of the app. The reason is that the smartphone market has too many Android phone developers, and hundreds of Android phones are released by different vendors. It’s not realistic to test on every Android phone and tablet released. The solution is to detect bugs post-launch and work on fixing them as soon as possible. It doesn’t stop here because new bugs can surface with the release of new Android versions.

Not only do bugs repel users from the app, but they also make the app vulnerable to cyberattacks and security threats.

Reason #2: To Update Security

Security updates include fixing bugs, but not exclusively. Another reason to update security is to fill in any loopholes that can result in cyberattacks. Hackers execute these attacks to steal user data and use it or sell it to a third party. They work relentlessly to find these loopholes and attack your business, and they can succeed if you don’t regularly update.

Other ways to protect your mobile app’s security are by encrypting all data and using high-level authentication. Two-factor authentication, which employs more than one form of authentication, is now a popular method used by companies like Google and Microsoft.

Reason #3: To Add Features

New features and technologies are continually introduced in the world of mobile apps. Developers are constantly brainstorming new features to lure users away from the competition. In 2022, WhatsApp launched eight new features to keep up with the heated competition with other messenger apps. The Meta-owned company is always trying to stay on top of its game with these regular updates. We recommend two things when updating your app’s features. The first recommendation is to promote the new features, lest all the back-end work goes to waste. The second thing we recommend is choosing the features carefully to go well with your business niche. An app with hundreds of irrelevant features puts a load on your developers and doesn’t look good to users either.

Reason #4: To Change the Interface

The app’s interface is how the app looks to the users. Its design can get outdated quickly, as no trend is entirely timeless. Your UI designer can get inspired by big companies and other successful business apps on how a stylish app interface looks.

Another reason to change your interface is to change your brand’s identity. Rebranding can happen for many reasons. If you think your app’s design is holding it back from becoming successful, it’s time to rebrand. It could be because it doesn’t tell the story of your business eloquently.

If you plan on making fundamental changes to your business, you might also change the design to promote the new phase.

Reason #5: Maintain Loyalty

A lot of users check app update versions before downloading. So, it doesn’t look good when it seems like you’ve abandoned your app. On the other hand, people like novelties because it makes them feel excited to try new things.

Building a customer base isn’t easy because it’s a continuous effort to acquire and retain them. One of the retention secrets is engaging them and updating frequently. That way, they won’t forget about the product and the brand. Moreover, updating your business app after listening to their feedback will entice them to become loyal to the brand and recommend it to friends and family.

Reason #6: Listen to Users’ Feedback

Your users are free app testers; no one else will know how to improve your app better. As mentioned above, listening to them will help maintain loyalty. And it will also help you figure out what to change about the app. Users can notice bugs and errors that QA testers may overlook. And they can suggest new features that the competition has, but your app doesn’t. Make sure to add an in-app feedback function for your users to review and rate your app. And definitely, dedicate the time to follow up with complaints and recommendations.

The Frequency of App Updates

The frequency of updating your app more or less relies on the type of updates. Your team should work on fixing bugs as soon as they’re reported because they can drive users away and increase negative reviews. Adding features should take time for testing and optimization. Not to mention there should be time dedicated to promotion before its release to avoid going unnoticed. And if a feature makes the application lag or strain, it should be removed as soon as possible until it’s optimized.

All in all, updating should be regular but not too recurrent; so users don’t get tired of update notifications. You could schedule a monthly or bi-weekly all-inclusive update or update when necessary. It’s preferable to apply both strategies to keep up with bugs and security loopholes while not neglecting to make regular changes.

How to Update Your App

After you’ve made the necessary adjustments, all that remains is to build the new version and upload it to the official stores. Here’s a quick guide:

Updating Your Android App

Some updates don’t require users to update the app from the Google Play Store; they’re called flexible updates and they reflect on the app when the user refreshes or restarts it. You can allow them if the changes you’re adding new features that aren’t fundamental. You can learn from the Android developer’s guide how to support in-app updates regardless of your development environment.

Immediate updates, which we will discuss here, are updates that require reinstallation from the Google Play Store and are handled by it.

The Google Developer Console Process

The first step is to log in to the Google Developer Console and select the app you want to update. Then, you can choose Production under the release menu and click on the blue button on the right that says to create a new release. The next step is to upload the .aab file or the newly built app version. Remember to make the version number higher than the previous release. The release name can be automatically suggested, or you can enter it yourself.

Then you enter the release note, which can be a copy from the previous release or a newly added note. The release note is where you let your users know what’s in the release. Afterward, click Save and follow by clicking on Review Release.

You can optionally choose what percentage of users and which countries receive the app update before you click on Start rollout to Production.

Updating Your iOS App

You start the update process by rebuilding a new version of your app. It’s worth noting that users who already paid for the old version will get the update for free as per Apple policy. And that you can’t revert to the old version, so you need to release a new version if you wish to go back to old settings or changes.

The Process

Log in to the Apple Developer Console, find the My Apps menu and select the app you’re updating. Then, click the Add button (+) and enter the version number. Similar to the Android app, it has to be a higher number than the previous version number. Finally, add the metadata and click save.

Afterward, you upload the newly built version, which takes time to process on your Apple Store Connect. Thankfully, you will receive an email when this process is done. The last step before submitting the app to the stores is to set the version number and build string.

Timeframe for the Updates to Reflect

For the Android version, it takes 2 to 24 hours maximum for the update to be approved, thanks to the daily check-up that Google does. The iOS could take significantly longer if the submission is incomplete and might even get rejected, though it’s unlikely. In 90% of the cases, the app will be reviewed within 24 hours. After submitting your app, you will receive an email indicating whether or not it was approved. You may also check the status on the App Store Connect app for iPhones and iPads.

Check this article to find out the more straightforward process of updating your Android or iOS if you’ve built your app using the nandbox native no-code app builder. If you haven’t tested the app builder yet, you have the opportunity to do so for free if you sign up for the free trial. Start now!

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