Month: September 2012

With Bring your own device (BYOD) policies rising in popularity and so many workers sharing computers for personal and work-related tasks, many IT employees and everyday workers are becoming increasingly nervous about security and privacy.

In fact, according to a Harris survey, 82 percent of regular employees consider the ability for their digital activity to be “tracked” as an invasion of privacy. And 76 percent say that they would not allow their employer to view which applications may be installed on their own device. This creates a divide between employees wanting to use their own computer and smartphone and employers’ ability to make sure that these tools are suitable for work.

“Bring your own device policies are commonplace across most organizations. The survey results show that the vulnerability of personally identifiable information is a significant concern, and that organizations need to be just as concerned about user privacy as they are about the security of corporate data,” said Christopher Clark, president at Fiberlink, which commissioned the survey. “However, the situation can be easily solved by IT by using a mobile device management solution that can set privacy settings to stop collecting personal data from staff members, but these measures are rarely put in place.”

As BYOD policies begin to rise in popularity, companies may benefit from consulting a FileMaker developer to create custom database software that allows employees to store and access key documents and project task lists, which can be kept separate from the personal documents that may be on their device.

As smartphone and tablet ownership increases with the the percentage of employees who continue to work after hours or at home, it may also benefit these companies to implement a FileMaker Go custom application for workers who will use a mobile device to complete tasks. This can allow for increased security and efficiency when out of the office.

As technology advances, so does the way many industries go about their usual operations. For healthcare, imaging machines have become a critical component to gain an understanding of what is going on within an individual’s body. As such, a recent report by Global Information Inc has shown that the medical imaging industry is burgeoning with developments.

Some of the main catalysts for the industry’s projected growth are nontraditional uses for diagnostics and monitoring for new therapies and minimally invasive procedures, according to the source.

“The dynamics of imaging agents are changing and significant growth lies ahead,” says the report’s press release. “Among the key trends: ultrasound contrast media is a rising star in the quadrant; PET is a prime growth driver for radiopharmaceuticals; nuclear medicine provides a potential growth avenue for radiopharmaceuticals; and fledging market battles teething challenges.”

Clearly, technology development and research is taking a priority in the healthcare industry. As such, biomedical engineering firms and other developmental companies may want to invest in custom database software to ensure that they are able to keep up with the rising competition in these fields.

By consulting FileMaker developers, companies can create a research database that can be used to help manage projects and spread information between departments. This software can also be accessed via mobile devices through using FileMaker Go, which can be very valuable in laboratory settings where researchers may need to move from stations and machines and record insights and observations.

By using FileMaker and FileMaker Go for research and development teams, companies can ensure they can stay ahead of the pack and not fall behind the competition.

According to a study by IBM and Broadridge, financial market firms are experiencing a “1-2 punch” of regulatory compliance and customer demands that are forcing the companies to change the way they manage digital information.

According to the study, the companies that are excelling in these times of change are focusing externally. They’re looking at how they can differentiate from competitors, improve “marketplace agility,” and expand their companies geographically, allowing for increased worker flexibility and supporting local industries.

“Based on regulatory, competitive and margin pressures facing financial services firms today, current operational systems are challenged to deliver the needed scale and cost efficiencies,” said Charles Marchesani, corporate vice president of securities processing solutions as Broadridge, in a press release. “Increasingly, financial firms are looking externally to adopt more flexible and scalable operating models to quickly respond to new growth opportunities and the continuous regulatory changes.”

In addition, the source states that the current leaders are at least three times more client-focused than those falling behind and 2.5 times more collaborative across departments than industry laggards. These essential characteristics can be improved by investing in custom database software.

By consulting FileMaker developers, companies can create custom applications that can be used across all departments to store and share information. Customer relationship software can hold necessary details about demographics, which can then be shared throughout the company, allowing for greater collaboration as all departments will have a greater understanding of their clients.

Furthermore, by using custom database software to mold the program to their specific needs, companies will be able to comply to the regulations while still maintaining a close watch on consumer demands and trends.

Johnson & Johnson, a major home care product company, has announced that it plans on establishing four new "regional innovation centers" in California, Boston, London and China. These centers will focus on developing research and projects with experts and innovators in those industry hotspots. Surely, this advancement is something that would benefit from the use of custom database software to maintain the rise in projects and partnerships.

"Today, leading innovation sources have concentrated geographic presence in selected locations around the world, and our goal is to become an active part of these ecosystems," said Diego Miralles, MD, head of the California innovation center in a press release. "By refocusing our outward facing activities and locating our experts and deal-making capabilities in those regional hubs we can simplify the deal making and coordination for entrepreneurs who are looking to collaborate with the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies."

The press release goes on to explain that the centers will allow scientists and entrepreneurs to increase collaboration in "early-stage opportunities" by combining the technological innovations of these local businesses with the knowledge of experts available at Johnson & Johnson. The centers are projected to "be operational in the coming months."

With the company's commitment toward partnering with innovative companies in the area of these new centers, the corporation may benefit from the implementation of database software to help keep organize its projects.

By consulting FileMaker developers, companies that are embarking on research and development initiatives similar to Johnson & Johnson will also be able to maintain an organized list of its projects and with custom software as it can help spread necessary information and documents while keeping track of pertinent data and statistics.

According to leading research and consulting group McKinsey & Company, big data is becoming an increasingly important asset to all businesses – regardless of size or industry.

In a study released by the group, 15 out of 17 sectors in the United States have more data digitally stored per company than the entire United States Library of Congress's digital archives.

In addition, the company found that there is a 60 percent potential increase in operating margins for retailers that use big data effectively. 

But, CompTIA, a nonprofit IT consultant, found that many companies do not have a thorough understanding of all the data they're gathering. The survey also found that most companies are using big data for Web analytics, with 15 percent using it to measure email marketing campaigns and 12 percent using big data for social media monitoring.

"As expected for an emerging technology with an evolving definition, many executives are still moving along the big data learning curve," said Tim Herbert, vice president of research at CompTIA. "Not every business will need a big data strategy. But, just about every business will need to effectively aggregate, store, manage and analyze the data they do have, regardless of its volume, velocity or variety."

In order to effectively do so, companies will need to invest in custom database software that can aggregate and help interpret this big data.

By using database software such as FileMaker, companies will be able to effectively gather and compartmentalize all the terabytes of data that they may be collecting.

In addition, McKinsey's report also cited a potential lack of professionals that would be needed to help analyze this data in the years to come. Companies that may be struggling with understanding the raw numbers on their own may find that this software can aid in the implementation of data-centered IT branch.

Bring your own device (BYOD) is becoming an increasingly popular trend in the workplace. In fact, according to a survey by Global Information Inc, 65 percent of corporations from around the world that responded said they have adopted some kind of BYOD policy or will by the end of 2012. The results also showed that the two main motivators for allowing a BYOD policy is cost reduction and staff motivation.

While, according to FastCompany, ensuring data protection is a main point of concern for many IT departments, the successful sharing of information and documents between different devices and operating systems can also be very important and tricky to manage.

With the rise in workers using their own smartphones or laptops in the workplace comes the need for companies to provide a system in which these individuals can successfully upload and share information and documents across the company despite some workers using their own devices and others using corporate-issued computers.

This can easily be done with custom database software. For example, at an advertising firm, members of the art department may prefer to use their own Apple laptops while account managers might only use a PC. In order for the art department to share documents with the account managers to present to clients, they may need file sharing software that can effectively work across platforms.

Furthermore, as more workers use their own smartphones to stay current with email and other important information, using a mobile version of the same custom software can aid in this developing trend. By investing in FIleMaker Go, companies can efficiently aid the use of personal mobile devices for work-related activities.