Technology Q&A
Browse through the Technology Question and Answer (Q&A) section to explore various technology terms and definitions. Learn more about important industry related terms from research papers, whitepapers, case studies and brochures by HCLTech. Some of the terms have related case studies and blogs, to give you a 360 degree view of HCLTech expertise.
Aerospace & Defense
Base90 works on a defined implementation methodology, pre-developed project documentation, and a preconfigured SAP system.
HCLTech’s Intelligent Supply Chain Management iSCM is a portfolio of solutions, backed by real-time analytics that improves forecasting accuracy, optimizes inventory levels, facilitates collaboration, enables real-time visibility of extended supply chain and manufacturing operations, and promotes s
The aerospace and defense (A&D) industry is currently grappling with disruptive forces—from extensive production ramp-ups to technological innovations like autonomous aircraft.
Applications
An application programming interface (API) is a messenger that processes requests and ensures seamless functioning of enterprise systems. API enables interaction between data, applications, and devices. It delivers data and facilitates connectivity between devices and programs.
Enterprise Applications are software platforms that assist and manage enterprise level functionalities of organisations.
Organisational Change management is the process of managing any change in organisational structure, culture or business process. With the ever changing business environment, customer expectations and volatile nature of marketplace, change is imperative in business process to cope up.
System Integration is the process of integrating all the physical and virtual components of an organisation’s system. The physical components consist of the various machine systems, computer hardware, inventory, etc. The virtual components consists of data stored in databases, software and applications.
Product Lifecycle Management in SAP helps organisations quickly develop and deliver the products that drive their business. SAP PLM provides all round support for all product related processes from beginning of life cycle with product ideation to manufacturing and service.
SAP Manufacturing Integration Intelligence helps link manufacturing processes with business operations to enable collaborative manufacturing. SAP MII helps organisations operating in the field of manufacturing to optimise their processes by connecting their shop floor with ERP processes.
CRM is the Customer Relationship Management tool of SAP is the leading customer management tool across the globe.
Agile Product Lifecycle Management is a tool acquired by Oracle that is used to drive product innovation process in number of industries including manufacturing, FMCG, life sciences, high-tech, etc.
PeopleSoft Technology helps in delivering end-to-end services to client organisations across domains such as HRM, supply chain management, Financials, SCM, EPM, etc.
Oracle Transportation Management (OTM) is a tool for shippers and logistic providers that provides transportation planning and execution capabilities and integrates transportation planning, execution, freight payment and business process automation on a single application across all modes of transportations i.e.
Oracle Demantra is a demand management and supply chain management tool provided by Oracle. It helps in enabling automated forecast process that simultaneously maps demand forecasting against factors such as supply restrictions, customer commitments and inventory counts.
Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) is a web-based thin client tool that helps in managing and controlling various hardware and software tools of an organisation from a strategic level. Much of the activities in OEM are automated with built in intelligence programmed into the system.
Mainframe systems definition: Mainframe Application Systems are the various end-user application systems that are hosted on mainframe computers. Mainframe computers and their services are critical for governments and large organizations owing to their capability of processing bulk data more efficiently as well as data security features.
Application Portfolio Management is a process if managing a portfolio of related applications, in terms of functionality or data dependence.
Application Management Services’ definition refers to services of enterprise application management provided by various organizations to companies that need to outsource their enterprise application management processes.
The intra-enterprise level sharing of data and processes among applications comprises of application integration. Within an enterprise tool/system, applications must be integrated in terms of shared data and processes for the smooth and efficient functioning of the enterprise tools.
Enterprise Application Integration is the process of integrating Enterprise Applications using IT enabled systems. Enterprise Applications are crucial to the operations of various modern organisations and hence their integration is even more crucial to streamline all activities and ensure smooth functioning of enterprise level activities.
Oracle Application Development framework with much of its functionality contained in a few libraries. Business components are created and added according to business requirements and change the functionality of specific business components.
Legacy Modernization is the continued process of transforming Legacy Systems in order to reduce IT environment complexity and costs, increase data consistency, enable collaboration across platforms and improve process flexibility.
Automation and AI
A natural language is a human language such as English while an artificial language is a constructed language based on formal logic
Speech recognition software can analyze the sounds you make by filtering what you say, digitizing it to a format it can “read”, and then analyzing it for meaning.
Autonomic computing refers to the self-managing characteristics of distributed computing resources, adapting to unpredictable changes while hiding intrinsic complexity to operators and users.
A virtual assistant uses Natural Language processing (NLP) to match user text or voice input to executable commands.
A virtual assistant can be configured to perform repetitive tasks based on commands and questions.
Runbook Automation (RBA) is the ability to define, build, orchestrate, manage, and report on workflows that support IT system and operational processes.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fundamentally transforming the way businesses operate. It is a combination of cutting-edge technologies that enables machines to think, comprehend, and execute tasks hitherto carried out by humans. AI can be considered as an intelligent robot which possesses the cognitive characteristics of a human being.
With rapid development in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technology, automation is at a tipping point. Today, robots can perform a slew of functions without considerable human intervention.
Cognitive computing can be understood as the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) – capable of transcending data segments and sensor streams to deal with symbolic and conceptual information.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is pushing the boundaries of machine-enabled functionalities. This bleeding-edge technology facilitates machines to act with a degree of autonomy, resulting in effective execution of iterative tasks.
Automation, as the term suggests, is the automatic execution of tasks without periodic interference. It aims to minimize and gradually do away with human intervention. A software that operates on its own and an electronic device that functions autonomously are examples of automation.
Service automation is the process of integrating all domain and functionality tools into various automation layers in order to have unified interface for all workflows. It is the process of automating events, processes, tasks and business functions.
Business Services
- Quicker impact assessment and faster response
- Increased resilience and minimized risk
- Clear dependencies and ownership
Process Management refers to aligning processes with an organization’s strategic goals, designing and implementing process architectures, establishing process measurement systems that align with organizational goals, and educating and organizing managers so that they will manage processes effectively.
Some of the key features of process mapping software:
- Flow Designer
- Business Schedule
- Real-time performance tracking
- Operational Reporting
- Anomaly Detection
- Dash boarding
- Impact Drilldown
- Service Intelligence
Business Transformation is the process of transforming the business process of an organisation to cope with changing needs of markets. Organisations undergo business transformations in order to cope with changing needs of their product markets.
Business Process Services are services outsourced to Organisations that specialize in taking up outsourcing activities. Specific business processes that are not the core competencies of an organisation can be outsourced to companies specialising in taking up those activities.
Business Process Management (BPM) Technology helps organisations enable business agility via process automation and optimization.
Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) is the process of outsourcing knowledge intensive activities that are data driven and encompass the process of gathering, managing, analysing and delivering objective insights into businesses.
KPO services are broadly classified into four kinds of services:
BPO Solutions are an enterprise suite of solutions spanning functional areas such as finance and accounting, HR operations, Supply Chain operations, etc. along with scalable data centers and IT solutions offered by a service provider to various organisations.
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the process of a service provider managing various aspects of business activities: the people associated with the business process, the associated and underlying technologies and the IT support staff for an organization.
Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) is a sustainable and competitive method to manage costs and allow a company’s core resources to focus on strategic initiatives rather than managing transactional activities in HR operations.
Cloud
Cloud migration is the process of moving data, applications or other business elements to a cloud computing environment. Some clouds are public, whereby services are delivered over the public internet, and some clouds are private, consisting of secure cloud infrastructure available to only a specific organization.
DevOps is the combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that increases an organization’s ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity: evolving and improving products at a faster pace than organizations using traditional s
Public clouds are the most common way of deploying cloud computing. The cloud resources (like servers and storage) are owned and operated by a third-party cloud service provider and delivered over the Internet.
Multi-cloud environment is one wherein you mix and match cloud services from different providers, often to meet specific workload needs, but not connected or orchestrated between them.
Cloud managed services are IT service offerings that provide for the day-to-day management of, and operational responsibility for, cloud service environments.
Cloud-native architectures is the conjunction of three attributes - Microservices architectures, container-based applications and dynamic orchestration of compute, storage, and networking resources. The conjunction of microservices, containers, and dynamic orchestration with agile development and DevOps enables organizatio
Cloud Foundry is an open source cloud computing platform that makes it faster and easier to build, test, deploy and scale applications, providing a choice of clouds, developer frameworks, and application services.
Cloud computing is a style of computing in which scalable and elastic IT-enabled capabilities are delivered as a service using internet technologies.
Cloud-native is an approach that includes building & running applications that have been redesigned to take advantage of cloud computing architectures but are not limited to cloud applications – we see cloud-native technologies and practices pres
CMP is a cloud management platform that enables users to manage the lifecycle of multi-cloud environments.
In March 2019, the world’s tech giants went offline, including a series of hitches on Gmail, Google Drive, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The choice between hybrid and community cloud is as difficult as that between simplicity and privacy. For enterprises requiring both these attributes, the focus should then shift from which alternative suits them best to what extent of synthesis is required to yield maximum business value.
Utility computing is a model in which computing resources are provided to the customer based on specific demand. The service provider charges exactly for the services provided, instead of a flat rate.
Platform as a service is the latest buzzword in the contemporary milieu, but how does one define it? In simple terms, Platform as a service (PaaS) is a Cloud computing service model comprising the following:
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is one of the major components of cloud computing. It offers managed infrastructure, including storage, network, and servers, to support non-production as well as production applications environments.
With its low costs and substantial benefits, SaaS adoption is skyrocketing. But, what is SaaS all about?
Software as a service (SaaS) is a key component of the cloud computing ecosystem.
Cloud computing essentially means that enterprise data is stored on the cloud and accessed online instead of doing it in-house. With the advent of cloud computing, users are no longer required to invest in software development and application maintenance.
Cloud computing is an application-based software infrastructure that stores data on remote serves, which can be accessed through the internet. To understand how cloud computing works, it can be divided into front-end and backend.
Cloud Computing is a process of delivering/enabling scalable, expandable and almost perfectly elastic software services using internet technologies. It is a method of delivering Software as a Service (SaaS), delivered in a pay-per-use basis.
Cloud Adoption is a strategic move by organisations of reducing cost, mitigating risk and achieving scalability of data base capabilities. Cloud adoption may be up to various degrees in an organisation, depending on the depth of adoption.
Cloud Architecture refers to the various components in terms of databases, software capabilities, applications, etc. engineered to leverage the power of cloud resources to solve business problems. Cloud architecture defines the components as well as the relationships between them.
The various components of Cloud Architecture are:
Consumer Packaged Goods
Digital customers demand convenience, transparency, and personalization, which challenges CPG manufacturers to adjust their long-established trade promotion methods to fit today’s preferences.
- Define trade marketing campaigns once, and launch simultaneously across all customer touch points
- Seamlessly automate the trade promotion process with best-in-class transactional and analytical capabilities
- Improve trade spending with the help of se
The sales performance management system (SPMS) supports all stakeholders in identifying, optimizing, planning and managing the right sales levers – assortments, pricing, promotions, and trade terms – through a collaborative business process to deliver the best results with retail partners.
A trade promotion management system (TPMS) is part of the sales performance management system (SPMS) that offers CPG companies the most advanced capabilities to manage a closed-loop business planning and trade promotion management (TPM) process.
Manufacturers need analytics to improve their own pricing strategy to drive sales and sustain growth.
Trade promotion optimization (TPO) is the process of utilizing integrated goals, factoring in promotion (e.g.
Consumer goods manufacturers face pressing trade investment requests from their retail partners to drive an increase of both revenues and margins. They must balance these requests with their own requirements to deliver revenue and volume growth along with higher margins and returns on investments.
A B2B marketing plan must be focused in delivery and broad in application. This means that while consumer marketing can advertise very specifically (one mass-consumed product advertised through print, television commercials, and the Internet) to a wide audience, B2B marketing cannot.
B2B marketers generally focus on four large categories:
Business-to-business marketing (or B2B marketing, as it is commonly known) is part of industrial marketing and it involves the sale of one company’s product or service to another company.
Business-to-business (B2B) refers to business that is conducted between companies, rather than between a company and individual consumers. Business-to-business stands in contrast to business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-government (B2G) transactions.
Consumer goods leaders are combining best practices in PLM strategies and PLM technology to grow and prosper in today’s challenging business environment.
In the fast-changing era of omnichannel commerce, consumer products companies are constantly challenged to achieve more with less. Today's consumers are demanding more innovative products with greater value.
A product lifecycle management (PLM) system is an information management system that can integrate data, processes, business systems and, ultimately, people in an extended enterprise.
Bringing any product to market quickly and profitably is an achievement, but in the case of consumer products, it is especially notable due to the short timeframe available and the complexity of factors outside the core product lifecycle data.
As a company trying to deliver products that meet consumers’ demands on styles, options, quality, and on-time delivery, they need to leverage all the divisions in the organization that are connected to product design and development. Product lifecycle management, or PLM, is a structured process which helps with the same.
Traditional manufacturers face serious competition from direct-to-consumer companies. CPG companies continue to sell through retailers and distributors, but they can’t ignore direct-to-consumer strategies.
To counter the threat of disruptors, and in response to constant margin pressure from retailers, many CPG companies are exploring ways to reach consumers directly through digital channels.
Typically, CPG merchandise is sold by retailers in brick-and-mortar stores and packaging is designed to differentiate a product from its competitors on a pharmacy, grocery, or big box store shelf. Because shelf space is a finite commodity, the CPG market is highly competitive.
Direct-to-consumer means you are selling your product directly to your end customers without third-party retailers, wholesalers, or other intermediaries.
For CPG producers, the competition is fierce for retail shelf space, as well as shelf space in consumers' homes. The industry has become increasingly marketing-driven to facilitate the bond between people and the brands they hope to love.
- Convenience: This type of consumer product is purchased routinely and involves very little thought. Think candy bars, toothpaste, a hairbrush, or a soda can. These types of CPG products often inspire brand loyalty.
- Shopping: A shopping product takes a bit more thought.
Consumer packaged goods (CPGs) is an industry term for merchandise that customers use up and replace on a frequent basis. Examples of consumer packaged goods include food, beverages, cosmetics, and cleaning products.
Cybersecurity & GRC
The scope of IoT security entails safeguarding connected devices and networks. Each ‘thing’ in IoT has a unique identifier and can transfer data over a network, automatically. When devices are allowed to connect over the internet, they are exposed to vulnerabilities.
Data privacy or information privacy protects personal information and prevents it from being collected or accessed by a third party. A part of IT, data privacy helps determine what data, within a system, can be shared with others and what should be restricted.
Data security or information security or computer security protects data from corruption and prevents unauthorized access to computers, databases, and websites. Data security is an essential aspect of IT for organizations of every size and type.
Governance, risk and compliance (GRC) is a strategy to manage an organization's governance, enterprise risk management, and compliance with regulations. It is a structured approach that aligns IT with business objectives. It also manages risk and meets compliance requirements effectively.
Application security is the general practice of adding features or functionality to software to prevent a range of different threats such as denial of service attacks, data breaches, and data thefts. Different types of application security include firewalls, antivirus programs, and encryption programs that help prevent unauthorized access.
Cloud security or cloud computing security consists of a set of policies, controls, procedures, and technologies that work together to protect cloud-based systems, data, and infrastructure.
Infrastructure security helps secure and protect critical infrastructure of an enterprise. Critical infrastructure uses information technology for functioning. The aim of infrastructure security is to prevent vulnerabilities in the events of sabotage, intrusion and disruptions.
Identity and access management (IAM) is a combination of technologies, business processes and policies that simplify the management of electronic and digital identities. The IAM framework allows information technology (IT) manager to control users accessing crucial information within a company network.
Network security is a subset of cybersecurity. The aim of network security is to protect any data that is being sent through devices in your network and to prevent it from being changed or intercepted.
In the digital age, data is a valuable commodity. It comes as no surprise therefore, that instances of cyber-attacks and security breaches are on the rise.
With rampant digitization and technology pervading our lives, instances of cyber-attacks are simultaneously on the rise across the world. It has become essential for organizations as well as individual to invest in robust cybersecurity strategies.
Disaster recovery focuses on the formulation of a strategy that allows a company to take preventive measures during a disaster. It enables companies to protect themselves from situations that can cause damage to the business in varied ways.
Business continuity planning is the formulation of a strategy that ensures safety and continuation of business activities post a tragedy or a disaster caused by theft, fire, cyber-attacks, and natural disasters, among others.
Disaster recovery planning is a significant aspect of any business. It is useful to protect assets of all kinds in the event of a mishap. It is required by law and is done to enhance business value.
Digital & Analytics
Automation, as the term suggests, is the automatic execution of tasks without periodic interference. Whereas, Digitalization is the conversion of analog information into texts, photographs, and voices, among others.
Design thinking is an iterative process and a solution-focused methodology used to solve complex problems. The model proposed by Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford consists of 5 stages namely; Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test.
With the changing digital technology, the businesses are changing the way they operate. Digital Transformation Consulting is a service that brings the power of a design-led approach to digital process simplification.
Digital footprint refers to the traces of a person on the internet. It reflects his/her online activities. It is similar to the footprints we leave behind while walking on the sand.
In the IT sector, digitalization is changing the way customers view businesses and what they offer.
Digital analytics is the process of analyzing digital data from various sources like websites, mobile applications, among others. It provides a clear vision to the organization on how users or customers are behaving.
Digitalization is the conversion of analog information into texts, photographs, and voices, among others. The transformation is carried out through electronic devices such as scanners or specialized computer chips. Information is organized into bits which can be separately categorized into bytes.
Digitalization implies an enhancement of business activities with the support of information technology to simplify communication systems. It helps firms identify best partner companies and collaborate with them.
Design Thinking is a process of problem solving that approaches complex scenarios with a creative mindset. The key to the success of this methodology is its focus on the needs of the business. Solutions perfectly in sync with business objectives can help achieve extraordinary results.
Digital transformation is a process of forming strategies and planning for organizational changes. It begins with empowering the employees with new tools and methodologies to create data-driven strategies and innovation.
Marketing revolves around the concept of driving visitors and converting them into leads. Marketing automation is a software platform that helps automate marketing and sales engagement, generate more leads, close deals, and measure marketing success.
It is the process of enhancing user experiences by refining the features of a product or an interface to evoke a positive response. A user experience designer must take every stage of the product lifecycle into account. This helps architect compelling experiences that engage and captivate customers.
Web Experience Management is a process of managing the all-round experience of the web user across various touch points in the journey through an organisation’s web presence.
Retail analytics is the process of providing analytical data on inventory levels, supply chain movement, consumer demand, sales, etc. that are crucial for making marketing, and procurement decisions. The analytics on demand and supply data can be used for maintaining procurement level and also for taking marketing decisions.
The process of implementing statistical analysis into business processes in order to achieve enterprise excellence is called enterprise analytics. Enterprise analytics uses data driven decision making techniques.
Digital Workplace
HCLTech's Managed Mobility services redefine new-age work experience by transitioning from a conventional SLA to a modern XLA-based strategy that delivers a richer experience managing IT environments.
The expectations from digital workplace services have changed significantly due to device flexibility, real-time connectivity, increased mobility, and automation.
Workplace automation is the system of using technology to perform repetitive or predictable tasks without direct human inputs. Workplace automation helps reduce potential errors and increase employee engagement.
Enterprises have long understood the merits of embracing data in business decision-making. A data-driven organization has advantages over organizations that are not highly data-driven as it plays a key role in making businesses vigilant, and self-reliant, and improves organizational setup.
According to Gartner, Workforce analytics is an advanced set of data analysis tools and metrics for comprehensive workforce performance measurement and improvement.
LibreSpace - HCLTech’s fully managed, end-to-end workplace virtualization solution that empowers users with intelligent workspaces.
Digital has impacted ways of working and brought many changes to the workplace but the majority of these have offered new opportunities, made work life better, and equipped the workforce with better tools to manage day-to-day tasks.
Workplace as a service (WaaS) is an extension of the Software as a service model to workplace devices like laptops, tablets, smartphones, printers, monitors, and projectors i.e. everything a worker needs to accomplish tasks at the workplace.
The unprecedented pace of technology advancement and heightening of employee experience has impacted the nature of work drastically. Gartner defines Digital Workplace as one that enables new, more effective ways of working; raises employee engagement and agility, and exploits consumer-oriented styles and technologies.
According to Gartner, the greatest source of competitive advantage for 30 percent of organizations will come from the workforce’s ability to creatively exploit digital technologies. And that’s why a solid digital workplace strategy becomes crucial as digital workplace transformation is key to business success.
Gartner defines Digital Workplace as one that enables new, more effective ways of working; raises employee engagement and agility, and exploits consumer-oriented styles and technologies.
Enterprises have long understood the merits of embracing data into business decision-making. A data-driven organization has advantages over others that are not highly data-driven as it plays a key role in making businesses vigilant, self-reliant, and improves the organizational setup.
A digital workplace platform is a comprehensive set of workplace technology tools and solutions that holistically helps the workforce in all aspects of their daily tasks. To succeed, enterprises must look for digital workplace platforms and not individual tools and applications.
HCLTech’s Digital Workplace Solutions bring together technology, people, and culture to create positive experiences that make your workforce meaningfully productive and purposefully engaged.
Rakshit Ghura, Senior Vice President andGlobal Head of Digital Workplace Services at HCLTech talks about five new trends transforming the digital workplacein his recent blog post:
The unprecedented pace of technology advancement and heightening of employee experience has impacted the nature of work drastically.
With the advent of 2020, businesses hurriedly went into a complete remote work model in a matter of weeks. Almost two years down the line, as organizations solidify their digital workplace strategy, they acknowledge that the hybrid work model is going to be the new norm. That’s where HCLTech’s Fluid Workplace offering comes into the picture.
Here are some challenges of digital workplace complexity and the ways ofaddressingthem:
A key factor for the success of a workplace and, in turn, the organization is how knowledge is gathered, managed, and distributed within the organization. Companies where knowledge is seamlessly managed and accessed outpace the companies where information is either present in pockets/silos or in the employees’ heads.
With the advent of the hybrid work model in the post-pandemic era, securing the workplace has become paramount. Today, the workforce is operating from the comforts of their home and working across devices, apps, time zones, and geographies.
HCLTech’s Fluid Workplace offering is a comprehensive set of future-proof digital workplace solutions that covers both “secure remote working” and a “cautious return to workplace”.
A healthy work environment is vital for employees to be efficient, productive, and motivated. This iscrucial for desired outcomes and, eventually, business success.
Today’s hyperconnected, multilingual workers instantly access their work environment while working from home and office. They use devices which are professional and personal and a multitude of tools to communicate, collaborate, and create across time zones.
HCLTech’s Digital Workplace Solutions create a truly differentiating user experience:
HCLTech WorkblazeTM:
With globalization, a deep shift in the ways of working, and an emerging threat landscape; secure, agile, and dynamic collaboration services and email management services are needed more than ever. Enterprises face complications while managing a messaging solution in-house— storage limitations, spam, and high expenses.
Enabling autonomy at the workplace is important as the workforce mayotherwise feel disengaged and unmotivated. This, in turn, can seriously impact the company’s profits and quality of operations.
HCLTech’s Fluid Workplace offering is a comprehensive set of future-proof digital workplace solutions that covers both “secure remote working” and a “cautious return to the workplace”.
Digital workplaces are aimed at improving the quality of work life, making it easier and more efficient. Digital workplace tools improve employee engagement, enhance their productivity and utilization, equip them to work from anywhere,
According to Gartner, the greatest source of competitive advantage for 30% of organizations will come from the workforce’s ability to creatively exploit digital technologies. And that’s why a solid digital workplace strategy becomes crucial as digital workplace transformation is key to business success. But what is a digital workplace?
Digital has impacted our ways of working and brought many changes to the workplace. However, a majority of these changes have offered new opportunities, made work life better, and equipped the workforce with better tools to manage day-to-day tasks.
Technology has impacted the ways of working and brought many changes to the workplace. Majority of these have offered new opportunities, made work life better, and equipped the workforce with better tools to manage day-to-day tasks.
The expectations from digital workplace serviceshave changed significantly due to device flexibility, real-time connectivity, increased mobility, and automation.
AI is already here and impacting the strategy and operations of enterprises across the globe. AI primarily helps workplaces by driving innovation, enhancing employee and customer experiences, improving end-user productivity, and reducing costs.
Digitizationhas impacted the ways of working and brought many changes to the workplace. Majority of these have offered new opportunities, made work life better, and equipped the workforce with better tools to manage day-to-day tasks.
The global pandemic profoundly impacted the world of work, leaving organizations reeling with uncertainty and presenting an ultimate test of resiliency. According to the ILO, job losses or reduced working hours due to the pandemic cost the world an equivalent of 255 million jobs in 2020.
According to Gartner, the greatest source of competitive advantage for 30% of organizations will come from the workforce’s ability to creatively exploit digital technologies. And that’s why a solid digital workplace strategy becomes crucial as digital workplace transformation is key to business success. But what is digital workplace?
Digital workplaces are aimed at improving the quality of work life, making it easier and more efficient. Digital workplace tools improve employee experiences (through user experience design), enhance their productivity and utili
Gartner’s research showed that 70% of the company’s mistakes are due to poor communication.
Today’s hyperconnected multilingual workers instantly access their work environment while working from home and office. They use devices which are professional and personal. They also use a multitude of tools to communicate, collaborate, and create. Often, they also work across several time zones.
Companies across the globe today unanimously agree that digital transformation is less about tools and technology and more about people.
According to Gartner, the greatest source of competitive advantage for 30% of organizations will come from the workforce’s ability to creatively exploit digital technologies. And that’s why a solid digital workplace strategy becomes crucial as digital workplace transformation is key to business success. But what is a digital workplace?
The unprecedented pace of technology advancement and heightening of employee experience has impacted the nature of work drastically.
Digital workplace tools are software applications and technology platforms that are aimed to improve the quality of work life, making it easier and more efficient.
Employee experience is the “new” value zone. In fact, employee experienceis the strongest measure of enterprise success today. But creating seamless digital employee experiences is not easy.
Enterprises invest in digital workplace transformation technology to empower its workforce so employees can go about their daily work seamlessly and efficiently.
Digital workplace tools are software applications and technology platforms that are aimed to improve the quality of work life, making it easier and more efficient.
Engineering
Embedded systems software can be defined as specialized programming tools in embedded devices that facilitate the functioning of the machines. The software manages various hardware devices and systems.
Systems engineering is an organized methodology of approaching designs and technical operations for smooth functioning and retirement of a system. The emphasis is strongly on software, hardware, documents, and people. The idea is for systems engineering to be a holistic process that integrates various disciplines for seamless operation.
Global enterprises across industry sectors are defining and deploying digital transformation programs to enable a more flexible and focused business infrastructure to drive new business models, improved production efficiencies and support evolving customer preferences.
Product Development Life Cycle (PDLC) is the process of defining, designing, developing, manufacturing, launching and maintaining a product from initial concepts and goals.
The embedded software engineering definition is as follows-
Product Engineering is the process of innovating, designing, developing, testing and deploying a software product.
Hardware Engineering is the process of designing, developing, testing and producing computer systems and various physical components related to computer systems.
Enterprise Applications
Oracle HCM (Human Capital Management) cloud enables HR leaders by delivering an end to end solution to manage every stage of the employee lifecycle, from attracting talent, screening, hiring, onboarding, managing time and absence, managing payroll, compensation and benefits, managing performance and developing talent reviewing talent and optimiz
Oracle ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Cloud is an cloud based end-to-end Software as a service (SaaS) suite that manages enterprise functions including accounting, financial management, project management, and procurement.
Oracle SCM (Supply Chain Management Cloud) is a cloud-based application built by Oracle. It unifies end-to-end business processes considering the changing supply chain needs of the modern enterprises.
Software as a service (SaaS) is a cloud-based software delivery model in which the cloud provider develops and maintains cloud application software, provides automatic software updates, and makes software available to its customers via the internet on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Oracle Cloud is a cloud based computing service offered by Oracle Corporation.
Financial Services
Stifled by bureaucratic processes and legacy infrastructure, organizations in the banking sector are increasingly embracing RegTech solutions to address regulatory challenges and requirements, and close compliance gaps much before deadlines.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) is a decentralized agency of the European Union (EU) located in London.
With the community cloud model increasingly become a subject of interest in the IT industry, there is no better time to weigh out its costs and benefits.
Think of technology as the beating heart of financial services and the digital revolution as the life force coursing through the sector.
Financial services institutions are increasingly realizing the risks of adopting technology. It is, therefore, imperative for the companies to assess, prioritize, and manage risks.
According to a leading industry website, 40% of Americans haven’t visited either a credit union or a bank in the past six months.
Machines are likely to take up to 10-25 percent of work across all bank functions with AI and automation, according to a report by McKinsey.
Let’s look at Hollywood’s take on artificial intelligence (AI). The depictions include the intelligent robots produced to assist humans in I, Robot; C-3PO in Star Wars; and the sentient computer HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
A tectonic shift in wealth is sweeping throughout the world. Wealth is changing hands, migrating from the West to the East, from established economies to emerging ones, and from clients who reminisce about the pre-digital age to those who appreciate the rise of new-age technologies.
Risk management in financial service has transformed substantially over the past 10 years.
In 2007, no one would have thought that risk functions could have changed as much as they have in the past few years.
The banking industry is witnessing large-scale changes. We are in the age of the empowered customer, which is transforming the way financial products are created, delivered, and serviced by banks. The increasingly digital world has created a level-playing field for retail banking.
Robo-advisory is the application of AI for automating each step of the financial value chain.
According to 70% of financial services executives, artificial intelligence in finance and cognitive computing will notably transform their organizational structures by 2020. Adoption of artificial intelligence in finance is not to replace workers, but to help them perform their jobs better.
Progressive financial services companies are on the lookout for new technologies to improve efficiency and speed of service, as well as provide better customer experience.
A growing and wide range of intelligent chat bots are bringing a shift in how services are delivered, designed, and consumed.
The asset management industry is dedicated to managing a client’s investment portfolio or holdings such as real estate. This service enables clients to build and maintain wealth.
Core banking can be defined as a back-end system that processes banking transactions across the various branches of a bank. The system essentially includes deposit, loan and credit processing.
Core banking systems (CBS) have taken over the banking industry in a big way. In a fast-changing banking ecosystem, the call of the hour is to deliver tailor-made solutions that don’t just offer customer convenience but is also a sustainable exercise.
The financial industry sees a quantum of activities that are far-reaching and overlapping in nature. Management, quite understandably, plays a big part in the smooth functioning of the industry. The 2008 global economic meltdown brought about a change in perspectives and practices.
The financial sector and its needs are fast evolving globally, and to keep pace the required changes in the ancillary functions are also seeing a sea change. For one, loans are always precariously placed as they play a critical role in a finance organization’s immediate and long-term fortunes.
Digitization is the conversion of data into a digital format with the adoption of technology. Adoption of digitalization is very important for the banking sector.
Cash management services are the services around liquidity management , collection and payment, payroll services , forecasting etc.
Cash management involves collection, handling and usage of cash. It is nothing but managing the channels of collections, payments, and accounting information efficiently. It involves assessment of market liquidity, cash flow, and investments.
Enterprise Asset management is the process of managing all the physical and intangible/service assets of an organisation across departments, business units, locations and facilities. Effective Enterprise Asset management helps an organisation to reduce Capital Expenditure and Operating Expenditure related to assets.
Core Banking Solution is the process of providing a centralized on-line system where all the data related to transactions, customer data (such as name, profession, income, family members, etc.) are stored and are available to all networked branches for access.
HCL Software
An AI-based chatbot such as HCLTech Clara is artificially intelligent and learns from each customer interaction progressively to provide increasingly contextualized and personalized responses in each interaction.
Chatbot automation takes the load of responding to customers’ queries off the staff members. Many customers get answers to their queries without the need to interact with a human agent. This saves time for the customer and improves efficiency for the organization.
An automated chatbot such as HCLTech Clara is the result of complex programming that gives it AI, ML, and NLP capabilities.
A chatbot is an innovative software program that allows people to communicate with machines in the same way as they converse with each other verbally or through text.
The following factors make omnichannel retailing important:
Omnichannel customer experience comprises personalized customer touchpoints across channels. The touchpoints are seamlessly integrated to allow customers to switch from one channel to another without starting the interaction afresh.
Commerce by HCLTech is a powerful customer interaction platform for omnichannel commerce. It features intuitive tools for merchandising, cataloging, precision marketing campaigns, and promotions.
Omnichannel commerce is an integrated business approach in which all relevant channels of commerce can be leveraged simultaneously in a unified manner to capitalize on every potential business opportunity. To know more, click here.
As a meta-orchestrator for continuous automation, HCLTech’s Workload Automation 9.5 offers several benefits of workload automation, such as:
Workload automation solutions such as HCLTech Workload Automation 9.5 have sophisticated algorithms to analyze the priority of different tasks and schedule resources accordingly.
The process of allocating relevant resources to specific tasks is known as job scheduling. It is one of the most critical functions in an organization and cannot be done effectively without the help of sophisticated software.
Workload automation refers to the use of software for scheduling, managing, and executing various business tasks and processes with minimum human intervention. It eliminates or significantly reduces the scope of the human error factor, ensuring a smooth continuation of operations with minimal or no disruptions.
Endpoint security is imperative to stay compliant with government and industry regulations. Without rigorous endpoint security, organizations face the risk of penalties and reputational damage.
Endpoint management improves the patch success rate and compliance across operating systems. Solutions such as BigFix are crucial for:
An endpoint management solution offers a single platform and console for all endpoint management activities. Such a solution facilitates collaboration between the concerned teams to ensure that no aspect of endpoint management is neglected.
Endpoint management involves troubleshooting and upgrading technology terminals like servers, computers, networking equipment, POS devices, self-service kiosks, and so on.
First, you need to understand your requirement and then search for marketing solutions that have relevant features, such as Unica. Compare the solutions to select the most suitable one.
There are various marketing automation tools for various marketing activities.
Major benefits of marketing automation are:
Internet of Things (IoT)
In any ecosystem, say a home or a factory, ‘things’ connected to each other via embedded sensors, processors and communication hardware, generate data that can be used to derive insights, and eventually improve the ecosystem as a whole.
In the human communication infrastructure systems era, we had rapidly progressed through broadband, 2G, 3G, and LTE (long-term evolution). But today’s challenging business scenarios require a single dedicated device communication network that can fulfill the ultra-low latency or low power needs for different use cases.
Healthcare, today, is not limited to a doctor’s visit in person, telephonic and text communications. The expensive clinical trials require constant patient-physician interaction as the effects of these drugs on patients are closely monitored throughout the study period.
Since the beginning of industrial manufacturing, IT and OT have historically existed separately in silos. But with the emergence of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0, the industries recognize the benefits of a greater collaboration and converging them wherever necessary.
The Energy & Utilities and Oil & Gas industries have traditionally been slower in adopting next-gen technologies, such as IoT, including utilizing asset-generated data and IoT platforms, to enable connected enterprises to leverage
While Artificial Intelligence (AI) creates intelligent systems that can learn to match or surpass human tasks with historical data without manual intervention, the IoT technology collects and handles the vast data required for an AI to learn and transform into intelligent systems, thus generating insights for improved operations and business.
The benefits of IoT technology vary per the implementation ecosystem, and the extent of the advanced IoT devices used. Below are a few benefits/uses of IoT solutions across industries.
IoT devices, including and not limited to proximity sensors, temperature sensors, image sensors, chemical sensors, and gas sensors, collect various type of data, from most basic to most advanced. Below are the different types of data collections:
Edge computing is the concept of bringing computation and storage close to the data source. This eliminates the latency associated with large-scale data transmission to the central computer hub of Cloud infrastructure and enables quick decision-making.
IoT is crucial for the asset-intensive industries - Manufacturing, Energy & Utilities,
The simplest definition of a DT technology is an image connected to a physical object by a steady stream of data flowing from sensors, and reflecting the real-time status of the thing.
IoT involves introducing internet connectivity to an ecosystem of unconnected devices, assets, and processes. By 2025, the number of connected devices is projected to touch 41.6bn—with enhanced computation capabilities and reduced costs for connectivity and data storage—generating close to 79.4ZB data.
The Internet of Things (IoT) strives to connect devices remotely for seamless functioning and ease of operations. An IoT platform bridges the gap between device sensors and data networks. It provides an insight into the data used in the backend application.
Internet of Things (IoT), as the name suggests, enables connectivity across devices. The device could be a smartphone, washing machine, television, microwave, or coffeemaker, among others. They are either connected to each other or the internet. The IoT technology is a giant network connecting almost everything.
The synergy of virtual and physical worlds has resulted in the emergence of the IoT. We already have various connected things—as varied as warehouses, restaurant kitchens, and bicycles, among others that will be connected to the internet and each other, making everything more convenient for humans and enterprises.
The Internet of Things (IoT) solutions have proven advantageous for almost every industry, facilitating the creation of new business, and boosting efficiency. The IoT solutions have helped connect devices, manage tasks, analyze opportunities, and transfer information in a secure way.
Anything that has a sensor attached to it and can transmit data from one object to another or to people with the help of internet is known as an IoT device. The IoT devices include wireless sensors, software, actuators, computer devices and more.
Smart grid consultants provide consulting services to power service providers in managing power distribution and smart grids with a continued focus on reducing cost and ensuring reliability.
IT Infrastructure
HCLTech envisions smart meeting rooms as collaboration areas where we deploy cutting edge technology solutions for ideas to flow across disparate teams and geographies.
With the digital workplace landscape continuously evolving, the focus has broadened from merely enabling IT and users with avant-garde tools/technologies to now incorporating user experience.
Traditional workplaces have undergone a massive transformation and now enterprises are moving to a digital workplace powered by cognition, automation, mobility, active analytics, and other emerging technologies where user experience is not hindered by IT est
A free and open-source software platform for cloud computing, deployed mostly to underpin private or public cloud IaaS.
A method of developing software applications as a suite of independently deployable, small, modular services in which each service runs a unique process and communicates through a well-defined, lightweight mechanism.
A storage device that stores persistent data on non-volatile solid-state memory chips. Unlike spinning electromechanical disks (i.e., hard disk drives), flash drives have no moving parts.
Data archiving is the process of moving data that is no longer actively used to a separate storage device for long-term retention.
A hyper-converged infrastructure is an infrastructure model that utilizes a software-centric architecture and has tight integration with the storage, networking, computing, and virtualization software and hardware resources. This type of infrastructure reduces complexity and helps simplify resource management.
Virtualization, automation, and the use of infrastructure as a service (IaSS) has led to the new data center standard: the software-defined data center (SDDC), in which software becomes the focus over hardware.
Backup is a copy of data and acts as safeguard against any unexpected data loss and application errors. Backing up data requires copying and archiving computer data, so that it is accessible in case of data deletion or corruption. Data from an earlier time may only be recovered if it has been backed up.
NAS is a single device, sharing its own storage over the network. Unlike SAN, NAS appears to the server as an external storage device.
It’s a network of devices (can include tape drives and raid disk arrays, among others) all working together to provide an excellent block level storage. In a storage network, a server issues a request for specific blocks, or data segments, from specific disk drives. This method is known as block storage.
Switches interconnect physical servers and storage. Routers provide LAN and WAN connectivity. Additional network components provide firewall protection and traffic load balancing.
A container consists of an entire runtime environment: an application, plus all its dependencies, libraries, and other binaries, and configuration files needed to run it, bundled into one package.
Physical servers provide “host” machines for multiple virtual machines (VMs) or “guests”. A hypervisor running on the physical server allocates host resources (CPU and memory) dynamically to each VM, thus enabling multiple VMs to run on a single physical server. This significantly helps reduce hardware and hosting costs.
Servers are machines more powerful and reliable than standard personal computers. Servers respond to requests from other clients for data or resources. The most commonly available categories of servers are x86 (CISC: Complex Instruction Set Computers)-based and UNIX (RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computers)-based servers.
The Uptime Institute has defined four different tiers of data centers (this definition is most commonly used):
Per different customer scenarios, data centers are categorized into many types:
A data center (DC) is the physical space used for housing servers and associated IT infrastructure like network, storage, data backups, and security, among others, for running IT and business applications.
Edge computing describes a distributed computing topology in which information processing is placed close to the things or people that produce and/or consume that information.
IT Service desk of any organisation is the point of contact between the IT department and the users of IT services. The users may be employees of the same organisation that are dependent on the IT department for their work or may be outside customers, who pay for the services of the IT department.
Service Desk Management/IT Service Desk Management is the process of managing the IT service desk that forms the point of contact between the IT service providers and the IT service users.
Green Data Centers’ definition can be elaborated as data repositories for systems designed for maximizing energy efficiency and minimizing environmental impact. Green data centers used advanced technologies for data storage, management, and operations on the data.
Managed Print Services are a means of reducing cost and improving productivity for an organisation by outsourcing the entire portfolio of print related activities. The entire process of designing, optimizing and printing works are outsourced to an external service provider, which has expertise and experience in handling similar services.
Managed Network Services’ definition includes complementary services or a complete replacement to an organisation’s in-house IT services. The scope of network services extends from LAN/WLAN management, unified communications to Network Consulting Services and Network implementation services.
Remote Infrastructure Management (RIM) is the process of managing the IT infrastructure of an organisation entirely or in parts from a remote location. It so happens that the entire physical infrastructure is geographically separated from the management of the IT services.
Information Technology Infrastructure is the combination of all hardware, software, networks, applications and database of an organisation that supports and maintains the IT services of an organisation.
Helpdesk support is the process of providing information and support relating to company information as well as information regarding the products and services of the organisation to the end users/customers.
Data Center Virtualization Services are a means of optimizing data storage space and reducing digital footprint by storing data at locations, geographically separated from applications. Data can be accessed, analysed and modified, without knowing the physical storage location or other parameters of the data.
The process of optimizing IT expenditure by efficient usage of Information Technology by using methods such as server virtualization, storage virtualization, cloud computing, etc. is called data center consolidation.
Storage Severs are used to store the data and applications of an organisation. They serve as store houses for data and applications repositories. The storage servers may be in situ or ex situ, i.e. they may be located inside the network premises of the organisation or may be maintained virtually in a cloud network.
Network Services/Managed Network Services are the services of management of networks by IT service providers for their clients. The scope of network services extends from LAN/WLAN management, unified communications to Network Consulting Services and Network implementation services.
The IT services of an organisation that are outsourced/offloaded to an external Managed IT Services Provider are called managed IT services. The managed service provider takes on the 360-degree responsibility of the entire IT operations of the organisation, including 24X7 monitoring, IT support on demand as well as problem resolution.
Life Sciences and Healthcare
CDISC stands for the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium. It is a global not-for-profit organization that develops data standards for the pharmaceutical industry.
Typical Lab informatics system examples include lab information management systems, electronic lab notebooks, lab execution systems, scientific data management systems, instrument data systems, etc. All of these systems help in:
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is a branch of telehealth where subjects/patients are monitored remotely outside the four walls of a typical clinic setting, by leveraging increased penetration of mobility and the advancements in IoT technologies (wearables, biosensors, connected devices) and
Pharmacovigilance (PV) is the process of detecting and monitoring adverse drug reactions (ADR), adverse events (ADE), detecting potential 'signals' throughout the drug/medical device lifecycle, and also tracking trends in consumers' sentiments regarding a particular product (drug/medical devi
Digital transformation is the recent trend in healthcare space, where people have started leveraging digital assets. It is the process of introducing digital technologies in all aspects of healthcare business – payer operations, provider operations, member interactions, etc.
PHM allows the transition to value-based care by understanding the patient population and knowing the most effective ways to treat them.
The benefits of Population Health Management include better health outcomes with reduced care gaps and real-time monitoring.
The following are the key advantages:
Population Health Management is the aggregation and management of patient data across different health information technology resources, the analysis of that data into a longitudinal actionable patient record, and the actions through which care providers can improve both clinical and financial outcomes.
Big data analytics and strategic data collaboration between healthcare organizations, can help patients see reduced costs for better care and visibility to a variety of health care information. This would make them more informed consumers.
The Big data in healthcare can be categorized in the dimensions of volume, variety, velocity, and veracity:
Healthcare analytics is the process to ingest, evaluate and derive insights from new and traditional datasets to make better decisions in healthcare.
Regulatory compliance is an organization's adherence to laws, regulations, guidelines and specifications relevant to its business processes
Biostatistics is the science of leveraging statistical inputs, methods, and models to facilitate decision making in biological experiments, at various points across a bioresearch/study lifecycle (starting from conception to design, conduct, detailed analysis, and reporting).
Changing market dynamics, expiring patents, and depleted product pipelines are all exerting pressure on pharmaceutical companies to outsource non-core activities in an effort to control costs and enhance drug-development cycle time.
The healthcare industry is ripe for a revolution. Organizations in the industry around the globe are preparing for the next generation of healthcare services: a consumer-centric, prevention-focused system that cares for patients.
Clinical analytics has emerged as a significant area of focus for IT leaders among healthcare providers, who are moving toward adopting accountable care. Many of the leaders have said that they are prioritizing clinical analytics over other systems in their organizations.
Medical devices and diagnostics enable people to have longer, healthier, and more productive lives. Medical devices are considered different from drugs by many.
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has tremendous potential as a key technology to deliver the next level of healthcare solutions.
Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) software supports the functioning of a fully-fledged modern laboratory using Information Management System and a virtual software based laboratory system. The various aspects of laboratory informatics are managed through ERP tools and various data analytics tools.
The accumulating, documenting and storing data, critical for clinical trials or other clinical procedures, critical to pharmaceutical manufacturers and Bio Tech companies is called Clinical Data Management.
Manufacturing
HCLTech as an organization has focused on the smart manufacturing Industry 4.0 framework. Industry 4.0 manufacturing framework has been conceptualized to take the idea of the extended enterprise ahead.
The automotive industry is a complex ecosystem with multiple parties involved in the production, distribution, finance, design, marketing, selling, and servicing of vehicles.
Today’s manufacturing environment is highly dynamic & complex and consists of various stakeholders like multiple suppliers & partners, multiple distribution channels, multiple fulfillment partners, multiple customer types, etc.
Big Data management can form the foundation for a variety of new capabilities and ultimately determine the success of customer encounters by identifying correlations between customer data, and scheduling and maintaining data.
Blockchain has arrived and it is headed to be a technology that will have a major impact in many industries across the globe. The hype around blockchain is growing, with many technology majors experimenting with this technology for various use cases.
Enterprises face major challenges – productivity, budget constraints efficiency, etc. To overcome these, design goals, parameters for materials, manufacturing methods, and other details can be incorporated into the software, which works on all possible combinations of these input variables and suggested designs.
Media Publishing and Entertainment
Adaptive Learning System is a tool for transforming the learning system from a passive reception of information by the receiver to an interactive process by collaborating in the education process. Adaptive Learning System is used in education as well as in business training.
Enterprise Content Management System is a centralized system for storing, organising and documenting an organisations data in the form of documents.
Others
Manufacturing companies have always faced the challenge of meeting customer expectation along with ensuring timely production and increasing ROI.
DevOps is an application software development methodology. It is a philosophy that ensures systematic liaison between software development and the various IT operations teams.
Manufacturing Execution System (MES) are IT enabled systems that provide solutions for improving and optimizing the manufacturing process to the production floor engineers and managers. MES provides solution as to how the current conditions of the shop floor be altered to generate greater output at minimal cost.
IT process consulting is the process of streamlining the IT processes of an organisation in order to make it capable enough to meeting day to day IT challenges.
A UI developer’s role is to translate creative software design concepts and ideas into reality using front end technology. They understand the user interface design solution both in its practical intent and creative vision, and convert it into engineered softwares.
DO-178B is a software produced by Radio Technical Commission of Aeronautics Inc. (RTCA), used for guidance related to Equipment certification and software consideration in airborne systems. It is a corporate standard, acknowledged worldwide for regulating safety in the integration of aircraft systems software.
Retail
- Variety: Merchandising can show customers the variety retailers have within the store so they have a good selection of products to choose from.
- Product placement: With a great merchandising strategy retailers can place addition products within the customer’s reach, both on and off line, for them t
Merchandisers are responsible for everything that happens to a product from the moment it is delivered to the store to the moment a shopper picks it up off the shelf. They monitor product appearance and supply in various stores throughout their designated geographic area.
Merchandising involves the tactics (or business processes) that contribute to the sale of goods and services to the customer for profit. Merchandising is the promotion of the sale of goods that can employ pricing, special offers, display and other techniques designed to influence consumers’ buying decisions.
The omni-channel customer experience brings a number of advantages to the table. Below are some of the biggest impacts it can bring to the brand.
Multi-channel means retailers are using various platforms to get in touch with the customers’ needs. Mobile apps, websites, SMS, phone hotlines, and in-store services are the usual communication channels a business taps into.
As technology continues to evolve, customers will expect businesses to keep abreast of innovative ways to provide service. Businesses that offer new routes for contact, or easy ways of transacting through technology will find a corresponding increase in customer retention and new business.
When it comes to merchandising strategies, a “one size fits all” approach won’t suffice.
Businesses usually treat their websites and physical stores differently. For instance, the stock available on one often doesn’t affect the other. The most typical problem people encounter with this approach is that they’re not able to return the items they purchased online in a retailer’s physical stores.
Back in the day, the only way customers could buy an item was through an in-store visit. Then telemarketing was introduced, allowing customers to make a purchase over the phone. Then the internet came along which enabled us to buy things we wanted online. Now, technology has enabled us to make a purchase on our phones, watches, and even TVs.
A point of sale system that is a seamless part of retail business is necessary. And one that helps retailers business succeed and grow is even better. Following are handful of additional features for retail business POS system:
With POS systems however, they are designed to be user friendly, with a sole purpose of making life easier and business better. They allow staff to focus their attention on the customer, as well as the physical preparation and sale of products, cementing the most important values of retail.
POS systems operate on some form of computer with a large display unit, allowing the retailers to essentially run their entire business on one small device. Usually, POS companies offer convenient hardware packages to get retailers started, but the following are a few pieces they might need:
Point of Sale (or POS in its abbreviated form) is the phrase used to refer to the point—or location—where a sales transaction takes place, such as a checkout line or retail counter. A Point of Sale System is the term used for the combination of computer hardware and software that actually manages the sales transaction.
In SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) rationalization, a retailer examines the profitability of items and vendors as a whole. When done in a linear fashion, it results in lost sales and bringing back the SKUs.
SKU classification based on frequency of buys and product relationships is based on two key metrics:
A Stock Keeping Unit (or SKU) is a number assigned to a product by a retail store to identify the price, product options and manufacturer of the merchandise. A SKU is used to track inventory in retail store.
For retailers, Stock Keeping Units, or SKUs, are valuable for tracking inventory. Retailers use coding systems to keep track of their inventory and take a measure of how their sales are tracking. The use of these codes can make the difference when stores need to know when to reorder products and to get a gauge of which items move more quickly.
Multichannel Retailing is the process of using multiple channels for selling similar products across different platforms. The platforms may be online and offline and the various channels may be brick and mortar store, online store, mobile store, mobile app store, etc.
Retail Supply Chain Management is the process of managing the entire supply chain of retail organisations.
Retail Merchandising Solutions provide the entire gamut of retail solutions including, retail analytics, pricing solutions, inventory planning, item pricing, product management, etc. Retail Merchandising Solutions provide flexibility to the system along with reduced time to market.
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management (SCM) involves the movement of products and services from suppliers to distributors. SCM involves the flow of information and products between and among supply chain stages to maximize profitability.
SCM outsourcing the entire supply chain management activity of an organisation to an external organisation that specializes in the same.
SAP SCM is a tool provided by SAP AG for managing the supply chain process of an organisation. SCM helps in planning, networking and execution of all supply chain related activities of an organisation.
Supply Chain Management is the process of managing and streamlining the entire flow of materials and activities for an organisation, from the supplier side to the customer side. The entire value chain of the organisation is dependent on the supply and movement of output intensive materials and the efficiency of activities that enable the same.
Telecom
Fraud management is as important as cybersecurity for telecom service providers as unauthorized network access by fraudsters cause significant loss of revenue to telcos. The most common types of network fraud plaguing the telecommunication ecosystem include:
TME companies has always been on the radar of cyber attackers as these multinational companies build, control, and operate with extremely critical infrastructure, the failure of which could bring a nation to a standstill.
Two engagement domains to improve quality of service and of experience (QoS/QoE) being provided to subscribers are network operations and customer operations. HCLTech has identified focus areas where next-generation telecom enterprises should invest to significantly improve QoS/QoE.
In its simplest definition, network analytics involves identifying trends and patterns in network data and using statistical techniques to find out solutions for critical problems in the network.
The model looks to assess the CSP’s Digital Maturity on 5 key components: Work Culture, Business Agility, Technology Disruptors, Architecture Agility & Digital Governance.
Traditional TV distribution is under great stress. It is stuck between changing habits of media consumption, increasing trends of cord cutting, and rising content costs.
Per a forecast by ABI research, worldwide revenue from 5G services are expected to be around $250 billion annually and a major pie of this revenue will be cornered by communication service providers (CSPs). With an ever-changing technology ecosystem, predicting all possible 5G monetization use c
The rapid rise in the use of smartphones and other connected mobile devices has triggered a spurt in the volume of data flowing through the networks of telecom operators. It is necessary that the operators process, store, and extract insights from the available data.
Call Detail Record (CDR) is the detailed record of all the telephonic calls that pass through a telephone exchange or any other telecommunications equipment.
A leased line is a dedicated service contract between a telecom service provider and a customer that provides for fixed bandwidth as well as fixed upload and download speeds. In case of leased lines, each individual customer receives a fixed bandwidth irrespective of other customers.
Testing
Mainframe Testing is the testing of software services and applications based on Mainframe Systems. Mainframe testing plays an active role in application development and is instrumental in overall development cost and quality. Mainframe testing is a part of end-to-end test coverage spanning platforms.
Mainframe Technology Testing is the process of ensuring quality business applications by testing mainframe applications with a testing framework. Mainframe applications usually control critical business flows and their architectures and product suites are entirely different from the distributed environment.
Testing Center of Excellence (TCOE) is a model for centralized testing platform that provides for standardizing test processes and optimal utilization of resources for test purposes. It brings the infrastructure and resources together for achieving excellence in testing functions.
Pairwise testing, also known as all-pairs testing is the method of finding defects by using a combinational method of two test cases. It relies on the observation that most defects are caused by interaction of at most two factors.
Travel and Hospitality
Travel industry has and will always be a very process driven and governed industry. Whether we look at a very closed door airport operation or a highly integrated airline process with complex distribution and channel mix.
Travel industry is one of the key drivers of commission modeling, as being an asset heavy industry margins play a key role in the overall profitability of each supplier in the value chain.
The very changing dynamics of travel has made this industry a very challenging one, with multiple suppliers and ever evolving passenger experience. Each supplier in the value chain of travel industry is always on the edge to provide measureable value to their travelers.