Are you using the right EDI format?

January 16, 2020January 27, 2020 admin

Some have touted EDI, or electronic data interchange, as a miracle solution to business challenges. It has reduced the costs of paper for documentation and made it easier for companies to communicate. Furthermore, it has made supply chains quicker and more accurate. However, you won’t be able to reap any of these benefits if you aren’t using the same EDI format as your business partners.

It’s important to understand that not all companies or industries use the same EDI document standards. For example, automobile companies in Europe use the ODETTE format, while companies in the electronics industry will probably be using the RosettaNet format. There are many different formats, and any company would have their hands full trying to keep up with and learn all of them.

Things are bit easier when they are industry standards such as the ANSI ASC X12 format for North American businesses, but if you have many trade partners, the chances are high that you won’t all be using the same format. Instead of trying to learn all of the formats used by your trading partners, you can find a good EDI provider who will translate all of your data into a format your partners will understand.

Web hosting: When shared hosting servers get too crowded

December 8, 2019January 27, 2020 admin

Blog provided by Rack Alley

In recent years, shared hosting has been the most popular form of web hosting across the entire web hosting industry. This is largely due to shared hosting’s affordability and ease of use. However, shared hosting won’t satisfy every business’s needs, and there are a few reasons you might need to switch to another type of server such as one for cloud hosting.

One of shared hosting’s biggest cons is that you have to share a single server with a collection of other clients whose behavior you have no control over. If your hosting provider places a massive amount of sites on the same server, it might start running out of RAM and CPU power, which are essential for sites to run smoothly. This causes sites on the server to slow down and reduces their performance quality.

Furthermore, there will be shared hosting clients who push the limited resources of a shared server to their limits. Shared hosting is the most popular option because it is the cheapest, which means that people who should be on a more expensive server with more RAM and other resources will still use shared servers for complicated tasks they are not equipped to handle. Other clients’ usage habits are one aspect of shared hosting you will not be able to change, so it’s important to make sure your provider has set measures to prevent this. If not, you’ll want to consider switching to another type of hosting server such as a VPS or a cloud hosting service.

If you are looking for Los Angeles web hosting and feel the need for better website speed and performance, Rack Alley provides cloud hosting, dedicated servers, colocation, and other web hosting services.

Need a Call Answering Service

November 1, 2019January 27, 2020 admin

Article Written by: Herb Kimble

No matter what kind of business you have of your own, there is no doubt that a call answering service can make a big difference on how your customers perceive you. Right from the management gurus all the way to the people in the business for many years, all of them will agree that it is all about how you handle customer complaints that distinguishes whether or not you will be successful at what you do.

However, what is not being suggested is that you do not have to hire an entire customer service unit of your own. You can look for other economical options, especially if your business is not that large. Yes, you can recruit the services of an outsourced call center that will be able to handle a small business answering service quite easily, thanks to the years of experience that has been spent in this industry.

And there are different types of service that will be offered as well as there are varying levels of service that can be provided to make your customers happy. Right from a virtual receptionist all the way to a doctor’s answering service, you can find almost anything that you need from these situations.

All in all, what this means is that you can improve your business greatly by being able to use these services to please your customers. Just remember that it is all about the customer at the end of the day!

Bio: Herb Kimble is an entrepreneur in sales and marketing, who has expertise in everything from direct to telemarketing. Herb Kimble grew several businesses in the Philippines, and is considered a leading mind in sales and marketing. Check out Herb Kimble’s Pinterest page.

Basic checklist for user interface and experience

October 18, 2019January 27, 2020 admin

Designing the user interface is now more important than ever and is one of the most critical roles in a web design team. Following is a basic checklist for user interface and user experience design of a website.

The first and foremost factor is to ensure that the team is happy with the design. If the product fail to excite the team behind the execution, then it would not create an impression in the market. Therefore, the product needs a team that believes in the choices they made.

Sometimes nothing will appear on screen, due to no search results, or lack of entries in the table. Therefore, you need to model out your blank states and then create UI to handle those moments.

You also need to account for every possible error state and then create a workflow that prevents that from happening. You cannot expect your users to figure out how a system works. You must help your user through the entire web browsing experience.

Whenever possible, for example when something is loading, you must show some animation that shows progress to the user that could help them know the exact time the loading is expected to finish.

Always use real data in your designs and ensure to test a dummy of the website with at least five potential end users. This will help to eradicate any glitches, before moving to a design phase.

Article by Rack Alley. You can host your website and other applications on tier one infrastructure with LA colocation of your own hardware or rented systems.

How to Shop for a Video Wall System for Your Mission Critical Center

December 8, 2018February 14, 2020 admin

Summary: Budget shopping for new equipment doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg.

Running a command center requires allocating the necessary funds towards a functional video all to ensure data is being streamed and the operators have a quality system they can work with. This article discusses how you can shop for video wall equipment without using your entire budget.

Choose Features Your Operators Need

One of the most important aspects of creating a video wall system is figuring out what features are needed. First off, you’ll want to consult with the supervisor or manager that’s running the command center to break down a list of equipment that’s needed. Without the proper equipment, it’s nearly impossible for the operators to do their job.

However, when it comes down to it, it would be wise not to spend more than what is actually needed for your operations center workstations. Be sure to allocate your money towards equipment that you operators actually need, as oppose to it being a luxury. Remember, if it’s not helping your business, then you could be overspending.

Improving Other Areas of Your Command Center

If you have a set budget that you’re working with, you’ll want to consider the other aspects of your command center as well. Take the time to look at your budget, figure out what you’re willing to spend, and determine whether other areas of the center require an upgrade.

As a matter of fact, you may not even blow through our budget and still be able to increase your command center’s efficiency by making small upgrades here and there. Experts recommend creating a checklist to see what needs to be upgraded around your center. This way, you’ll have a shopping list that you can always trim down – depending on what’s necessary.

Google Assistant rolls out to all recent Android devices

August 18, 2018January 27, 2020 admin

Article written by Menlo Software

Google unveiled its new conversational assistant last year during the launch of its new Pixel phone. At the time, the assistant was launched as an exclusive to the Pixel, Home and its chat app Allo. Now Google is making the assistant available to anyone with an Android 6 or Android 7 based smartphone.

Most industry watchers did not expect the Google Assistant to be made publicly available to phones from other vendors so quickly. It was meant as a unique selling proposition for its Pixel line of smartphones. However, due in large part to the sudden increase in devices with Amazon’s Alexa, Google has been forced to change plans.

At CES 2017, Vendors announced Alexa support for smartphones, refrigerators, home appliances and even cars. The sudden spate of Alexa announcements caught everyone, including Google off-guard. These announcements meant that unless Google Assistant were made available, Alexa would be everywhere. Also, Alexa is open to third party developers. As a result, it has thousands of skills that users can apply to the device.

However, it is still not too late for Google. It can push an update that activates the assistant on the Google application overnight. By leveraging its presence on Android, it can add more than a hundred million devices to its user base overnight. It would not be surprising to see several hundred million users by the end of the year.

This does pose a problem for its Pixel 2 smartphone, which will not have the assistant as an exclusive to boost sales.