Author Archive: Matt

Benefits of Building an Enterprise Mobile App Store

The research firm Gartner predicts that by 2017, at least 25 percent of companies will have their own app stores. Finding the balance between your employees’ personal preferences and security for your business may never be easy. The widespread adoption of BYOD continues to give companies headaches – from the lack of uniformity to the questionable app choices employees make. By hiring react native developers to create your own enterprise app store, you can greatly increase the security of what employees bring to the workplace.

What is an Enterprise App Store?

Just as BYOD is increasing in organizations, so is BYOA (‘Bring Your Own App’). Employees find apps they like to use for work and add them to their workflow. Unfortunately, those apps sometimes create security risks for your company. With an enterprise app store, you can prevent this.

Your IT department creates your enterprise app store. It leads the enterprise application development, reviews apps and makes them available through an online store (something most employees are now familiar with) once they are determined to be safe. There are simply too many advantages to creating an enterprise app store, even if the initial setup takes some time.

Address a Critical Need

Information security giant Symantec argues the knowledge and data of a corporation are its most important assets. Keeping tabs on your company’s information is critical to the future of your business. Yet, when you allow employee’s apps access your system, you are letting in a huge unknown.

Apps can come from anywhere in the world, and are sometimes designed with malicious intent. The app itself could also be benign, yet still be open to manipulation by parties with ill intent. Either way, your employees will have little understanding of the risk such apps present without the input of your IT team.

Easier For Everyone

The initial process for a company-specific enterprise app store will take some time, but the end result makes things easier for management, IT and employees. Apperian encourages business executives to collaborate with IT departments to decide which employees need which apps. Giving employees access only to apps that help with their specific tasks cuts down on confusion, and helps workers identify the best tools for the job.

The cost of developing an app varies with what content you want it to offer and what kind of app you are creating. BlueCloudSolutions.com breaks down the cost estimates:

• $1,000-$4,000 for a simple table-based app.
• $8,000-$50,000 for a database native app.
• $10,000-$250,000 for app-based games.
• Additional functions can change your cost, such as in-app purchasing for $1,000-$3,000, share capabilities for $500-$1,500, Web services for $1,000 to $5,000, etc.

Drawing clearer boundaries for work-appropriate programs does not have to be ultimately restrictive, either. The overwhelming push for both BYOD and BYOA demonstrates the desire of employees for autonomy. Now, however, with solutions such as enterprise mobility management for BlackBerry, you can control business use while giving complete freedom for personal use.

Systems such as BlackBerry’s allow you to partition employee devices into work sections and personal sections. You only allow apps from your company’s enterprise app store on the work partition. And if you do detect a security compromise, you can wipe only the work partition of the device. Learn about the application security testing for an added security protection.

Control What is Necessary

Enterprise app stores and enterprise mobility solutions are the future of BYOD. There is little doubt employees will continue to want their own devices in the workplace. By using these enterprise solutions, you can achieve acceptable levels of security across ever-changing personal technologies. Looking for some great alternatives to APKPure? Check out these best apk pure alternatives!

The 5 Most Important Things to Look For in a Web Hosting Company

It’s time to start your own website-maybe you’re going for a personal blog, or maybe you’re launching a multimedia powerhouse using services like Symfony PHP framework. You’ve read the reviews, gotten an idea of what’s out there and now you’re on the hunt to purchase. Here are five things you have to keep in mind as you compare fast shared web hosting services:

Operating System

The operating system of your Web host’s server is an important factor in picking the perfect host. Many hosts offer a variety of operating systems, such as the latest Windows server edition and various distributions of Linux and BSD. The operating of Web technologies that are supported, the scripts you can use and the database system available. In most cases, you’re going to want to choose a Linux-based server due to the flexibility you get with this operating system. However, if you’re using Microsoft-specific technologies, such as Frontpage Extensions, go with a Windows server.

Customer Support

Even if you’re an experienced system administrator, you’re going to run into problems with the server from time to time. There is nothing worse for an entrepreneur than the servers going down and losing valuable Web traffic. Find a host that has an appropriate range of support options, focusing on those that offer 24/7 support. Many hosts keep lower-tier clients on a ticketing support system, so find out whether you can call in without additional costs, or if you are going to be waiting for your ticket to be addressed. WordPress is the trusted and most-used platform and many users are using this wordpress Astra theme in their websites because of the benefits.

Hardware

Some server applications are absolutely brutal on system requirements, so check the hardware specs of the server you’re considering to determine whether they will be able to stand up to your needs. The base server hardware isn’t all that you need to consider, either. If you’re looking at a shared or virtual private host environment, confirm with the host you’ll be able to get enough system resources allocated so your script runs smoothly.

Control Panel

You probably aren’t going to want to control your entire website through SSH, so having a solid control panel option makes your wordpress hosting life a lot easier. One of the most common control panels you’re going to run into is cPanel. This is a full-featured control panel that makes most administration and website management tasks simple. It’s also an excellent choice if you’re reselling your hosting package, as you get complete control over sub-accounts. Direct Admin is another great option for a control panel. Find a website design agency that will offer you excellent wordpress support.

Pricing

Generally, the cheapest Web-hosting services are shared servers, and the most expensive are dedicated servers. If you’re running a small, personal website without resource-heavy scripts, then a shared host works well and costs less than $10 a month. If you have hundreds of domains, databases and resource-hungry scripts, a dedicated server makes better sense. The cost of a dedicated server can go into the hundreds or thousands of dollars for high-end options. Tech Radar reports 37 percent of people believe if a business has a bad website, they’d be better off having no website instead. You don’t want to have that kind of issue when you set up your site, so choosing a solid host is a necessary requirement. If you need a new webpage in Denmark look for ny wordpress hjemmeside.

Consider using an online guide that helps you compare service providers, such as WebHostingBlueBook.com. Make sure you’re not just looking at price, either; a good guide should help you compare a wide range of factors, including the control panel, overall ease of use, support, reliability and popularity. Once you decide on which web hosting company you’ll go for, consult with this SEO agency in NZ for your website’s online presence.

What Web host do you use for your websites? Share in the comments.

The next big thing in Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi has become a cornerstone of our digital lives. It has filled the voids in mobile networks, which have historically never been as fast or as reliable as we would like. Hotels, restaurants, coffee shops; wherever we go, we can safely assume that there will be Wi-Fi waiting for us.

However, it has not been without its flaws. Speed is one of them but it usually still beats the one bar of 3G that plagues much of the country. The biggest drawback to Wi-Fi hotspots for most is the need to constantly log on. Every time you enter a new hotspot, you need to logon; every time you let your device go to sleep, you need to logon and sometimes you just need to logon again for no good reason at all. Well, the days of ‘logging on’ are numbered as Hotspot 2.0 is on the way.

You may have heard the term batted about once or twice; for example, at the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S4 or the new iOS7; but what is it and what does it mean for you?

Hotspot 2.0

Hotspot 2.0 is a specification pioneered by the Wi-Fi Alliance, the Wireless Broadband Alliance and other partners, which will automate the connection to hotspots without any input from the user. Passpoint devices (such as the Galaxy S4 and iOS 7 devices) will be able to connect to certified hotspots using the SIM card to authenticate.

This means that devices will be able to pass between Wi-Fi hotspots and even the cellular data network without any input from the user. The implications of this new technology are massive.

As mobile service providers and hotspot providers forge new roaming partnerships, the Holy Grail of ‘always connected’ will finally be realised with devices always finding the best available connection.

People’s mobile data usage will fall dramatically as devices automatically hook up to local hotspots. This will not only mean that people use less of their data allowance; but the overcrowded cellular networks will get a break too. The truth is that even with rollout of 4G, the mobile spectrum is becoming increasingly overcrowded and Hotspot 2.0 will provide some much needed relief. Less traffic on the cellular data network means that when people do need to access the internet on the move, the experience will be a much better one.

With Wi-Fi being much more battery efficient than mobile broadband, devices will need to be recharged much less. When it comes to roaming abroad, Hotspot 2.0 could be a huge money saver. Mobile roaming is incredibly expensive business and Wi-Fi roaming is likely to give frequent travellers a break in data costs.

Great, when can I get it?

The great news is that the technology is already in place. The Galaxy S4 and new Apple devices are Passpoint compliant and a number of access point vendors are already shipping HS2.0 enabled devices. This is how to make hotspot faster either on Android or iPhone.

Expect more devices to follow this year and for the technology to really begin taking off in 2014. It is finally time to wave goodbye to those annoying ‘Please login’ screens.

Written by The Cloud (www.thecloud.net). We are a BSkyB company and one of Europe’s biggest public access WiFi providers.

Upgrading Your Rural Home Technology

You enjoy an uncomplicated life in a place far removed from most people. Now you’ve decided to upgrade your home with a few high-tech capabilities. You immediately run into obstacles, because rural America lacks the infrastructure that larger communities already have. Sixty percent of households in rural areas still do not have access to the Internet. It’s time to upgrade, but you’ll need to start with getting reliable network access.

The Internet Access Puzzle

Start by checking with your local telephone companies to see if they have any network options available to you. They may have DSL available, but it is very dependent on your location. Dial-up may be available, but there are so many things you can’t do with a dial-up connection.

You can also research local satellite Internet providers for options. Two-way communication via a satellite dish is available and doesn’t require additional cabling. The upload speed on this set-up is much slower than the download speed, but it is still an improvement over dial-up.

Tied to Your Phone

Some carriers have put their expansion dollars into building cell towers instead of overall network access. If you live in an area with limited Internet options, but have reliable cell phone service, you might look at tethering as an option. Tethering gives your computer the ability to connect to your cell phone and access the Internet through that connection.

Mashable reviews several tethering apps that run on the cell phone. Normally, all that is required is a cable from your computer’s USB port to the phone. Run the app on the phone, and your computer will now have Internet access. Because apps and phones vary, you’ll want to research how this might affect your cell phone bill. In some cases, you will have access to the Internet for free. Other carriers may require changes to your data plan and a monthly fee.

Secure Your Home

More home security options become available to you with a network connection. Home automation is now available and affordable to the homeowner and will let you do things remotely, such as:

• Turn lights on and off
• Lock and unlock doors and windows, if you are looking for replacing your doors and windows, you can learn all about door and window replacement cost here.
• Turn alarm systems on and off
• Watch or record activity in your home with video cameras

Various devices can be connected to your home network. When you are away, you can use a computer or smartphone to access your home network to control these devices. You gain peace of mind when you are away from home and wonder if you turned your alarm system on before you left.

Make Your Home Wireless

Installing cables throughout the home for network access in each room can be replaced with affordable and easy-to-install wireless devices like a wireless router. If you have a large home with many rooms, or more than one story, you may need a device called a wireless repeater, which captures your home network signal, and amplifies it so there are no weak signal areas in your house.

You can purchase wireless printers that connect to your network and network attached storage (NAS) devices that act like wireless disk drives. With a total home wireless system, you can access printers, disks and other computers from anywhere in the house, with no wiring required.

Have your own tips? Share them in the comments.

Creative Commons image by paul_irish