Is the Nearshore Trend All about Cost?

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

To say that nearshore outsourcing is a hot trend right now is to state the obvious. Whether you are talking about technology, the legal industry, or even the energy space, companies of all scopes and sizes are seriously looking at trading in their offshore outsourcing partners for new nearshore partners. iTexico, a nearshore services provider in Austin, has firsthand experience of this growing phenomenon.

The nearshore trend began in the previous decade but did not start gaining steam until just a few years ago. Now it seems to be spreading like wildfire. As it does, experts are stepping back and asking whether this trend is really just about cost.

I don't think so. Sure, iTexico works with a lot of clients looking for nearshore outsourcing for everything from Android and iOS development to cross-platform titanium development. And yes, many of these clients are doing so because outsourcing is a more cost-effective means of accomplishing their goals. The question is why they choose the nearshore model rather than the traditional, decades-old model of offshore outsourcing.

A Technology Industry Redo

To gain a little insight into what's going on in technology; consider a 2013 piece published by Computer Weekly on its website. The emphasis of the article was the idea that offshore outsourcing was for large enterprises while nearshore was for smaller ones. On its face, the argument seems reasonable. But once you dig a little deeper, you find out there is more to it than that.

The Computer Weekly piece asserted that large companies outsource primarily to save money, making offshore locations like India very attractive. On the other hand, small startups outsource in order to get the talent they need in the shortest time possible. They are not necessarily worried about cost while spending investor money. This view seems rather shortsighted, if not somewhat fatalistic.

Still, if the Computer Weekly argument is true, then there is something deeper here. Big tech companies that only outsource to save money may be shooting themselves in the foot by not taking advantage of new ideas, new ways of doing things, and innovative solutions to old problems. They are stuck in the same rut of using the same outsourcing contractors who never seem to change things up.

On the other hand, startups are all about a redo complete with new ways of thinking. They are not relying on the same outsourcing partners their competitors have relied on for years. Rather, they are looking for partners with the same mindset and goals they have while going above and beyond cost savings, which can be reached through undertaking nearshore practices.

Nearshore Is Fresh and Exciting

iTexico's role as a provider of nearshore services in Austin gives them access to a lot of different clients with a vast array of goals. Yet the one thing that seems common to most of them is a desire for something fresh and exciting. Clients want flexible outsourcing solutions that fit their company culture yet do not sacrifice innovation and quality. Itexico is one of those leading companies that will satisfy these needs through their affiliation with multiple partners in Mexico and therefore the client's interest is immediately piqued.

At the end of the day, evidence shows that nearshore outsourcing is about more than just saving money. Indeed, saving money is a significant factor in motivating companies to outsource, but in the arena of technology and mobile app development, companies also want partners who can deliver cutting-edge results that will lead us all into the future. That is what nearshore outsourcing provides. And by the way, nearshore does it exceptionally well.

KEEP READING: Four Quick Ways to Freshen Up Your Small Business

I have to tell you...we have A LOT of really cool stuff coming VERY soon. 

Stay tuned! 😎💝

*by andreascy*

Yammer Social Network : Change the Way You Work

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

Sometimes, making an impact at work can seem difficult. You have great ideas, but it's hard to find the right people to share them with. Working openly in an open and connected workplace can change that. 

Yammer is a secure, private social network for your company. Yammer empowers employees to be more productive and successful by enabling them to collaborate easily, make smarter decisions faster, and self-organize into teams to take on any business challenge. 

It is a new way of working that naturally drives business alignment and agility, reduces cycle times, engages employees and improves relationships with customers and partners.

Watch how Yammer makes it easier to get work done, and helps you go beyond your job description. 

As you know i'm an active networker on a regular basis and i like to share my social media presence with you. This is probably the easiest way to connect with my Yammer profile and networks. Let's connect and don't forget to like also our Facebook page!

*by andreascy*

Roles And Responsibilities Of A Master Agent

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

The telecom industry is one of the most complex, dynamic and sophisticated industries in the world. The technology is constantly evolving and keeping up with client requirements is a fine art indeed. The business of managing such technological changes and keeping up with the times is not an easy one and therefore it may not be everybody’s cup of tea to be able to manage the same. This is exactly where a master agent steps in. Essentially a master agent is a service provider who can keep track of the various technological advances and match them to the business side of things.

This means that sub-agents in terms of individuals of different companies can take the work done by a master agent forward and convert them into hard-core business deals. This takes away the pain of managing technological means and managing businesses at the same time. A master agent has plenty of roles and responsibilities to perform in order to be able to function as an enabler of business as far as his sub-agents are concerned. These roles and responsibilities straddle both the technology and the business side of things. 

Establishing and managing communication channels

A master agent knows that effective business can take place only with effective communication channels. Therefore he establishes communication channels between his own company, the companies of the sub-agents and the end user of the telecom products. With technological advancements, features such as video calling or conference calling are just some of the ways in which a master agent fosters smooth communications between everybody in the business ecosystem. 

An umbrella for freelancers or individuals

A single person may find it difficult to carry on business in the telecom industry. But if he signs up under a specific partnership program with a master agent he can look for benefits such as references and commissions. There is a huge amount of competition as far as Internet prices, telecom prices and so on are concerned. Therefore for an individual to survive or a freelancer to make his presence felt in the market is not only complex but can also get frustrating. But signing up or partnering with a master agent can assure him of business leads after which he can put in his effort to convert them into actual sales. 

Financial benefits

A master agent works on passing on high profit commissions. He can hold contracts with leading telecom providers and depending on the kind of demand put forth by the client can pass on or linkup the telecom service providers with the sub-agents who can establish a telecom network for the end user. In this entire scenario a master agent can pass on what is known as commission pass through. This will benefit even a small sub-agent immensely. 

Knowledge base

A master agent has the necessary wherewithal to provide training, job orientation and refresher training to all the sub-agents. This helps them keep abreast with the latest technological advancements and ensure that they stay ahead of the learning curve and pass on their knowledge to the clients who will appreciate their top-quality services.

Something special is coming soon. Don't miss out!

*by andreascy*

The SAS League - Part of the History of the Danish Super League

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

The Danish Football Association is the one who administers Denmark’s football championship that is currently called the Super League. The Super League is quite popular mainly because the people of Denmark love football and show enormous interest in this championship. There are also other football leagues in Denmark, but the Super League is the biggest and most popular one. The number of participating teams is 12 each year and out of the twelve participating teams the last two lose their places in the championship.

The Super League has long history and has seen a lot of development over the past few years. The league was first formed back in 1991. Soon it became the highest football championship in Denmark. At first, the number of participating teams was just 10. The games started during the spring. Each pair of teams played two times. This resulted in two teams getting cut off. Then the games continued with eight teams and the result was another two teams being cut off. That was the pattern of the championship in the beginning. In 1995 the number of teams that participated in the tournament was increased to 12. Moreover, sports sponsorships became really common.

At first, the league changed its name to Cola League because it was sponsored by the Coca-Cola company. In 2001, the Scandinavian Airlines became the sponsor of the Danish football league and so it was called the SAS league (as the Danes say SAS Ligaen). The SAS league existed for nine years. It became the Super League once again in 2010. However, many people still call the Danish football league the SAS league because of the long period of sponsorship. It has been two years since the championship got its original name back, but this sponsorship has not been forgotten quite yet. 

The period during which the league went by the name SAS league as well as the past few years has been crucial for the recognition of this championship. The league got a lot more popular during these years and the audience increased. New stadiums were built in order to handle the fans that came to watch the matches. The rank of the league has improved quite a lot, too. 

There are many great football players that currently play for the teams participating in the major Danish championship. The former SAS league is way better than most of the Scandinavian leagues and this can be seen by a simple comparison of the players they attract. Eric Djemba who used to play for Manchester United now participates in this championship. There are many other great players, too. That attracts the attention of the audience and makes the games a lot more popular.

YOU MIGHT LIKE: NFL And GPS Tracking

Even for a country which loves football, the games of the Danish Super League get quite big audiences. The Danish football league is recognized in Europe and is one of the major leagues on the continent because of the great developments over the past few years.

*by andreascy*

Samsung Developer Day 2012 AT IFA Session Agenda has been opened!‏

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Lately we wrote about Samsung Developer Day 2012 at IFA that is coming to Application Developers and Partners. 

That day is just one month away! The Session Agenda has been opened and Samsung released the schedule for the presentations, where the latest Samsung Devices and various SDK's will be introduced. 

But hurry! Registration ends on July 29th.

*by andreascy*

Bringing 100Mbps Ethernet to the Future Car

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

With the ever increasing amount of electronics in vehicles, and the demanding nature of high-end and emerging applications, there is a great need for high-speed communications protocols. 

Emerging as front-runners for more wide-spread use are: 

- FlexRay 

- MOST 

- Ethernet

The Strategy Analytics Automotive Electronics Service (AES) report, "Automotive High Speed Networks," predicts that Ethernet will see both the fastest growth and the largest volume by 2020. The key breakthrough has been the BroadR-Reach physical layer, from Broadcom, now licensed to other semiconductor vendors, such as NXP. This allows Ethernet at 100 Mbit/s to be transmitted over low-cost, unshielded twisted pair cables.

“Ethernet has gained significant momentum because it meets the requirement for higher-bandwidth bus networks which many feel cannot be met by existing protocols, such as CAN,” stated Ian Riches, Director, Global Automotive Practice.

“FlexRay will continue to find its niche and see volumes grow, but MOST node volumes are likely to start to tail off as we head toward 2020,” added Mark Fitzgerald, Associate Director in the Strategy Analytics Global Automotive Practice.

100 Mbps symmetrical operation using standard Ethernet PHY components (Fig 1)

The OPEN Alliance (One-Pair Ether-Net) Special Interest Group has released their standard for in-vehicle Ethernet over a single twisted pair (Fig. 1). The OPEN Alliance includes two automotive companies, BMW and Hyundai USA, plus three semiconductor companies including Broadcom, Freescale and NXP. BMW will have the first vehicle based on BroadR-Reach technology in 2013.

OPEN fills a gap between CAN, Local Interconnect Network (LIN) and FlexRay that are using automotive control and Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST), a high-end multimedia network. MOST uses fiber optics and runs at speeds up to 150 Mbits/s. It is a standard 10/100 Mbits/s Ethernet but it uses only a single, unshielded twisted pair cable comparable to that already used by FlexRay. Better yet, it is possible to deliver power over the same two wires like Power-over-Ethernet (POE). 

Twister pair Ethernet (Fig 2)

This is definitely a game changing approach because it is suitable for a range of applications throughout the car (Fig. 2) from On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) to Advanced Driver Assistance (ADAS) applications (Fig. 3).

Lower cost of digital camera deployment for advanced driver assist (Fig 3)

The standard defines new PHYs that connect to standard Ethernet MACs. This means that existing microcontrollers with an Ethernet Media Access Controller (MAC) with a Media Independent Interface (MII) can be mated to an OPEN PHY. There are no special drivers or protocols to incorporate. The system works equally well with any standard Ethernet device including those using protocols like IEEE 1588 clock synchronization. 

The standard supports the standard Ethernet audio/video bridging (AVB), 802.1BA. It also address temperature and EMC details that are critical to automotive applications. OPEN will be suitable for use anywhere on the car from the engine compartment to doors. Hardware can be qualified for Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) AEC-Q100. 

Cable length is limited to 47m. A typical automobile would need no more than a 30m limit but this allows the technology to be used in larger vehicles. The technology can work with significantly longer cables up to about 500m.

Automotive Networking and Consumer Connectivity Applications (Fig 4)

OPEN Ethernet mirrors standard Ethernet that is essentially a switch-based interconnect. This is key because bandwidth is less of an issue assuming a single application can be handled by a link. It is even possible to combine multiple links to provide higher bandwidth but this would be less likely given the drive to use a single cable to reduce costs.

In theory, the new Ethernet approach can reduce connectivity costs by up to 80% and reduces cabling weight by up to 30% compared to a conventional Ethernet LVDS interconnect. OPEN Ethernet can use connectors like those approved for FlexRay. This is important because, at least initially, automotive vendors are likely to use their own approved connectors and cabling.

Still, standard cables and connectors could be useful. For example, a four camera ADAS application would be less expensive if the cameras were a standard component. There is already a standardization effort for automotive cameras. All it would need to incorporate would be a standard OPEN connector. But that is for the future.

Right now the semiconductor participants are delivering chips to handle the new standard. Broadcom's BroadR-Reach family includes a set of PHYs and switches. There are three switches with a mix of built-in PHYs. These include the 7 port BCM89500 with 4 OPEN PHYs, the 7 port BCM89501 with 5 PHYs, and the 4 port BCM89200 with 2 PHYs. The ports without PHYs can be connected to devices or external PHYs. The BCM89810 is a standalone BroadR-Reach 10/100 PHY. This is the PHY that would be used with microcontrollers. In the future, this kind of PHY might be incorporated directly into a microcontroller.

OBD data can be emissions-based or nonemissions-based (Fig 5)

Also part of the mix is Broadcom's BCM89610 10/100/1000 PHY. This is a conventional Ethernet PHY optimized for automotive use. A single BCM89610 could provide a link to an external diagnostic system. The chip has the same EMC resistance as the other BroadR-Reach.

The OPEN Alliance and its members are targeting automotive applications but the technology is ideal for a host of other application areas from robotics to home security systems. Ethernet is already in demand in these applications and a two-wire solution with power easily beats existing technology in cost.

Ethernet has had a long and fruitful life becoming the dominant interconnect for a very wide range of applications. It could now become the dominant interconnect for automotive applications as well.

Check also "Ethernet for Automotive Applications"  by Dr Robert Bruckmeier (General Manager Central Control Units, BMW Group), Freescale Technology Forum.

READ ALSO: Metro Ethernet - Its Uses And Benefits

Got something to say? Post it below. Have an uber-super-awesomelicious week ahead! 😃💛

*by andreascy*

Samsung Developer Day 2012 AT IFA is coming to Developers

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Join the Samsung Developer Day 2012 at IFA for application developers and partners and meet the latest technology from Samsung platforms, Services as well as Business opportunities. 

Learn about Samsung's latest devices and Services with various sessions including demonstrations. Grab your new opportunity to be a global player with Samsung and experience every aspect of app development.

*by andreascy*

HP Pavilion Notebook : dm4 Beats™ Edition Red/Black

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

HP’s partnership with Beats Audio has already spawned a special edition version of its high-end Envy laptop, but until now there were no mid-range models with Beats branding.

Enter the DM4, a 14in laptop small enough to take on the move, decked out in Beats black and red. The HP Pavilion dm4 Beats Edition does a lot for a little.

The moderately priced laptop boasts sturdy, striking design, powerful speakers, a generous allotment of external ports, good battery life, and an Intel Core i5 processor.

It's not perfect in every way, but it's a solid laptop for the busy audiophile on a budget, with an eye for the urbane.

Check out more details on HP and on DigitalVersus.

*by andreascy*