mundrisoft

[mundrisoft]

Lead response time is one of the most important, yet often overlooked aspects of managing a successful business. Slow lead response time can have a detrimental impact on your business in several ways, including lower sales conversion rates, decreased customer satisfaction and ultimately lost revenue.

In this blog, we’ll discuss how slow lead response times can hurt your business and what steps you should take to ensure that you’re responding quickly and efficiently.

A study found that 44% of buyers are likely to switch brands if they experience poor service or long wait times.

When it comes to responding to leads quickly, speed matters. Research has shown that businesses who respond within 5 minutes after receiving an online inquiry are more likely to convert those leads into paying customers than those who take even just 1 hour or longer. That’s because potential customers are much more likely to shop around if they don’t get a prompt answer from you.

In addition to losing leads due to slow response times, poor customer service can also lead to lost sales. Studies have found that customers are willing to pay a premium for businesses that respond quickly and offer great customer service, whereas those with slower response time tend to struggle with customer retention and satisfaction.

Furthermore, slow lead response times can hinder your ability to make the most of your marketing efforts. If you’re not responding quickly enough, potential customers may become frustrated and give up on trying to contact you altogether. That could mean missing out on leads generated from expensive campaigns or other costly marketing initiatives such as SEO and PPC campaigns.

Steps to improve your Lead Response Time

The good news is that there are several steps you can take to improve your lead response time.

Analyze your team’s current lead response process and identify any bottlenecks in the system that is slowing down your response time. Train your sales reps to recognize, respond to, and engage with leads quickly by setting clear expectations for speed of response. Implement automated lead scoring and routing processes to ensure every lead is responded to in a timely manner. Develop an organized workflow for managing incoming leads so you can prioritize urgent inquiries over less pressing ones. Monitor your team’s performance on responding to leads through regular reviews and real-time analytics tracking tools like Salesforce or other CRM platforms. Outsource your lead qualification process for more immediate response times and to offload some lead follow-up tasks from your sales reps. Educate your team on the importance of responding quickly and consistently to leads so they understand how their actions impact customer experience and ultimately company success. By taking these steps, you can improve your lead response time while also creating a better user experience that will help drive long-term growth for your business.

How Sales Outsourcing Can Help

When it comes to responding to potential leads quickly and effectively, outsourcing can be an invaluable tool for sales teams. By leveraging experienced professionals with specialized skills, companies can ensure that customer inquiries are addressed promptly and accurately.

Sales outsourcing offers a cost-effective way of freeing up time and resources while also ensuring fast lead response times. By outsourcing your sales operations to a professional sales partner, you’ll free up your employees to focus on other tasks.

Whether you’re looking for help in managing customer inquiries or setting appointments with prospects, outsourcing can easily handle those tasks while helping your business stay competitive and profitable.

With a professional sales partner taking care of the lead response time, your business will be better equipped than ever to make the most out of each and every opportunity that comes its way.

Ultimately, having fast lead response times is essential for any successful business — and outsourcing can be key in achieving this goal. Working with a partner that understands the importance of speed and efficiency can help you stay ahead of the competition while also delivering a superior customer experience.

So if you’re ready to take control of your lead response time and maximize your sales opportunities, now is the time to explore what sales outsourcing can do for your business.  With the right processes in place, you’ll be able to ensure better results for both customers and sales teams alike.

[mundrisoft]

My journey as an Edtech partner began in 2012 where we founded a small company with a unique purpose. Since then there’s been no looking back, here's a video that tells our story, a journey of 10 years and how we thrived to become one of the most trusted IT partners.  Fast forward to today. Mundrisoft is now rapidly becoming the place to go for Edtechs where they can find the best technology support to help keep their digital initiatives on track.

[mundrisoft]

The education sector is poised for growth with institutes and learners acknowledging the importance of a holistic learning environment worldwide. There is an increased focus on enhancing the digital infrastructure with around 3% of total global education expenditure now being dedicated entirely toward fortifying it.

The global EdTech and smart classroom market which was worth USD 88.82 billion in 2021 is now projected to reach USD 319.65 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 17.8% during the forecast period.

The evolving role of technology in education

EdTech companies have been revolutionizing the learning space for quite some time now making it engaging and enjoyable. The combined use of multi devices, software, emerging theories, and modern technologies will continue to expand its scope globally. As such, its role is all-encompassing when it comes to learning.

EdTech’s ability to go beyond physical classrooms and conventional learning has helped students learn seamlessly even during the pandemic.

EdTech also helps enable extracurricular collaborative learning and autonomous online learning.

EdTech supports self-paced learning allowing students to learn and explore anything they want virtually.

Thanks to data analytics, adaptive learning has started becoming main stream. It uses algorithms to deliver lessons that are aligned to a learner’s interests and pace.

It ensures students’ engagement with different courses online and studies the way they learn and interact in the physical world (for instance, how often a student visits a library, their classroom attendance, etc). The learning system then tweaks the learning path based on the interactions and outcomes determined from the analysis of data points.

EdTech saves the day

As per a 2021 CHLOE report, there has been a 10–15% increase in online professional development and student orientation online study to address the needs of formerly in-person faculty and students due to the pandemic.

More than half of the survey respondents confessed that the pandemic had led them to a positive reassessment of institutional priorities pertaining to online learning.

EdTech Statistics

The demand for accessibility tools went from 42 percent to 52 percent while video recording and distribution tools rose from 44 percent in 2019 to about 60 percent in 2021.

There was a marked improvement in demand for other tools and technologies too as compared to 2019.

Open educational resources rose from 15 percent to 25 percent, virtual labs and simulations went up from 11 percent to 28 percent, and student support tools (such as retention tools) saw more than double adoption rate i.e. from 11 percent to 28 percent.

Learning management systems, on the other hand, are expected to witness a 96 percent mainstream adoption.

While there are trends shaping the learning curve there are challenges too that needs to be addressed on priority. We aim to delve into both to leverage the technology sweet spot.

Virtual Schooling Virtual schools are now a rage; a classic case in point is the Florida Virtual School that allows students to even pick the dates when they would like to start so as to complete their course by a certain date. They also allow students to choose when they would like to learn and how. While some students may prefer learning at night using laptops, others may choose to learn during the day using their phones.Personalized learning is the norm now and customized instructions are being offered to students. Yet there are teachers to guide and provide solutions just the way they would in a regular classroom setting. Students can connect with others through discussion forums and communicate with their teachers via email or text. When it comes to submitting assignments, students have the liberty to submit video demonstrations of science experiments rather than writing down long summaries.

Digital meets face-to-face learning A blended learning environment is becoming very popular these days since it gives students the best of both worlds. Technology is the key component of the learning experience here though face-to-face instructions are also retained to enhance learning. With multiple modalities being used for learning, students are able to comprehend and retain information in a more efficient manner. For instance, a teacher can use an interactive whiteboard while students can post their work online; and everything they learn in school can be made accessible to them at home via software and apps.

Learning through animation With visual stimulation added to the learning mix through animation, learning becomes a lot more fun for all. Passive learning and active learning come together in animated learning to provide the context necessary to understand complex subjects. Animated learning improves student engagement and ensures better outcomes.A study examined the effects of caricature animation on learning. Results revealed that the students that employed caricature animation showed better results as compared to others in a conventional learning environment.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) for personalized learning AI has been gaining a lot of momentum in the field of learning too. AI is a boon for educators allowing them to explore the human side of their jobs and forge deeper connections with students. AI allows them to create personalized learning systems based on the individual strengths and weaknesses of students to ensure wholesome learning. With AI, the needs of auditory learners can be dealt with as effectively as visual learners or those who have more unique learning styles.

AI is being increasingly used in online learning platforms to set the pace of learning for all. Educators use AI as: Predictive, Adaptive and Assistive to drive better outcomes.

Predictive — to look into the past data to predict what can happen in the future. For instance, predicting how students will perform in the upcoming tests based on their earlier performance.

Adaptive — to adjust the curriculum, pace, and style of learning based on individual challenges. For instance, a student struggling with fractions may learn better with a different style of teaching rather than dealing with the anxiety of falling behind.

Assistive — to help students learn complex concepts and problems better; For instance, a student may want to re-read a passage to comprehend it better and hence may require more time to understand the context.

5. Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality for immersive learning The phenomenal power of VR to let someone respond in a virtual world and of AR to super-impose computer-generated images onto the real world makes them a game-changer in the field of education and EdTech. Virtual reality allows students to literally walk through difficult concepts to get a sense of them and gain perspective.Both these technologies make learning extremely engaging which is otherwise impossible in traditional settings. They help create scenarios and simulate events or even bring abstract concepts like geometrical equations into a 3D space for students to get a grip on what they are trying to learn.

6. Blockchain for enhanced security Blockchain relies on multiple systems across the world enabling decentralized and safe educational systems that are impossible to exploit. Holberton School is one of the first schools to use it to secure and authenticate student certificates. Students can simply access their digital certificate online in a secure environment via an encrypted private key and a 2-factor authentication on completion of the program. The certificate is sealed and the content is tamper-proof.Blockchain has been helping educators in grading by creating more accurate grades and assignments and storing them in a secured manner. It tracks progress to monitor how students are performing year after year by maintaining a common ledger entry per student. Another advantage is that due to its ability to ensure anonymity, it safeguards the privacy of students seeking services or privileges such as taking exams in a different location due to disabilities.

7. Cloud computing for collaboration Cloud computing has emerged as an essential tool for different sectors including education. It has influenced the way we learn and the way educators and mentors impart vital lessons.The biggest advantage of cloud computing is collaboration since it allows everyone to get on a common page and share ideas via video conferencing platforms, screen-sharing apps, and virtual whiteboards. It helps build a connection between students attending schools from different cities and regions.From grades K through 12 and right up to graduation and specialization, cloud computing is playing a pivotal role in knowledge transfer. Cloud computing helps automate administrative processes, reduces infrastructure costs, and allows teachers to create content to be updated in real time.

Cloud-based applications allow students and teachers to work seamlessly across devices and locations and share their work easily as long as they have a fast Internet connection.

What’s driving EdTech

While educators have been doing their best to adopt EdTech and offer better learning opportunities to all, it gained more momentum during the pandemic.

Key drivers responsible for the growth of EdTech include: Mobile learning — The Indonesian cellular network operator Telkomsel came up with a plan in 2020 to offer 500,000 smartphones to kids and 30GB of free data every month to users of a K-12 learning app called Ruangguru. In the same year, a Singapore-based telecommunications company called Starhub also offered free broadband subscriptions to students belonging to low-income groups. All in all, mobile learning is the preferred format of learning for many, and EdTech ensures distance learning is made easy for them.

Growth in investments — With investments growing in this segment, there is a spur in market opportunities too. Investments in VC-backed education firms have increased from USD 7 billion in 2019 to USD 14.6 billion in 2020. EdTech companies are now focusing on skill development to overcome the limitations of the traditional educational systems and make education accessible for all by reducing the digital divide.

With growing mobile penetration and readily available e-learning apps and materials, there is a marked increase in EdTech adoption.

Better engagement with self-learning apps — With most apps working towards having high-quality content based on the principles of behavioral science and design interventions, there is an increase in retention and active learning. What’s more; even children with special needs are able to have a deeper emotional connection with learning and education. Advanced learning management systems helps accelerate learning for students with special learning needs to ensure they reach their full potential.

The future looks promising for EdTech initiatives but there are challenges too

While everyone thinks the future of education is Remote, there are several hurdles EdTech companies will have to cross to make their mark. These include:

Stiff competition — The market is fast getting crowded, and the last thing anybody wants is just another learning management system. It’s important to differentiate and demonstrate the ability to solve real-world problems with empathy and innovation.

Resistance to technology — There are educational institutions that are still reluctant to adopt EdTech and fully embrace digital transformation. This resistance to change also stems from the fact that they lack the necessary technical support to use EdTech solutions and experience the real benefits of technology.

Privacy concerns — Many organizations believe that technology adoption would imply a breach of privacy when it comes to student information. They need to be informed about the different measures that are being implemented to ensure data security and help decision-makers make informed decisions through data analysis.

Budgetary constraints — While many educational institutions do acknowledge the role of EdTech, they lack the resources. The cost of infrastructure deters many from adopting it. Besides, they would require dedicated personnel to keep up with software advancements and modifications.

EdTech is here to stay but while it makes great strides in innovation there will be a few hiccups to tide over. It’s just a matter of time before institutes globally, even the traditional ones, realize its full potential and its role in ensuring better learning outcomes.

For more information on EdTech and the transformation you can expect through extraordinary EdTech solutions, call us today.

[mundrisoft]

We were just getting acquainted with the concept of artificial intelligence and virtual reality when metaverse came on the scene to challenge our perceptions all over again.

Metaverse is all set to become a reality paving the path for new opportunities to learn and interact.

It will change the way we access information and is setting the stage for dynamic growth for diverse domains including education. The Dallas Education Foundation has created an educational metaverse where students choose their own avatars and navigate through an enhanced reality world.

Learning ecosystems need to take cognizance of the immersive way of learning metaverse will give rise to and prepare themselves for new opportunities.

So how is Metaverse for education going to be? Let’s find out.

Imagine a very hi-tech classroom setting with whiteboards, large screens, and movable chairs. There are timelines being projected right there on the floor and you suddenly find yourself surrounded by details of the very topic being discussed almost as if you are right there as things happen.

Metaverse learning environments can give you a real time scenario like experience. You could be in the middle of a world war in the early 20th century or watching an experiment in a Physics lab of a modern scientist. Or you could simply be sitting in the middle of the human brain marveling at its functioning.

This kind of immersive learning experience is surely going to stay with you for a long time. Now imagine being able to impart valuable lessons in this format to your students? Metaverse and modern technologies also help children with special needs learn better and improve their perception of people and the environment they live in. More than 1,000 autistic children in Shanghai China, are learning effectively through VR and interactive games.

Considering that autistic kids tend to get distracted easily and are averse to concentrating on people’s faces or expressions, VR provides a way to walk virtually into different places and slowly respond to diverse scenarios.

Well, metaverse in education is all this and more. It is upon us and all set to become main stream like every other technological advancement we have seen in recent years. The metaverse infrastructure is still being made but that should not deter educators and policymakers from preparing themselves to leverage its potential for an extraordinary, connected, immersive world of learning. What they need to do is identify and adhere to best educational practices in metaverse to help children navigate through the virtual spaces it creates effortlessly.

High-quality, optimized educational products are the key

We need to derive insights from the learnings obtained from web 2.0 and the educational apps we have seen so far. Designers would then be more equipped to create cutting-edge solutions to empower us to step into the metaverse of the future. A lot of apps capture the imagination but disrupt the experience.

A few things to remember:

Students have had a better experience with hands-on, minds-on environments and are inclined towards active learning

Apps should be more engaging in a way that they improve the learning curve and do not interrupt the narrative with unnecessary questions or activities (suddenly bringing the narrative to a screeching halt with questions to test vocabulary)

The app should seamlessly connect what they know with what they will learn rather than dropping them into the middle of something they have no clue about

The app should have room for social interaction rather than forcing them to go solo

Intrusive ads should be curbed to minimize distractions

In closing

Metaverse in education is already being explored in the form of virtual field trips and STEM classes. While K-12 schools are already using it to some extent, new ways of learning in the metaverse continue to emerge. Metaverse can be a turning point for EdTech. It’s however important to create metaverse learning platforms that will captivate the student and imbibe a love for learning. Metaverse can then help augment our in-person activities and create more opportunities for education.

Originally published at https://mundrisoft.com

[mundrisoft]

Mundrisoft Solutions created the Association Management Software SocietyHive with a clean, straightforward and simple interface. Its functionality is simple yet addressed all of the required features. Each association receives a unique URL, providing a secure space where members of the association can perform all the tasks related to association management, collaboration and accounting.

Because information is stored in a secure, central location, members are able to create their own private groups, can collaborate and visit the conversation history, while allowing the association mangers or administrators to efficiently manage the overall association.

The accounting system within SocietyHive enables the administrators to efficiently track donations, perform the accounting tasks, review cash flow and create detailed reports based on their needs.

Some benefits of using SocietyHive:

Customizable modules.

Simple, easy to use interface.

Private Website for each association, only members can access the site.

Manage and track members, rules, documents, vendors, notifications etc.

Collaborate by creating groups, participating in open discussions, polling, post classifieds, association photos, and conduct and manage events, etc.

Manage financials, details of cash flows, donations, penalty charges and all transactions related to the association.

Currently the SocietyHive software is being actively used worldwide by over 2,000 associations as their association management software.

[mundrisoft]

With hundreds of LMS products on the market, selecting the right LMS can seem like a daunting task. Over the last decade, our teams have seen negative impact of wrong LMS choices many times — and the consequences that can haunt your business for years. This post is to provide simple checklist that could help get this crucial decision right.

In reality, there is no perfect LMS and no solution that fits all. Moreover, choosing, migrating and implementing a Learning Management System is only the beginning of a journey that can pay you dividends, or cost you dearly in long run. The first mistake many make when choosing a LMS is that they overlook the long-term cost and underestimate the amount of work that is required to implement new or migrating from existing LMS.

To choose the right LMS for your business, and to avoid making mistakes, you could follow this top checklist:

Ease of use and customization

Offers a truly white-labelled option.

Simple to set up an entity.

Offers a feature rich course builder with course outline, pre-requisites, learning objectives, target audiences etc.

Easy to create courses, schedule classes in different time zones.

Offers an easy-to-use dashboard and navigation tools.

Courseware ordering capabilities.

Content delivery

Offers courses in different modality i.e., ILT, OLL, VOnD (Vendor on demand)

Ability to integrate easily with other applications via APIs.

Offers instructor led (ILT) training capabilities.

Offers blended training capabilities i.e., Virtual and Physical + Virtual at the same time.

Offers mentored learning training capabilities.

Offers multi-lingual support (if required).

Allows third-party integrations with video-conferencing tools like Zoom, Adobe connects, etc.

Provides the ability to create personalized learning paths.

User Engagement

Support a wide range of content formats like SCORM, AICC, Labs, LTI compliant.

Offers mentored learning training capabilities.

Offers ability to host private events.

Offers self-paced courses.

Comes with wide range of notification plans like student enrolment notification, class reminder notification, etc.

Provides post class recording for specified duration.

All or most of above features in LMS should be your guiding principle to help you select your LMS.

But if you already have existing LMS that is inadequate to fulfil your growing demands, you’ll also need to factor in migration strategy from old to new LMS. You will want to migrate all your legacy LMS data to the new LMS offering.

Migrating from Legacy LMS to modern LMS

To make data migration easy, our new LMS should have bulk data import capabilities. This process can be summarized in below points. Few steps may differ depending on the new LMS.

To start with, first start migrating the master data to the new system like organization, location, classrooms etc.

Migrate eLearning modules like SCORM, AICC, Labs etc.

Migrate courses.

Migrate classes and related data.

Migrate user data like, students, instructors, administrators etc.

We hope you find this information useful to make an informed decision. Feel free to contact us for any questions.

[mundrisoft]

EdTech transforms Blackboard teaching to Digital forms!

At the start of 2020, nearly all higher education institutions are progressing towards online solutions driven by emerging technologies. Though the education technology continues to evolve and increase in complexities, but despite the challenges, many institutions aim to continue the pursuit for digital transformation by leveraging the emerging technologies.

So, what drives Digital Transformation in the educational industry?

Educational technology is helping in making higher education learning pertinent and impactful.

Educational enterprises have recognized that online learning is the primary way for learners to attend schools or get training while working and upskill their knowledge in this fast-paced world.

Leveraging the digital trend can transform learning into user-centric, engaging, and concise eLearning solutions and overcome the traditional learning challenges.

That being said, with respect to the size, complexity and diversity of the education market, there are limitless options to be explored in the education sector. So, here are some options or rather ten trends that are gaining traction in higher education sector and provide easily accessible opportunities for educators to deliver the best digital learning through the learner’s entire career.

To make it simpler, we have divided EdTech trends into two broad topics- Online Learning and Emerging Technologies.

Trend 1- Online Learning Accelerating in 2021

A surge in demand for online adoption was amongst the rapidest changes that has took place globally. Where most institutions had no online programs at all till 2019, it was suddenly a dire necessity in education space and within a few weeks after onset of the pandemic everyone had moved to remote learning. The educators and companies started providing rapid learning to both teachers and students.

Tailor-made Effective and Engaging eLearning Solutions Among all other EdTech trends in 2021, online education topped the checklist. Online learning or eLearning services are one-stop solutions for all customized eLearning requirements, facilitated by the adoption of emerging online tools and various technology platforms.

Mobile Devices for Microlearning Mobile learning is the next frontier for educators and students and has become the part and parcel of the education sphere. It offers an engagement model wherein students learn through gamification and gain knowledge through earning badges, accomplishing levels, and pushing scoreboards to the next levels. The learners are cognizant of the applications and correct usage of smart devices when pursuing education through mobile technology.

Revolutionize Teaching Strategies with Content Curation Educational Technology makes assembling content and presenting it concisely around a specific topic faster and easier. Unlike the traditional, long-way process, content curation allows educators instant access to content with in-depth insights. This trend is an effective way to connect with real-world scenarios and classroom learning. This strategy could be the best way for those learners who like to learn concepts differently, for instance, making it open for the learners who want to process the ideas visually rather than using the traditional methods.

Qualitative Online Assessment Techniques to Track Learners’ Progress! It’s all about quality over quantity! Online assessment is an integral part of online learning courses. Assessment software allows the educator to gauge the learner’s in-depth understanding of the concept. This qualitative assessment technique can help educators track their learners’ progress and bridge the knowledge gaps based on performance.

Personalized and Adaptive Learning Approach for an Enhanced Learning Environment EdTech solutions can help enhance the overall experience by customizing and personalizing the user’s learning needs. Online education services leverage the information available that lets the learners to take up tailor-made courses. With adaptive learning, learners can acknowledge their downturns and address them accordingly.

Trend 2- Emerging Technologies make its mark in the Education Sector

Improve Learner’s Engagement with Video-assisted Learning! Video-based learning is already being used as an educational tool to assist in classroom teaching method. Videos have become an integral part of education for all levels, both in traditional learning courses and as a crucial content-delivery tool in many flipped, blended, and online courses. Platforms like YouTube, Vimeo provide video format courses that make it easier for learners to understand concepts and retain knowledge. Educational institutions are now actively investing time and money into creating intensive video content rather than relying only on explanatory videos.

Virtual and Augmented Reality for Improved Visual Understanding With Virtual and Augmented reality solutions, students can get a break from the monotonous teaching-writing method. Virtual reality provides constructed reality, and AR provides an enhanced view of the actual image. It also helps to explain and simplify the complex concept of learning and allows learners to get a practical learning experience.

Artificial Intelligence-based Proctoring software Online proctoring software can ensure the authenticity of your test taker’s identity and knowledge, and can be 100% seamlessly integrated with the current courses or LMS. With a unique unobtrusive and powerful remote exam monitoring software, you can get the guarantee of the highest level of integrity at Core operating system level, screen desktop level, User via Webcam, and Testing Environment level. AI-based online proctoring software helps organizations to monitor test-takers remotely during online exams.

Gamification in Education for Innovative, Interactive Learning Gamification increases 25% of learner’s self-confidence and increases the retention of learned concepts by 75%. This trend is now an actual application in the education sphere. Gamification comes into picture when it becomes hard for learners to understand the concept and hard for tutors to teach. This learning trend is a self-motivational learning process that improves learners’ engagement by creating an interactive experience. Gamification offers a new form of collaborative learning that takes “Learning” out of the learning process. In simple words, games are the natural way of learning and gaining knowledge rather than merely reading textbooks or listening to lectures. Many education institutions are looking at gamifying learning wherein the entire curriculum is transformed into an interactive learning experience. It is definitely a method that could be more effective than traditional learning techniques.

Blended Learning is here to stay The education industry has rapidly transformed with the help of blended learning solutions. Blended learning solutions bridge the gap between online educational resources and traditional classroom learning at one go. Leveraging online and offline tools allows educators to foster collaborative learning and create a dynamic classroom. This EdTech solution can improve the entire learning process’s efficacy and efficiency. And it makes education system more efficient and accessible for learners at any given time. As new learning apps and technology advance further, learners will have more flexibility to access and engage in academics from home or any part of the world. This kind of accessibility could in turn build greater interest towards learning and translate to more productive outcomes. To summarize it all, we already know that aligning education industry with COVID-19 was a rapid change, i.e., moving from offline to the online platform. The drastic change was for both sides, with educators and learners having to quickly adapt to the changing technology and educators having to implement it rapidly and effectively. EdTech has now become an essential element of the education sector and is no longer just an optional choice. Educational Technology provides students with learning, facilitates and improves performance by providing the appropriate technological processes and resources and holds lot more potential to be unraveled in due course of time.

[mundrisoft]

2020 was unequivocally a bad year for startups, as demand dried up, production and supply chains were hit, and forced remote work led to an inability to function at full efficiency. In 2021, especially in the latter half of the year, the economy picked up a little bit as the situation improved and businesses learnt to manage COVID better. Since then, we have seen a flurry of IPOs, including the highly successful Nykaa IPO recently. Freshworks is another similar example.

There are some notable trends and changes that picked up pace in 2021, and these trends are likely to dictate the way startups work in the near future.

1. During this time, people moved to the online world and this has entailed a change in the way of functioning for most companies. Smaller startups that could quickly pivot to a remote-work strategy got better exposure as compared to others who were slower to adapt to the change, while retail shops suffered greatly because their business depends entirely on an in-person experience. The multiple lockdowns greatly hampered their ability to sell to customers. Shifting to an online-selling model is easier said than done and is not possible for every retail shop to do.

 2. The constraints imposed by the pandemic have forced companies to explore new ways of sustaining and growing themselves. The EdTech, FinTech, and retail industries are also seeing different effects and startups have a lot of scope to expand in these areas in the near future.

 3. One result of these constraints is that businesses have continued to expand to newer geographies enabled by the proliferation of the online market, and this trend is likely to continue in 2022.

 4. The net-zero theme is also of increasing concern and importance globally, with a target of 2050 as agreed upon by most countries. As a part of this effort, cleaner operations have started to become a focus, and the COVID crisis has only amplified this in 2021.

 5. Different ways of investing have developed and evolved. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have recently started gaining popularity. Even though it is an older concept, the increasing importance of the virtual world and its interconnectedness with the real world have boosted this popularity. NFTs represent real-world objects such as music or art in a digital form and can be traded online. Blockchain operations (including but not necessarily restricted to cryptocurrency) have gained importance in recent times for the same reasons.

 6. We recently saw Facebook change its name to Meta Platforms, highlighting the importance of virtual reality with all the pros and cons it brings with it. Perhaps the time is not far when we have holograms in meetings, substituting video calls.

7. The potential of the new form of doing business is being understood and capitalized upon. The company Toppr is an excellent example of this. They offered only a B2C model earlier, and now are slowly exploring the B2B model as well. There are many other examples too.

 8. Social entrepreneurship has picked up pace, as government failures and limitations in many countries in the world in terms of handling the COVID-19 crisis were addressed to varying degrees by smaller groups using technology. Many startups helped in the process of moving to remote work from an in-person model too. This is likely to be a field of growth in the years to come.

 9. The realities of social distancing and remote work are likely to stay on in some form or the other. Technology has rapidly evolved over the last year to accommodate this and will continue to do so. This includes but is not limited to domains like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), IoT, speech recognition and text-to-speech, and faster, better, and more reliable connectivity.

 No one was aware or prepared for the sudden shock of 2020. In 2021, startups and companies slowly adapted to the new way of functioning, particularly after the second wave of COVID in 2021. Now is the time for these startups to apply that learning. We are likely to see an explosion of new ideas and a lot of new business models being put to the test in the coming future.

[mundrisoft]

“Accelerating your go-to-market strategy and maximizing ROI by serving omnichannel content with a Headless CMS”

When you circle around choosing a Headless CMS, the options and combinations available out there might seem overwhelming. On the technical side, the development team needs to choose a CMS that fits into their technology stack, enabling them to work with their preferred frameworks. However, there is no dearth of options as well in the Marketing side. Take into consideration to ensure that a Headless CMS is both – operationally fulfilling, and future-proof.

What is a Headless CMS?

A headless CMS is a kind of content management system where the ‘body’ of the content repository is decoupled from the presentation layer head. The reason it is called Headless is because the presentation layer is separated from the body.

The term “Headless” comes from the concept of chopping the “head” (the front end, i.e. the website) off the “body” (the back-end, i.e. the content repository). A headless CMS remains with an interface to add content and a RESTful API (JSON, XML) to deliver content wherever you need it. Due to this approach, a headless CMS does not care about how and where your content gets displayed. A headless CMS has only one focus: storing and delivering structured content.

Why is it Essential to Embrace Headless CMS?

Data is unified into a Single Headless Content Hub

This content infrastructure eliminates the endless work of copy-pasting, enabling enterprises to unify all the content under a single centralized content hub, making editing more lucrative. You just need to change the copy in one place, and it applies that change everywhere the content is located.

1.     Content-First Always So, editors traditionally had to wait until the development of a website so that they could start populating it. With headless CMS, the front end and the CMS are separate entities, therefore the content team can start populating the website as soon as the wireframe is ready. The development work can also begin simultaneously for a stronger collaborative and dynamically paced process.

2.     Flexibility for the Development Team Since the front end is separate in a Headless CMS, it makes the actual system for managing content via a dynamic API separate. Therefore, rendering full flexibility to the developers in terms of the framework and languages used in the frontend. This enables the designers and developers to trick their creative sting and think outside the box and be more dynamic than developing on a traditional CMS.

3.     Ease of Content Editing Another benefit of using this CMS is the simplicity of in the user interface for content editors. Like Gather Content, web pages appear as content items and can be easily edited, added or removed. The usability of a seamless user interface means minimal training must be given to your less tech savvy departments.

Point is: It is not limited to websites

A headless CMS can deliver your content through an API directly to where you need it. Because of the headless approach the content can be used on an iOS app, Android app, TV Apps, eCommerce sites as well as any platform and technology you can think of (yes and even a Windows Phone App) and is therefore a powerful option for mobile and web developers.

[mundrisoft]

For many the word outsourcing has a very negative connotation. When they think of outsourcing, they picture underage employees in third world countries working for salaries, which would be worthless by first world standards. Some also feel it’s taking away local jobs. However, outsourcing has evolved so much and no longer resembles this stereotype. Outsourcing practices has evolved and matured over time and gives you lot more choices now.

If done well, outsourcing can get you great competitive advantage. It can help you focus on what you do best, thereby allowing you to get better at that while non-core work is taken care by teams who are good at those kinds of work.

In over decade of working for fortune 100 companies to small start-ups, here are the main factors I see that drives success in an outsourcing engagement:

Define your quality standards

The first step in building a positive relationship with your outsourcing vendor is to clearly state your expectations in terms that they are measurable and quantifiable. It is not sufficient to state a vendor that you want good quality product. I rarely see companies defining their quality standards and expectations before the engagement starts. In most cases, it’s not even defined clearly after years of engagement.

You cannot track and maintain something that is not defined.

What after defining the quality standards?

Once the standards are defined, evaluate the vendor against the quality standards. Validate if the vendor fits into your set parameters.

After you have identified your vendor, you must look for ways how you enable entire team to achieve it. Your vendor can help you in this too. There must be clearly defined benchmark for onsite team as well as the vendor to meet per quality standards. Finally, device required processes and use tools to track all developments so that corrective steps can be taken on time.

When outsourcing does not compromise on quality?

Outsourcing does not always compromise quality. Here are the top factors to achieve quality in outsourcing:

·        Choose value over price – You can always find a cheaper option in some part of the world. This is a dangerous trap. Lesser margin means cheaper labor, which will often be lower quality. Cheapest can often result in lowest quality output. So, look for overall value not just price. Low quality is often more expensive overall in long term whereas, quality work is often more cost effective.

·        Set quality standards and expectations – without clear benchmark you cannot compare & correct. And, by having expectations clearly defined enables everyone involved to deliver better.

·        Due diligence in identifying the right vendor – look for their work history and verify. Evaluate their work experience and validate. Choosing the right vendor could be the one most important decision in success and failure. Once identified, you must empower them the help you achieve better quality. Be driven by ideas, not hierarchy.

·        Devise enabler systems and processes – Right amount of transparent systems and processes can help you remain in control. You should be able to track and measure all measurable activities. Quality is created, it doesn’t just happen. Be driven by data, not impression.

·        Quality communication– High quality communication across teams is paramount is success of any outsourcing engagement. Better you communicate, better you results you can get.

·        Devise your own path – everyone will have their own experiences. Devise your own best practices. Just because a practice is working in a company doesn’t mean it’s good for you. One must work towards having minimal processes to avoid unnecessary overheads.

Conclusion

Quality is output of an ongoing process that produces product or service. To achieve high quality output, we must ensure quality at every level.It’s teamwork. Quality must be maintained at every stage. Without quality, attributes such as agility, consistency, responsiveness, etc. lose their relevance.

Quality is not a state but an outcome of a process. There is no other way but to continuously improve on quality – to delight customers.

[mundrisoft]

Outsourcing has a long history that can be traced back to the 1950s wherein new economic strategies led to the search for cost-effective solutions. In beginning, outsourcing to third parties was limited to non-core functions alone. Over time, it has now extended to highly secure outsourcing processes that can even handle the core requirements. According to Statista, “In 2019, the global outsourcing market amounted to 92.5 billion U.S. dollars.” This number continued to grow even during the pandemic.

From Improving the organization’s focus to reducing operational costs and more, outsourcing has a lot to offer. Making the best out of it however hinges not only in identifying a good outsourcing partner but also in augmenting outsourcing effectiveness by strategizing the approach. So, here are Five Key Drivers to Augment Outsourcing Effectiveness.

But before that here’s a scenario, the answers/solution to which lie in the 5 points listed below.

“Company A has contracted Company B for its data processing needs, however few key stakeholders in Company A are wary about Company B’s security readiness, and reason that the organization’s in-house resources are not being considered. This triggers an internal discussion, followed by the work being suspended midway. This in turn leads to decreased production and affects all the other processes too. So, what went wrong here? Or rather, which steps were overlooked while outsourcing?”

1.     Common Consensus Outsourcing effectiveness depends not just on the company that has been chosen to do it, but on how well the initiative has been accepted by the organization that has to outsource. To get the best out of it, thought leaders and influencers must be on board with the idea of outsourcing. It is necessary that the leaders are on the same page. Improvement of the process would depend on how the management communicates with the outsourcing partners to exchange ideas and improve productivity. In the book Nine Keys to World-Class Business Process Outsourcing, Mary Lacity and Leslie Willcocks talk about a leadership pair (one from each organization), who work in collaboration to improve performance by reducing bottlenecks, and tackling any issue that obstructs work.So, before outsourcing ensure that there is a common consensus within the organization. This can not only help in augmenting outsourcing effectiveness, but also help in creating better strategies and processes.

2.     Benefits over Cost Reduction Yes, outsourcing is about cost effectiveness. This however should not be the focus. Outsourcing effectiveness depends on looking closely at how the resources can be leveraged to get the best results. The organization that is outsourcing and the organization to which process/service is being outsourced to, should ideally focus on which capability to build on to improve production or improve client satisfaction, and this subsequently translates to cost-reduction by itself.

3.     Access In-house Capability While looking for better solutions and services, organizations also tend to focus on technological upgrades. But before doing so, it is imperative to look at the technological and organizational readiness. Assessing the in-house capabilities which includes IT and resource readiness can help in improving the outsourcing strategy and give the service provider an insight into what value addition it can provide.

4.     Do Your Research Be it for a long-term or short-term requirement, comparing what different service providers have to offer is a must. Choose to outsource only after completely analyzing the internal costs and processes. While selecting the vendor, focus on the key strengths and expertise for narrowing down the list. Choose an accountable vendor capable of taking charge of the projects and requires minimal supervision. The process of selection may be time-consuming, but the results are often worth the wait.

5.     Build a Partnership Outsourcing is a strategic decision, and to get the best out of it both organizations should agree upon certain terms or at least align well with each other’s visions and values. While outsourcing is often done for specialized services and complementary services, certain processes and policies have to be adhered to maintain the industry standard. To augment outsourcing effectiveness, building a partnership is way more effective and long-term than merely establishing a customer-vendor relationship.

Considering the scenario stated in the beginning, paying attention to the five key drivers can help in avoiding divergences and getting the best results from outsourcing.

Growing technology, demand, lack of skilled employees and infrastructure often lead organizations towards outsourcing, a choice that is profitable in many ways. The move to cloud, increased availability of data, privacy and security concerns all require specific attention and so choosing a service provider with these specific capabilities makes it easier for the organization to focus on its primary goals.

According to a Clutch Report, “8 in 10 small businesses (80%) plan to outsource business functions in 2021. Small businesses plan to outsource in order to save time, grow their company, and work with experts across a range of business functions. Overall, outsourcing provides small businesses distinct benefits.” So, it’s no longer about why to outsource, but about how you outsource.

[mundrisoft]

An organization is built of many things, not just brick and mortar and people, but processes and departments and so on. And as an organization grows so do the complexities of the processes involved, not to forget the burden of documentation, file maintenance and so on. With automation in the picture, many organizations are now digitalizing the paper heavy processes.

Automation though often considered advanced and futuristic, in recent times Microsoft SharePoint has made it commonplace with its workflows and other functions.

To elucidate this, let’s take a look at….

How SharePoint can improve lackadaisical HR processes.

Before SharePoint most organizations would use excel to maintain employee data, this process was not only tedious, but was iterative and consumed a lot of time. But with SharePoint, digitalization of the employee data, including access to the system via single sign-on, creating a single storage of employee work contracts along with the option to track contract expiration dates, all becomes possible.

SharePoint can be used to not just create a single sign-on but also secure platforms where employees can see their annual paid leaves, calculate and register their time offs and get their leaves approved. SharePoint can help in automating almost all HR functions, such as benefits, compensation, performance management, and talent acquisition.

How automation with SharePoint really works?

SharePoint helps in automating processes through workflows, configuring the inbuilt features or building your own custom SharePoint features. SharePoint also has Workflow notifications that keep the users notified about the changes in a workflow. Then comes Workflow task management, a SharePoint task management function that allows to create tasks for employees, set start and end dates and monitor task accomplishment.

The workflows can be created either by configuring the built-in workflows like approval workflow or by creating custom workflows to automate more complex and specific processes.

Simplifying the On-boarding and Off-boarding Processes

SharePoint can also be used to manage and automate onboarding and offboarding activities. It helps create a system that automates the addition of new employees. It can also monitor all tasks and ensure that they are completed in adherence to the organizational protocols.

SharePoint can create an Onboarding system to generate and assign tasks and workflows that take care of the hardware and software requirements of the new hires.

This system can further be used to have workplaces set up and to grant rights and role-based access to applications and databases.

SharePoint automation can be used to:

·        Automate onboarding process through workflows, approvals, and alerts

·        Synchronize activities of multiple departments

·        Create roles, positions, and access requirements for onboarding

·        Give new employees role-based access to company procedures, policies, and legal documents.

·        Track and record all stages of on-boarding

·        Integrate with other Management tools for interdepartmental functioning

The application of SharePoint however doesn’t end there.

SharePoint HR automation system can also be used for Midboarding, i.e., role changes or promotions, relocations, etc. which falls under the HR function. The role of SharePoint based HR system here would be to create or reassign access, create the provision for trainings and provide certifications necessary for the existing role or new role.

Automated processes also come to work when employees leave the company, a procedure otherwise known as the exit process. The SharePoint system can ensure that all access rights are disabled, that the company assets and equipment are returned, and that all the exit formalities are handled in the right manner. The best part about using SharePoint is that all the processes can be tracked, archived, configured, and compared for analysis and future improvements.

Improve Employee Collaboration

SharePoint can also facilitate collaboration through intranet where employees can not only find information related to their roles, employee benefits etc. but also interact with other employees of the organization.

Enforce Compliance

The perk of using SharePoint for automating Internal Processes is that it can precisely keep a track on and record all employee related changes for compliance requirements. This is helpful in the verification of employee accreditation, risk assessments, skill-gap assessments, certification processes for new role requirements, etc. Hence, decreasing the need for extensive data search or analysis. The system can easily be configured to create workflows that match the regulatory compliance of your organization.

Why you will need a SharePoint implementation partner?

If you are planning to automate your internal processes using SharePoint, you’ll need someone to help guide you through the initial process and ensure you make the most of the features that are available.

At Mundrisoft, we are well versed with SharePoint as we have been working with this platform right from its initial version. In addition, we have a team of SharePoint experts who have successfully delivered over 300 projects. So, be it SharePoint online or an on-premise SharePoint implementation, we have it all covered.

[mundrisoft]

Microsoft SharePoint needs no introduction, as it is today one of the most popular platforms known to improve collaboration, maximize efficiency and productivity at the workplace.

Over the last year, the number of SharePoint integrations has increased exponentially. According to ShareGate’s new benchmark report, State of Microsoft 365: Migration, Modernization, and Security in 2021- “57.3% of organizations completed a SharePoint or Microsoft 365 migration in 2020”.

However, even as many continue to move to SharePoint, it is often under-used or limited to a certain extent mostly because they consider it a tool like word or excel with limited possibilities. What makes SharePoint unique is that it is a platform and not a tool, and to understand that there are a few things that are often overlooked.

Here are a few pointers on how to make the best out of SharePoint.

SharePoint comes as a bundle with your O365 subscription

Did you know that, though? So, as a matter-of-fact, your Office 365 includes SharePoint Online which ideally allows creating, sharing and managing data, users, role based access restrictions, site pages, and other resources.

To give an example, One Drive channel used for day-to-day file sharing has a SharePoint team site that makes it work.

SharePoint online comes with a lot of benefits that small businesses (especially) should make the most of. While the previous versions of SharePoint may have been targeted towards mid to large enterprises, the latest SharePoint online (that comes with O365), an enterprise grade CMS is now available to smaller organizations to be used downright.

How to Make the Best out of Your SharePoint Investment?

To answer that, let’s look at what exactly SharePoint can do? If you go by the standard list, it would be:

·        Intranets

·        Extranets

·        Internet websites

·        Collaboration portals

·        Process sites

·        Applications

However, to make things simpler, let’s break it down into easy-to-use examples that can be easily applied even by a non-technical person.

Using SharePoint as a Document Repository

SharePoint Online is a wonderful document management system. While a collaboration portal primarily, SharePoint offers effective alternative to storing and organizing documents along with creating an easy-to-use filing system for quick searches. It facilitates effective collaborations that can actually happen, anytime, anywhere, on any device with multiple users working on a file at the same time. This also makes managing documents easier, along with staying true to the compliance standards. To put it simply, it allows easy collaboration, control branding, sharing, versioning and more all at once.

Creating an Intranet portal

Intranets are an essential within any organization for secure sharing and communication and for building a community and culture. SharePoint online gives you just that with a dash of innovation. It is accredited as an engaging, informative, personalized option that can be integrated with the other portals and sites in your intranet and also with other Microsoft 365 apps like Microsoft Teams and Yammer. The perks of SharePoint online are that it offers rapid deployment and has a user-friendly interface that makes its use easier.

In other words, you can have an enterprise-level intranet portal that promotes communication across the organization. It also enhances collaboration and sharing and helps to build a culture within your organization.

In addition to these there are some complex organization wide deployments that can be done using SharePoint online. While the process can be done easily, some applications may need an extra help from specialists like us. The applications include (but are not limited to):

Custom Solution for Enterprise Intranet Portal

SharePoint can be customized based on your organization’s requirement. We specialize in assisting with the same. Our approach involves understanding your key requirements, target audience, and creating a plan that prioritizes your business model. The process often includes analyzing the existing intranet and creating a prototype based on all the information before actual implementation.

While branding is just one aspect, SharePoint is really centralized and can be used to create different web applications for different departments and teams, allowing to create a clear distinction where needed.

HR Processes Automation

If it’s about automated processes, then SharePoint Workflows are inevitably the best for automating tasks and approval processes. Using SharePoint Online can not only reduce the time and efforts for HR workers but also simplify the processes like on-boarding, leave processing, etc. Along with workflows, the notification system, quick bulk file upload, employee self-service for administrative procedures, and calendaring options that are integral for HR automations are all included in the extensive customizable applications of SharePoint Online.

Business Intelligence

While this may seem more or less like complying with the market trends, for small and medium companies targeting growth, SharePoint online can be used as a centralized business Intelligence (BI) platform. Integrated with Microsoft Office and Office Web Apps, Excel, and Access Services, SQL Server connectivity, and other external data sources, SharePoint can assist in fast and secure business analysis.

From branding to publishing to communication and collaboration, SharePoint Online is a platform that has multiple uses. However, to make good use of all the applications, an organization needs to have a team with the necessary skill sets. But, if you wish to stay clear of the implementation and maintenance parts and yet reap the benefits, then outsourcing is the next best option.

Need help to get started?

And if you are wondering what makes Mundrisoft (or us rather) different from all the service providers in the market? That’s because we have worked with every single version of SharePoint that Microsoft has ever released, and that gives us an in-depth know-how of its various applications.

We can help you conceptualize the right solution for your need. Request a free one to one consultation for your next SharePoint project.

 SharePoint Best Practices, SharePoint Consultation, SharePoint Development, SharePoint Development

[mundrisoft]

With the onset of a global pandemic that brought about unprecedented change, many companies are looking at ways to augment their software development activities to keep up with the accelerated pace of digital transformation. While offshoring has been around for a while, it has resurged as a strategic move to match today’s fast-paced business landscape. Businesses are focused on achieving faster product deliveries without sacrificing on quality.

And if you think of some of the most popular methodologies to achieve that, you’ll probably guess “agile” sooner rather than later. The methodology of agile software development has been used for long as an effective and convenient framework for software development activities that helps teams deliver value to their customers faster.

While the modern-day tech community reads ‘Agile’ in synonym with the concept of innovation and efficiency, you’d be surprised by how many claim to be agile but don’t truly grasp it in its entirety.

While there are several paths to achieving agility, successful agile transformations all share some common yet crucial elements described in this blog.

If you are still not sure how agile offshore development will help your business, here’s something you need to know. An agile offshore development team can:

·        Generate more revenue.

·        Provide better customer satisfaction.

·        Help maintain excellent product quality.

·        Quickly adapt to the changes in the business environment.

·        Promote a collaborative environment and get things done efficiently.

·        Deliver the results regardless of the location, as they are self-sufficient.

60% of the companies experience an increase in profit after adopting an agile approach. (Source: GoRemotely)

Of course, managing a team remotely in another country comes with a lot of challenges like the difference in culture and time zone, miscommunication, etc. But you know the interesting part? All these challenges can be easily eliminated by implementing some of the best practices given below.

So, if you are looking to achieve your business goals faster by getting the most out of your offshore development team, here are some of the best agile practices that we have gathered over the years.

Determine the scope of work and build a roadmap

Determining the volume of all the tasks that must be completed by a given date is a necessary agile practice that offshore development companies need to follow. Making the scope of work (SOW) document will ensure a comprehensive and compelling work strategy.

The SOW should contain the milestones, timeline for the deliverable, and the updates/reports that are expected to be provided by the offshore development team.

Build a roadmap so that the team is clear regarding what are the goals and how to achieve them. This clear representation can help the team to work effectively and efficiently.

Proper communication channel

One of the best practices for any offshore development team is having constant communication between the various people involved in the software development. However, Agile Methodology is based on having regular short meetings for the entire team to coordinate their work with each other.

Use latest tracking tools

Project management tools can help the team to work more effectively. It helps to make the collaboration easy and transparent despite differences in location and time zones. As an offshore development team, you can use tools like Jira, Trello, Slack, etc. to keep track and maintain complete coordination.

Shorter Feedback Loops

Keep room for improvement. Feedback is one of the most essential parts of the agile process. Make sure to get regular feedback to ensure that deliverables are in line with the expectations. It will also help in improving and minimizing errors.

Final Words

The key to managing an offshore development team is to have a proper and effective framework. With the right strategies and a talented offshore team in place, no one can stop you to achieve your business goals.

[mundrisoft]

The resilient prevail is one of the primary lessons that the past year and the prolonged pandemic have taught. What started just as a global level transition to online learning has now more or less become an established model that will either develop further moving forward or stay in form of blended learning model alongside other new models that are being proposed.

While there are constant innovations being introduced almost every day, here are the top 6 EdTech trends that will outlast the pandemic.

1. The New dawn of Extended reality (XR)

Extended Reality (XR) is a broad term that covers technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality, and any future technology might fit under the cap.​ Reports suggest that over 70% companies will be adopting immersive technologies like extended reality, AR and more by end of 2022.

What we considered as a high-priced option is now gaining popularity because of the reducing cost of VR devices, and AR tools gaining prominence; immersive learning is here to stay.

More so looking at the research progressing on creating interactive (VR) virtual laboratories for learning, this trend is most likely to outlast the pandemic.

2. Online Learning on the Roll

Digital learning has now become a part of the education system and shows no signs of slowing down. The scalability, the outreach and most importantly the safety aspect of learners are all resolved with online learning.

While home schooling too is growing as a trend, the noticeable increase in Zoom classrooms, Google Meets, Microsoft Teams sessions all show that online training is on the roll.

3. Video-assisted learning

As of 2021, an average person is predicted to spend 100 minutes per day watching online videos.” Videos provide a major share of knowledge, delivered prevalently through portals like YouTube, Vimeo, and other streaming channels. With more learners falling in the group of audio-visual learners, video assisted learning is here to stay. Videos provide both short nuggets of learning and comprehensive learning and for knowledge retention. With videos being easily streamable on smartphones, televisions, and other handheld devices, it helps make learning accessible for all.

4. Personalized Adaptive Learning

Personalized adaptive learning is an emerging pedagogical approach brought to the fore owing to the growing inclusion of EdTech in the learning environment.

It is an approach that covers individual characteristics, individual performance, personal development, and adaptive change. With big data technology in the picture, there is a lot of data-intensive research progressing. While it might be too difficult to keep track of in a classroom setting, the data tracking and analytics offered by EdTech services help in personalizing the learning experience and address each learner’s needs. Online education leverages the facility for students to leverage various degrees of personalization and differentiated instruction, adaptive learning, and personalized learning.

5. Artificial Intelligence driven Learning

AI driven digital learning interfaces can accommodate in real time with the learner’s requirement, providing the lessons and exercises that are needed to fill in knowledge gaps and reinforce concepts.

AI intervention has been used to overcome language barrier, through real-time translations. AI-enabled chatbots are also being used to engage with learners. With the teaching scenario changing considerably, this is an EdTech trend that stands the chance to outlast the pandemic.

6. Accessible Education

Reports show that, “there are between 93 and 150 million children living with a disability and in low- and middle-income countries as many as 33 million children with disabilities are out of school (Grant Lewis, 2019). Children with disabilities are less likely to complete primary, secondary and further education compared to children without disabilities.”

Therefore, designing accessible courses becomes important.

Accessible education gives independence to students with disabilities, but also helps other learners. For instance, captioned videos come in handy not only for those with special needs but assists the non-native English speakers too.

With the pandemic stretching, online learning and trainings are becoming the norm, and hence education for all will surely be a priority.

Focus on Post-Pandemic Learning Delivery

While the list may not be definitive, it just covers the EdTech trends that show distinct applications in the current scenario. Various tools are being used as teaching aids to make education digital and accessible. However, EdTech implementation in many regions still depends on factors like internet access and device connectivity. In addition, there are also licensing issues which make EdTech cost an issue for public education. The focus post-pandemic hence should be about open educational resources, open licences and EdTech that can be made available to learners irrespective of where they are.

[mundrisoft]

In business, change is often the directive of market fluctuations, competition and as we have seen over the past year unforeseen situations. With global businesses moving towards remote working, scale downs, cost cuttings and many other shifts, the dearth of people with the right skill sets too has been significant. Most business executives will agree that the gap between the skills their organizations need and the ones that people possess is widening. This is creating significant recruitment challenges.

What is Blended Workforce?

Talking about change, in the recent years a workforce that is composed of independent workers, freelancers, gig, and outsourced workers has been on the rise. We often designate this population as the fluid workforce. While acceptance towards this fluid workforce was low, owing to the pandemic the sudden need for a long-term remote work environment, cost cutting strategies, and the demand for critical skills, have all led organizations to become more flexible.

It’s common these days to have organizations using a fluid workforce. With fluid and regular workers both in the picture organizations now must manage what we call a Blended Workforce.

By definition, a blended workforce is a mix of employees with different contracts. This mix includes permanent full-time staff, part-time, temporary workers, contractors and freelancers. However, the differences also lay in working style, project completion rates and organizational policies, and hence it can be a tedious task for the organization to manage all the employees.

How Businesses should prepare?

If you are wondering what exactly is different about hiring gig workers and full-time employees, here are a few things to note.

Work Schedules: Contractors and freelancers have greater flexibility and often set deadlines according to their schedules.

Equipment Costs: The organization is usually not responsible for the software, hardware, and tools contractors or Freelancers use.

Payments, Taxes & Benefits: Contractors and freelancers have a different set of rules for payments and taxation and are not included in company benefits like insurance and health plans.

The organization hence should be equipped to accommodate such differences without affecting the morale of full-time workers. The preparations hence begin right from when gig workers or contractors are recruited.

Change the Hiring Approach

The foremost change that accompanies the shift towards a Blended Workforce is a change in approach. Hiring freelancers or part-time employees begins with a clear understanding that the aim is not to find employees for the long-run, but to find the right talent to bridge the skill-gap in the existing team. This changes the entire hiring approach as well as on-boarding process.

Be Open to Flexibility

The biggest change in a blended environment is the workflow. It is important to keep in mind that the freelancers and contractors hired are here for their skills, and so it is important to not focus too much on when or where the work is done. So, prepare to be open to flexibility and focus on getting the task completed rather than being fixated on managing the smaller details.

Emphasize on Communication

Communication is the key when working with a blended workforce. Remote working, different schedules and difference in communication can make collaboration in a blended workforce tough. However, it is pertinent to bridge this gap using technology to support the blended workforce. This includes having open channels for Team Chats, videoconferences, and project management to ensure that all employees in the team are working towards the same objectives.

Creating an Environment of Trust

The balance between full-time workers and fluid workers places a critical role in an organization with a Blended workforce. The full-time workers are more committed towards the organization and it is hence essential to acknowledge their efforts and invest time in trust building. However, this does not mean that the fluid workers can be ignored. While they may not be entitled to the benefits that the company offers, it is essential to give them a similar team experience. By creating an environment of trust, it is more likely that the workforce will be committed to the organizations success.

Building an Inclusive Culture

Be it Blended workforce, remote team, or hybrid team, at the end it is the management and leadership that take initiative and make the employees feel like a part of the organization even if they aren’t full time or office based. The example they set will influence how other employees treat contractors and freelancers. The change in attitude counts and for this training and motivation along with building an inclusive culture becomes fundamental.

Here’s what our CEO is saying

The post pandemic work-from-home culture has changed a lot of things at an operation level. It has also changed the way business leaders see workforce planning. While we had started to dabble with a fluid workforce approach early on, much before Covid, it became more prevalent in the remote work era. An extended team, comprising of a fluid workforce will be the new norm in future. A blended team structure will help resolve some of the most common challenges and many will start seeing its advantages more closely in lines with ease of hiring unique skills that are hard to find and expensive to procure. The blended workforce strategy will certainly be beneficial in number of ways if managed and executed well.

[mundrisoft]

Offshoring is a term very commonly seen in the IT industry. In recent times, it has been considered a strategic solution for speeding up software development, data center, network services, managed security operations and more. It is being implemented by many companies to enhance the overall performance.

Businesses now are no longer restricted by location when it comes to talent inclusion and hiring the people with right skill sets is now the priority.

However, there are many concepts about offshoring that are not clear despite its increasing prevalence.

Beginning with the term itself, offshoring and outsourcing are confused very often. Even though they are used interchangeably in certain contexts, both terms are quite different in reality. 

Offshoring provides a lot of benefits, such as access to global talent, reduction in costs, faster procurement, and flexibility that enables easier and faster scaling. However, to make sure that all these benefits can be realized, it is important to clearly define a goal and process for offshoring. Without proper management and measures such as the appointment of a liaison officer and specific quality standards, offshoring can become very challenging. 

95% of IT professionals have seen their organizations redefine technology priorities following the Covid-19 outbreak.

There are some common challenges associated with offshoring, such as data security, choice of the right offshoring partner, cultural differences, and many more. Proper research and planning, trust building, efficient communication, and continuous process improvement are just a few of the steps to take to overcome these challenges.

Naturally, there is a lot to learn from organizations that have successfully implemented offshoring practices. Their processes can form a useful guideline.

At Mundrisoft, we offer our expertise and experience in navigating this complex market to help you make the right choice and devise the right strategies.

Check out our CEO's Guide to Offshoring��to kick start your offshoring journey!  

What you will learn?

Why download this eBook?

For organizations new to the concept of offshoring, the questions often are on how to get started, how to find the right offshore partner and how to get the whole offshoring process right. In this eBook we will cover all of this and more.

Basics of Offshoring

How to get started?

Most Common Pitfalls

Tips for Successful Offshoring

Lessons from High Growth Companies

Choosing the Right Offshoring Partner

Click here to download the eBook.