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TOP 12 BENEFITS OF CLOUD MANAGED SERVICES

TOP 12 BENEFITS OF CLOUD MANAGED SERVICES

1. ANTICIPATED SPENDING 2. AVOID HIGH INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS 3. IN-HOUSE DEVELOPERS AT NO CHARGE 4. CENTRALIZED NETWORK 5. BUSINESS AGILITY 6. COMPLIANCE SUPPORT 7. DISASTER MANAGEMENT 9. ACCELERATED RESPONSE TIME 10. AUTOMATIC UPGRADES 11. ADAPTABILITY 12. ONE-STOP-SHOP

Markets and Markets estimates show that the global managed services market is expected to grow from USD 223.0 billion in 2020 to USD 329.1 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.1% during the forecast period.

A cloud-managed service provider takes over outsourced cloud maintenance and support requirements. Most organizations that have adopted cloud for their internal and customer-facing applications find it difficult to build an internal team to manage it. The internal IT team might lack the skill to monitor and maintain a cloud environment effectively.

Also, managing various IT operations and applications can take up many resources, leading to higher costs. Maintaining high scalability, security and availability also commands considerable time and effort. As these responsibilities must be handed ongoingly, signing up a dedicated managed services partner reduces costs and frees up talent to be able to focus on other initiatives.

All of this data can make you wonder why you should go ahead with leveraging cloud managed services. Here are 12 reasons why you should consider signing up a dedicated Managed Services Partner:

1. ANTICIPATED SPENDING Cloud managed service administration helps reduce operational costs. For example, monthly payments are made only for the data that’s been used and you can choose your support tier with the flexibility to ramp up or down based on your requirements. This allows for a consistent monthly bill, helping in spending limit forecasting. Even if your needs fluctuate every year, cloud service providers will support you by crafting a customized plan based on your specific needs. You can access these services whenever you need them, at no extra cost. This predictable approach allows for peace of mind and reassurance, as you know what to expect.

2. AVOID HIGH INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS Through leveraging cloud managed service providers, 24/7 management can be achieved. They ensure that solutions are reliable, sturdy, and functioning at optimal levels. Also, you can now be saved from having to decide between AWS or Azure and determining how to manage the transitions. Cloud managed service providers will set up and maintain your network by taking overall ownership of cloud migration plans, hardware assets and staff training. Companies that use these solution providers confidently trust their data with these systems.

3. IN-HOUSE DEVELOPERS AT NO CHARGE Since managed service providers function around the clock, your in-house team will not require cloud-specific glitches like troubleshooting, slow connections, and system outrages. As a result, the software engineers and IT professionals in your company can shift their focus, time and attention to more fruitful long-term strategies and projects that boost your sales.

4. CENTRALIZED NETWORK With the cloud, it’s always possible to build storage and backup into a centralized network and manage all applications and servers in a central data center. As a result, remote network users can access centralized data within the same network, including virtual services. This increased network availability results in increased business efficiency.

5. BUSINESS AGILITY Managed cloud services provide an agile experience, especially for businesses that are seeking to expand. Companies can execute their growth plans and get to market faster. All the necessary infrastructure requirements and related IT issues will be taken care of by the cloud services providers who work as an extended arm to your in-house team(s).

6. COMPLIANCE SUPPORT Security breaches and compliance audits are the two major categories where IT nightmares begin. In any company subject to industry regulations, noncompliance to privacy and security requirements causes serious trouble. Be it healthcare providers, online retailers, financial institutions, or any other. This is when leveraging the cloud truly helps. Businesses that have adopted cloud managed services benefit from improved security and enhanced capability for meeting compliance requirements. The increased security and compliance efficiencies provides businesses with confidence that cloud technology can handle mission critical workloads.

7. DISASTER MANAGEMENT Managed cloud services make sure data is safe and secure across all cloud services and applications. Unlike on-premise computing, business operations keep running with the lowest downtime if disaster strikes. Resource balancing and failover between hardware hosts are automatically constrained at a virtual level. Also, there is potential to maintain and update the hardware and software.

8. CYBERSECURITY SUPPORT These days cybercriminals target and attack businesses of all sizes. However, when you work with cloud services, the cloud managed service providers take complete ownership by mitigating and responding to cyberattacks. This way, you can keep calm when it comes to protecting your proprietary data. In addition, top cloud services like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud platforms tend to provide an even more sophisticated, best-in-class cybersecurity protection.

9. ACCELERATED RESPONSE TIME Round-the-clock service makes it even easier to provide faster response. Since users are no longer bound to office hours, most cloud services have the capability to access, monitor, and repair network issues in minimal time. Businesses can expect quick response times through remote cloud services and enterprise-level monitoring.

10. AUTOMATIC UPGRADES Companies with on-premise servers have to invest a considerable amount in maintenance and security to ensure their servers remain functional. When it comes to cloud managed services, the service provider is in charge of updates and maintenance, helping businesses free up their funds.

11. ADAPTABILITY Cloud managed services are always ready to adapt to any growing company, no matter the upgrade level. This is because they are scalable enough to fulfill the ever-increasing requirements of any business.

12. ONE-STOP-SHOP You might have to deal with several organizations if you were to manage the cloud migration process in-house. This would lead to unwanted cost overrun and frustration. However, cloud managed service providers offer a wide range of services, all under one roof. In this case you would only deal with one vendor and one invoice, a hassle-free experience.

FINAL WORDS Cloud managed service providers have become the best business partners as they help reduce overhead costs. Every growing business needs to stay ahead, choosing the right partner is the best way to do so. At Ziffity Digital, our professionals take pride in providing consistently stellar customer service. We offer customized, cost-effective and sound advice relevant to our ever-changing and highly competitive marketplace. We are happy to connect and chat over any of your questions.

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HOW IS CLOUD COMPUTING TRANSFORMING THE RETAIL INDUSTRY?

Retail is expanding beyond traditional ERP, CRM, and Supply chain management. As the competition among businesses is ever-increasing, the importance of online retail has never been more acutely felt. To keep thriving in this highly competitive industry, every merchant should extend their reach to customers by managing multiple stores and supply chains, providing a unique customer experience. Integrating cloud computing in retail is the best choice to streamline all these processes better. Cloud adoption reduces IT cost, simplifies workflows, and improves efficiency and end-user experience.

Cloud adoption is growing exponentially every year. Gartner forecasts that by 2022, 90% of the organizations will be using cloud services.

Cloud services are helping the retail industries in many ways. They mainly help reduce infrastructure, storage, and computing cost to enable real-time access to operational and inventory data. It also helps in transforming the retail sector in many ways.

CLOUD HELPS ACCELERATE THE ENTIRE RETAIL INDUSTRY

#1 Simplifies The Process

#2 Upgrades Data Security

#3 Greater Supply Chain Visibility

#4 Catalysts To Create New Products

#5 Refining Customer Experience

#6 Tailored Shopping Experience

#7 Cost-Effective

#8 Versatility Advantages

#9 Enhancing Profitability

#10 Cloud-Enabled Disaster Management

#1 SIMPLIFIES THE PROCESS

Many retailers still operate offline and in a disjointed/siloed manner without getting updated. This kind of operations ecosystem prevents quick and real-time exchange of data like inventory, orders and shipping among the systems. Moving to the Cloud can enable them to create operations team that are equipped with real-time data. Such an omni-directional flow of data can help retailers in on-time fulfillment, replenish goods before they go out of stock, delegate orders smartly to the last mile delivery team and ultimately improve customer experience.

#2 UPGRADES DATA SECURITY

Every customer visiting your online retail store will have a digital interaction. These interactions generate a vast number of valuable data. Your website holds crucial information like inventory, customer data and so on. Business data is confidential and should be protected for sure. One of the significant causes of business failure is loss of personal data due to network infiltration, DDoS attack, and ransomware. Data security is one of the major problems to be addressed. Most retailers maintain their sales figures, customer feedback, and inventory reports, among other local servers that fall in a bit of a danger zone. Cloud helps secure your data using advanced firewalls, encryption, event logging, internal firewalls, and physical security.

#3 GREATER SUPPLY CHAIN VISIBILITY

Supply chain management is one of the most crucial processes in the retail industry. One unnoticed error can magnify into an irreversible mistake as it passes through several workflows. This is why it’s best to choose cloud computing to handle the entire process seamlessly. It connects every part of the business and provides better visibility. Using cloud computing, retailers can access every feature of their business sector-wise. They get to assess each sector from the supply chain, order status, to product marketing. This level of sector-wise clarity in data can result in fewer stockouts, optimized inventory levels, capturing real-time location data, and comparing stocks with other locations. Cloud computing can help in extracting data that retailers can use to devise new strategies to improve operations.

#4 CATALYSTS TO CREATE NEW PRODUCTS

The future of retail is quite unpredictable. The buying habits of the consumer keep changing often. Advanced data analytics capabilities of the cloud for retail allows merchants to create new products based on customer feedback. Using valuable insights derived from reviews, merchants can decide on introducing fresh products to their portfolio that align with the current trend and customers’ likings or discontinue products as well. However, retailers use cloud migration to quickly adapt to these changing trends while they find more time and new ways to communicate with their customers and update their business accordingly.

#5 REFINING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Usually, customer and sales data collected by retailers are not being fully utilized. Cloud services provide high-power computing resources and statistical models to analyze the buying behavior of customers. Retailers can use this data by understanding the buying behavior, trends, and interactions with the brand, which will let them customize their business model for the better. With data, merchants can understand all about seasonal spikes, product bundling, if their way of portraying the products is right or wrong and also get to analyze the preferred shipping methods like door delivery, buying online, curve side pickup, pickup from store etc. This way, every merchant can pivot the business model to generate better revenue. It also enables the merchant to know where most customers have dropped out and what they dislike while going through the store. Thus the seller can optimize the store at ease with these valuable datas.

#6 TAILORED SHIPPING EXPERIENCE

One of the most frequently asked questions is if cloud computing can handle both inventory and shipping? Cloud computing enables stores to instantly refer to each customer’s buying history and check their shipping process irrespective of when and where the orders need to be delivered. It provides retailers with real-time access to all the data related to their customers and orders. This way, the merchant can even send personalized recommendations, membership offers, coupon codes, etc., to add them to the loyalty programs.

#7 COST-EFFECTIVE

Retail is one of the fast-evolving sectors. To cater to the fast-changing business demands, retailers must focus more on the business’s growth than manually spend time towards procurement, budget approvals, and other operational workflow. This is when cloud computing in retail comes into play. In cloud technology, the retailers only pay for what they use. For eg: It helps cut down the cost of manual work, cuts short on warehouse staff, Minimizes the dependency of manager approvals and a lot more. As new roles are added the cost will be redefined. This saves a tremendous amount of money, usually spent on operations, hardware, software connectivity, etc. The dedicated cloud support team takes over even the system updates.

#8 VERSATILITY ADVANTAGES

Every business experiences highs and lows. Most businesses depend on promotions, time of the year, or even the weather. So the internal IT operations team should be able to handle the changing scenario effectively. A cloud-based model allows the retailers to contract the usage of server space and gradually scale them up when needed. This approach lets the retailer utilize the cloud more cost-effectively. Its cost flexibility is powered by various pricing options that depend on the increase or decrease of manpower usage as and when required.

#9 ENHANCING PROFITABILITY

Retailers continuously look for areas to cut down costs in order to keep the profit quotient on the high. The retail market is struggling to maintain its level of profitability. However, opting cloud computing not only helps you in the IT operations but also lets you cut down the cost on infrastructure, operations, logistics, etc.

#10 CLOUD-ENABLED DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Data has become one of the most valued components for retailers in today’s digital commerce landscape. Archiving these data is always a priority. Traditionally these data are recovered manually, which is time-consuming and tedious and requires constant maintenance and support. But now, with the help of the cloud disaster recovery model, one can recover data that can be accessed from any location and at any time. A backup and disaster recovery model can be initiated from any place, and the entire process can be automated.

FINAL WORDS

As you can see, cloud computing has become an essential part of almost every business and has gained the most attention in the retail industry. Choosing the right cloud consulting service to better your business can be a bit of a hassle. That’s where we come in. Our team of experts makes sure to provide you with tailor-made Cloud solutions for all your business requirements.

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Magento 2.4.2 Released – What’s In It For Merchants And Partners?

Magento 2.4.2 is out and is loaded with upgrades benefitting both eCommerce store owners and Magento partners as well. Let us look at the performance, security enhancements, platform upgrades and other improvements in Magento 2.4.2 extracted from the official release notes.

Security Enhancements :

Magento 2.4.2’s security enhancements include 35+ bug fixes. The latest version includes support for cross-site scripting (XSS), close remote code execution (RCE) and SameSite attribute for cookies. Core Content Security Policy (CSP) has also been resolved. By standardizing the file system operations across Magento components, the latest version can prevent malicious uploads making your eCommerce store more defensive.

Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool :

Say hello to Magento’s Upgrade Compatibility Tool’. With its ability to identify incompatible code customizations, the tool helps support and maintenance teams to be proactive while planning for an upgrade.

The tool can evaluate Magento PHP APIs and the GraphQL schema and generate reports containing issues that need to be resolved before upgrading. Though the tool aims at making the upgrade process more transparent and seamless, it is advised to perform regression testing to ensure zero incompatibilities.

The Alpha version of the Upgrade Compatibility is available for Magento Commerce users upgrading from 2.x to 2.3 and successive versions.

Platform Enhancements :

Supports Elasticsearch 7.9.x

Compatible with Varnish 6.4

Supports Redix 6.x

Compatible with Composer 2.x

In-product guidance makes it easy for administrators to explore the system quickly.

Improved Frameworks :

Magento 2.4.2 has come up with functional improvements in areas like :

Customer Account

Catalog

CMS

OMS

Import/Export

Promotions

Targeting

Cart and Checkout Staging and Preview

Performance Enhancements :

On the performance front, the latest version of Magento has the capability to natively support complex catalogs up to 20x larger than Magento 2.4.1. Improved admin response time for deploying large catalogs and code level enhancements to better API performance are other significant performance improvements of Magento 2.4.2.

Graphql:

Localization support across stores

Catalog permissions

Product data retrieval for configurable products with many variants

Customer object updated to support Remote purchasing assistance

Pwa Studio Enhancements:

Since Magento rolled out the PWA Studio, the platform has focussed on improving its eCommerce capabilities with every version. Here are some of the key enhancements to look out for in Magento 2.4.2.

Support for internationalization and localization.

Support for multiple stores languages, currencies

Strengthened extensibility

Better client-side performance through Google Lighthouse

My Account for Venia, the PWA storefront

Media Gallery:

The New Role Resources in Magento 2.4.2 now allows store owners to restrict admin access for media gallery and enables merchants to control the following actions :

Upload assets and insert media assets into the content

Edit assets information

Delete assets from the Media Gallery

Manage folder structure

Use image optimized for the web in the content

Aws S3 Support Enhancements:

Magento 2.4.2 has Amazon Simple Storage Service (AWS S3) support for storing media files

Object storage and future extensibility

B2B, PageBuilder, and Adobe Stock Integration modules include AWS S3 support

Others:

Advanced reporting related issues fixed

Apple Pay payment support

Price sorting for out of stock bundled products

Enhanced Page Builder content migration

Improvements in Page builder CSS customization capabilities

Upgrade Your Ecommerce Store To Magento 2.4.2 Now

Now that you have a comprehensive idea of what the latest version of Magento 2 holds, start planning for your upgrade now. You can find more information on Magento 2.4.2 features here – Magento Open Source 2.4.2 Release Notes | Magento Commerce 2.4.2 Release Notes.

Besides bringing in improved technical capabilities, security, and performance, keeping your Magento store upgraded can keep your total cost of ownership at the bare minimum. If you are looking for an official Magento partner to handle your upgrade to Magento 2.4.2, talk to us.

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Ecommerce Marketing Trends 2021 Every Brand Should Know

eCommerce marketing has got more important than ever due to the surge in digital buying. It’s time to take a look at the eCommerce marketing trends that dictate what marketers should do to get their brand’s story heard in the competitive eCommerce space in the year 2021.

Here’s A Gist Of The 2021 Ecommerce Marketing Trends We Are About To Discuss:

Social platforms are a lot more than just discovery engines

Mobile UX is ‘the’ priority now

Make the long story short – Short-form videos

Virtual events – The new necessity now becomes a priority

The rising importance of user-generated content (UGC) in brand messaging

1 Social Platforms Are A Lot More Than Just Discovery Engines

Social media is no more just a discovery engine for users. People perform various actions like seeking inspiration for the latest trends, interacting with friends for recommendations, etc. Also, social commerce is already enjoying the benefit of the rise in online buying influenced by the pandemic. So it makes perfect sense to provide the checkout experience within a social platform. With more people getting used to buying online, brands can test their social commerce initiatives across multiple platforms and find out which provides the best returns.

Apart from social media marketing efforts in which users are redirected to online stores, more brands will start providing the ability to checkout, making the most out of buying intent. However, creating a frictionless checkout experience determines the success rate. Offering one-click purchase options and digital wallet payment options can enable users to buy with ease.

Though people have started buying on social channels, they are more likely to keep away from making big purchases. So, to begin with, brands should focus on popular and low-cost products.

2 Mobile Ux Is ‘the’ Priority Now

Nearly 73% of internet users will access the internet solely via mobile devices by 2025 – CNBC. Since 2019 when Google rolled out mobile-first indexing, the mobile experience has gained prominence. Google will start ignoring your desktop website. So, emphasis on how your website performs on mobile should continue in the year 2021.

Go for Google’s mobile-friendly test and check out the mobile usability report in Google Search Console. Make sure you don’t have the disallow directive to ensure that Google can crawl your URLs. Don’t miss out on directing Google to see contents that require UI actions like clicking and swiping. Use the same meta contents used for the desktop versions of your store.

Keep your design simple and focus on personalizing content, keeping in mind your users’ intent. Ensure your mobile website is easy to navigate, intuitive to use, and valuable content and images are not hidden from users. As Google will no longer rank desktop and mobile experiences differently, it is high time to consider having a mobile-responsive website.

3 Make The Long Story Short – Short-form Videos

54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand or business they support – HubSpot. And 61% of marketers plan to increase their video spending in 2021 – Postclick. There are enough statistics to back the fact that videos are one of the most powerful content forms to win consumers’ attention online.

However, as most of the brands have started creating video content over the last couple of years, it has become a necessity for brands to come up with a differentiating factor. Here’s where short-form content chips in.

Short-form videos on social platforms like Instagram and Snapchat have conditioned users to get informed and entertained in a very short span of time. Brands and marketers who can get the point across in 15-20 second short videos can win social platforms.

Focussing on adding value, educating, and entertaining users over trying to sell can help brands create short-form video content that connects. Platforms like Instagram that have rolled out new features like Reels are likely to favor brands that adopt the new algorithms early.

4 Virtual Events – The New Necessity Now Becomes A Priority

Virtual events became a necessity during the pandemic as lockdowns due to the pandemic stopped people from attending events and socializing. This effect resulted in a quick increase in participation in live events, conferences, and workshops.

Facebook witnessed a 50% spike in live viewings during the lockdown, while Instagram registered a 70% increase. Though lockdown measures are more relaxed now, live events are likely to continue the successful run mainly because of the benefits brands have witnessed.

Brands have found that virtual events have showcased them to thousands of new audiences by eliminating dependencies like travel and visa approvals. The convenience, ease of access through multiple devices, and increased participation have made virtual events a low-cost option for brands to improve ROI.

However, the key is to be creative, rope in great speakers and industry leaders who your target audiences love listening to. Influencers can play a crucial role in showcasing your brand to more potential customers. Adding shoppable moments to live streams can enable consumers to interact and purchase within the platform. Amazon Live became a massive success as influencers promoted their favorite products through shoppable live streams.

Though there are technical challenges involved in live events, brands will continue to take the route in 2021 as they have already witnessed the benefits of virtual events.

5 The Rising Importance Of User-generated Content (Ugc) In Brand Messaging

Customers trust consumer reviews the most. According to a study by HubSpot, 63% of social media users feel consumer ratings are #1 priority and 70% of consumers believe customer opinions are their second priority.

Establishing trust with users will be an uphill task for eCommerce brands in 2021 as concerns in data privacy and fake news are on the rise. User-generated content like ratings, reviews, and testimonials can help you overcome the challenges.

63% of social media users consider consumer ratings their primary information source – Smart Insights. No matter how hard you try, prospective customers are more intended towards listening to existing customers who answer questions like how they are using your products and how they have benefited. Such reviews convince prospects more quickly than a brand’s creative ad.

Create hashtags under which customers can post their content. Such UGC can be re-shared on your business profile pages to create a hyper-focused buzz over your products. By focusing on relationships with loyal customers, influencers, and employees, brands can bundle their messages with authentic voices that potential customers value the most.

Conclusion

The eCommerce marketing space is getting all the more competitive. The 2021 eCommerce marketing trends discussed above is a clear indication of it. As consumer expectations are changing faster, embracing new trends is critical for brands to stay on top of the game.