Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Social Networking for Success in one’s Career and Business

Social networking services are playing a major role in today’s society and can even stretch one’s contacts outside the communities we are connected socially. It is well-known that for professional or business success, “it's not what you know, but who you know,” and it's especially very true when looking for the best education or the best employment.

The best jobs are usually unadvertised so are the vacancies for elite schools or colleges; social networking services helps college students as well as employees to collaborate with each other to find hidden opportunities. Likewise, one can always take the help of social networking websites to find some sources that are actually unknown to you and strike a business alliance after confirming the credentials for the work. One can even help out fellow college mates or school mates to explore hidden opportunities which you might have come across.

Social networking websites provide various resources and easy navigation features for career development. There have been specialized social networking portals which are aimed at niche interest groups which are done by companies specializing in custom social networking solutions. Spoke and LinkedIn are popular social sites which aim to help users make useful business connections. A recent research by global recruitment consultants Harvey Nash and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed that more than one-third of employers use social networking sites to connect with seconding the ideology that it’s not what you know but how are you known on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn that counts.

In this recession, according to experts, attending trade shows for business, replying to ads on online job boards, and sending resume for a position to the relevant HR department is not much of a use. Instead, meet people and make a strong network of people who can enhance your career.

Many companies also demand custom social networking solutions for their own intrinsic socialization. According to Forrester, social networking works as a decent alternative for knowledge management applications. The research company says that social networking can even yield ROI, but for the success ratio to be high enough, IT departments are required to maintain legacy hardware and sound software infrastructure.

The job market and the business scenario today are extremely competitive. Understanding how to harness technology for finding opportunities and making strategic use of the internet in job search as well as to network in business is helpful for progress. Social networking sites and custom social networking solutions will not only help you get a job quicker, but can also land up with deals which might be profitable for your business.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Independent Software Testing Services in India: Are they Feasible Enough?

Offshore software testing and development has undergone a drastic change in recent years. With companies striving for minimum cost input along with good quality testing services for their products and services, the competition is tough. The software testing providers in India make it happen by helping clients avoid infrastructure cost as well as hiring of resources.

Companies outsource their projects to offshore software developing companies and in the process avoid administrative costs. Offshore software testing development in India especially has been mightily successful because of its innovative approach to technology solutions.

Software Testing determines the functioning of custom-made software and is a crucial phase in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Testing removes all the bugs in the functioning of the software.

Offshore software testing makes a complete check and tries to detect any gaps. The providers can sort out potential problems in a cost-effective manner. Organizations do not keep an in-house team to conduct professional tests of the software. Hence the need of an offshore software testing company always creeps in.

Offshore software testing use several different techniques to ensure a bug-free output. The individual modules of programs are tested followed by testing of the whole software. The software testing process involves two different phases:

Alpha Testing: Alpha testing is done from the programmer’s side and usually involves the efforts of the complete team. It also involves all software professionals who work in sync on different aspects of the modules. They examine different ways trying to dig out problems. Solutions are proposed and then the most effective solution is acted upon. The ideas are proactively proposed by the team.

Beta Testing: This type of testing is done by the users who are using the site for the first time. They check the site; it is like that they are proof reading the software. The communication should be good between the tester and developer so that the bugs can be removed properly.

An offshore software testing company should pay a great deal of attention in testing of the software. Adequate attention should be paid to the usability and the utility factor for making the product bug-free. Most companies insist on both alpha and beta testing. In India, especially there are individual companies with expert teams who specialize in software testing. The best tools are also used for the offshore testing process and that too at less than 50% of the costs that might be incurred in the western world.