Expert Speak: Major Abhijit Bhattacharjee

Panini Keypad – Helping SMEs overcome language barriers using mobiles

Mobile users are all around us. India alone has over 700 million phone connections and definitely over 400 million unique phone users. Phone calls in India are already the cheapest in the world and the practical, social and economic advantages of staying connected are for everyone to see. These have resulted in India becoming the fastest growing mobile phone userbase in the world. It is already the second largest, close on the heels of China.

The huge mobile subscriber base also includes Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These SMEs have to rely on the mobile revolution for reaching out to their customers and require Indian languages support for their various applications. The application could be a part of the service itself or could be a part of advertising and marketing campaigns which involves taking feedback & data inputs from users, interactions with customers etc. Sky is the limit for these applications where business relies on the phone for its communications within and outside the organisation.

However, if were to look at these phone users and their usage of the phone a little more closely, we will discover that most of these users do not even have an address book on their phones. They manage from last dialed numbers and have some important numbers stored in a notebook that they carry with them. How disabling is that? And they have never sent a text message. They cannot do so because they do not know English and Indian languages are not supported on the phone. And there closes the entire opportunity of digital inclusion in the form of m-governance, m-education, m-commerce, m-health and so on which are opportunities as almost everyone uses the mobile phone today. The reason behind this gap is that to do any of the above, one has to seek information, and to seek one has to type.

Supporting Indian languages on the phone (or even the computer) has remained an intractable problem for long because Indian scripts have too many characters, their word construction rules are different and complex and there are too many scripts. There are so many characters that there is no space to print them on the little face of a key and multitapping from memory is useless because it goes to 7 or 9 taps per character. Also if you put any one, say Malayalam on a phone, it becomes useless in the neighbouring province and hence that is not economically viable for any manufacturer. Therefore, how desirable and critical it may be to put Indian languages on the phone, there was no practical way to do this.

Hence, Luna Ergonomics came into existence in 2008 to provide a solution for these challenges. It's aim was to find that way to practically support Indian languages on the phone because without it, no further fruits of the telecom revolution in India would be obtainable, more critically on the data side, to interact with the possibilities of the Indian language Internet from the mobile – all that 3G and 4G would be about to 80% of India's phone users.

The solution to typing in Indian languages that takes care of all the above impediments has had to come from a patented invention of an entirely new way of typing which is supported on a basic phone as well as a modern touchscreen phone seamlessly with the same usability. The solution is called PANINI KEYPAD for Indian languages, named after the ancient Sanskrit grammarian and it already supports the 9 major languages of India namely Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi and work continues on others. 

The Panini Keypad is fully developed, offered as a free downloadable from our website PaniniKeypad.com and is already being used by over a million users to type easily and fast in Indian languages on the phone to send SMS, store address book, post on facebook, send tweets etc. One can demonstrably type in Hindi faster than one can type in English on an equivalent phone using the Panini Keypad. The Panini Keypad needs no printed characters and therefore can support all the Indian languages on the same phone. There is no multitap because the average is one keypress per character entry and it does not need the user to know any English because the input is done directly in Indian script and not via English/Roman.

How does it do this?

The Panini Keypad is an intelligent responsive dynamic virtual keypad. 

• In this, the limited set of characters that the user has the highest probability to type at any point of time are shown on the screen and the user can choose directly in a touchscreen device or indicate with the numeric keys of a basic phone.
• When a character is outside the predictions, the user can choose the Next List button.
• Apart from the beginning of a word, that happens very infrequently which is the demonstrated efficacy of this new technology. 
• The character probabilities have all been pre-estimated through research in each Indian language independently carried out by Luna Ergonomics

There are also other innovations of ergonomics because not only are the characters predicted accurately, they are also put into positions which are most comfortable to the thumb and fingers. The characters appear on your fingertips, easy to find and point.

The Panini Keypad estimates characters that the user could be writing next and places them according to their probabilities to positions most comfortable for the texting thumb. Also, these characters have been developed for all Indian languages. 

One can experience it by downloading the usability of software from www.PaniniKeypad.com. It is also available at all leading Appstores, Getjar, OVI, Opera, operator decks etc. This new usability has brought about a dramatic improvement in the speed and ease with which one can type in an Indian script on a phone. 

To understand the technology it is important to look at the following two videos.

   

Global usability technology?

After developing first for Indian languages, we decided to work towards other languages of the world as well. Thus we developed the technology that is running on the phone for English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, French, Russian, Hebrew, Finnish, Swahili, Korean. The global family of products is branded CleverTexting. All of these languages are available as java downloadable from our website CleverTexting.com and also from iPhone Appstores under CleverTexting. And these are growing popular worldwide as the awareness of it is spreading. We have already reached promising stage of work for the Chinese language.

CleverTexting in Arabic, which offers a simpler usability to type in Arabic to send SMS and emails, now released in iTunes Appstore with several other languages including English that you must try if you have an iPhone.

The technology is not only applicable for the mobile phone but for all digital devices like the tablet, PC, IPTV, gaming consoles, STB, ATM and so on. The technology has already been developed in various platforms like Java, Android, iPhone, Windows and in native C for embedded solutions in hardware and SIMs.

This unique new technology is being hailed as a breakthrough by industry and all eminent quarters of the world including the International Telecommunication Union, United Nations of which Luna Ergonomics is one of the handful of members from India. It has won many awards including the Nasscom Foundation Social Innovation Honours 2011, Lockheed Martin India Innovation Gold Medal, Red Herring Global 100 and TieCon50, 2011

This invention has solved the problem of how Indians will be able to type on their phones in regional languages fast and easy. Go ahead, be amongst the first ones to know about it, try it.  

The author is the article is Major Abhijit Bhattacharjee, Founder and CEO of Luna Ergonomics Pvt Ltd, India.

Great Business Blogs on TypePad

Blogging has become one essential part of communications for every business, whether large OR small. With Social Media being actively accepted by businesses mainstream, blogging as a communication medium is gaining popularity and ground. While there is much content being generated by both individuals and businesses alike, the medium with which majority of the businesses are reaching out to their target audience is blogging. There are several personal and corporate blogs existing, many of them have also evolved into powerful content platforms globally.

For Small and Medium Enterprises, blogging is one of the most powerful ways of reaching out to the relevant target business audience with the intended message.

How does blogging help?

Apart from generating a powerful platform where your business users can suggest, share their views, write thoughts, blogs also help you add onto your SEO value. The constantly updated content allows search engines to pick up your content and index it for free. Hence essentially you are adding to your SEO value without really investing a dime into it.

Create beautiful business blogs with TypePad

TypePad is essentially a blogging platform, which allows its users to experience the service first with a free trial and then move onto a paid version of the same. To experience TypePad, al you need to do is go to the following URL: www.typepad.com and you will reach a screen as shown in the screen capture below:

Great, but how is a blog of help to me/ my business?

A blog while being only a platform to express views and share thoughts, is a powerful mode of communication with your customers and not just that. Its a powerful mode of taking your message to the intended target audience. A content driven, high on call-to-action blog which shares insights about the business you are in, which lets your customers know you better and engage with you, which gives people access to information is the best possible choice to make when making a blog.

How does TypePad work?

The screen capture above shows how using TypePad is a simple 3 step process which can be easily used by anyone. Once you choose a certain plan, you can sign up for free on TypePad and enjoy th 14 day free trial benefits of that plan, for which you would not be charged anything.

Simply choose a blog name and the following URL is created: http://yourblogname.typepad.com. Once you are ready, your blog goes LIVE and you can now start sharing the URL with people in your network.

We will share about the TypePad small Business Center in our next blog. To know more about it, SUBSCRIBE now by simply sharing your Email id on the subscription box above on this blog.

There are many such online platforms available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Social Gaming for Your Business With ibibo

There is much happening globally, especially in the internet domain. Businesses are exploring many innovative options to reach out to and engage their target audience with their message. There are several businesses which have taken up blogging, social media and other innovative ways of taking their message to the target customer.

Engaging your customer with Social Games: the challenges
For Small and Medium Enterprises its a particularly critical challenge to ensure that they have both their internal and external customers engaged strongly with their messaging. For internal customers (employees) the challenge could begin from hiring the right talent on board to retaining them. For external customers to the business the challenges could be from acquiring new business to creating further value for the existing ones.

Engaging your customer with Social Games: the next level with ibibo
How about testing a new candidate that you are thinking of hiring with a strategy game online and that too a social game, where he/ she can connect with several others of the same interest? While you can test a candidate on the level of understanding, behavior patterns and much more, you can also test him/ her on logical understanding and other concepts which apply to the position you are hiring for. And all this, achieved, using social gaming.

One of the strongest online social gaming platforms in India is ibibo. ibibo enables users to get connected and network through various forms of social gaming and contesting genres.

ibibo essentially builds on the following three key genres of social gaming:

• Role Playing Games
• Live multi player games
• Talent games and contests

How do experience a game on ibibo?

To experience social gaming first hand, all you need to do is go to the following URL: www.ibibo.com. The following page will appear, as shown in the screen capture below:

You can choose the game you want to play, by clicking on the same on the vertical menu which is on the right of the main image on the home page. Once selected, you will be re-directed to the landing page for the game, as shown in the screen capture below:

Once you are logged into the platform, you can also chat through an inbuilt messenger module, with all your Gmail, Yahoo! and facebook friends, as shown in the screen capture below:

Once you are inside a game, it keeps taking you through different levels, which increases the engagement and as a business you can explore many opportunities of advertising, testing to name a few, example shown in the screen capture below:

How does ibibo help my business?

While its all about social gaming, you can innovatively leverage the platform to connect with not only your employees but your customers as well. Also, you can create a powerful outreach with many in game advertising opportunities.

There are many such online platforms available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Business Blogging for SMEs: Blogger

With Social Media being actively accepted by businesses mainstream, blogging as a communication medium is gaining popularity and ground. While there is much content being generated by both individuals and businesses alike, the medium with which majority of the businesses are reaching out to their target audience is blogging. There are several personal and corporate blogs existing, many of them have also evolved into powerful content platforms globally.

For Small and Medium Enterprises, blogging is one of the most powerful activities of reaching out to the relevant target business audience with the intended message.

What is blogging?

Blogging essentially is about sharing your thoughts on a subject on a 'weblog'. This Wikipedia article defines the blog well. It all started with websites. While websites were the most preferred mode of communication for businesses, blogging has recently introduced a fundamental shift in which businesses communicate with their customers 'online'. With web 2.0 ushering in, the monologue has now evolved into a two way communication, with your customer's getting as much a chance to engage with your business and not just be at the receiving end of 'a' communication.

How is a blog of help to me/ my business?

A blog while being only a platform to express views and share thoughts, is a powerful mode of communication with your customers and not just that. Its a powerful mode of taking your message to the intended target audience. A content driven, high on call-to-action blog which shares insights about the business you are in, which lets your customers know you better and engage with you, which gives people access to information is the best possible choice to make when making a blog.

How do I create my blog?

Even before we go ahead and do it, we must have the purpose clear in our minds. One of the basic most is, whether the blog you are creating, a personal blog OR an official blog! This defines many aspects, starting from the design of the blog to what content goes in there.

Now to the creation aspect: there are many 'free' blogging platforms available, eg:

• Blogger
• Blogspot
• Wordpress

One of the widely used and well known platform which has been in existence for a couple of years now is Blogger. Incidentally the IndiaMART Knowledge Services blog is hosted on the Blogger platform only. A free blogging platform which has gained a global acceptance by the blogging fraternity. Its simple, easy to understand, a powerful content management system and scalable.

To create your blog all that you need to do is, go to the following URL: www.blogger.com and create an account OR login with your existing Google account.

Once done, you will be redirected to the following screen, which will be your blog's dashboard:

To write your first post, you must click on the "New Post" link which is highlighted in the blue colored box right below your "manage blogs" section.

Once you click on the New Post link, you will be re-directed to the following section as shown in the screen capture below:

This is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor and hence whatever you type in the box, will be published as it is on your blog. Using the menu options on the editor you can indent and manage your blog text.

Once you are ready, you can publish your post by clicking the Orange colored, "Publish Post" button. If you are unsure of publishing the post, or if you have not completed the post and want to abandon in between, you can do so by clicking "Save Now" button, which will save your post in the drafts folder, which you can retrieve later on, when you login to blogger again.

You can also schedule your posts, example, if you would want to schedule your post for any day and time of the year, you can do so, by clicking on the "Post Options" blue colored link at the bottom left of the editor, which opens the section as shown in the screen capture below:

Once you have scheduled the post, click on "Publish Post" and your post will be published online only at the specified time and day by you.

You can also have multiple pages (navigational HTML pages) on your blog, example the About Us page. These pages can contain information about your company, yourself and other messages which you would like to communicate with your target audience.

To know more about how you can monetize your blog once you are on blogger, subscribe to the IndiaMART Knowledge Services Blog.

There are many such online platforms available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Free PDF to Word Doc Converter HelloPDF

While many of us still face the issues of document formatting. With Microsoft Office creating standards in the form of Doc and then Docx, there has always been a powerful need for a specific standard which ensures that it is accessible on any system around the world, without the need for a particular software suite to be installed.

PDF does the trick
The .pdf document format created by Adobe changed it all. Though .pdf has been in existence since a long time, but for SMEs, buying licenses for software which is not critical to business operations is not something which is on a very high priority list and hence SMEs prefer solutions which are scalable and workable with the least possible cost.

HelloPDF gives you an edge: convert .pdf's into word format
HelloPDF is an online tool which helps you convert from .pdf to a word format. This is required especially in cases when you wish to edit .pdf files. Though you can edit .pdf files through tools, but converting them to a usable word document is not the easiest part and it is required many a times by organizations, to edit proposals/ forms and other collaterals.


What is HelloPDF?
HelloPDF's free PDF to Word Doc Converter is a desktop document conversion tool to convert Adobe PDF file to Microsoft Word Doc file. The program can extract text, images, shapes from PDF file to Word Doc file and preserve the layout. It can convert all the pages, or any pages range of the PDF file.

It is a standalone program - you can convert PDF to Word Doc without Adobe Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Word installed!

What are the features of HelloPDF?

• Convert PDF to Word and preserve the original layout of your PDF in an editable Word Document.
• Extract text labels, graphics, shapes from PDF file into Word Doc file.
• Convert all the pages, or partial pages of PDF file to Word file.
• Support Adobe PDF 1.0 - 1.6 formats.
• Several PDF to Word conversion options are available for a better result.

How do I convert a .pdf to a .doc file?

How does this add value to my business?

Since this is a stand-alone software hence it does not require either Adobe PDF OR Microsoft Office suite to be installed in your system and hence it helps you save costs in converting and managing documents. Being free it can be used by multiple people across your organization and hence you don't necessarily need to buy major document formatting and editing software suites.

There are many such online tools available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Create Freely Shareable Web Pages With Google Sites

How about this? What if you are able to create a group sharing site in just about 10 minutes and that too for FREE!! How about creating an internal website which helps you create a collaborative environment within your organization and that too for free and which does require much technical expertise from you?

The challenge for SMEs
Collaboration and keeping the employees always in touch and together is a challenge for Small and Medium Enterprises. Information creation, management and flow is a challenge which most SMEs face and they don't have the big budgets to create internal communication platforms or at times might not have the technical expertise to choose the best CRM solution.

Lets build collaboration: easy and free
Google Sites is one such tool which eases out the process of creating an internal collaborative platform for an organization.

Lets create your first Google Site: How to access Google Sites?

All that you need to access Google Sites is, visit this URL: https://sites.google.com/?pli=1 which will take you to a home screen as shown in the screen capture above.

Once you click on "Create Site" you would be re-directed to a page where you can choose a template and, name your site and create a custom URL.

Once you are done filling in the information, you can see your site like this (we chose the learning template)

Can I edit this page and include more pages on the site?

Yes you can. To edit this page, you can use the "edit" button on the top right of the page and to create a new page you can use the "create page" button again located on the top right of the page.

If you want to edit the Sidebar of your theme, click on the "edit sidebar" link at the bottom left of the sidebar and you will be re-directed to the following screen, as shown in the screen capture below:

Once you are done, all that you need to do is to SAVE the site and you are ready to roll. If you have created an internal website, keep the status of the site as private and hence it will remain within your organizational access only, otherwise you can always make it public and share open information.

How does this benefit my business?

For SMEs Google Sites is a great tool. It makes up for a very interesting collaborative environment which is free and is easy to manage and build. Also its far easier to provide access to while keeping in mind that not every employee will be web/ technology friendly.

There are many such online platforms available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Map Your Way Around and Reduce Commuting Time with WikiMapia

WikiMapia, what kind of a name is that? Maps I understand, but WikiMapia? Is it something related to the Wiki Leaks? Many questions click in your brain the moment you hear WikiMapia, but do you ever believe this strange name can help you quickly save on your commuting time, while you might be traveling anywhere across the globe?

Traveling and time of commute is one critical issue for Small and Medium Enterprises. Travel is one critical aspect in the efficiency cycle for any SME. WikiMapia helps you be more efficient in your tavel.

What is WikiMapia?
WikiMapia is an online map and satellite imaging resource that combines Google Maps with a wiki system, allowing users to add information, in the form of a note, to any location on Earth. Its aim is to "describe the whole world". It now has over 15,000,000 places marked. WikiMapia is a free service to anyone and everyone and you dont have to necessarily register to WikiMapia to access content. All content uploaded by users is currently made available under Creative Commons license for non-commercial use through the WikiMapia API.

What are the various features of WikiMapia?

WikiMapia allows any contributor to add a "tag" to any location across the globe by marking out a polygon around the location and then providing the basic information about that place as the default language being spoken at that place, a title to the marked place, description and one or more categories. You can not just share this information but also embed YouTube videos etc. which describe anything about that place.

Users can also add pictures to each tag related to a particular place, which obviously helps anyone across the world seeing this information to be better prepared with the place.

WikiMapia also allows users to add "linear features", meaning roads, railroads, ferry lines, and rivers. This is mainly for the use of frequent travelers and also provides an exhaustive detailing of any location across the globe, which obviously helps travelers to a great extent to plan their travel.

How do I use WikiMapia?
Its fairly simple, all that you need to do to access WikiMapia is, to navigate to the following URL: www.wikimapia.org

You can search using the following options on the left sidebar of the screen:

• Street
• City
• Country
• World

These options can help you navigate easily throughout the globe to any destination you are looking for.

You can also define the map type based upon your preference of map view, as shown in the screen capture below:

How does it help my business?

WikiMapia helps you navigate through world streets and look at the various options available which can help you further save time of commuting and hence making you efficient in your business. The information available in terms of maps help you in saving time, which is a crucial factor as far as individual efficiency for a business is concerned.

There are many such online tools available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Expert Speak: Mr. Hemant B. Bhattbhatt

Information Technology in Logistics

Logistics is an integral function for every business organisation. The evolving business landscape and increasing competition has created the need for SMEs to adopt more efficient ways and technology to manage their operations.

This can be achieved by inculcating the best practices in the industry in terms of supply chain design, planning, execution and visibility. The above can be facilitated by having an integrated supply chain management system (SCMS).

Components of a SCMS

A typical supply chain management system is a combination of hardware, software and technology designed to manage the major functions of a distribution and transportation set-up. The system may vary in sophistication from simple inventory locator systems to complex, multi-functional systems utilizing cutting-edge technologies.

Cost savings can be achieved on multiple levels with the use of a supply chain management system (SCMS). Process improvements through automation of typically manual tasks such as shipment planning and carrier selection allows for productivity gains and potential redeployment of existing resources. Both inbound and outbound orders can be optimized and consolidated to take advantage of the lowest cost transportation available. Setting up standard carriers and integrating with various providers via EDI or web-based technologies allows for efficient allocation of resources, robust reporting and improved shipment execution and tracking.

The Visibility Factor

Visibility of the movement of material can be vastly increased through the implementation of SCMS. Up to date status information can be viewed for incoming, in process and outbound shipments on a real time basis. And with the advent of web-enabled applications, there is no longer a need to be connected to some sort of wide area network to access the information. Many of the SCMS packages are web-enabled to some degree, allowing vendors, customers and remote users to view information securely through a standard browser interface. Various alerts can also be put in place to inform select users via phone, fax, pager or e-mail of any relevant issues.

The Cost Factor

The cost of the basic SCMS package may vary based on functionality requirements and sophistication. There are more than just software and hardware costs to take into account when pricing a SCMS. Key components include:

Software and hardware – Typically 30 – 50% of the total cost. Includes license fees, database, servers, printers, PCs.

System integration – Consultants, process review

Software vendor assistance – Professional services, project management, pilot testing, interface programming and other custom coding. This number can be huge and risks can be increased if customizations are not managed properly

Internal costs – Special training, fill in for core team members, retention and promotion incentives

Maintenance agreement – Typically priced separately, cost can vary based on number of years and level of warranty service.

Pitfalls

The initial setup requirements of a SCMS are extensive and proper setup can make or break a system. Elements and characteristics of items, locations, users, roles, tasks, vehicles, processes, suppliers and customers need to be defined and configured for the system to control the supply chain successfully. There are many pitfalls to watch out for during a SCMS implementation.

The following is a list of 10 common pitfalls:

• Not fully understanding the benefits and costs of a SCMS
• Setting an unrealistic budget or schedule, rushing the implementation
• Failure to identify all system requirements
• Not willing to change current operational procedures
• Automating poor operating procedures
• Not looking at the “big picture” – impacts to operations, supply chain design & layout and Company
• Making too many customizations to the software
• Insufficient time in the schedule for system testing and debugging
• Poor management and staff training
• Low budget for post go-live system support

Emerging Technologies

1. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is not a new technology; it has actually been around for years. It is a method of storing and retrieving data through the use of an RF compatible circuit. These RF tags can be active (powered) or passive, and they require a reading device and interface computer to process the information.

While similar in concept to standard barcode technology, there are some very important differences. RFID tags do not require line-of-sight to be read, and the distances they can be read from range from a couple of feet up to 300 feet for powered designs. They are also capable of storing much more information – from 512 bytes for passive designs up to 32Kb for active designs. Because of the increase in memory, large amounts of information can be stored, and even dynamically captured, and programs can quickly access relevant data.

There have been several obstacles that have prevented RFID from gaining acceptance until recently. Some of the obstacles included transmission distances, tag reader sensitivity, and the high cost of implementation, especially the tags themselves.

Transmission distances have now increased to an acceptable level, far better than comparable barcode technology. Reader and antenna sensitivity is such that several hundred tags can be read at nearly the same time, allowing for an entire pallet of tags to be interrogated at once. And most importantly, the price has been steadily decreasing, both for overall system implementation and for the tags themselves. Passive tags can now cost as little as fifty cents, with active tags typically being more expensive and varying in cost based on the type of technology in use.

However, when looking at the overall cost of barcodes and the necessity for replacement and maintenance, the cost difference can be very minimal. RFID is not a replacement for standard bar-coding. But with improvements that have been made, the reductions in cost, and the continued definition and refinement of industry standards, RFID can provide an enhanced and automated solution.

2. Voice
Much like RFID technology, voice technology has been around for a number of years, but until recently was cost prohibitive for all but the largest companies. There are primarily two types of speech technology, speaker-independent and speaker-dependent. Independent technology recognizes words spoken by a wide variety of people, requires little training, and usually has a relatively small number of pre-defined words. All voice recognition processing is performed on a central computer. With dependent technology, each operator is required to go through a training process where the computer is taught to recognize their specific voice profile.

While this method requires more up front training and the use of a portable device, it is much more accurate, and is a necessity in the high noise environments typically found in high-volume distribution and manufacturing plants.

Voice technology is typically utilized in each and case picking applications due to the high volumes and the ability to operate in “hands free” mode, but it can also be utilized in receiving, put away, replenishment, and cycle counting operations.

Globally, the grocery and food service industries have been early adopters of this technology for several reasons. Key improvements in shipment accuracy and labor productivity are critical in the low margin, high volume environment. Using voice operations in cold storage areas where gloves are necessary eliminates the need to handle paper lists or labels and cumbersome RF equipment. Capturing variable data such as weight information is also easier when done verbally versus keypunching the information.

The main barrier for implementation of this technology is cost. Costs are incurred through the purchase of terminal and RF network components, software packages, integration fees, and training. Companies with large workforces (over 100 people) and high-volume operations with an emphasis on order and shipment speed and accuracy should consider the technology.

The author of the article is Senior Director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd.

Internet and Communication tools enable the growth for SMEs. To gather more information on various other IT Solutions, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Free Charting and Plotting With TeeChart Office

Source: http://i1-win.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/TeeChart-Office_1.png

Charting and plotting are important tools which are used in business presentations. Especially for the Small and Medium Enterprises, charting and plotting are crucial to make powerful and good looking business cases. Right from pitching it to customers to making a strong case for the top management to hear, business charts are a crucial piece.

You might have the right numbers with you, but making sense of these numbers to ensure that it is understood by everyone easily and quickly, charts are a great help.

The challenge

The one major challenge which the SMEs face in making a strong business case is the presentation of the same. Presentation of an idea is crucial. To drive home your point, its important to powerfully present the same and this is where TeeChart Office helps you.

What is TeeChart Office?

TeeChart-Office is a free charting and plotting utility intended for both the end-user and the developer.

Behind the scenes, TeeChart-Office uses the awarded, mature technology of TeeChart Pro runtime components. The main purpose of TeeChart-Office is to easily create Charts, link them to heterogenous sources of data, modify and change the chart appearance, export Charts to native format, image files and printer, share created charts with other users and configure the many properties it offers.

How does it work?

• The main window allows you to select the chart you consider best for your needs

source: http://i1-win.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/TeeChart-Office_1.png

• The Data window allows you to input your values and numbers

source: http://i1-win.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/TeeChart-Office_2.png

• The Tools tab allows you to customize the application by enabling the drag option

source: http://i1-win.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/TeeChart-Office_3.png

• The Themes window will help you customize the display

Where do I get TeeChart from?

You can download TeeChart from the following Link. TeeChart is available for free download. A free charting and plotting software for SMEs is a great tool as it not only helps you save cost on leveraging technology but also helps you save on time, creating powerful business presentations.

There are many such online tools available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

How About Making Hotel Bookings Globally in a Flash and for Free with Expedia Hotel View

Travel is an integrated part of any business. For the top management, travel is an essential part of their work profile. Travel could be for different purposes, for Small and Medium Enterprises though, travel means a lot of research.

Research? Yes.
SMEs cannot afford to stay in lavish hotels and hence they have to research on the various available options and deals. There are many smart options available globally in hotels of all shapes and sizes, according to the consumer demand. Obviously going online to the website of each hotel is not the option, when you are trying to run a smart business.

Online search engines which collate information globally about hotels are a great help here and hence the Expedia Hotel View, an application which comes on Google Webstore and helps people to not only locate hotels according to the need, but helps you book them as well.

How does it work?

Expedia Hotel View has thousands of hotels mapped on the Google street View, which helps you find the perfect place to stay according to your requirements. Once you have found the hotel, you can take a good look around the place where it is and hence make up your mind to book the same.

How do I access the application?

Its fairly simple. From your Google Chrome browser, go to the Web App Store and install the Expedia Hotel View application by clicking on the Icon. Once installed, you will be redirected to the screen as shown below:

To search for the best hotels listed on Expedia, all you need to do is, simply type in the name of the place where you are going on the search bar on the top right and Expedia hotel view will automatically give you suggestions from the various geographical locations that it has listed on its search engine.

You can book hotels in a jiffy

All you need to do to check the availability at the hotel is: hover your mouse pointer on the name of the hotel on the left side menu and you will get a pop up on the main screen asking you for your stay dates. Enter them and you have the information made available to you right on your fingertips.

Also, if you wish to view the hotel, you can use the View Hotel link and it will redirect you to the Expedia Hotels website, where you can view the hotel, before making a booking.

How does it help my business?

You save on time and energy and get the best deals online from hotels across the world and that too on one website, what better way could it be to compare the best of the world and choose just the right fit for yourself. You can quickly view the hotels and look at the best and the most suitable suggestion which fits your needs.

There are many such online tool and applications available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Make Your Presentations Come Alive With Lovely Charts for Free!

Presentations are one of the most crucial part of any business today, large or small. From preparing a proposal to sharing an idea and suggesting the same to the business management, presentations are used by almost everyone across the hierarchies in an organization to present a concept/ note/ idea to the relevant target audience.

Challenge for SMEs: Effective Communication
Many Small and medium Enterprises face this challenge of not being great communicators. To effectively communicate across an idea, your presentations have to be perfect. They need to communicate powerfully to your target audience.

There are many ways to deliver a power packed presentation. Obviously how you present it is a major part, but how the information is packed in your presentations and how good looking and appealing to the senses they are makes a lot of difference.

Make your numbers look amazing with Lovely Charts
One of the essential purpose that presentations solve is projecting numbers. Making projections is one of the most crucial aspects for any SME. But other than making bar charts through an excel sheet, how can you make your numbers look more exciting to look at and easy to comprehend?

What all can I do with Lovelycharts?

Don't just go with the name, Lovelycharts is a powerful platform which helps you create powerful charts which can help you make great looking comprehensive information. The following are the type of charts you can make:

• Flowcharts
• Sitemaps
• Network Diagrams
• People Diagrams
• Basic Symbols
• Wireframes

So lets say you are making your website and building a siemap, obviously using a simple flowchart design on a ppt will be okay, but here's another view to it:

It took just about 30 seconds to create the above image, which now can be exported to be used to make a power point presentation.

The interface of Lovelycharts is easy to use and far easier to comprehend. It can be used by anyone and does not require any knowledge of a software application before. The basic and simple functions make it easier for them to be used.

How can I access all of this?

All you need to do, to access Lovelycharts is to login to www.my.lovelycharts.com and quickly create a profile. Once you are done, you will be redirected to the home page which is the one seen in the screen capture below:

How does it benefit my business?

The real benefit which you make from Lovelycharts is the cost of time and resources to create powerful presentations. You don't need designers to help you come up with a great looking presentation, which many a times is the first step towards cracking a business deal to pitching an idea.

Lovelycharts is an online platform and hence you don't really need to download anything on your desktop. All you need is an internet connection to access the platform.

There are many such online platforms available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

The Free Personal Finance Advisor for SMEs: Google Advisor

Finance for SMEs is one of the most crucial topics. For many start-ups in India, which start as a proprietary company, managing finances becomes difficult for the founder, as most of the times his/ her accounts are the same as that of the companies. This becomes a challenge to maintain when you finally register your company and create, maintain and manage separate finances for the same.

Your free personal finance advisor
Google has recently launched its free personal finance management tool called Google Advisor. The tool helps you find and compare various financial products.

The tool helps you check on and compare for mortgages, CDs, Credit Cards, Loans, by listing down a search criteria, for the user to choose from.

Is Google Advisor a financial product search engine?

No. Google Advisor is not a search engine. It's a recommendation engine, where it displays the various vendors registered with its service, their product offerings and the various features, benefits and conditions attached along. Essentially Google Advisor is a comparison tool with various criteria based filters.

How does it help you?

Not just personally, even if you are taking loans, or re-financing your assets, applying for a new credit card amongst other things, you are empowered to take a decision using the information provided by Google Advisor. The comparison engine lets you compare between various financial tools available and what suits you best. While being online, it helps you to save time and understand at your own pace, after assessing your requirement of what financial tool you exactly require and hence make an informed buying decision.

And why is the service free?

Though Google does not make money on any other feature, if you apply for a loan online through one of the listed vendors on Google Advisor, Google gets a percentage.

There are many such online tools available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Let Your Mobile Phone Make Global Calls for Free: Skype for Mobile!

Okay, how about this: what if we said, that your mobile phone, yes the one that you have right besides you right now, can help you make calls for no money at all anywhere across the globe? Sounds fake and unreal right?!

Innovation is the name of the game
There is much innovation in this world and part of it is the way communication has evolved overtime with the advent and high usage of devices like the mobile and portable computing devices like the laptop. Consumers today have access to much information through the internet, while on the move, using such mobile devices.

The future is mobile
With millions of users around the globe who use mobile phones, the mobile is one such device which is the closest to the user. India is one emerging nation where the usage of the mobile phone is high and its a highly penetrative device which has reach till the rural parts of the country.

How Can SMEs benefit from this device?
With all the smart devices flooding the market, based on Symbian, Android and other such platforms, mobile apps have taken over the world by storm. Your mobile phone has now evolved into a multi dimensional device which not only can dial numbers for you, but perform many other complex tasks.

Make calls for free
We have previously written about a fantastic free software called Skype which you can use to make calls to anyone around the globe for free if he/ she is a Skype user as well.

Use Skype on Your phone now!

If you have a Nokia with a Symbian OS OR a smart phone with an Android OR some other OS and platform that your phone might be running on, you can install Skype easily and convert your phone into a global telephonic device which is free of cost to you.

How do I install Skype on my phone?

All you need to do is understand the OS of your device. Eg: if its a Nokia running on a Symbian, all you need to do is simply go to Skype.com/m on your mobile phone and download the mobile version for Skype. If you are running on an Android OS, all you need to do is to go to the Android apps marketplace and search for Skype which you can download as an app on your mobile phone and you are good to go.

Once installed, you will be able to use Skype through your phone, the way you use it for calling on your system.

Make free video calls to clients abroad

If you have International clients, you can actually make free video calls if your phone has a front facing camera. All you need to do is add your client on the Skype app on your phone and make a Video call to him/ her and you are good to go.

Can I use it while on the move?

Yes, you can make Skype calls while you are on the move. All you need is a wi-fi hotspot OR using a fat data connection like 3G, you can keep hooked to your call while on the move and hence using your mobile phone you can make free calls to International customers.

How does it help my business?

Skype for mobile is a great tool. It helps businesses be on the move while ensuring the fact that they reduce down cost of International calls to customers/ business prospects/ partners. Making free video calls to International destinations helps SMEs reduce down costs while becoming operationally smarter and leverage high end technology to better communicate with clients.

There are many such online tools available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Free and Powerful Statistics on facebook to Make the Right Business Decisions: facebook insights

ROI is one of the most commonly and widely used business word. Return on Investment. And why not, for every business, big or small, ROI is a crucial part of running a successful business. ROI can be tangible and Non- tangible both. It could be in a monetary form OR could be in the form of functional achievable's for a business.

For SMEs generating ROI on every investment done is crucial to build a solid business.

ROI on Marketing: facebook
Many SMEs are waking upto the fact that social media is the most cost effective solution to leverage in order to reach out to their prospective target audience. And while many businesses are creating their profiles online, they are facing the challenge of understanding the media, the message and the ROI.

Challenge for SMEs
Many Small and Medium Enterprises are now facing the challenge of being on social networks to reach out to their prospective target audience, but are failing to really be able to make sense of the medium.

Example, how do you suggest that your business is generating actual results by having a fan page on facebook?

Solution: facebook insights
In the internet domain, most of the businesses work with a bottom-up model, where the customer influences the business decisions. Based upon the understanding of the customer behavior, brands evolve their messaging and communication.

For businesses to leverage the power of facebook fan pages the right way, they need to understand their target audience who are on facebook and are engaging with the businesses message. facebook insights lets you do just that.

What all can I get to know from facebook Insights?
Almost everything about your target audience. Apart from the fact that you can see how many people like your facebook fan page, how many of them are active on a daily/ weekly and monthly basis, you can also see how much engagement is happening on your fan page, as a result of your messaging and communication (updates that you do as a brand on your fan page's wall).

Engagement Insights
How many likes are happening daily on your page? How many people are actually engaging with your content? All this is available as numbers on facebook insights and this gives you a powerful idea of whether you are engaging your target audience in your brand message and communication or not?

Demographics

You can actually get to know some interesting facts about your fans on facebook. In terms of their demographics like Age, Sex, which regions of the world do they belong to, which major Cities of the world do they belong to etc.

Such powerful demographics enable the business to create the right messaging and communication to ensure that the business engages the audience while generating powerful business results.

How do I access facebook Insights?

facebook allows only the fan page managers to access insights and have access to such statistics. If you are a fan page admin/ manager, click on the "edit" button on the top-right of your fan page which will redirect you to the screen as shown in the screen capture below. On your left, click on the "insights" link.

Once done, you will be redirected to your page insights, which will look as the screen capture below:

How does it help my business?

Just being on facebook actually does not helps your business. What helps is if you are actually able to engage your target audience. And what engages the audience them is your messaging. The status updates that you do.  

Your presence on facebook is effective only if your target audience is engaged in your messaging which calls them to take an action, which furthers your business objectives.

There are many such online platforms available, which are benefiting the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. To know more, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!

Expert Speak: Mr. Priyesh Maheshwari

Facilitating the Process of Availing Finance for SMEs
The relevance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in any economy is very vital as they form a major chunk of the the economic activity. They play a key role in industrialization of a developing country like India. They have unique advantages due to their size, their comparatively high labor-capital ratio, focus on relatively smaller markets and need for lower investments. They ensure a more equitable distribution of national income, facilitate an effective mobilization of resources of capital and skills and stimulate the growth of industrial entrepreneurship.

Innumerous but significant initiatives are required in India for ensuring prompt supply of financial resources to SMEs, such as adequate credit delivery to SMEs, better risk management, technological up gradation of Banks (especially in rural and semi-urban areas), change in attitude of financiers and so on.

This would certainly involve education and upliftment of the SMEs. 

Two most important things for SMEs is to be aware of financing facilities for their business. It includes:

-Highlight your own financing requirements for business; and
-Be aware of financier’s requirements

Whenever any business has financing requirements, it should be well communicated to the existing financial institution/advisor. In case of absence of proximity to any financial institution, one can ask for references from their business associates. It is important to note that requirements should be clearly communicated in terms of amount, tenor, mode of repayment, end use and means to repay the same. This would also help the financial institution to provide the best suited option for the business.

Typically, any financial institution would look at strengths and composition of the management of the company, legality of the business, positive outlook of industry in which the business operates, acceptable financial conditions (including present position of revenues and capital structure as well as projection), collateral value (if applicable), quality and strengths of business plans, clean track records of repayments for any earlier borrowings by the company or promoter group.

A financier should not only provide finance for the business but should also timely educate the small business owners and help them grow. A financier-borrower relationship can start with a small financial assistance and gradually when mutual trust is established, finance facility can also grow with business. Fruits of patience would surely be awarded in future.

Likewise Religare group also believes in maximizing customer returns. As businesses grow, so do their needs. We at Religare Lending Business understand the SME needs and have tailor-made offerings and processes to facilitate customer growth. Whether it is for new plant & machinery, equipment or inventory purchase, working capital or business expansion, SME Loans from Religare lending business provides the finance to businesses and help them gain uninterrupted growth.

We understand this in a very simple equation. We exist for and because of our trusting customers and that in their growth is our growth. Hence our entire focus is to help guide our customers to the next level through our sector expertise, specialized products, simplified processes and documentation, doorstep service delivery and keep our customers at the centre of our universe.

The author of the article is Associate Vice President, Product & Strategy - SMEs, Religare Finvest Limited.

To gather more information on various business application for SMEs, get in touch with the experts at IndiaMART Knowledge Services. Do drop in a comment to this post to let us know what else would you want us to share about!