Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is technology that allows people to configure computer software to emulate and integrate the actions of a human interacting within digital systems to execute a business process. RPA can collect, interpret and make conclusions about data without human assistance if the programming is set up correctly. They can also carry out operations such as banking and financial services, healthcare, and insurance, just to name a few. RPA can also operate more efficiently than humans. It never stops working, and it only functions according to how it’s programmed, so it doesn’t make mistakes.

How can it help?

The technology field is always changing, and robotic processes are here to stay. Integrating processes like these into your business will happen sooner or later, so it might be something to consider doing. One big way RPA can help your business is with improved accuracy. All RPA are programmed to do one thing: follow rules. You only have to give it the command once, and it will never stop working. They are consistent with their work and make zero mistakes according to what you tell them to do. So if an RPA is correctly set-up from the start, you will have an error free way of getting work done at all times. 

Going along with RPA rules allows you to have full control over what it is doing. It will always comply and never stray from what you tell it to do. You can monitor what it is doing 100% of the time. This is great because it allows for growth. There may be times where your business outgrows the RPA programming. You can simply re-program it or give new commands. It won’t miss a beat.

Businesses are always looking to save money. RPA does this as well. Most of the businesses that integrate RPA into their systems see a positive return on their investment within the first year. This investment will continue to save money over time as well, and businesses can potentially save as much as 20% with what RPA is replacing. 

RPA is adaptable to what your business is doing. The systems serve you. With this being said, RPA works great with physical and cloud systems. If your business is thinking about changing to a cloud system, as well as integrating RPA, it is possible to do both. It is also fairly easy because RPA follows the commands you give it. This also makes it a much easier decision when something is changing within your business based on what it needs from RPA. If you don’t need as much, give it the command. If you need a lot more from it, the cost is low, and it is easy to integrate if an RPA system is already in place. 

When people hear about RPA their first concern is “This is going to take my job.” In reality, RPA can make your job easier! RPA systems across the world are making work easier and less stressful for people in all facets of business. It removes activities that don’t add value to your company, and, depending on what field you’re in, it can constantly collect, interpret, and give feedback on data. This can give you or your employees so much more time to do valuable work and improve your company. 

RPA is a part of the changing technology field. The question is not if your company should integrate this technology into your company but a question of when. RPA is something that can help your business grow and improve. Look into how RPA can help your business today.

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The cloud is becoming an increasingly important part of not just our businesses but our lives. It’s being used more and more to a business’ advantage. Important data, files, and documents are stored in cloud services at an exponential rate. Cloud Computing is another area of cloud services that can benefit a business. It’s easy to lose track of what a cloud service can do for your company other than store data, so we’ll help you figure it all out as well as develop the proper plan when selecting a cloud service provider. 

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing may be able to help your small business. It interacts with information stored in your cloud service and transforms that into usable information for everyone to see. An example is a software service, like SaaS, where you input your data or information into the software and that data is transformed remotely through a software interface without your computer being involved. The main difference between a cloud storage system and a cloud computing system is that a cloud storage system is just storage. Cloud computing gives the ability to remotely work on and transform data through coding an application as well as other things. 

How Can Cloud Computing Help Your Business?

Cloud computing has made the business world much more simple, even for small businesses. It offers flexibility, productivity, cost effectiveness, and protection. And cloud computing is green. The flexibility allows you to work anywhere at any time. If data is already stored in a cloud, you can give access to employees and clients at any time. Increased productivity happens when time is saved, communication is not an issue, and information use is monitored.

Communication is transparent when all transformations to your data are seen in live time. Collaboration is easier, and, if you need to see who is doing what and where, that information is also available. You will have full control over your information which is not very common these days. 

Cloud computing is cost efficient, and cloud storage is cheap compared to alternatives. With cloud computing, data can be transformed, viewed, and shared from many locations. Information is always secure in the cloud computing system because nobody can access the information unless you give them your permission. Going green is also a benefit of cloud computing. Physical computing systems typically generate harmful by-products, but cloud computing doesn’t have a physical form, so it has no chance to emit harmful toxins into the environment. 

The Correct Cloud Strategy

When your company decides to move to a cloud service strategy, you need to consider how the cloud can best serve you. In other words, ask yourself, “What do I need from this?” You have to remember the services you need could be unique and the world can change drastically overnight. Take these things into consideration when building your cloud strategy so that you make the right choice. Don’t make this decision on your own either. Take into account the needs and concerns from your IT department all the way to general workers and salespeople. This decision will affect everyone at your business. 

The last thing you need to do before selecting your cloud service company is to take your time. Developing a strategy and taking everything into account won’t be something that happens overnight. Weigh your options carefully so that you get it right on the first try and your data is stored, shared, and transformed in the optimal cloud that makes all of this easiest for your company.

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The coronavirus pandemic has caused very trying times for people around the world. You would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been impacted in some way. Schools are closed, unemployment rates are high, people are working from home, and many small businesses and large chains are simply not operational during this time. There are many suggestions to getting as much information on the virus as possible. Some are even turning to Supercomputers.

The biggest questions we have are: When will this all be over? When is viable treatment going to be introduced? And when will a vaccination be available to the masses? These are all great questions along with: How will we get the answers to these questions? 

Some entities, including the United States government, have turned to supercomputers to assist with researching the virus. The White House Office of Science and Technology and the U.S. Department of Energy have reached out for help to learn more about the virus. Some of the companies include IBM, AWS, Microsoft and others. Some of the companies include IBM , AWS, Microsoft and others.

What the Supercomputers are actually doing

Together all of the companies helping have assembled 16 supercomputer systems that have 775,000 cores and 34,000 GPU’s (Graphics Processing Unit). This combination of power has not been seen from companies collaborating for the same thing. IBM and their collaborating companies are responsible for running huge collections of data for modeling. Some if the models include molecular modeling, epidemiology, and bioinformatics. These will help to try to collect as much information as possible to learn more about the virus each day.

Molecular modeling is the science of representing molecular structures numerically and simulating their behavior with the equations of quantum and classical physics. These supercomputers are seeing how the virus acts using physics. 

Epidemiology is the application of this study to the control of health problems and how it affects a population (in this case everyone on the planet).

 Bioinformatics may be the most important part of what the supercomputers are doing. It is a rather new branch of data science used for solving biological problems. It is dependent on the first two functions that were previously mentioned. It can lead to how we deal with this pandemic as far as a cure and treatment options. It may even help advise the public on what to do during the pandemic.

What is needed? 

Now that we know what these supercomputers are doing, what do they need to perform to the best of their ability? The answer is simple… data and lots of it. The more data reported, the more analysis tests the supercomputers run. This means the more accurate information about the virus and how to stop it is generated. The numbers being reported to the public and directly to these companies need to be accurate. They are not just collecting data from the United States. They are trying to take information from wherever they can get it. This means if countries are not reporting the correct data, the results from the supercomputers will not be as accurate.

Reporting accurate information is the most important part to the success of the supercomputers. Without it, the results of their analysis would be unreliable and all for nothing. Luckily, the supercomputers have filters to sort reliable data from unreliable data and give different results based on how they sort the information that is presented to them. 

What Progress Has Been Made So Far?

After collecting large volumes of data at all times, the supercomputers are starting to make conclusions about what can be done and possibilities for treatments and cures. After collecting such large amounts of data, the supercomputers are working on models that will be viewed by researchers who work with the data and results. Researchers want to focus on the spread of the virus and mitigation of the spread, drug repurposing, as well as new developments for therapeutic candidates. 

Researchers are also focusing on the effectiveness of social distancing, density of the virus within populations of all sizes, and how to deal with reaching maximum capacity in hospitals across the country. This virus is something that has never happened in our lifetime, so collecting information will not only benefit us now, but in the future as well.

Solutions we come up with can help for generations if something of this nature happens again. Lives are at stake so the supercomputers, researchers, and the companies invested in this are all hands on deck in order to help us decide what our next move will be and how we can put a stop to this pandemic. 

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With the COVID-19 outbreak there are now a lot of people working remotely from home. This not only complicates communication issues on projects and causes motivation problems to get work done. It can also show cyber security threats that you may not be aware of. There is so much to worry about including the safety of your company’s important files and documents. Other worries can be cloud services, and network. All of which could all be at a serious risk without you even knowing. Now more than ever hacker threats are relevant to everyone. Let’s discuss steps that you can take at home to make sure all of your information and network is safe.

Strong Passwords

One of the easiest ways to stay secure while working from home is to set up strong passwords. This includes not using the same or similar passwords on different accounts. This is because if one does get hacked your other accounts will be safe. A strong password is made up of a long string of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. While these passwords are difficult to remember, there are tools to help. Password Managers Password managers are very helpful and will create, remember, and autofill strong passwords for you so you don’t have to. The best thing is, you only have to remember on strong password.

Another way to assist with strong passwords is to use two factor authentication.This adds an extra step to logging into an account. It will verify that it is someone within your company or yourself trying to log in. The verification step will be in the form of an email or text asking you to verify the login.

Some two factor authentication tools are now using facial recognition or a fingerprint scanner for the second step. This is a sure fire way to make sure you know who is logging into your accounts and when.If it’s not someone who should be on the account, you can decline access with the two factor authentication tool.

Install and Backup

Another way to secure your network at home is to install updates regularly and backup all of your important data. Updates are something that most people find inconvenient, but they are super important to keep up on. Most updates to applications and software contain patches to security networks to keep their users safe from cyber attacks.

Manually looking for updates is not typically something any of us do which is fine. Most devices today are able to update applications and software automatically. You can even schedule them to happen when you’re asleep. Most devices have automatic updates that run from 2 to 6 a.m. depending on your device. This way, updates won’t get in the way of your day to day activities, and you will still be safe from attacks. 

Backing up data is also important for a secure network. If you have fallen under a cyber attack, important data can be completely wiped from your network and lost forever. Backing up your data will make sure all of your important data is always available and never lost. Hardware backups are an option, but, today, cloud storage and backup services are the most popular options. With a cloud backup service, you can customize your backup data and storage options. 

Sketchy Emails 

One thing to be aware of, especially during the time we are living in currently, is sketchy emails. With the pandemic, we should expect a great increase in suspicious interactions from people looking for access to your information. These can be in the form of emails, phone calls and even text messages. These messages, across all formats, will be targeting credit card information and account takeover fraud.

To spot these emails and texts, look for odd email addresses and grammatical errors in the body or subject line and do not click on any links provided unless you trust the sender. If the email does look legitimate and you click on a link, check to make sure it has a “https” and a padlock next to the URL to verify that it is a secure website. 

At the very least we can take one last step to ensure we are safe and it’s a very simple one: password lock your device. This will easily prevent anyone from seeing confidential information on a device and most modern devices encrypt all data until the device is unlocked.

This is not just a time of uncertainty for everyone’s physical health, but for the health of our privacy when we are all put in a more vulnerable position. With the amount of information we have at our disposal, we can take these steps to make a safer home environment to prevent us from cyber criminals. If all of these steps are taken, your network and personal information should be safe whether you are working from home or in an office.