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  • How Can I Use NIST-800 53 For My Business?

    How Can I Use NIST-800 53 For My Business?

    Nist 800-53 is a system that has security controls for federal organizations and systems, except those that are created for national security.

    The system was started by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which promotes the standards that are supported by the FISMA (Federal Information Security Act) and manage programs that are designed to promote information security.

    This means that you’ll have to make sure your business is compliant to ensure longevity and improvements within your business. And you can learn how to utilize NIST 800-53 and understand its importance right here.

    Analyze

    First, you have to establish a level of understanding. There are threats that face your information and security systems that are currently at risk. We suggest that you use solutions that can help monitor the NIST 800-53 series compliance. The solutions in this space will protect and analyze regulated data such as PCI, PHI, and PII.

    Educate

    You need to educate your employees on the procedures needed to become NIST compliant. There are a few management controls in NIST-800 53 that your team has to be aware of the controls listed.

    Also, your operations team should know the operational controls that are available. Otherwise, there are solutions that can help you train your employees with the best practices. These prompts will help keep your employees on their toes and eliminate negative actions that can threaten your organization’s security.

    Assess

    A lot of companies talk about the importance of data security, but if there is no way to measure your security protocol and policies, how can you improve them? You need to deploy tools that can create a mechanism that will assess and measure your security process. Then you’ll need to continuously improve security standards against the threats that are out there.

    Discover and classify sensitive data

    You need to gauge the quality of your company’s data. Some of it is useful, while the rest can be harmful if it’s leaked. With NIST-800-53, you’ll have a system that can find sensitive data and protect it from outside hackers.

    Map permissions and data

    You can identify groups, file permissions, users, and folders via NIST-800 53. This makes it easier for you to determine who has access to data. Thus, making it easier to organize your data and give your permissions to the right members of your team.

    Monitor user behavior, file activity, and data

    Audit reports are required to make a business able to meet its yearly compliance requirements. You’ll need to use NIST-800 53 to help reduce the time to make audit reports (you can schedule them monthly, weekly, or your own specified time).

    This helps you monitor your employee’s behavior as well. This ensures that they are well equipped to prevent them from tampering with sensitive information, making your business more effective at stopping insider threats.

    Conclusion

    To conclude, every growing business should use NIST-800 53. Not only does it help improve your daily operations, but it also makes you able to have better access to your data. So think about using to ensure that your business is more successful in the near future.

  • Measuring the Effectiveness of an Email Campaign

    Measuring the Effectiveness of an Email Campaign

    In today’s omnichannel ecosystem, both the quality and personalization of messaging play integral roles in the way consumers perceive companies. An example of this trend is the evolution of organic search to become more about satisfying user intent and less about cramming a piece of content with the right keywords.

    This explains why content marketing, when done with regularity and quality, yields an evergreen flow of leads. It’s also why compelling and targeted email marketing campaigns generate higher ROI than many other channels.

    However, knowing the key ingredients of the recipe doesn’t guarantee the flavor profile will be right. Crafting compelling copy, designing a user-friendly format, including the right offer and ensuring the finished product makes it to a recipient’s inbox takes a lot of brainpower and time.

    While it’s rare to get the balance right from the onset, you do have to start somewhere. These metrics will help you measure the effectiveness of your email campaigns.

    Delivery Metrics

    Getting your emails in front of your subscribers seems as simple to execute as launching an online business using a free e-commerce store theme. However, nothing in the world worth having or doing comes without effort. This sentiment certainly applies to starting an online business, and sometimes, ensuring the successful delivery of email communications.

    Believe it or not, one in five commercial emails don’t make it to inboxes. Some of those messages are overtly spam, but others are intended to drive particular actions for companies.

    The three main areas to focus on to evaluate your email delivery are the number of emails that get delivered, opened and how many bounces. Compare the results to the number of email addresses you targeted to determine how well the campaign performed.

    If a low number of emails delivered, you’re probably getting hung up in spam filters. If you have a low number of opens, your subject line didn’t intrigue or your message went to less-savory parts of the recipient’s inbox (e.g., the ‘Promotions’ tab in Gmail).

    If you experience a lot of hard bounces, you need to clean up your sender list. Hard bounces are typically the result of deleted accounts or email addresses with typos.

    Engagement Metrics

    Email communications need to engage eyeballs to be effective. Email marketing engagement metrics can run long, but the main KPIs to follow are the click-through rate, click-to-open rate and social shares.

    The click-through rate (CTR) is helpful to track because it shows what sparked curiosity in the user, and what area of the page caught their focus. Now, while CTR isn’t indicative of success on its own, it can lead to additional insights to inform future email blasts.

    Then there’s the click-to-open (CTO) rate. This number is found by dividing opens by people who clicked something. Like click-through rate, CTO won’t provide full closure. However, it will tell you if you wrote a good subject line but dropped the ball in the email (i.e., high opens but low click-through) or if your subject line didn’t set the state appropriately (high click-throughs but minimal opens).

    The number of social shares each email receives is another metric worth tracking. Many email campaigns do well without being shareable, but if you aspire to heighten brand awareness and build a community of loyal users, social shares can tell you if you’re on the right track.

    Quality Metrics

    Engagement rates shouldn’t be the only indicative aspect of an email’s performance.

    Just because some recipients engage with an email, doesn’t mean it was high-quality. But it could, depending upon both the unsubscribe rate and spam complaints stemming from your emails.

    The unsubscribe rate indicates how many recipients chose to end their relationship with you after receiving an email. Spam complaints mean the user marked an email as spam in their inbox.

    Don’t beat yourself up too much about unsubscribes (as long as they’re not excessive). If your emails are receiving spam complaints, however, that’s a sign they communicate a lack of credibility.

    Outcome (144)

    A goal of email marketing is to drive revenue, usually through the email’s central offer. Thus, the most important KPI for any email a brand sends is the conversion rate. How many users did what you wanted them to do out of everyone that received the offer?

    This metric is usually associated with selling something, but conversion rate doesn’t have to strictly pertain to dollars. It can be about whatever you’re trying to accomplish, such as signups for a loyalty program or reading your latest blog posting.

    Adhering to a proper email cadence can give your customers exclusive promotions, helpful content and curated entertainment. This practice heightens brand awareness and builds rapport with your patrons. Further, when you have the attention and trust of the people on your email list, you’ll enjoy a better conversion rate, regardless of what you’re trying to accomplish.

    Of all the marketing channels e-commerce stores can use to grow their brands, email carries a number of advantages, particularly when viewed through a holistic lens. Put yourself in the seat of your email contacts. Would you want to receive this messaging? Use that as your gauge, along with the above KPIs, as you measure the effectiveness of your email campaigns.

  • Why Businesses Use Email Template Creators in 2019

    Why Businesses Use Email Template Creators in 2019

    When it comes to your email marketing template, the quality of your email template creator can make or break your customer relationship. 66% of users believe that they would read something that’s well-designed than plain. And 80% of them will delete the message if it looks weird in their mobile device.

    However, a good email campaign can increase subscriber engagement, giving you higher sales and click-through rates. But making compelling email content can be difficult enough. Add in the difficulty of designing the email when you have limited time and resources, and you’ll have a tough project on your hands.

    Here are some benefits when using email templates in your campaign.

    Saves time

    How do email template creators save time? Templates can process repetitive questions in less time than it takes to do so manually. You could make a website within 5 minutes with a template, making it more time efficient for your business.

    Whether you’re working alone or with a team, you should have a few email templates in your inbox to refer to when sending out mass emails to your audience.

    Sales efficiency

    How can email templates improve the sales process? They give you the ability to respond to questions – ones you would have put off because of its simplicity or because the email was hard to decipher.

    To improve customer trust, you have to respond to them quickly. And it offers deals to continue to move forward, all with one click of a button.

    Shares template across your team

    You will want to create individualized templates, perhaps one that’s personalized to your experience or location to get your customer’s attention. But you can make an email template for your team to use for multiple marketing projects.

    Team gatherings let you learn more about what templates are needed to gain the most subscriber engagement. For large teams, shared email templates help your marketing team control messages, such as a new product launch.

    Consistency

    Staying consistent in your branding doesn’t just make an improved experience for your customers; it gives them an incentive for staying around longer. About 63% of consumers state that they engage with branded content, and most of them wouldn’t give their brand a second chance.

    Email templates give you ways to build your brand in the template itself – the logo, colors, and aesthetic design lives within the template. The result is a consistent brand experience that your regular subscribers will want to use again and again.

    Personalized experience

    94% of businesses say that personalized emails are their key to success. How can a reused email template be personal? Simple. With the template already designed, all you have to do is add your content, and this will make it more personal and relatable to your audience.

    You can use personalization features such as mentioning your subscriber’s name. Or you can go further with weather, action, and location-based personalization. With the right email content that engages your subscribers, you’ll have a bulletproof email campaign.

    Conclusion

    Now that you have some email template creators, you now have to define the goal of your email campaign. Are you trying to increase engagement? Let your goal define the email content you’ll deliver to your audience.

    No matter what template you use, you will decrease the email production time. Try to find out to see what it does for you!

  • 5 Tips for Getting Started with a Career in I.T

    5 Tips for Getting Started with a Career in I.T

    The present world is a fast-paced digital environment, and employers are always looking for professional experts to stay in tune with technological trends. Whether you are a tech enthusiast just looking for your first job, or you are thinking of switching careers to earn a high salary, landing your first job can be a challenge.

    Below are five tips to help you improve your prospects of getting into the I.T industry.

    1. Get your resume updated

    Your resume is the first point of contact between you and your potential employer. It is a chance to showcase your skills, experience, and suitability for the job and should, therefore, be well thought out.

    A good tech resume should be clear, be of appropriate length and highlight your strengths. Ensure that all the dates are accurate and the language used is simple enough without much technical jargon. You can find resume examples to guide you in coming up with the best resume for your career in tech.

    2. Build meaningful relationships through networking

    Networking may seem intimidating, but it is one of the most successful ways of landing a job. Developing connections and meaningful relationships with people in the tech industry improve your prospects by providing support, advice, referrals, and recommendations.

    You can build contacts with I.T professionals either by attending networking events, technological forums and volunteering at events. The internet is also a great way to connect through social media as well as job sites and career websites.

    Joining sites such as LinkedIn gives you access to both job opportunities and career networking where you can connect with people with similar interests.

    3. Boost your skills

    Tech careers require industry-specific skills in addition to impressive academic credentials. For individuals with no experience, apprenticeships and internships are great ways to kick-start a career in I.T. They give you job exposure and help you develop and practice the necessary skills for your field of interest.

    As much as technical skills like coding and programming may be compulsory, soft skills are equally important. According to a report, 57% of senior leaders prefer candidates with soft skills. Careers in tech require creativity, problem-solving skills, communication skills, and adaptability to name a few. Always be open to learning as gaining and mastering new skills gives you the upper hand in landing an I.T job of your choice.

    4. Stay updated on industry trends and news

    A good way of staying informed on current developments will help you know what is on demand and what isn’t. It also enables you to prepare for the future by predicting technological trends.

    You can decide to go the standard way of reading industry specific magazines and listening to the news, or you can leverage the internet for information.

    Email alerts are the most convenient sources for the latest news and trends as it notifies you when there are updates on your subject of interest. It also gives you the option to filter content so that you get specific updates.

    Google Alerts, for example, will keep you informed on new products, services and even changes in the I.T industry which can help you in your interviews.

    5. Acquire marketable certifications

    Certifications prove to your potential employers that you have the required knowledge and skills in your field of interests. They also open doors for career advancement and better salaries. While it may not be necessary for some jobs in I.T, some employers may require relevant certifications from applicants in addition to a bachelor’s degree.

    There are several like Microsoft Certified Network Engineer (MCSE) that you can pursue to improve your knowledge and skills for entry into the I.T industry.

    However, it is essential to research the best certifications to go for with regards to current skills in demand. For example, more businesses seek individuals with skills in cloud computing and cybersecurity, which makes these certifications the most rewarding in 2019.

    A career in I.T offers a wide range of specializations ranging from SEO and data analytics to Artificial Intelligence. It also cuts across many industries and provides numerous opportunities to career growth and acquisition of new skills.

    Implementing the above tips will give you a competitive edge and make your job hunting experience smoother and more promising.

  • How to Get the Best Use of Technology in Education

    How to Get the Best Use of Technology in Education

    Technology has been an overpowering area. An effective use of technology in education has been one of the prominent options that the educationists around the world have been thinking over. Teachers have been trying to understand the essence of technology in educational pursuits.

    The advantages of Technology in education

    Well, technology is all pervasive. What advantages does it offer you? Let us check out in a finer detail.

    It removes the boundaries of education

    Technology makes online learning easy and simple. In sharp contrast to the traditional learning process, you stand to gain access to the flexible learning experience. The advanced technology in the realm of virtual technology has been efficient in providing a face to face communication between the students and mentors.

    Online education takes the level of education to a new level. In fact, most of the universities around the world have been blending the online education with the traditional mode of education. This can help you learn from anywhere.

    Simplified resource options

    Technology can be one of the options for having access to diverse resources with ease. The customessaymeister custom essays can be one of the good examples from this perspective. This kind of resources is under the public domain and can be accessed in the form of e-books, digital libraries and educational videos.

    Even video hosting services like YouTube can be quite helpful in arriving at the best quality of educational benefits. What’s more, there are specialised educational packages in the form of mobile apps that are specifically based on the technological milestones.

    Motivational powers

    Technology motivates. Computers and other technological innovations assist in developing an interest in students. In fact, difficult concepts in science and maths can easily be explained with the help of animated videos.

    Teachers of prominent educational background publish blogs, and that is another area where you can find it extremely motivating and inspirational. In fact, unlike in the traditional mode of learning – there is no fear of mistakes. The technology can also help you gamify the process of learning.

    Improved reading and writing skills

    Computers can be helpful in letting you learn how to create meaningful and well-composed writeups. The auto correct functionality will be helpful in making you learn the common grammar mistakes and other spelling errors.

    There are several websites that help you learn English language skills. In fact, these apps can be helpful in learning many new languages. You can also get access to the grammar guides for improving your reading and writing skills. In fact, students themselves can learn to blog and sharing their skills globally.

    It promotes individualised learning skills

    How about the flexibility of learning anytime anywhere? That is exactly what smartphones and computers let you achieve. In fact, finding the right content themselves and learning in a flexible manner is what would be helpful for you in the long run. The interactive skills and specific technology that these tools let you learn to make it a great option by almost every standard.

    For instance, Photoshop and similar tools can be a great option for those involved in art and allied fields. In fact, self-learning will promote them in becoming self-reliant in the best possible manner. Ability to learn from your own mistakes is what can be one of the impressive options.

    Increased Collaboration

    Technology involves advanced communication tools. This can go a long way in promoting your collaboration as a student with your teachers or mentors. There are emails, texting applications and groups of like-minded people who can improve the level of collaboration.

    You can also make use of the social media sites specifically designed for the educational purposes. These sites connect educational experts with the students. It provides you access to the interactive communication between the teachers and students.

    The concluding thoughts

    The use of technology lets you improve an innovative and creative approach. This will enhance the levels of engagement of the students in the educational activities. In fact, this is evident through the tech exhibitions and workshops being carried out for the students. Robots, smart devices and mobile applications are a few of the innovative products/ items that these students can focus on.

    In essence, technology has a huge say in the student development in particular and education in general. Ensure that your institute believes in the developments and ensures that a tech-driven approach is followed for the overall development of the students.

  • The Next Big Things in FinTech

    The Next Big Things in FinTech

    FinTech is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. With both large financial companies and small tech start-ups increasing their investment into FinTech, here’s a few of the next big things to keep an eye on.

    Automatic savings and round-up apps

    Opening a savings account is something often drilled into us as a ‘must-do’ in our twenties; but for most, the idea of saving can be a chore. Thankfully, for those people there is now a solution! A range of banking apps have been looking at upgrading their features to make saving easy and automatic.

    These apps help you to effectively manage your money and allow you to round up your transactions to the nearest pound. The app then saves the difference into a savings or investment account, so you hardly notice that you are saving at all.

    Voice technology

    With 10 percent of UK households now having virtual home assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, it’s no surprise that voice technology is changing the way we bank too. Many of us already operate our music, lights, TV and other home technology by speaking, so keep your eyes peeled as you may soon be able to send payments this way as well.

    Banks are beginning to roll this functionality out slowly, however the tasks you’ll be able to do with your voice are set to be fairly limited. You should be able to do things like find out your latest transactions soon enough, but with the added security risks, features like transferring money and applying for mortgages might take longer to develop.

    Digital-only banks will continue to grow

    High street banks are set to continue to feel the heat from digital-only banks who provide simple, innovative products and services. As today’s tech-savvy person requires information in an instant, traditional banks are set to disappear due to the availability of functions and services being more readily available via digital banks.

    A common misconception about online banking is that it’s not as safe as traditional banking. This isn’t the case. Online banks take the same (if not more) security measures to protect your money and your data, including the use of one-time passcodes and additional security questions.

    If traditional banks and banking services aren’t prepared to embrace FinTech, they will likely get left behind, and quickly. This incredibly fast-moving sector is in the midst of changing the way we do many things when it comes to our money. Will you be embracing the advancements?

  • Why Choose a Phone Contract with Unlimited Data?

    Why Choose a Phone Contract with Unlimited Data?

    A few years ago, mobile network providers started by offering unlimited texts to their clients. Soon, this was followed by unlimited minutes, before culminating in unlimited data packages.

    Today, five networks are offering unlimited data to their clients in the United Kingdom. These are Virgin Mobile, Three, Smarty, Lycamobile, and GiffGaff. However, is it possible to offer unlimited mobile data to network customers?

    The short answer is Yes.

    How Unlimited Is Unlimited Mobile Data?

    If you want to enjoy unlimited mobile data, you do not have much choice. GiffGaff and Three are the leading options. However, Virgin TV and Media broadband clients also get to enjoy unlimited data via the Virgin Mobile deal.

    You should note that there are two main options to choose from are:

    1. Sim Only—Here, you will find Virgin Mobile, Three, and GiffGaff. GiffGaff offers a thirty-day goody bag contract while Three has two sim versions. Users get to choose between the thirty-day rolling contract and a twelve-month contract. Virgin Mobile only has a twelve-month contract. All the above do provide unlimited data coverage on their networks.
      You should note that all three providers mentioned above also offer unlimited texts and minutes. Clients, therefore, get to enjoy an unlimited phone deal covering all aspects of their phone usage.

      2. Phone—GiffGaff does not have any SIM and phone plan in place. Thus, Three is the only viable option for a client looking for a phone that also comes with an unlimited data plan. Virgin Broadband and Media TV customers also get to receive a new phone whenever they subscribe to the unlimited data plan.

    Clients need to understand that the monthly price often varies depending on the handset device chosen by the client.

    What Do You Need to Consider When Looking for an Unlimited Data Plan?

    Customers thinking about taking unlimited data deals need to consider a few factors. For instance:

    GiffGaff began to offer unlimited data deals to all customers back in 2015. But as part of the 4G unlimited standard data deal, only the first 20GB portion of the data worked at full 4G speed.

    • As soon as a user has eaten through this, the browsing speed gets automatically limited. Clients are thus forced to browse at speeds of 384kb between eight in the morning and midnight each day.
    • Additionally, this deal does not work well for clients who travel regularly. When a client eats through the 20GB, GiffGagg begins charging £6 per Mb for any additional data used up when traveling or roaming through Europe. When you look at Three, you will find that their data tends to be consumer-friendly regardless of whether one is at home or abroad traveling.
    • Both sim cards offered by the company are truly unlimited. Clients get 4G data without any accompanying usage caps. Download speeds do not have any limits.
    • Customers can use part of their unlimited data package as a Wi-Fi hotspot when within the UK. Three did away with tethering in 2016.
    • Clients can use their data when traveling abroad by activating Go Roam. This means clients can text, call, and use their data in a total of 71 countries without incurring any additional costs. 4G surfing is, however, unavailable on Go Roam, forcing customers to use the much slower 3G network.

    Why Choose an Unlimited Data Plan?

    Large data allowances are the reason. Apart from providing the unlimited deals covered above, many suppliers also make it a point to provide incredibly big data allowances.
    Even though the data supplied by the networks is technically not unlimited, the allocation is more than enough for most people. The data allocated to them by the suppliers is more than enough for one month’s use.

    Do You Need Unlimited Data Deals?

    The reality today is that more and more people in the UK are using their smartphones more than they did in the past.

    For instance, a survey conducted by Deloitte established that 87% of the Mobile Consumer Survey owned a smartphone. Of this, 95% had made use of the phone within the last few hours.

    A majority reportedly used the phones to access the web, with 76% using as much as 1.9GB in a month. It is important to point out that some respondents switched to home and office Wi-Fi usage on arrival at either of these two places.

    So, do you need unlimited data? The question itself is indefinite depending on who you ask. Some will say no, while others will answer in the affirmative. If you like to stream many hours of video via your smartphone each day, then an unlimited data plan will sure come in handy.

    The same applies to people who like to download music or play online video games for many hours on a single day. Heavy users can benefit from unlimited data deals. Consider your average data monthly usage before making a decision.

  • Why Digital Technology is So Vital for Business Marketing

    Why Digital Technology is So Vital for Business Marketing

    We all know that the digital revolution has had a huge positive impact on our lives in many ways. Advancements in digital technology have totally revolutionized our personal lives, making it easier, faster, and more convenient to do all sorts of things. This includes everything from communicating with loved ones through to accessing entertainment, doing your shopping, and even learning new skills.

    Technological advancements have also helped to make life far easier for businesses, especially when it comes to matters such as marketing. In today’s competitive world of business, effective marketing is vital if you want to compete with your rivals. Digital technology is an essential part of marketing your brand, services, and goods.

    Some of the Reasons Digital Marketing is Essential

    People use the internet for all sorts of things these days, including access to online education, applying for new jobs, and even to search for people online using sites like peoplefinders.com. Given how much consumers rely on the internet, it is only natural that you should use the same technology for marketing your own business. There are many reasons why you need to ensure digital marketing plays a big part in your overall business marketing strategy, some of which are outlined below.

    One of the key reasons why you need to engage in digital marketing for your business is that it is extremely cost-effective. Many businesses, particularly smaller ones, have very limited funds for marketing these days. By making sure you use online marketing methods such as social media marketing and email marketing, you can slash costs while still benefiting from very effective means of increasing exposure.

    Another major benefit of digital marketing is its total simplicity. In contrast to traditional methods like TV and radio ads, print media advertising, and other offline methods, digital solutions are much easier, and more efficient . It takes up far less time than traditional forms of marketing; and, as all business owners know, time is money. In addition, it takes up fewer resources, as you don’t need a massive team of people working on a digital marketing campaign as you might with a TV or radio ad campaign. All of this makes the marketing process easier and cheaper for your business. TikTok is the leading digital platform these days to get acquainted. You can buy followers for TikTok for better engagement.

    One of the final key benefits is the fact that digital marketing offers extensive reach when it comes to your target audience. With offline marketing, you are very limited in terms of who you can market to. However, with digital marketing, you can raise awareness of your business locally, nationally, and even internationally. Furthermore, your reach can be further extended as a result of people sharing your social media posts or forwarding your marketing emails onto other people.

    Make the Most of Your Marketing

    Digital technology makes it far easier for businesses to make the most of their marketing efforts. This, in turn, means you can look forward to far greater success with your business.