Definition of Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Essentially, RPA is a method of automating processes in which software robots perform repetitive and manual digital tasks. These are known as RPA bots or digital assistants. The nature of an RPA bot is to mimic human behavior in software interfaces. In general, a distinction is made between the two types of Automation.

“Attended” RPA

This is supervised Automation. This is mainly used when the entire process can only be automated partially with human interaction. This means that in some cases, the Automation has to be triggered by a human, for example, by pressing a button. The term Robotic Desktop Automation (RDA) or “digital assistant” is often used here since “attended” bots are usually aimed at front-house activities, and the activities on the desktop can be traced.

• Communication with employees is a prerequisite.
• Employees coordinate interactions between people and bots within the organization.
• Bots run both on private servers and in the cloud.

“Unattended” RPA

With this form of Automation, no human action is required as certain events automatically trigger it. “Unattended” bots mostly perform back-office tasks without the user’s noticing. These can analyze large amounts of data for the employee and make them available in a structured way. The term “digital worker” is used here.

• Automates extensive back-office processes.
• Bots follow set procedures without human guidance.
• Specific commands in the process chain trigger bots.
• Bots run both on private servers and in the cloud.

Also Read: RPA – Threat or Opportunity For The Business World?

Pros & Cons of RPA

RPA technology offers significant benefits to many organizations. Simply put, the greatest benefit is increased business performance. This is due to several factors:

• more efficient workflows
• Lower personnel costs due to reduced working hours and job cuts
• Minimizing human errors in data processing
• better and consistent data quality
• more time for innovative tasks through relief in the back office area
• no failures/illness/fatigue
• Increase in employee satisfaction
• increased attractiveness for qualified specialists
• increased data security, data protection and compliance with legal regulations

Since the process of RPA implementation is difficult for many due to insufficient knowledge about Automation, there are also some disadvantages. This should be clear in advance to avoid complications as early as possible:

• Damage to reputation in job cuts
• Risk potential in the implementation of well-established workflows
• The configuration of a bot is not always flexible

Which Processes Are Suitable For RPA?

Opening emails and attachments
Logins to applications
Moving files and folders
copy and paste
filling out forms
Reading data from the intranet
Communication with existing API
Data matching and calculation
extracting data
Gathering Statistics

How To Successfully Introduce It In Your Company?

To enable the process of Automation and to make it efficient in the long term, it is necessary to go through the following 6 phases.

Understand

The first step is understanding what RPA is and its benefits. It is also essential to explore the market to find a suitable provider. Each provider has different priorities; these should match their own long-term goals.

Identify

The process landscape of a company is made up of many mixed processes. These are usually incompletely documented, or there needs to be documentation. However, RPA requires a predefined approach. It is, therefore, important to correctly identify the processes and determine which are suitable for RPA.

Selection

Once the processes eligible for RPA have been identified, they should be ranked according to their specific priority. It is good to initially focus on processes with the least complexity and impact on the company.

Pilot

In the fourth phase, one of the previously defined processes is automated together with the company. At this point, the company should already be able to automate the process with little support from an IT professional and thus generate new knowledge internally. In the beginning, important key figures are identified, which can be used to assess the pilot’s success.

Evaluate

After a four-week testing period, the results are either positive or negative. This evaluation serves as a basis for deciding whether to use the procedure regularly or abolish it. All data must be properly documented.

Scale

Once the company has successfully implemented the first pilot and gained sufficient experience, developing a long-term automation strategy that aligns with the company’s digital transformation is important. At the same time, a Center of Excellence (CoE) should be created. Management support is necessary in this phase since the transition to an automated company should be accompanied by change management.

Also Read: Identity Theft On The Internet – The Keys To Respond

Why Do You Need A Center of Excellence (CoE)?

An RPA Center of Excellence is a major group that oversees all RPA initiatives’ success. This category includes people from the process manager to IT specialists to various company representatives. At best, the group will have visibility into all RPA initiatives, allowing them to establish accurate RPA standards and practices that ensure the organization’s RPA investment is worthwhile.

The RPA-CoE may have responsibilities including:

• RPA service and support
• training of employees
• Setting RPA standards
• Establishment of a company-wide RPA strategy
• Monitoring the success of all RPA processes

Consider the CoE a critical component of your RPA project and start implementing it as early as possible. A well-organized and managed CoE ensures that your RPA investment pays off in the long term and that you are always one step ahead of your competitors.

The Largest Technology Partners on The Market

The demand for providers of robotic process automation has increased significantly in recent years. Researching RPA vendors alone can lead to over 15 different vendors. Many of these companies have long been involved in test automation and have since expanded into process automation. Today’s providers have other focuses or target groups. It isn’t easy to keep track of things here. Above all, choosing the wrong provider can be expensive, and the intended success does not materialize. Gartner publishes the Magic Quadrant annually to better understand the market to provide an up-to-date overview.

Vendor UI Path

UI-Path is probably the most well-known RPA software provider out there. Founded in 2005, the company focuses primarily on automation scripts and has gradually focused on process automation. UI-Path was specially developed for Windows and required the installation of extensive software. However, there is also a stripped-down community version that’s free for businesses. The paid version of UI-Path has numerous licenses that must be individually tailored to the customer’s requirements. There are ready-made packages, but some of them require additional licenses.

Provider Automation Anywhere

Automation Anywhere is arguably the most popular RPA software provider. A unique selling point of the provider is its platform independence. This means that the application is accessed directly from the Internet browser and does not require extensive installation on the computer. However, a small piece of software must be installed on the computer to automate a process. This installation does not require any additional permissions. Because of this simplicity, Automation Anywhere is an easy-to-use tool suitable for companies of all sizes.

Conclusion

Organizations using intelligent Automation can leverage RPA to automate processes that are efficient, accurate, and aligned with business goals. Rather than wasting people’s time on pointless and unproductive activities, such as B. using software that uses few solutions, intelligent Automation handles increasingly complex tasks with infinite flexibility, better connectivity and greater accuracy.

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The Direct And Indirect Benefits Of Automated Testing Of Your Applications.

Productivity.

Unsurprisingly, the gain in productivity is the direct benefit of automating your non-regression tests. This allows you to test faster and, therefore, more, and frees your teams from time-consuming and demotivating tasks. 

All the time spent by your teams performing tasks for manual or even “semi-automated” testing is time regained to continue improving the quality of your deliverables, for example, by increasing the inventory of tests. 

Quality Improvement.

You should never lose sight of the objective of non-regression testing: to improve the quality of your deliverables. And automation is a giant step in this direction. First lever on quality: it eliminates “human” errors. Second lever: by testing faster, you test more, and you get a wider test coverage of your application. More “human” errors and wider coverage: direct quality improvement.

Awareness, Service, And Customer Satisfaction.

This is the consequence of points 1. and 2. Increased productivity allows almost continuous improvement of features to meet user demands and help improve the quality of deliverables. 

More features with an almost zero malfunction rate are the Holy Grail to achieve to obtain satisfied, even very satisfied, customers. And when you know that retaining a customer costs ten times less than acquiring a new one, the equation is easy to understand. A loyal customer buys more than the others, becomes an ambassador for your company, and participates in improving your offer… how can you do without it? How not to do everything possible to satisfy him? The essential step which, when we are customers, ask by default: is quality software and service. Nothing is worse than having a new version available, often imposed, which works worse than the previous version. 

Serenity For The Marketing And Development Teams.

The quality of deliverables is often a sticking point between marketing teams and developers. For some, the deadlines are always too long; for others, it is always too short, and when there is a “bug,” it is nobody’s fault. Beyond this caricatural presentation, the relationships between the teams involved in a software testing project are often the key to success. This will be all the more so for the implementation of automated tests. 

Increase In Turnover.

The four previous points necessarily have a positive impact on your company’s turnover: reduction of the costs related to the tests, improvement of the quality of the deliverables, increase of the notoriety of your brand, and reduction of the development costs. On this last point, the cost is rarely estimated following the regressions that arrive in production. This time spent by your teams is the most expensive and always urgent. 

The picture is idyllic; looking at it, there is no reason not to automate your non-regression tests. But make no mistake, test automation is still perceived as a “pain” and a difficult hurdle to overcome. Rare are the companies that industrialize the automation of their non-regression tests. To succeed, you need a team, a testing strategy, and, above all, expertise. And this is one of the major disadvantages of automated testing.

Also Read: How To Kick Your Productivity

The Direct And Indirect Disadvantages Of Automated Testing Of Your Applications.

Complex Implementation (time/delay).

To succeed in automating your non-regression tests, you have to be ready! The challenge is daunting, but the reward is great. If you want to do everything, it will take time, a lot of time, and human resources. 

The project cannot be carried out alone and must result from a common desire to improve the quality of your company’s deliverables. Otherwise, all the obstacles you will have to overcome will slow you down, discourage you and abandon your automation project to return to the imperatives (emergencies) of the moment.

Only Test Some Things.

We must not believe in this illusion of “testing everything.” Manually or automatically, you can only test some things, or the ROI of such an ambition will be catastrophic. On the one hand, certain functions cannot be automated (e.g., facial recognition); on the other hand, automating the interoperability of different software (ERP, Supply Chain, etc.) is tedious.

You will keep a percentage of manual testing to respond to two logics: the possibility of automating and the time required for automation Vs. Manual testing.

Maintenance in Operational Conditions.

More than a drawback, it is the main difficulty once the automation is in place: maintaining the infrastructure and the test assets in-house in operational conditions. These are all hidden costs that must be anticipated to choose the organization that will best suit you, considering the skills within your teams.

With the best industrialization of automated non-regression tests, our experience proves we can reach 80% of our test assets. In your case, it is more or less. Achieving such a score requires a great mastery of the processes and especially reliable partners to rely on the skills of each.

When a company achieves such high automation and success rates, it becomes a leader in its market with faster and more frequent deliverables, with far less regression while having shortened the release or release cycle. And let’s always remember these improvements translate into tangible business results.

The post What Are The Pros And Cons Of Automated Testing? appeared first on TechReviewsCorner.

• Set goals
• Identify processes
• Identify environmental requirements
• Develop solution

Set Goals

Process optimization without a specific objective is more of a guessing game than economically wise. To use your budget effectively, you should define your goals in as much detail as possible. But how exactly does that work?

Here I can recommend the well-known SMART method. Accordingly, the goals are: 

• specific
• M edible
• An attractive
• realistic
• T terminates

Be as detailed as possible. But don’t worry: you can continue to specify your goals as the project progresses. In this way, you never lose sight of the benefit that automation brings you.

Identify Processes

Where is the optimization potential in your production process? To answer this question, first, take a close look at all the processes and procedures:

• Assembly processes

• Testing processes

• Packaging processes

You can access an extensive internal database here. Cycle times, output quantities, complaints. These and similar factors are important when you analyze your processes. Could component assembly be faster to increase volume? Or is it an expandable inspection process that ensures that you receive a large number of complaints?

With the help of your findings, we can make targeted decisions in the process, including the degree of automation and the placement of the subsequent system.

Analyze Environment Requirements

Your automation does not operate in a vacuum! To develop maximum benefits, Industry 4.0 solutions must act in symbiosis with their environment. What exactly do I mean?

We divide this step into the areas: “What”, “Where”, and “Who”.

“What”

Your component itself is meant here. In addition to the desired output quantity, component quality plays a key role. Only some pieces are easy to grab, assemble or check. From this point at the latest, including external know-how in your analysis can make sense.

“Where”

This is about the place of implementation, directly in your production. What are the conditions here? Temperature, power and air connections, humidity, etc., are essential. It would help if you also considered other processes in your analysis. Automation becomes particularly worthwhile as soon as it acts modular and comprehensive – in other words, you accommodate different methods and products in one automation system.

“Who”

In practice, more attention should be paid to this point. Remember the employees in your production. Include the experience in your development process. Because the people who are confronted with your production processes day in and day out know best which screws should be turned.

Develop A Solution

All the preparatory work, analyses and diligence within the first three steps should also pay off. In the fourth step, we come to the point. You are now able to develop your automation solution. Now is the time to turn your attention to technology and the right partner by your side.
Because to develop the perfect solution for your goals, a certain degree of independence is essential. The large spectrum of automation offers a gigantic pool of answers regardless of ready-made solutions.

Also Read: What Is Marketing Automation?

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Most Used Technologies

In automation initiatives, we can use different tools and technologies, although the most common are:

• Process and case/ticket management solutions
• RPA
• Image recognition and OCR
• Machine Learning Algorithms
• Process Mining, discovery and analysis
• Virtual assistants (chatbots, text and voice recognition…)

People Are Key To Automation.

When we talk about automation, technologies are different compared to other improvement initiatives in the organization, such as agile transformation or the improvement of work and management methods, where tools have a less relevant role.

But experience has shown that people are the key contributor to the success of automation initiatives, and they do so in three different ways.

First of all, the organization must have the necessary knowledge and skills for automation, and this implies that people are well educated and trained to work in this new way, either by correctly using a new ticketing tool or knowing to use process mining to analyze the process to automate and see what we need to improve and how the process will work once automated, or adapting to leave manual and administrative tasks to focus on continuous improvement and team and process management.

On the other hand, it is critical for success to incorporate the experience and knowledge of people into the tools in their design and that these people train the automation platforms to reflect the reality of the organization’s processes.

Furthermore, organizations are constantly changing. This implies the need for fluid communication to be maintained throughout the company, business units and functions, with the essential participation of people departments – human resources, to keep automation initiatives focused and gain acceptance. And everyone’s commitment.

Coordination Between Business Units And Functions

Expanding on the human aspect of automation, the most differentiating factor between companies that have been successful in their automation initiatives and the rest that is not technological is the good coordination between the different business units and functions of the organization. Processes are transversal by nature, and when addressing automation, it is essential to consider end-to-end value chains to determine what will bring the most benefits by being automated and how automation will affect the rest of the functions and people in the process. Those value chains.

Therein lies the importance of using process mining as a tool for collaborative analysis of the processes to be automated and a basis for conversation between people and departments about priorities, aspects for improvement, results obtained, next actions in the automation initiative, etc.

Monitoring And Control Are Essential.

Logically, the greater the scope of the automation initiative, the more benefits the organization will obtain. But in order not to disperse efforts and always keep the resources, time, money and effort of people well oriented, those responsible for leading automation need to maintain Control and see how the projects are evolving at all times.

This implies having complete and detailed knowledge of the costs of automation programs, both direct and indirect, and the benefits obtained and the real impact on profitability. Concepts such as TCO (total cost of ownership), ROI (return on investment) and PCE (process efficiency) should be part of the scorecard of transformation initiatives and be the key indicators of automation success.

In addition, it is common for midsize companies to start with small automation initiatives with a small scope, with a Lean approach of experimentation and learning. Measuring these indicators will allow us to learn and help us decide whether we are on the right track and can expand the scope and depth of automation or whether we should redirect efforts to other areas or with other technologies.

3 Steps To Ensure The Success of Automation Initiatives

With all of the above, we can summarize that to ensure the success of our automation initiatives, and it is convenient to follow these three steps:

IDENTIFY BUSINESS PROCESSES

Identify the business processes (or the parts of them) where automation will bring more benefits: more efficiency, fewer costs, more speed, fewer errors, more profitability, and more alignment with the strategy… At G2, we use Service Design & Improvement Thinking methodologies to systematize the identification of processes whose improvement will bring benefits with their automation, and Process Mining tools  to carry out analyzes and simulations (what-if) of which process and where it is convenient to automate and how much is improved with automation.

ENHANCE COLLABORATION BETWEEN FUNCTIONS AND BUSINESS AREAS

To automate a process, different knowledge and skills are needed (data analytics, User experience, digitization, organization of people…) that reside in other parts of the organization, from IT to Human Resources or Finance. In addition, the processes are transversal, and people from different areas participate in them, who will be affected by the change and on whom the initiative’s success will depend. Collaborative work methods and tools and cultural change management using Management 3.0 techniques can help achieve this point.

INVEST TIME AND EFFORT IN PEOPLE

Automation must go beyond eliminating jobs by replacing people with robots, and focus on helping people be more productive, work better, and be more comfortable. The use of robots that record requests and collect information from multiple sources in real-time so that people who serve customers and users can focus on improving their relationship with them is an example. But, although automation can get the job done better and faster, it is the people who make it possible and participate in the continuous improvement of processes, operations and the organization. Suppose we do not put people at the center of automation initiatives. In that case, technologies will not be effective due to a lack of training and incorporation of human knowledge. Perhaps most importantly, resistance to change will be a brake on the success of the transformation.

Also Read: 6 Keys For Automation Success

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Definition

Automation is an English word meaning “automation.” This is a fundamental axis of the B2B strategy; Marketing automation consists of making specific marketing actions automatic. It is then a set of software, techniques, and means preventing the marketer from carrying out particular tasks. Automation tools save a lot of time.

SMEs and VSEs have everything to gain by automating specific actions such as sending emails and important messages to build a solid customer relationship. Marketers use this technique to:

• Promote a professional event
• Launch new products and services
• Launch an email campaign
• Identify qualified leads
• Optimise an inbound marketing campaign

Four Steps To Establish a Marketing Automation Strategy

Step 1: Begin by auditing your business. Identify the most frequent tasks and measure their profitability. In this way, you will be able to detect those that take you a lot of time and money without tangible results. Before implementing your marketing automation strategy, you will need to train your employees to use the marketing methods for which you have opted. If the general working conditions within your company are not conducive to the development of automated processes, your strategy will quickly come up against its limits.

Step 2: To successfully prospect and convert your prospects into customers, you must establish a sufficiently clear strategy. More concretely, create a specification grouping the mechanisms you will use, such as an integrated CRM, for example. You will then be able to design a guideline for everyone to follow.

Step 3: With the incredible plethora of software and tools, you need to choose wisely. Even though most of them combine several tasks simultaneously, find out about the different models available to know which one to choose. Then implement all the points listed in your specifications in your marketing strategy.

Step 4: The machine is functional! All you have to do is follow the results. It is important to remember that good training offered to your employees is the key to the success of your inbound marketing strategy. Skills development is an essential point of human resources management. You will need to follow the people working on the marketing of your company step by step to find out their degree of mastery of the means of automation, to be able to detect their flaws and rectify the situation!

Necessary Tools To Take Action

Mailchimp

Mailchimp allows you to send transaction and promotion emails to prospects. Even if many software can perform the same tasks, this one is prevalent for its features and ease of use, thus earning it nearly 47% of the international marketing automation market share. By opting for Mailchimp, you will create and practice your emailing campaign, design your advertising banners and cleverly place them, personalise your landing pages and conduct your advertising campaigns on social networks.

The Importance of CRM Software

Saas solution the CRM helps salespeople to manage their prospects and customers easily. Thanks to the use of a CRM, they can quickly consult the information about their customers and the customers of other salespeople. This tool improves communication between salespeople. Some CRMs can also be synchronised with your marketing automation to avoid systematic integration of these leads, either manually or using an Excel table. Thanks to this synchronisation, you will be able to track the behaviour of your contacts and identify them as positive or negative depending on their profitability for your business. Salespeople will thus be able to obtain helpful information to conduct their sales by adapting their arguments to finely pre-established profiles. You can combine marketing and commercialization and direct these two actions simultaneously. The data present on the CRM will be used to send emails to your contacts as part of your inbound marketing campaign. At the same time, the salesperson will process the chosen leads to make a sale.

Also Read: Business Ideas – How To Apply Marketing Effectively

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In this post, we will discuss the basics of network penetration testing and everything you need to know about it.

How Is Network Penetration Testing Different From Regular Penetration Testing?

Network penetration testing is different from regular penetration testing because it specifically targets networks and systems rather than individual devices while trying to gain access to the computer network system. 

In general terms, there are two types of tests: black box (blind) and white-hat hacker’s attacks which are very similar in concept but differ greatly in execution due to differences between them such as black box testers have no access whatsoever to your environment while white hats will typically be given credentials for some level of access – typically only administrator privileges on servers that they need to test against. The goal of every pentest team should always be finding vulnerabilities before someone else does!

Why Is Network Penetration Testing Important?

Network penetration testing is an important part of your security plan because it can help in the identification of loopholes or vulnerabilities before any potential data breach. By doing so, you can help protect your organization from any potential attacks from hackers. Additionally, network penetration testing can also help you assess your risk posture and understand the potential impact of a cyberattack.

What Are The Common Types Of Network Penetration Tests?

There are several different types of network penetration tests available: internal audits, external assessments, and web application security scanning (WAS). Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, Internal Audits provide a complete picture but only focus on your organization; External Assessments are more comprehensive than Internal Audits because they look at other companies too! WAS Scans give an overview of what might be happening with third-party code that could potentially expose sensitive information about customers or employees – which means there’s no way for you to know beforehand exactly where all the risks lie without running these tests.

What Are The Basic Features Of Network Penetration Testing?

There are several basic features that are included in most network penetration tests:

• Identification of systems and services on the network
• Enumeration of users and groups
• Identification of open ports and services
• Scanning for vulnerable applications
• Exploitation of known vulnerabilities
• Report writing
• Recommendations on how to fix the problems found during testing.

Steps For Network Penetration Testing

• Step 1 –

The first step is to identify all assets (including computers and networks) that could be compromised if an attacker were wanting to gain access.

• Step 2 –

Next, enumerate users on the system with their roles so they can be properly assessed during testing. This may include administrators or other high-level personnel who might have more privileges than others such as being able to create new accounts for themselves without needing approval from anyone else! It also includes regular employees who may not know much about security but could still pose a risk because of their access level within your organization’s network – for example by having administrative rights over servers which would enable them to install malware onto these machines remotely from home or elsewhere outside of work hours when there aren’t any employees around anymore.

• Step 3 –

Once all assets have been identified and their roles enumerated, you should then create a list of vulnerabilities that could exist for each asset type (e.g., servers, etc). This includes software packages such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Acrobat Reader which may not be up-to-date with security patches from the manufacturer – making it easier for hackers to exploit known flaws within these applications in order to gain access over time if left unchecked!

• Step 4 – 

Finally, run an external assessment on your organization’s network to identify potential security threats outside its boundaries; this will allow you to get more detailed information about what kinds of things are happening externally without having access inside where they might be occurring internally too (e.g., servers, etc). You may also want to consider running an internal audit if possible since this will give you a clearer picture of what potential risks exist within your organization’s network boundaries as well!

• Step 5 –

The last step is to run some basic penetration tests or a software penetration test on any systems or networks identified by the external assessment that could pose a risk for your company – such as servers hosting sensitive information like credit card numbers (e.g., web applications), databases containing customer data  (e.g., databases), etc.) If you don’t have access inside these systems/networks then consider doing some basic testing externally instead – this will allow us to identify potential vulnerabilities without needing any credentials from within them first!

• Step 6 –

It is also recommended that after completing all of these steps, an internal audit be performed on your organization’s network to ensure there are no other security threats lurking undetected – such as outdated software packages or misconfigured firewalls which could leave it open for easy exploitation by hackers looking at exploiting known flaws within those applications in order gain access over time if left unchecked! This type of test may involve running multiple scans against different assets across your company; however, they should only ever be performed by authorized individuals who have been properly trained in how to use these tools and understand the potential risks involved!

Tools For Network Penetration Testing

• Astra’s Pentest: Astra’s Pentest is another scanning tool with a focus on web applications and IT networks; it has features like vulnerability detection and reporting that make for an easy-to-use interface when dealing with large amounts of data. The company and its pentesting services also provide more test cases for applications while doling out a very comprehensive, detailed vulnerability report. The tools also provide an enhanced vulnerability section so that the issue can be sorted based on the security requirements of each organization.

• Nmap: Nmap is a tool for network mapping and port scanning that can be used to discover hosts on networks as well as what services they offer. It also has a scripting language that allows users to create their own scripts so they do not have repetitive tasks manually done every time they run nmap – this makes it easier than ever before!
• Metasploit Framework: Metasploit is an open-source framework written in Ruby (which means anyone can contribute code) that helps you with penetration testing by providing tools like exploit development kits or payload generators which will make developing exploits much faster, simpler, and more reliable; the goal of metasploitable being “to provide information security professionals with a platform where they can learn about different types of attacks and how to defend against them” (Metasploit’s).
• Wireshark: Wireshark is a packet analyzer which means it allows users to see what data packets are being sent between computers on the network as well any other information about those packets such as source address destination port number etc. It also has filters so you can filter out certain types of sources from showing up in your results if need be! The tool does not require installation since all necessary files come packaged with the program itself, making this portable for use at home too!
• Nessus: Nessus is an automated vulnerability scanner that looks for known issues within systems by running through lists of known vulnerabilities and trying to exploit them. It also provides detailed reports on the findings which can help organizations remediate any issues that are discovered – making this a great tool for improving security posture over time!
• Netsparker: Netsparker is another scanner that focuses more specifically on web applications than Nessus does but still has many of the same features as that product such as reporting capabilities and vulnerability detection. This tool will also find any issues with cross-site scripting attacks (XSS) or other types for those who are looking out for these specific vulnerabilities in their networks!
• Nikto: Nikto is an open-source server information gathering tool that can be used to look up details about servers from a remote location – this includes things like what software they have installed, how old it might be since the last update time etcetera — making this very beneficial when trying figure out potential security holes within company’s infrastructure! It will also check if there are known vulnerabilities in any software packages running on your machine as well which may help you patch up some holes before hackers find them!

There are many other tools that could be mentioned when it comes to Network Penetration Testing, but the ones listed above should give you an idea of some of the more commonly used utilities. It is important to keep in mind that while these can be great resources and aides, they should not be your only line of defense – having a strong security posture starts with having well-configured systems as well as properly trained personnel! And always remember, if in doubt – ASK! There are plenty of people within the information security community who are more than happy to help out those who are looking to learn.

Conclusion

Finally, because network penetration testing is essential in your security plan, by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities, you can help protect your organization from potential attacks. Additionally, network penetration testing can also help you assess your risk posture and understand the potential impact of a cyberattack. The above mentioned are just a few examples of some of the most popular network penetration testing tools available today; however, there are many more out there so do your research before selecting the ones that will work best for you and your organization’s specific needs.

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In an era in which “old-fashioned” sales have stopped working and in which it is essential to adapt to the new environment, betting on effective online marketing strategies that are supported by advanced work tools is already a necessity for the business tissue.

We have gone relatively quickly from a purely transactional sales model to a model where the sale is 100% personalized, emotional and relational and in which to get a customer, just having a good product or service is no longer enough.

Now also, you have to:

• Educate your potential clients
• Accompany them in their purchase process
• Influence your purchase decision
• Generate a great brand image on it before purchase

And this, if you have 1, 5 or at most 10 budget requests a week, a sales team can do it almost without problems. But, what would happen if when doing an advertising campaign on the internet you find yourself with hundreds of weekly budget requests?

Could you serve all of them with the same level of quality and attention? Probably not, but I assure you that Marketing Automation will do wonders if you combine it properly with your marketing and sales team.

If you really want to win over your customers and reach their portfolio, if you want to multiply the number of monthly Leads you get and multiply the customer conversion rate, you are going to need much more than a well-prepared sales and marketing team.

What Is Marketing Automation?

We could say that Marketing Automation is the set of processes within an online marketing strategy that are automated through specialized tools, with the aim of increasing the volume of Leads and customers.

Thus, Marketing Automation relies mainly on mailing as a channel that helps to add value to your potentials and influence their purchase decisions, allowing:

• Predefined emails that will be sent when conditions that you establish are executed
• Control the flow of emails that you are going to send according to their timing (every day, every week, every month …)
• Providing value in each email with information of interest to your potentials
• In Workflow, that is, based on the behavior of your users.
• Encouraging interaction and generating digital trust in your brand.

Advantages of Marketing Automation for Your Sales Strategy

There are really many advantages that Marketing Automation brings to your sales process, but let me mention the ones that I think are the main ones:

• Reduction of time dedicated to online marketing and sales strategy by your team
• Reduction of the average purchase decision-making time by your potentials.
• It allows you to add value on a recurring basis to your contacts, influencing their purchase decision towards your brand and your products.
• Cost savings
• Better knowledge of your target audience and their buying behaviors
• Higher level of interaction with your potentials as well as improvement of the brand image and digital trust in your company
• Higher level of achievement of leads
• Increase in the conversion rate to sales

And of course, don’t forget that the different Marketing Automation tools allow you to carry out a continuous Lead Scoring of your contacts, to know when they are mature and ready to receive a personalized offer from your company, with a high probability of purchase.

Also Read: Automation, Digitization, Prediction And Open Banking, Some Keys To The New Treasury

Examples of Automations That May Interest You

I want to show you three examples of very effective Marketing Automation processes, which we usually use in our company, both with clients who sell services and with ecommerce.

Automations For Service Companies 

There are two automations that I recommend that you start up as soon as possible, as they are extremely effective.

Request For Information

You can take advantage of the moment when a user makes a request for a quote through the form on your website to start a simple automation.

In it, and in parallel to your sales team preparing the proposal and entering the negotiation phase, you can send your empower a series of emails that add value and bring your brand closer to that potential customer.

In our case, we send 4 emails specifically, one every 3 days.

• The first, a welcome email where we also send you our corporate presentation and a document with two real success stories.
• In the next three emails, we send you training pills based on a digital strategy, explaining which areas and phases you would have to work on.

Achievement of Leads

It is much easier, cheaper and more effective to get Leads than to work for direct sales.

Thanks to Marketing Automation you can start actions aimed at offering your potentials something that you know has important value for them, at a cost of 0. Of course, they will have to leave you their data (email and name at least) in exchange.

In this way, you can enter it in your Sales Funnel and initiate Automation actions focused on converting it into a customer.

• Ebooks
• Product / service demos or betas
• Specialized consultancies
• Videos, courses and Masterclas

Automations For Online Stores

In this case, the deployment model for Marketing Automation actions is different, since they are mainly based on avoiding “leaks” from the online store and on selling in the short term, which is why they tend to be much shorter processes.

Recovery of Abandoned Shopping Carts

The volume of abandoned carts in an online store can reach up to 70%, so with a simple Marketing Automation tool, we can greatly reduce this percentage.

In this case, the Automation tools for ecommerce allow working with both registered users and anonymous users (the first time they come to the web), achieving a greater volume of Leads as well as reducing leaks from the online store and conversion to sales.

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When people talk about modern work today, one often hears the terms digitization and artificial intelligence. Still, almost as often, they talk about robots that will change the world of work. But what is a robot? Why is it called that, and when did it become built as a robot for the first time? And above all: What types of robots are there and what can they be used for? If you are toying with ​​using a robot, you should know what kind of machine you are dealing with.

What Are Robots?

The answer to this question is not that easy because there is no uniform definition. We have come across the term robot quite often recently: lawn mower robots, vacuum cleaner robots, toy robots, social robots for pensioners, or a robot dog. The short form ‘bot’ can be found in so-called chatbots or the Google bots that scour websites in the computer world. The camera drone or autonomous driving is also sorted here again and again. And then, of course, there are the industrial robots, which are mainly known from the automotive industry. What they all have in common is that they do something automatically.

So is every automatic machine a robot? No. A device is first and foremost a powered (motorized) tool that humans control. A drill as well as an automobile or a coffee machine.

An automat is a machine that can perform a specific task automatically, but only this one. So the coffee machine can brew coffee by itself, but nothing else. And a CNC milling machine can be programmed, but in the end, it can only mill. If this particular process is no longer required, an automat is useless.

On the other hand, a robot can be programmed and converted and can therefore be used for a large number of tasks. The specialty of a robot is its flexibility. Where a machine can only repeat the predefined work process, a robot can be reprogrammed so that it grips or assembles, advertisement.

The History of Human-Like Robots

What Was The First Robot, and Who Invented it?

People have always invented things that make their work easier. And the desire, on the other hand, for a mechanical helper who tirelessly takes on complex and tedious tasks is probably as old as humanity itself. Even Aristotle thought of automatically working machines with the ancient Greeks. But it would be a good 2,000 years before the world was ready. From a purely mechanical point of view, inventors were prepared to build sophisticated automatons as early as the late Middle Ages. But it was only the transistor technology invented in the 1940s that laid the foundation for it to program it.

When we think of the articulated arm robots that are typical today, we cannot ignore George Devol and Joseph Engelberger. With Unimate, these two developed and built the first robot that electronics could program. As early as 1954, inventor George Devol applied for a patent for a programmable arm. However, he initially lacked funding to implement the ambitious project. In 1956 he met the investor, entrepreneur, physicist, and engineer Joseph Engelberger at a cocktail party. He was a big fan of Isaac Asimov’s robot stories and was immediately ready to join the project. Engelberger took part so much enthusiasm for his work that today he is considered the father of modern robotics.

What Are So-Called cobots?

Robots are usually made of metal and, thanks to the electric motors used, are also powerful. They can move very quickly under certain circumstances. Therefore, there is, of course, a considerable risk of injury if a human gets in the way of a robot during operation, which is why most classic robots operated behind a protective fence. But there is another way.

With these devices, a new type of robot was founded: the cobots. The name is made up of the English terms Collaborative Robot, i.e., robots for human-machine collaboration. To achieve the necessary security, the manufacturers of cobots use different methods, sometimes in combination. They measure the forces that their motors generate and compare them with the planned path. Some have force-torque sensors in some or all of the joints. Some use an air-filled sensor skin, others use capacitive sensors (like a touch display). They all have in common that as soon as they encounter an obstacle or a person, they stop.

To further reduce the risk of injury, the edges of the cobots are rounded, and they travel at reduced speeds and forces. As a result, they sometimes seem a bit sluggish, which is why many models can work much faster in the absence of people (ensured by a fence or sensor monitoring).

Lightweight robots and cobots are certainly the most sensible solution to be used in small businesses, laboratories, or in trade. In addition to the low price, it is above all the ease of use and programming that makes cobots so attractive.

Also Read: The Artificial Intelligence In Three phases To Autonomous IT

What Robots Can & Cannot do, The Areas of Application

Of course, some jobs would not be possible without intelligent mobile robots. Especially in extreme environments such as deep-sea research or space travel, researchers rely on the support of robots. Technically demanding tasks are also not an issue for autonomous systems.

Then there are the uses in industrial mass production. Here, the six-axis, Scara, or Delta systems are primarily responsible for efficiency; they are supposed to weld, paint, load machines, and process workpieces. Fast and around the clock.
But what about small businesses and craftsmen? Artisans, in particular, are often proud to do their work themselves, with their own hands. It shows their ingenuity, their craftsmanship. That is a good thing, yet there is one or the other task that justifies using an industrial robot or cobot. Of course, even systems equipped with AI and machine learning cannot replace the experience and creativity of a master craftsman or skilled worker. Artificial intelligence is far from being that good. But jobs that are stupidly repetitive, physically difficult, or dirty and dusty, robots can do very well. And let’s be honest: there is work like this everywhere. If you’ve never thought about a steel or aluminum colleague before, maybe you should. It could change your work life. Positive.

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Phone Service

You no longer need to be tied to one of the pricey phone or cable providers in order to have a telephone line in your home. With just a small investment in equipment, you can get free home phone service over your high-speed internet that may include many of the standard features you’re used to such as caller ID, call waiting, voicemail, and more. These services often let you maintain your current phone number, so switching doesn’t mean you’ll have to update all of your existing contacts.

Lighting

If you haven’t replaced your household bulbs with LED ones, there’s no time like the present. Over the past several years, the cost of LED lighting has been decreasing due to improved manufacturing, so it’s become more affordable than ever to switch over. Compared to incandescent lighting, LEDs use at least 75% less energy and last up to 25 times longer, making them a great investment that can save you money and benefit the environment. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that LED bulbs only emit harsh, white light; they come in many colors, and some can even be programmed to adjust throughout the day.

Smart Systems

Smart speakers, smart thermostats, smart plugs: there is a seemingly endless array of ways in which your home can be programmed to run itself. Although installing all of these options at once might be costly, most home automation systems allow you to start with one or two basic devices and then add more gadgets at a later time. Perhaps start with a hub that will let you manage basic household tasks like remotely turning on your lights or locking your front door, then build from there.
Making just one or two of these changes can give your house an instant tech upgrade without putting too much pressure on your pocketbook. You’ll likely find that your home is a more enjoyable space in which to spend time, and you might end up saving money in the long run.

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What you should keep on your radar. Digitization has arrived in every shift and every company at the latest since the outbreak of the pandemic. Suddenly the employees had to work in the home office. Purchases were only allowed through Click & Meet. Food could only be delivered and no longer consumed in the restaurant. The pandemic has shown one thing – if need be, then digitization works. The pandemic has also shown many that “digital” can be very convenient. How will the topic of digitization establish itself sustainably in our lives, and what does that mean for our companies? We provide an overview and recommendations for action on digitization 2021 for small and medium-sized companies.

The Trends In Digitization

While some industries are still sticking to pen and paper and have a conservative attitude towards digitization in 2021, other industries are characterized by a high degree of digital services. With the airlines, it is now often so far that a regular check-in on-site, i.e. offline, is no longer free of charge. You are forced to check in online. This saves companies money and motivates more and more people to get to grips with the Internet. The underlying concept of customer empowerment creates enormous added value for both companies and customers, such as efficiency and time savings. Many companies are increasingly relying on the customer’s involvement in various processes that have since had to be carried out by employees of the company on behalf of the customers. By empowering customers, they can carry out such processes themselves, in our example, the online check-in, and are no longer tied to the help of employees or long waiting times at the counter. In the following sections, we will explain which digitalization trends should remain on your innovation radar in 2021.

The Digital Workplace In The Digitalization Trend In 2021

We have got used to working in distributed teams. The pandemic has made the workplace digitally accessible faster than often planned and has become a focused debate in digitalization in 2021. This will remain so. It is becoming apparent in some large companies that they will continue to rely on hybrid teams and avoid permanent jobs. More and more companies agree that topics such as home office and the use of virtual teams offer added value for employees and result in added value for companies that contribute to achieving corporate goals. As a current study by the Fraunhofer Institute shows, the work and cooperation work very well at a distance. Still, most companies could master infrastructural challenges within a short period and under enormous pressure. Autonomous work, agile work environments and virtual teams, therefore, play a central role in the progress of digitization in Germany and will therefore remain in trend in 2021.

The Digital Cloud Is Accepted.

Companies were forced to move their data and processes to the cloud. Reservations about the cloud are now much less evident. Companies have recognized the potential that emerges from integrating clouds into their infrastructure. These added values ​​are, for example, in the context of the Internet of Things, Internet of Behavior, data-driven products, aspects of flexibility and load in the IT infrastructure, learning from data through machine learning or the development of data-based corporate strategies. This trend of digitization is also associated with data protection and security to always guarantee the protection goals of IT security (confidentiality, integrity and availability) despite the use of innovative technologies.

Also Read: Automation, Digitization, Prediction And Open Banking, Some Keys To The New Treasury

The Lack of Developers Will Intensify In 2021

Further trends and recommendations for action in the context of digitization are recognizable in terms of infrastructure or technologies, especially when there is a need for qualified people who maintain and develop such topics. Due to the lack of professional developers, companies are increasingly looking for app generators and low-code platforms. The enormous demand for software can only be met through the efficient use of essential technologies. Our recommendation for action for companies that have not dealt much with the trends of digitization 2021 since then is: If you lack the means or knowledge about which employee is suitable and can advance digitization in your company, then hire an appropriate agency instead. This should understand your corporate vision and your requirements and develop a sustainable strategy with and for you. Invest in digitization and stay competitive despite the lack of developers.

Intelligent Automation and Artificial Intelligence As Drivers of Digitization In 2021

Chatbots and intelligent automation technologies increasingly support services. Inquiries are intelligently pre-filtered, and artificial intelligence answers customer inquiries before “first-level support”. This saves communication costs and improves customer satisfaction. Terms such as robotic process automation are also used in the area of process optimization indispensable. The trend follows the approach: renovation and then digitization. What is meant by that? First of all, you should record and evaluate your organizational structure, the departments, the processes, workflows and, in particular, their interrelationships.

Clarify all of these questions and start redesigning your processes and involving everyone involved. Process reengineering is essential to advance the digitization of your company and the automation of your processes. If the processes have been remodelled and documented, incorporate suitable tools that automate routine tasks such as answering emails or file management.

Don’t be afraid of digitization or worry about your workplace. Automate routine tasks that are time-consuming and inefficient and instead give your employees value-adding tasks that bring you closer to your company goals.

These are just a few of the trends that can be observed concerning digitization. To give a better picture of the possibilities offered by digitization, we present a case study from our customer below.

Digitalization In Practice in 2021

Every company lives from the constant optimization of processes. “We have always done it that way” has long since ceased to count and leads to the death of companies through digital transformation. Pioneers are starting to digitize their processes. The more actors involved in the process, the faster a digital and more straightforward process will become the industry standard.

The Day After Tomorrow, It Will Be a Standard Procedure.

It remains to be seen whether the app we have developed will become the industry standard in 2 to 5 years. But the example shows very well the head start that digitization can create in various industries. Just as WhatsApp has become indispensable in everyday life, digital forest management will be the standard shortly. The traditional approach is too inefficient and error-prone.

Our Tips For Digitization In 2021

We can make this section short. Start. Record where inefficiencies exist in your everyday life. Keep your eyes open for existing solutions. Often your problems are already solved by software. A workaround is often enough to get a first feel for the advantages of digitization. This shows you whether the switch to digital processes is worthwhile for you. You will learn what it means to digitize a process – in addition to the technical hurdles. And most importantly: You will show yourself and your workforce how efficient a digital future can be in the context of digitization in 2021.

With Small Steps To a Digital Company

Reach for the low-hanging fruits. These are the fruits on the tree of digitalization in 2021 that hangs the lowest. Easy to implement and a first step in the right direction. Just start. Create a form in Microsoft Teams or Google Drive. Have what is most straightforward set up internally. You do not need to develop the perfect and comprehensive solution in the first step. If you try to do this, there is a high chance you are walking in the wrong direction. Therefore, with small steps and constantly questioning and reorienting.

Work With Professionals

Let us advise you on the topic of digitization 2021 first. Advice from technicians quickly reveals completely new possibilities that you may not have thought of at all. Did you know that you can use RaspberryPI to make almost any hardware device fit for Industry 4.0? We have already implemented this with welding equipment for our customer Rehm welding technology. Experience is the key here, and the ability to plan is essential. Therefore, it would help if you relied on a partner who can deliver a specific size and experience in the desired area.

Rely on Modern Technologies For The Implementation of Digitization In 2021

The absolute criterion is the implementation of the software using modern web and software technologies. Anyone who develops new software today and uses outdated programming languages ​​or frameworks will have problems with the maintenance and further development of the software in a few years.

Also Read: In 2021 Companies Will Make The Final Leap Towards Digitization

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