The Transformation of Managed IT Services from a Highly Expensive to Cost-Effective Outsourcing Model

We are living in a service-centric world where enterprises are leveraging a host of multimedia applications to address their customers' requirements. While meeting the demands of end users is a top priority for them, they must do so within budgetary restrictions. In emerging IT hubs like Tampa, more and more managed service providers have come up with new outsourcing models that would allow these companies to do just that. These new-age business models involve forging strategic partnerships for risk sharing. These services pave the way for the emergence of new frameworks that would, in turn, enable entrepreneurs to roll out a portfolio of innovative services for savvy customers. So, what prompted the evolution of managed IT services in Tampa and other places? Let’s find out.

In the nascent stage of managed services, MSPs mainly provided hardware and software for their clients. They used to deliver their services through data centers and command/control facilities, and customized tools. Since all these required costly investments, MSP services were pricey and, as a result, more suitable for the big enterprises. Most of the managed service offerings were out of the reach of SMBs.

The advent of remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools changed this scenario. RMM paved the way for the emergence of small-size value-added resellers (VARs) that set up their managed IT services businesses. RMM tools allow these VARs to deliver a host of services to their remote clients over the Internet without having to establish costly data center infrastructure. Their services include emergency online repairing of PCs, servers, and other hardware among the others. When done on site, these jobs involve spending a lot of time and resources. But the VAR model helps to make it cost-effective.

Today, the MSP model has matured further, thanks to the easy access to third-party RMM and NOC products. These allow MSPs to partner with reliable and scalable businesses – ones that have the technical capabilities to maintain the infrastructure and provide technological support.

Today's MSPs can thus help their customers focus on their core businesses to grow revenues. They, in turn, partner with third-parties to overcome the cost and labor challenges. This arrangement allows MSPs to build their accounts for the full-scale utilization of their advanced service offerings.

No business these days can do without the IT support. If you lack the resource for maintaining a separate IT team, outsource the job to experts. New-age MSP models will allow you to drive growth and serve your clients better, without having to break your bank. In a city like Tampa, you can find many efficient managed IT service providers. However, research the market before selecting your MSP partner.

Magento for E-Commerce

Looking to create your presence in the competitive e-commerce space? First, you will have to select the right e-commerce development solution. Read this article to know why Magento can be your best bet.

What Is Magento?

When it comes to developing a fast-loading, feature-rich e-commerce site, Magento is the first choice of both merchants and developers. It's an open-source e-commerce platform that allows merchants to create an online storefront just the way they wish. Magento’s intuitive administration interface gives these vendors freedom to change the look and feel, the content and functionalities of their sites from time to time. The platform comes complete with an array of default merchandising, marketing and content management features. Store owners can even customize these features to fulfill their unique business needs.

If your company is growing at a fast pace, you will find the Magento platform especially suitable as it will allow you to expand your store in response to your business growth.  What is more? When you opt for Magento as the foundation of your e-commerce site, you can rest assured that it will be ready in no time.

How is that possible? 

Magento developers enjoy the backing of an active community of Magento experts that create a robust support network for professionals using this platform, subsequently helping them finish their task quickly and with perfection.

The global e-commerce domain is rife with competition. To stand out in this space, you must make your websites extremely attractive and user-friendly. Magento can help you do just that. That Magento is far ahead of othere-commerce development solutions like Shopify and BigCommerce, (it currently powers 16 percent of the top one million websites) proves the efficacy of this open-source platform. So, if you are looking forward to creating an impressive storefront, embrace Magento. Also, hire a web development company that has a successful track record in Magento development.

Necessary Security Measures to Implement During Web App Development

While web application development continues to progress at a rapid pace in prominent tech hubs like Silicon Valley and Florida, the recent spate of malicious cyber-attacks has made the task more challenging for developers. Integrating security into their methodologies has become the top priority for tech companies. No longer can they postpone the implementation of certain security measures until the app goes live. Unless suitable precautions are taken during the developmental stages, not only does the program remain susceptible to outside threats but fixing any problems after deployment becomes extremely difficult. Therefore, web developers need to adopt several security measures on day one of the development. If you are on your way to get your custom app created from scratch, make sure, your app-partner incorporates the following features into it:

Implementation of Content Security Policy

This feature allows for the integration of an alert system into your application. Turning on alerts allows you to keep track of the latest developments while the developers work on the web application. Building an app retroactively into your website is problematic – you either have to build an expansive inventory, poring through every aspect of your application to ensure nothing’s missing, or add so many white lists that it hampers the functionality.

Switch X-Frame-Options to Block Mode

Prevent framing attacks and click jacking attacks by putting your X-Frame-Options into block mode. Complete this step during development. Otherwise, sites start framing your app over time and using it in that manner. This makes it difficult for your site to update its links.

Add Nonces to Your App

Your app should have anti-CSRF cryptographic nonces for all secure functions. What are nonces? Well, they are one-time tokens connected to user sessions. You need to place these nonces in every form and validate them to prevent your app from performing actions forcibly. Retrofitting these tokens means touching a shared memory or database on each hit. This trick will save developers from having to insert the code into every page with a form and subsequent function to validate the nonce.

Improve Security for Sensitive Information

The moment an app is compromised, all sensitive information – passwords, credentials, secret questions – in the answers storage is up for grabs. So, to prevent hackers and other malicious parties to get their hands on these details, plaintext and obsolete hashing algorithms like MD5 should be removed. This technique will helpto prevent attackers from accessing the info in the event your entire database getting copied off.

Web applications are designed to facilitate the growth and success of a businessand help achieve its objectives quickly. No wonder, web application development is amillion-dollar industry in emerging tech hubs like Florida. However, you should be careful while hiring your app development partner. You must keep your application protected from malicious cyber practices. So, select a company which has a track record of employing the cutting-edge security measures.

How to Make Your Web Designs Code-Ready

Though web designers and programmers have few things in common, seamless communication and uninterrupted workflow can translate an average app development project into a successful one. To take their online projects to the next level, small and medium-sized businesses in the USare looking for custom development. Florida, for example, like many other technologically advanced states, has a bright future when it comes to fully coded web apps or websites. Therefore, if you are seeking first-rate web application development, Florida is the place to be. Here are a few tips to make your designs code-ready:

Include Comments

There are design aspects that are not obvious for coders. For instance, if you are creating a navigation menu that will glide down when a user moves the mouse to the top section of the screen, leave a comment. The best way to do it is by using the Note Tool in Photoshop, which will make comments appear whenever a programmer opens the particular file. It also offers easy readability and helps coders understand what a designer wants to do.

Provide Design Details

To ensure that a programmer employs your design to the minute details, make sure you provide the coder with specific design details. You must specify things like margins and padding, colors, style, font, and more. With more information provided, the chances of revisions are reduced to a considerable extent. It will help you deliver the project on time without spending too much.

Talk to the Programmer

Communicate with the coder regularly to ensure that s(he) has all the necessary information to translate the design into codes. A professional coder will appreciate your communication efforts to ensure a smooth project delivery.

To take your project to the next level, collaborate with a web application development company in Florida. Make your web designs code-ready for developers to build a powerful and functional site. It will make coding easy, cost-effective, and improve your web app’s performance to give you a competitive edge over others.

3 Super Tips to Develop a Killer Web Page

Web designing and development is progressing at a rapid pace, particularly in US states such as Florida, now one of the emerging tech hubs in the country. A killer web page design is something businesses look for when it comes to greeting first-time visitors. Your web pages are digital welcome signs for users showing interest in your products or services. So, if you want to keep your prospective customers glued to the web pages and retain them, look for a web development firm in Tampa that has the knowledge and expertise in creating clean, non-intrusive page designs, and user-friendly navigation menus. Here are three top tips to build a killer web page:

1. Use the Right Colors

Colors have an important part to play in web page design and development.  While designing pages for the global audience, you must use colors carefully because different colors have different connotations. Therefore, while planning the color scheme of the pages, focus on color symbolism. For example, if you have a website selling kid’s toys, use bright yellow as it signifies cheerfulness.

2. Keep the Page Layout Clean

Design pages that are clean and clutter-free. That’s because visitors are often puzzled if they are bombarded with chunks of content and images. Your website will look cleaner, professional, and organized if the layout is neat and tidy. Always place all content and visuals above the fold to grab visitor attention.  Avoid cluttering the pages with too many pictures, clip arts, icons, and texts.

3. Improve Navigation

If users are not presented with a smooth browsing experience, they will leave your site. Therefore, design navigation menus and buttons that are direct, clear, and easy to understand and use. Your visitors must not be confused while navigating your site.

If you are a Florida-based business, hire a professional web development company in Tampa to design your website. An experienced web development firm will not only take care of the proper designing aspect but will also look after the functionality of every element. In a world where the customer is king, websites rule. After all, a proper website is the first step to creating a wonderful user experience.

Why is it Better to Hire a Third-Party IT Consultant than a Full-Time Employee?

Every business relies on a sound IT infrastructure to maintain efficiency and performance. They seek to create a careful balance of hardware and software to benefit the organization. However, not all entrepreneurs are comfortable in looking after the IT needs and hence hire dedicated teams to take care of these aspects. But often this is not the best solution because such full-time dedicated employees often do not have enough contribution to the day-to-day functioning of the organization and simply maintain the business’ status quo in operational effectiveness – a task that doesn’t really require full-time workers.The solution? IT outsourcing to capable IT consulting firms at places such as Tampa where the technology sector is booming.  Do you why you should do that?Find out below:

More Disciplined, More Efficient

If there’s one thing IT consultants excel at, that’s discipline. Most SMBs require their employees to wear two hats and call upon them to perform tasks outside their job description. While this isn’t a problem per se, it does cut into the time allotted to the employees for gaining IT-related experience. Hiring an IT consultant solves this problem since most of them are experts specializing in a particular set of technical skills.

Flexible Services

The nature of service offered by IT consultants is flexible, which means business stakeholders can ask them to drop by when needed. This is beneficial for the company as the consultant’s know-how and talent can be put to good use on important projects without paying a fixed salary.

Cost-Efficient

From a financial standpoint, hiring an IT consultant makes more sense. Full-time employees tasked with handling IT needs within the organization need to be paid a sizable salary with benefits. These benefits cost the business a lot of money – something that can be avoided if the company hires an IT consultant. Third-party IT specialists charge by the hour for the work they perform.

When it comes to overall effectiveness, IT consultants have the edge over regular staff. They are more proficient, more experienced, and they encounter different types of IT infrastructure on the job, which makes them perfect for handling any IT crisis. No wonder, so many companies are opting for IT consulting in Tampa and other places known for their technological expertise and advancement. If clean and prompt troubleshooting of your business’ IT problems is something that interests you, you should contact a good IT consultant now. You won’t regret it!

Necessary Security Measures to Implement During Web App Development

While web application development continues to progress at a rapid pace in prominent tech hubs like Silicon Valley and Florida, the recent spate of malicious cyber-attacks has cast a shadow over the industry. No longer can tech companies postpone the implementation of security measures until the app goes live. Unless suitable precautions are taken during the developmental stages, not only does the program remain susceptible to outside threats but fixing any problems after deployment becomes extremely difficult. Some of the necessary security measures web developers need to adopt are discussed below:

Implement a Content Security Policy

Integrate an alert system into your application. Turning on alerts allows you to keep track of the possible security loopholes of your web application. When it comes to building an app retroactively into your website, you can proceed in two ways –  you either can build an expansive inventory, poring through every aspect of your application to ensure nothing’s missing, or add so many whitelists that it hampers the functionality.

Switch X-Frame-Options to Block Mode

Prevent framing attacks and clickjacking attacks by putting your X-Frame-Options HTTP response header into block mode. Complete this step during development. Otherwise, sites start framing your app over time and using it for launching clickjacking attacks (the malicious practice of hiding hyperlinks beneath the clickable content in your app, thereby inducing your users into performing some undesired actions).

Add Nonces to Your App

Your app should have anti-CSRF cryptographic nonces for all secure functions. What are nonces? Well, they are one-time tokens connected to user sessions. You need to place these nonces in every form and validate them to prevent your app from performing undesired actions. Retrofitting these tokens means touching a shared memory or database on each hit, aside from having to insert the code into every page with a form and subsequent function to validate the nonce.

Improve Security for Sensitive Information

The moment an app is compromised, all sensitive information – passwords, credentials, secret questions in the answers storage –  is up for grabs. So, unless you want hackers and other malicious parties to get their hands on these details, do away with plaintext and obsolete hashing algorithms like MD5. Introduce contingencies during the development stage so that even if the whole database gets copied, the attackers cannot access the info without cracking the codes in individual rows.

Modern web applications facilitate the growth and success of an organization and help achieve its objectives quickly. As a result, web application development has surged in popularity, in Florida and other emerging techhubs. These thriving IT destinations are home to numerous app development companies that employ highly skilled development professionals.  Their understanding of the local markets help them tailor the apps to the unique needs of their clients.