Tag Archives: development

Why programming classes need to cover software testing, too

Software has become a necessity, rather than a luxury. Software powers everything from banking to education, from shopping to socializing, and we now have a dependency on it that is as strong as our dependency on power grids and fossil fuel. And, just like those resources, we have an urgent need to find and harvest the talent to keep that infrastructure running.

I have said it before and will say it again (and probably again, even): There is no better time to be in software than now. The amount of innovation and imagination in tech circles is boundless, largely powered by the “open” movements in various areas of the industry: open source, open data, open API’s. Money is flowing freely again from investors who are interested in funding the “next great thing” and, while many software enterprise organizations are still tightening their belts and hiring overseas, more young talent graduates every day and leads us where we didn’t think to go on our own.

From the local level to the global level, organizations like code.org recognize the need for educating and advocating in the high-tech industry. Their celebrity sponsors are sounding the call for more involvement and it will be interesting to see how people respond.

I found one recent article by Kim Burgess called Teach Kids To Farm, in which she explores her father’s perspective as a developer-turned-farmer. I won’t go into the details because you should read her post for yourself, but I will say that I found it food for thought (pun intended). At various times, we have heard the call for more teachers, more nurses, more doctors, more family farmers. This is the first time I have heard the rallying cry for more developers, but it is coming at a time when we have a shortage of some skills (try to hire a Java developer these days, for example) and a greater dependency on software than ever before. In fact, those teachers/nurses/doctors/farmers are all tapping into technology just to accomplish their daily tasks.

If anything is missing from this initiative, in my opinion, it is a focus on the sister discipline of software testing. It’s an area that is often underrated by some organizations, that is, until they try to use a buggy tool or an unstable API. If we are going to rely so heavily on software as the infrastructure for the finance, medical, government, and education sectors, it’s important that we build quality software those industries can rely on. I would prefer that my doctor have bug-free access to my medical records and that my banking transactions get posted accurately. And, with all due respect to programmers, I like to think that those applications are thoroughly inspected by professional testers before they hit production.

Software testing has been on a path toward convergence with programming for some time, especially when it comes to test automation. At the same time, many vendors have tried to create tools that allow non-programmers to exercise code in ways they would not know how to do by themselves. It’s surprising how slowly this discipline has evolved over the last two decades – often because it has all the overhead of code maintenance without any associated direct revenue. And yet, the benefits of having well-maintained automated tests in a continuous integration environment can’t be understated. At the same time, software testers provide much-needed input and perspective from exploratory testing and user acceptance testing. In my opinion, nothing can replace the “human perspective” as part of the quality assurance cycle.

So, sponsors and mentors, let’s put our shoulders behind movements like code.org, but let’s also put some energy into building the next generation of software testers as well.

Source: http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/82579

Did you like this? Share it:

Software Testing is not a commodity!

Stick in software testing long enough, and you will see enough ideas come and go to be able to sort out the ones that look promising to work, and the ones that you just hope will go away soon enough so that no manager will pay any of her attention to it. There have been quite a few in the history of software testing, and from my experience the worst things started to happen every time when someone tried to replace a skilled tester with some piece of automation – whether that particular automation was a tool-based approach or some sort of scripted testing approach.

Why do we test software?

If we were able to write software right the first time, there would be clearly no need to test it. Unfortunately we humans are way from perfect. Take for example the book I wrote mostly through 2011. 200 pages, lots of reviewing, production planning, and stuff happening in the end. And still, while reviewing the German translation, I spotted a problem in the book – clearly visible at face value. I had spend at least 2 weeks after work to go through the book once more, and get everything right. Yet, I failed to see this obvious problem.

The problem lies in our second-order ignorance: the things we don’t know that we don’t know them. These are the things of good hope, and prayers that it will work. Murphy’s Law also has a role to play here.

The very act of software testing then becomes to find out as much information about our unawareness as possible. This includes not only exercising the product, but also finding out new things about the product. Skilled testers learn more about the product and the product domain and the development team over the course of the whole product lifecycle.

Why do we repeat tests?

But how come we focus on regressions to often in our industry? It has to do with first-order ignorance. A regression problem is a bug that gets introduced a second time, although it already had been fixed in the meantime. Since we were already fully aware of the problem, the bug is no longer something that we don’t that we don’t know it. It has become something that we know now, but we don’t know whether we will know it still tomorrow. That’s why we introduce a regression check for tomorrow, so that it will remind us about the problem that we tried to avoid at this time.

Read that sentence again. Yes, it’s speculation. We speculate that we might break the software tomorrow again. With this speculation comes a whole lot of costs. We have opportunity costs for doing the test, for automating it, and with every run, we have the opportunity cost of analyzing the result (if we have to).

We wouldn’t need this if we were able to realize that a regression bug introduced in our software is an opportunity to learn what is not working in our current process that caused that bug to re-occur. Every regression bug discovered should be an invitation to start a root cause analysis and fix the underlying problem rather than deal with the symptoms.

Source: http://www.shino.de/2013/02/04/software-testing-is-not-a-commodity/

Did you like this? Share it:

9 top threats to cloud computing security

9 top threats to cloud computing security

Cloud computing has grabbed the spotlight at this year’s RSA Conference 2013 in San Francisco, with vendors aplenty hawking products and services that equip IT with controls to bring order to cloud chaos. But the first step is for organization to identify precisely where the greatest cloud-related threats lie.

To that end, the CSA (Cloud Security Alliance) has identified "The Notorious Nine," the top nine cloud computing threats for 2013. The report reflects the current consensus among industry experts surveyed by CSA, focusing on threats specifically related to the shared, on-demand nature of cloud computing.

First on the list is data breaches. To illustrate the potential magnitude of this threat, CSA pointed to a research paper from last November describing how a virtual machine could use side-channel timing information to extract private cryptographic keys in use by other VMs on the same server. A malicious hacker wouldn’t necessarily need to go to such lengths to pull off that sort of feat, though. If a multitenant cloud service database isn’t designed properly, a single flaw in one client’s application could allow an attacker to get at not just that client’s data, but every other clients’ data as well.

The challenge in addressing this threats of data loss and data leakage is that "the measures you put in place to mitigate one can exacerbate the other," according to the report. You could encrypt your data to reduce the impact of a breach, but if you lose your encryption key, you’ll lose your data. However, if you opt to keep offline backups of your data to reduce data loss, you increase your exposure to data breaches.

The second-greatest threat in a cloud computing environment, according to CSA, is data loss: the prospect of seeing your valuable data disappear into the ether without a trace. A malicious hacker might delete a target’s data out of spite — but then, you could lose your data to a careless cloud service provider or a disaster, such as a fire, flood, or earthquake. Compounding the challenge, encrypting your data to ward off theft can backfire if you lose your encryption key.

Data loss isn’t only problematic in terms of impacting relationships with customers, the report notes. You could also get into hot water with the feds if you’re legally required to store particular data to remain in compliance with certain laws, such as HIPAA.

The third-greatest cloud computing security risk is account or service traffic hijacking. Cloud computing adds a new threat to this landscape, according to CSA. If an attacker gains access to your credentials, he or she can eavesdrop on your activities and transactions, manipulate data, return falsified information, and redirect your clients to illegitimate sites. "Your account or services instances may become a new base for the attacker. From here, they may leverage the power of your reputation to launch subsequent attacks," according to the report. As an example, CSA pointed to an XSS attack on Amazon in 2010 that let attackers hijack credentials to the site.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/t/cloud-security/9-top-threats-cloud-computing-security-213428

Did you like this? Share it:

MobileFirst: IBM asking companies to design mobile applications first, rest later

ING Vysya Bank BSE 0.83 %, with around 500 branches and an additional 500 ATMs, is too small to compete with the banking titans directly. So it does what small companies do in such situations: use tact and finesse to lure and retain customers.

The bank was evaluating technology options to use mobility as a strategic edge, when it was attracted to an Israeli company, Worklight. This startup, set up in 2006, had a useful piece of technology.

It enabled companies to create, in one seamless process, an application that could work in any device: a laptop, iPad,iPhone, Android phone… Its capabilities were impressive, but there was one problem.

Worklight did not operate in India. This was in early 2012. Soon after, ING VysyaBSE 0.83 % heard an interesting piece of news: IBM was acquiring Worklight.

IBM, which had worked hard to build formidable products and services in cloud and analytics, had suddenly found itself inadequate in mobility, a rapidly-emerging area that was becoming a conduit to these two businesses.

With IBM having a substantial presence in India, ING signed up with Worklight quickly. IBM went on to acquire more companies, totaling 10 in the mobility space in four years, and launched a brand called MobileFirst on Thursday last week.

"We are planning to double investments in mobility this year," says Ed Brill, director of IBM Mobile Enterprise Marketing. MobileFirst, as the name implies, asks companies to turn their current development philosophy on its head.

MobileFirst: IBM asking companies to design mobile applications first, rest later

Instead of making mobile applications an extension of their desktop software, IBM is asking companies to design mobile applications first and then think about the rest later.

For them to do this well, IBM has spread a splendid set of tools: a mobile development platform, a security platform, a mobile device management product, mobile analytics, an ecosystem which includes service-provider A&T (only in the US) and universities, and a plethora of services around of them.

Although not mentioned explicitly, it would include a cloud service also, often serving as a critical part of mobile services. Mobility is now considered as one of the mega trends affecting the IT industry, on par with three trends that defined and directed it earlier: Mainframe, client-server and Internet.

Many chief information officers and analysts now bundle mobility with other recent developments like social, cloud and analytics. These four trends are together called SMAC, a term that describes the close association between social, mobile, analytics and cloud.

All four areas are bustling with startup innovation. Big IT companies are watching them closely. Mobile applications have been growing slowly over the last decade, but mobile commerce had not, till recently.

Phones were not good enough then. The networks were slow. Enterprises had legacy applications that were not easy to extend to a mobile. So you could, in theory, buy stuff on the mobile or do other financial transactions, but customers were often put away by the poor experience.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/mobilefirst-ibm-asking-companies-to-design-mobile-applications-first-rest-later/articleshow/18666952.cms

Did you like this? Share it:

IBM Dives Head First Into Mobile

IBM moves into mobile

IBM last week unveiled an expansive new strategy to deliver mobile business solutions under MobileFirst, its new brand of software and services for delivering apps on smartphones and tablets. With MobileFirst, IBM seeks to bring together all of the elements required by an enterprise to successfully roll-out mobile solutions, including development, deployment, device management, and security tools. And, IBM being IBM, it also includes a healthy dose of professional services, but no apparent IBM i hooks at this time.

MobileFirst is an umbrella brand that brings together many pieces of software that already existed in IBM’s portfolio, but it introduces some new software as well. There are literally dozens of products parked under the new MobileFirst banner, including products from familiar IBM brands like WebSphere, Rational, Domino, Tivoli, and Cognos. Recent IBM acquisitions, like Q1 Labs (security), Emptoris (expense and expenditure management), and Tealeaf (customer experience management) also play a part.

IBM breaks MobileFirst products down into four main categories, including MobileFirst Platform, MobileFirst Security, MobileFirst Management, and MobileFirst Analytics. Within these four, there are no less than 28 individually named products and services sitting under Big Blue’s new mobile umbrella. Simplicity has never been IBM’s strong suit, and apparently it’s not going to start now.

The key product under the new MobileFirst Platform is Mobile Foundation, a pre-existing suite that previously combined three tools but now appears to sport only two: Worklight, an HTML 5 mobile application development and runtime environment that includes a Java-based server component and an Eclipse-based studio; and WebSphere Cast Iron, an integration framework for connecting on-premise and cloud applications and systems.

Worklight, you will remember, is on the short list of IBM apps that several prominent IBM i experts, including Roxanne Reynolds-Lair, the Power Systems champion and CIO of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, want running and supported on IBM i. The work done by Reynolds-Lair and another Power Systems champion, Steve Pitcher, were instrumental in getting other new IBM offerings supported on the platform, including Notes Traveler and IBM Connections, both of which IBM has committed to supporting on IBM i.

And lo! What do we have here but an IBM announcement letter on February 19 for Worklight version 5.0.6. Could it, would it, include a statement of direction in support of IBM i? As diligent readers scroll down, they read:

"IBM intends to provide additional platform support for the IBM Worklight product offerings in response to customer feedback and market demand…IBM anticipates extending support to IBM System z hardware and the IBM z/OS operating system in the future." Actually, IBM committed to supporting z/OS with Worklight back in September, so this isn’t news. What is disheartening is that Worklight apps can be served up from z/OS, Windows, AIX, Solaris, Linux, and Mac OS–every "major" business OS but IBM i (and HP-UX).

Worklight isn’t the only component of MobileFirst Foundation. IBM CLM [collaborative lifecycle management] suite, which in turn is composed of Rational Requirements Composer, Team Concert, and Quality Manager, is also a part of MobileFirst Foundation. Others include Rational Test Workbench; Web Experience Solutions; Lotus Domino Designer; and WebSphere MQ.

MobileFirst Management is based largely on IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices, which previously was called just Endpoint Manager when it was part of the Mobile Foundation. Endpoint Manager is a Windows/SQL Server-based app that enables businesses to adopt "bring your own device" (BYOD) strategies, and supports all popular mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Symbian. MobileFirst Management also includes Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus, WebSphere Datapower, and Emptoris Rivermine Telecom Expense Management.

MobileFirst Security includes a new release of Security AppScan that has been gussied up to spot potential vulnerabilities in iOS apps; it previously supported Android. The Security Access Manager for Cloud and Mobile component delivers single sign on (SSO) capability for mobile apps–definitively a nice thing to have in enterprise environments. Integration with the security information and event management (SIEM) product QRadar is also part of MobileFirst Security, turning tablets and smartphones into listening posts to detect the activities of hackers and cybercriminals, while Mobile Connect establishes a virtual private network (VPN) connection between a mobile device and a server.

On the analytics front, IBM has crammed several apps into MobileFirst Analytics boat, including: Tealeaf CX Mobile, for detecting potential problems in the mobile user’s experience; Mobile Commerce, for mobile e-commerce; and Cognos Mobile, for accessing Cognos reports, dashboards, and metrics from mobile devices.

Bringing all these tools to bear on customers’ mobile strategies may be difficult, but never fear: IBM Global Services is here! MobileFirst has a wide array of services components, including: mobile application development; integration with back-office systems; infrastructure and planning; network integration; running mobile apps from the cloud; and embedding unified communications and collaboration (UCC) capabilities into mobile apps.

IBM also unveiled a new partnership with AT&T to integrate Worklight apps with AT&T’s cloud APIs. There’s also a new program called "Ready for IBM MobileFirst" to get ISVs going with the new brand, and new initiatives with colleges, too. IBM financing also got into the MobileFirst act.

It is almost as if every department in IBM gets to play a part in MobileFirst, which is undoubtedly what led IBM to call MobileFirst the first "true end-to-end mobile solution" that businesses can use to "transform their entire business model." Considering that most of the tools already existed in IBM’s portfolio, that claim is a stretch. (It is even more of a stretch unless IBM has done the hard work to integrate the tools, not only from a functional aspect, but from a licensing aspect, too). Every organization will have specific needs as it relates to mobile, so there will never be a one-size-fits-all solution, despite whatever messaging IBM’s marketing committees agree on.

With so many components in MobileFirst, it is likely that any given organization will find something that addresses at least some their mobile needs. And customers can even look outside of the MobileFirst family, to tools such as Rational Application Developer and Rational Business Developer, which gained Dojo X Mobile support in 2011, but which missed the first departure of the MobileFirst train.

It is clear that MobileFirst represents the product branding that IBM is using for its smartphone and tablet computing solutions, and it will undoubtedly evolve in the future. Now all that IBM needs to do is support IBM i with Worklight–the foundational element of MobileFirst–and it will have piqued the attention of 150,000 of its best customers.

Source: http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh022513-story05.html

Did you like this? Share it:

IBM brings iPhone mobile security to the enterprise

IBM has launched new software to help developers secure code and data in iPhone and iPad apps.

AppScan Source 8.7 for iOS searches through app code and alerts developers when it finds flaws.

The software also analyses apps that employees may want to use on Apple devices for vulnerabilities and alerts IT security staff to potential threats.

Big blue said the software would improve security without sacrificing the time to market for mobile apps.

Citing Gartner figures, IBM said more than 45.6 billion mobile apps were downloaded in 2012, which is why securing smartphones and other endpoint devices should be a top priority for organisations.

IBM developed AppScan Source by looking at over 40,000 mobile APIs for iOS apps using Apple’s iOS Software Development Kit.

These API profiles have been added to the IBM AppScan Source Security Knowledgebase and tied to the analysis engine.

The software also features complete language support for Objective-C, JavaScript and Java and includes the ability to do call and data flow analysis that will generate trace information. This new capability enables organisations to build secure enterprise mobile apps, regardless of technology choice, for employees and partners.

One of the companies that has been trying out AppScan Source for IOS is mobile technology firm KiwiTech.

Rakesh Gupta, chief executive of KiwiTech, said his firm had developed hundreds of apps for iOS and Android and as the risk from mobile malware and data leakage grows, “our customers are looking for ways to secure their iOS and Android apps and protect corporate data.”

Gupta said the software would help his company “proactively secure mobile apps and automate security testing to ensure our customers can keep pace with constant updates."

Caleb Barlow, director of Application, Data and Mobile Security at IBM, said the new capability would help clients incorporate “security into their infrastructure and solutions from the design, development and testing phases rather than leaving security to become an afterthought.”

AppScan Source for iOS will be available from 25 March. IBM launched its AppScan range of products in 2008, following the $2.1 billion acquisition of Rational Software. It has previously launched a version of the software that scans Android apps.

Source: http://www.itpro.co.uk/smartphones/19276/ibm-brings-iphone-mobile-security-enterprise

Did you like this? Share it:

HP Enables Partners to Accelerate Cloud Services Delivery

HP

HP today announced two new HP Cloud Builder programs that enable partners to leverage HP Cloud Services, the company’s public cloud, to expand their cloud practices and generate new revenue opportunities.

HP also introduced three new "as a service" offerings from HP Cloud Services that provide customers with faster time to value and simplified cloud deployment.

As part of HP’s Converged Cloud strategy, the new additions to the HP Cloud Builder program enable global system integrators (GSIs) and value-added resellers (VARs) to offer their customers a hybrid delivery model across private, managed and public cloud environments. HP partners are looking for new and innovative ways to assist their customers’ move to the cloud. By adopting these programs, partners gain access to specialized personnel and training that enables them to respond faster, and drive greater profitability and innovation for their customers.

The two new HP Cloud Builder programs, unveiled at the 2013 HP Global Partner Conference, expand opportunities in the cloud for GSIs and VARs. HP’s public cloud partner program for GSIs enables them to leverage tools and capabilities to simplify the cloud transition for customers. In addition, HP announced the general availability of its public cloud partner program for VARs, which provides reward incentives to partners referring customers to HP Cloud Services.

HP public cloud partner program for global system integrators HP’s public cloud program for GSIs enables partners to provide consulting services, build applications or resell services leveraging HP Cloud Services. It provides partners with the tools to rapidly and reliably transition customers to the cloud. Program members have access to designated cloud testing environments; collaborative go-to-market opportunities; and sales, technical and support resources that expand their public cloud practices.

Deloitte Consulting LLP, a global financial services firm, and Infosys, a technology consulting and outsourcing provider, are working with HP Cloud Services and the HP partner program for GSIs to help meet the high demand among enterprise customers to leverage the public cloud. As a result, Deloitte and Infosys have the means to help their customers solve complex business problems, foster innovation and drive growth.

"HP’s public cloud partner program for GSIs provides global system integrators with access to HP Cloud Services to grow their public cloud practice," said Chris Weitz, Deloitte Consulting director and leader of Deloitte’s cloud computing practice. "Deloitte has joined HP’s public cloud partner program for GSIs to help meet the high demand among enterprises to define a cloud strategy, move to the cloud and remain competitive."

HP public cloud partner program for value-added resellers HP’s public cloud program for VARs rewards partners for referring customers to HP Cloud Services and maintaining long-term relationships with annuity-based commissions. The program helps VARs and channel partners capture new markets and attract customers through HP training, cobranding opportunities and marketing tools.

Starting summer 2013, HP will expand the program to provide financial incentives for channel partners reselling HP Cloud Services.

"By engaging with HP’s public cloud partner program for VARs, we are able to meet the needs of our customers by offering solutions that help them innovate and scale with their business," said Al Chien, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Dasher Technologies.

HP cloud services

New HP Cloud Services offerings HP has expanded its HP Cloud Services portfolio with new private beta "as a service" offerings that support a reliable application infrastructure and enable customers to achieve rapid business results:

        –  HP Cloud Monitoring helps users identify potential issues before they
            impact production with infrastructure metrics, alerts and notification
            tools.
        –  HP Cloud Load Balancer optimizes application response times and
            reduces IT management costs by distributing web traffic across
            multiple servers.
        –  HP Cloud DNS saves developers’ time and provides quick and easy access
            to a faster, reliable global DNS service by translating domain names
            to IP addresses using a global network of servers.

"Partners and organizations alike are strapped for resources, making it difficult to invest in the newest technologies for their customers," says Roger Levy, vice president, Technology and Customer Operations, Cloud Services, HP. "HP’s partner programs and service additions demonstrate our ongoing commitment to engage partners and clients in innovative technology capabilities, helping them to reach new markets, grow their customer base and, ultimately, ensure their profitability."

Availability All HP Cloud Services offerings announced today are initially available in private beta. Additional information is available at HP Cloud Matters.

Additional information about HP Cloud Services is available at hpcloud.com and the HP Cloud Matters blog. Additional information an HP Converged Cloud is available online. Up-to-the-minute information is available on Twitter at @HPCloud and @HPNews.

HP’s premier Americas client event, HP Discover, takes place June 11-13 in Las Vegas.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance, market share or competitive performance relating to products and services; any statements regarding anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the competitive pressures faced by HP’s businesses; the development and transition of new products and services and the enhancement of existing products and services to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the protection of HP’s intellectual property assets, including intellectual property licensed from third parties; integration and other risks associated with business combination and investment transactions; the hiring and retention of key employees; assumptions related to pension and other post-retirement costs and retirement programs; the execution, timing and results of restructuring plans, including estimates and assumptions related to the cost and the anticipated benefits of implementing those plans; the resolution of pending investigations, claims and disputes; and other risks that are described in HP’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2012. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

Source:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hp-enables-partners-to-accelerate-cloud-services-delivery-2013-02-20

Did you like this? Share it:

iPhone lock screen hack prompts another Apple patch

iPhone lock screen

Apple is once again promising to patch iOS 6.1 – this time to address a serious security flaw that allows thieves to bypass the iPhone’s lock screen.

Earlier this week Apple released iOS 6.1.1 to address a flaw that left iPhone 4S users struggling to connect to 3G networks after the upgrade to iOS 6.1. Apple has also promised a further iOS 6.1 patch to fix a problem that sees the phone repeatedly pinging Exchange servers, draining the device’s battery.

Now another more serious bug has emerged, which allows phone thieves to bypass the lock screen on the iPhone 5 without entering the correct PIN code. The rather convoluted method involves making, and then quickly terminating, an emergency phone call, before holding down the power button twice. The hack could give thieves access to a user’s contacts, voicemail and phone call history.

A YouTube video demonstrating the attack is shown below:

iphone lock screen

An Apple spokesperson told All Things Digital that the company "takes user security very seriously" and that it "will deliver a fix in a future software update".

Source: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/379981/iphone-lock-screen-hack-prompts-another-apple-patch

Did you like this? Share it:

Data Integration is Key Tech Need in 2013

In the past few years, many marketers have tested multiple kinds of campaign management tools, and that has created a multitude of unwieldy data silos.

“Marketers are struggling with integration issues,” says Michael Della Penna, senior vice president, emerging channels, Responsys. “They’re looking for a solution that can collect critical social data and make it actionable.”

This means that integrated solutions will be a key area for tech spending, says Della Penna, who notes that 2011 was very much a testing phase for social media.

“It wasn’t unusual to talk to a brand that has three campaign management tools in place, testing which is the best tool for them,” he says, noting that many tools initially just focused on one specific area, like email or social listening. “But by the end of 2012, many of these tools started morphing and increasing their offerings to increase revenue by account.

Now, brands are realizing that they don’t need three of the same thing, and will look to consolidate into the one that best meets their particular needs.

Where else will marketers focus their  tech budget dollars this year?

Orchestration will be key in 2013, says Della Penna. “All of the different channels [available] have created issues—customers are seeing different voices in different channels, and brands need to be creating messages in a more coordinated way, timed to where the consumer is in the buying process.”

Tied into this is optimization and responsive design, considering how customers experience things in different channels and making sure emails are rendered properly for viewing on a multitude of devices, he adds.

Optimizing systems to deliver localized targeting will also be a key area, as marketers try to take advantage of locally relevant social data. “A lot of social data is unstructured, so the challenge is making this data useful in campaign development.”

Marketing automation has provided amazing results for many firms, and there is a trend to extend that beyond email into other channels, such as display, where what ads are pushed to website visitors can be automated based not only on behavior but whether the prospect has already converted.

“We can pull those who have converted out of market so clients are not wasting money trying to contact them,” he says, noting that display has been making a comeback. “There’s a huge interest in display retargeting, building strategies that are different between known and unknown users for contextually relevant offers.”

On the mobile front, there is a renewed interest in technology to enable SMS. “It’s the workhorse of mobile, and brands are now coordinating it with other channels for things like notifications about product availability or confirming purchases,” says Della Penna. “There’s particular interest in tools to push relevant offers such being able to leverage [the iOS application] Passbook to push out a coupon.”

Is getting C-level buy-in for marketing tech expenditures becoming easier? Della Penna thinks so. “The CMO and CTO relationship is changing. There is rarely a situation where we don’t have IT involved at some point in the buying cycle, and all disciplines are working more closely together.”

The way B2B and B2C firms are looking at marketing tech isn’t all that different, he adds. “The scale just varies. In B2B there may be more of a focus on live events and face-to-face but it’s all about focusing on knowing the customer better and then reaching them at the right touch points.”

Source: http://chiefmarketer.com/database-marketing/data-integration-key-tech-need-2013

Did you like this? Share it:

W3C designates Chinese uni as ‘host’ center

W3C china

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) announced today it has designated China’s Beihang University as a "host" institution, as it hopes to increase opportunities for collaboration with local developers, Internet companies, and research institutes to shape the Web’s future.

In a statement issued Monday, the W3C said Beihang University will join the US’ Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM), and Japan’s Keio University as the organization’s four official host centers. Beihang University’s School of Computer Science & Engineering department had been a W3C office since April 27, 2006.

It is also the first time in 15 years that the W3C has appointed a new host institution, noted Ian Jacobs, head of communications for W3C.

In a phone interview with ZDNet, Jacobs explained the difference in status between "host" and "office," saying that while Beihang University had previously been a "friend of W3C" in that it hosted events and brought together collaborators, it did not set the direction for the Consortium and house staff member. In other words, the latest announcement means the Chinese institution is "now W3C," he said.

"A host is the heart of our organization, and it is a different level of engagement," the executive said, adding the W3C has set a goal of having seven to 10 employees in China by the end of 2013.

Tapping local innovations

Jacobs also pointed out the Consortium will have a stronger base to engage the Chinese Internet companies, developers, and research institutes to have them contribute to shaping how the Internet will develop in the future. 

He said Beihang University has organized many Web developer events since 2006, such as training, meetings, and conferences, and it will continue to be a facilitator for such platforms. Already in place this year is a conference on HTML 5 and mobile development to be held in Beijing in July for approximately 1,000 people, and a "Test the Web Forward" event in Shanghai in the middle of this year, he stated.

Asked if the Chinese developer community has particular strengths the W3C can tap on, the executive said recent participation from members "hint at particular interests." The community has proved adept at creating new browsers and innovating on them, which has led to more distinct browser products in the market than a decade ago, he said.

Mobile and software testing are two other "hot" areas among Chinese developers and are focus areas for Beihang University’s events, he added.

Jeff Jaffe, CEO of W3C, also pointed out in the statement that Chinese companies have excelled in instant messaging, online games, smartphones, search, and creating a flourishing browser ecosystem.  

"In the past two years, W3C has benefited from greater Chinese participation, and we look forward to that trend accelerating through the efforts of local industry and Beihang University. Global participation in W3C enables our community to identify global needs for the Web and drive solutions," Jaffe stated.

In terms of attracting more Chinese companies to become W3C members, Jacobs said there are no concrete goals set by the Consortium for the year.

He did note, though, that participation among local companies is "modest but growing." Companies such as Huawei Technologies, Baidu, Tencent, and China Unicom have employees contributing to W3C’s various community groups, and, with a local host institution in place, the contributions should rise accordingly, he added.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/cn/w3c-designates-chinese-uni-as-host-center-7000010056/

Did you like this? Share it: