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Git is the finest tool that provides a great feature on the virtual front. It controls the information for the code of when and how they can be properly kept. Git is presented as a distributed tool and can allow you to get the bonus changes upon collaboration with a series of repositories.

What is a Git Branching Model?

A git branching model outlines the branding strategy Git entails. It explains how and when a developer can make alterations according to their needs and connect them to your codebase.

Git branching model showcases the simple tricks to accelerate the process of feedback delivery to developers. The major purpose of the Git branching model is to develop the patterns that are designed to conquer the challenges that you can construct with Git.

Types of Git Branching Models

Here are some of the Git branching models along with their pros and cons.

1.      Git Flow Branching Model

Git Flow consists of two essential branches:

• Main branch or Master branch
• Development branch

The main branch acts as the production branch. The code placed in this branch is considered to be the most stable.

While the function of the development branch is to integrate all the changes that are required in the system. First, the code is tested, and then it is merged with the main branch.

The branching strategy you choose decides the supporting branches that will be involved in the process such as release branches, feature branches, and hotfixes, to name a few.

Pros of Git Flow

The Git Flow is the best model for the development lifecycle as it assists in the stability of a release. This allows the developers to follow a pattern that is specifically designed for each. The trick is to keep the development branch and main branch separately for the safety of your production code.

Cons of Git Flow

Since there is no association of the branches, it gives a troublesome history to comprehend the cause of issues that may occur. It creates problems for the developers as Git Flow complexity takes quite some time in the merging process even if fewer merge conflicts are causing the delay in the release.

2.     GitLab Flow Branching Model

GitLab Flow highlights the future-oriented development procedures.

What sets GitLab apart from the Git Flow branching model?

The main difference that helps differentiate GitLab from Git Flow is the issue tracking feature and the environment it is set in.

In GitLab Flow, the main branch is the base branch. To work on codes, the developers have to utilize the feature branch. This further proceeds with the pull request when the task is complete. When it is approved, the changes are then merged into the main branch. Subsequently, they are taken out in the environment for testing purposes.

Teams who make use of the GitLab model require a pre-production environment, staging area, and post-production environment.

Pros of GitLab

GitLab is the safe haven for premature codes as it allows us to keep them separate. This presents as a huge advantage, unlike Git Flow where the history is cleaned.

GitLab helps in ruling out the issues in the main branch in case of finding them out in the production phase.

GitLab gives complete transparency between code and the issue tracker. This allows in detecting errors and keeping a record of the history.

Cons of GitLab

With the variety of environments in the GitLab, it gets a little tricky to implement CI/CD. Hence, when the code goes through a multitude of staging areas, the delay in the release is expected.

3.    GitHub Flow Branching Model

In simpler terms, GitHub Flow is a more straightforward and easier version of Git Flow. It is best suited for smaller groups as is there is no task for the management for several environments and versions.

The process begins with the main branch that is checked by developers to perform their respective tasks. Once the change is complete, it opens up a pull quest, the work is assessed and, on its basis, it is merged back to the main.

The GitHub flow branching model has similar properties as the trunk-based development.

Pros of Git Hub flow

GitHub is easy and quite light which helps in the workflow for CI/CD. It is perfect for smaller teams because they are mainly automating, testing and operating in a single branch. Since the work is essentially done off the main branch, it helps in tighter controls and testing.

Cons of GitHub Flow

Every change is merged into the main branch due to which, there is a risk of production staying unstable.

For bigger teams, this model can get costly for the merge because when everyone merges into a single branch, the transparency of other team member’s work is greatly compromised. Therefore, to make up for it, a big team uses tagging that enables the developers to understand the stability measure. However, with time these tags become confusing and outdated.

In a nutshell

Git has proven to be extremely useful in the past couple of years for some solid projects that require a great workforce and a strong branching model for understanding. It is hoped that the basics of Git branching model and its types serve the best purpose in your development journey.

Machine learning is an integral element of today’s technologically-driven world.

It has become a source of making programming scalable in a way that helps developers in the perfect production of apps and users to make the most of the high-tech systems.

But first, let’s take a look at what machine learning is.

What is Machine Learning?

Machine learning is the use or implementation of artificial intelligence in which the machine or computer learns the behavior of past activities and predicts future actions accordingly. Without following specific instructions, machine learning makes use of an algorithm that helps in analyzing the data and form the regular patterns of the data.

Basically, it is the application of artificial intelligence-based systems that allows automatic learning and enhances the system without having to be individually programmed for the purpose. The advancement and development of computer programs with which the data is easy to access and can be learned are possible via machine learning.

The learning cycle of machine learning depends on how well the data has been observed and consumed. The data may include a list of instructions, regular data patterns, and experiences that enable in contemplating and making a decision itself. The objective of machine learning is to ensure that the machine learns and performs an action without any external human assistance or adjustments.

Machine learning is as diverse as primary learning is. There are methods of machine learning based on their algorithms, such as

Supervised machine learning algorithms
Unsupervised machine learning algorithms
Semi-supervised machine learning algorithms
Reinforcement machine learning algorithms
1.     Supervised Machine Learning Algorithms

These are the algorithms that learn from past experiences and implement them in developing new data with the help of labeled instances for future events. This learning algorithm makes predictions for future outputs simpler. The targets are then associated with the input for the effective results. The output is also capable of comparison to find the accuracy of the results and modify accordingly.

2.    Unsupervised Machine Learning Algorithms

The unsupervised machine learning algorithm is used for non-labeled or non-classified data. It learns the raw structures of unlabeled data to deduce the results. It cannot comprehend the exact output however, this algorithm studies the data set and draws conclusions based on the data sets of hidden raw structures of the unlabeled data.

3.    Semi-Supervised Machine Learning Algorithms

A semi-supervised machine learning algorithm is a mix of supervised machine learning algorithms and unsupervised machine learning algorithms. This is the type of hybrid category of the two as it uses both labeled and unlabeled data for the training.

The systems based on this algorithm can invariably enhance the precision of unlabeled data. Although, obtaining unlabeled data does not need external resources, but semi-supervised learning is preferred in cases where labeled data demands the use of solid resources for their training and learning.

4.    Reinforcement Machine Learning Algorithms

The reinforcement machine learning algorithm is special as it provides a learning method where a connection is maintained between error or rewards and actions. The highlighted feature of this method is the trial-and-error search and delayed rewards.

This algorithm enables all machines and software agents to automatically figure out the correct behavior of the context to capitalize the overall performance.

Applications of Machine Learning

There are many mainstream and trending applications of machine learning in today’s world. Let us discuss a few.

1.     Speech Recognition

When you are browsing on the search engine, it also gives you a choice to search by speaking up that comes under the banner of “Search by Voice”. This feature falls into the category of speech recognition. It establishes a process of converting your speech to text.

The latest trends such as Cortana, Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri are marvelous examples of speech recognition technology that follows voice instructions and performs the desired functions.

2.    Self-Driving Cars

You may have come across the images and the idea of self-driving cars which is as thrilling as it sounds. Machine learning greatly contributes to self-driving cars. It is the unsupervised method of machine learning algorithm that has made self-driving cars an exciting reality. The methods train cars and distinguish every object and person on the drive. Tesla is one the finest examples of self-driving cars that the world is aware of.

3.    Image Recognition

The identification of people, places, objects, digital images, and more is a form of an image recognition system. When your phone unlocks itself once it recognizes your face is one of the daily life examples of image recognition. Moreover, when you post a picture on social media with a friend and it automatically generates tagging suggestions with names is how the primary step of the image recognition algorithm works and that is commonly known as face detection.

4.    Traffic Detection

Machine learning has made it easier for you to know if your required route to a destination will face traffic. It predicts the recent traffic situation of the place you want to go to and shows you the correct and shortest route on Google Maps.

It also tells you the duration to reach the destination, slow-moving or heavy traffic with real-time locations, and the average time that has been consumed in the past days.

In a Nutshell

Machine learning has made our lives easier in many different ways we were not aware of. So far, we had no idea how much of our lives’ technological use depends on machine learning. With this blog, however, we hope that you have gained insight into this domain.

React Native is an open-source framework which allows developers to build cross-platform mobile applications using JavaScript. Developed by Facebook, the framework enables one to design a mobile application by using the same design principles used to design a web application with ReactJs framework. It lets the developer build mobile application UI by compiling several components. Prior to React native, other options like Cordova, ionic were available to build a hybrid application.

What is Cross-Platform Development?

Cross-platform mobile development is the creation of software applications that are in sync with several mobile operating systems. Initially, the complexity of developing mobile apps was exacerbated by the trouble of building out a backend that worked across multiple platforms. Although it was slow and costly, it was often easier to build native applications for each mobile operating system (OS). The problem? The code built for one operating system could not be repurposed for another OS.

Benefits of Cross-Platform Development

Some of the advantages of developing Cross-Platform apps are:

Codes can be reused

Rather than write new codes for every platform, developers can reuse the same code across all platforms. This also helps reduce repetitive tasks, thus removing unnecessary work. However, it is not a new concept; it has been used in software development for several years now and reusing codes have had a number of benefits.

Controls expense

Contrary to the past when companies had to spend massively on various tools and technologies, cross-platform development now helps organizations invest only once for app development. No longer do they need to spend on creating apps for every individual platform separately. As for app developers, the same team, or unit, can be used to work on different platforms.

Faster development time

Once a single script is deployed, app development becomes much swifter. On the contrary, improved development speed leads to the product hitting the market sooner than earlier. Time can be spent on coming up with codes for a brand-new application, which is a win-win situation for developers, marketers and consumers.

Easier Execution

There are several technologies, nowadays, like PhoneGap and Appcelerator, offering a cross-platform solution that allows developers to make changes easily. For example, when a tool like Appcelerator is used, codes can simply be written in HTML5 and changed for different platforms. Simply put, it’s all about the application of resources you already know about and converting them for different platforms.

This not only makes development of apps faster, but it also becomes easier to sync updates across all mobile devices.

Consistency and Uniformity

Using cross platform app development guarantees that the overall look of the app can be maintained across all platforms since the same set of codes are being applied. Customers find an app cumbersome and ineffective if they need to use different practices for accessing the same app across different mobile phones. They would rather use one that looks and feels the same on both devices.

One of the major goals of a mobile app developer is to acquire as many customers as possible or aim for a targeted market and fully engage the customers.

It is not a tough prospect when most of the targeted audience is using the same platform. It is then easy to select which platform to develop the app on. But when the objective is to target a massive audience who could be using iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and others, the app would have to be made separately for the diverse platforms.

This is where cross platform mobile app development is beneficial. As with all things technological, it may be hard to execute, but the advantages do generally provide a better view for app development.

What is React Native?

First released by Facebook in 2015, React Native, or RN, is a widely used JavaScript-based mobile app framework that lets you create natively-rendered mobile applications for iOS and Android.

In just a few years, React Native has become one of the leading solutions used for mobile development. The app development is used to run some of the world’s foremost mobile apps, including Instagram, Facebook, and Skype.

What is Flutter?

Flutter was introduced by Google in 2015, but today the buzz around it has grown stronger. Flutter is a cross-platform tool designed for building Android and iOS apps from a single code base by using a contemporary, responsive framework.

In a very short span of time, Flutter has managed to gain traction among developers. Today, app stores are graced by a slew of Flutter apps, including the Alibaba app with 50 million users. In addition, Flutter is not only growing at a rapid pace, but it also offers swifter development than React Native. What’s more, Flutter is free and open source, and it’s based on Dart, a relatively new but fast, goal-oriented programming language. Plus, it provides its own widgets — which are fast, catchy, and customizable —and drawn from its own high-performance rendering engine.

10 Amazing Apps Built Using Flutter Framework

1. Google Ads (Utility)
2. Alibaba (eCommerce)
3. Reflectly (Lifestyle)
4. Birch Finance (Finance)
5. Hamilton Musical (Entertainment)
6. Coach Yourself (Health and Fitness)
7. Hookle (Social)
8. Watermaniac (Health & Fitness)
9. Cryptograph (Finance)
10. SG BusTracker (Maps & Navigation)

Page speed optimization is the key factor that determines success for modern online businesses. Poor website performance ruins a company’s goodwill and undermines its reputation when the agony of waiting for slow web pages to load forces visitors to opt for alternatives.

What is Page Speed?

Page speed is the length of time it takes to show all the content on a certain page or the span of time it takes for a browser to collect a web server’s first. Every page component, i.e., its HTML code, CSS that styles page elements, several JavaScript files, pictures, videos and other multimedia and so much more, impacts the page speed.

Thanks to the differences in technology, page speed is gauged distinctly on desktop and mobile devices, with users finding the experience exciting.

Page Speed vs. Site Speed

From their nomenclatures, page speed and site speed look quite similar, but in fact they are quite different from each other. Site speed is the average of numerous model pages on a website, while page speed explains how long an individual will wait to begin using a specific page.

Why Page Speed is Important

For users, page speed is immensely important as swifter pages are more well-organized and provide a much better on-page user experience. According to a survey, if a page takes longer than 4 seconds to load, over a half of users will look the other way.

Speed is equally important for mobile users as well. The same survey showed that 75% of users reported visiting a website that didn’t load fast enough. Conversion rate is also greatly impacted by page speed. For example, a top American retailer Walmart observed a three percent rise with every second of increased page speed.

More significantly, page speed is also vital for search engine optimization (SEO).

In 2010, Google announced that page speed would be included as one of the ranking features for their search index. And a few years ago, the company announced they will give page speed even more attention, integrating mobile site speed to rank sites on its “mobile-first” pages, or pages that personalize rankings for mobile sites. The search engine behemoth also expanded the standing of the user experience by introducing Page Experience to its ranking signals.

Page experience gestures aim to assess web pages by the quality of their user experience for real people. Simply put, they expand Google’s recent on-page standards with features that impact the individual’s experience while using the content. In fact, page speed is one of the most important factors that influence it.

Page Speed Metrics

Page speed is a complex phenomenon. Therefore, to overcome any issues associated with it, it is important to comprehend how it is measured.

There are numerous metrics that impact or are relevant to page speed:

Load time: It describes how long it takes for a whole page to show in a browser’s window. It’s worth noting that for that to occur, all file and script must be loaded and all HTTP requests have to be satisfied.

Page size: It describes the overall size of all features — including code elements, scripts, images, and other files — a page comprises.

Time to First Byte (TTFB): It measures the time between a browser requesting the page and the first byte of the information is returned by the server.

Round Trip Time (RTT): It describes the time it takes for the complete request for information: from the moment the browser makes the request, to the time it takes to reach the server, and how long it takes for the response to return to the browser.

Factors that Slow Pages Down

With these convincing figures, you surely want to ensure your site is loading swiftly. Here are some of the factors that might decelerate your site’s speed.

Primarily, a heavy image page, particularly on sites with receptive or high DPI images, can load sluggishly. Enhancing images can make your website more lightweight; so can allocating them through a content delivery network (CDN) to render those files from location closer to where the user is.

Another problem happens if your web page has a number of large files that must be downloaded. Rendering too many JavaScript scripts might decelerate a page as well. A JavaScript compression or minimization tool reduces your download size. Another grave problem is rendering scripts too early or too late. Often, webmasters design their pages to be expended only after the whole content has been loaded.

Evaluating Page Speed

You may not be aware how users are dealing with your website if you don’t evaluate page speed. Google’s PageSpeed Insights allows you to see your pages’ load speed score, as well as giving you the aforementioned reasons that your page may not be loading as fast as it could be.

Nevertheless, the averages provided by these Google tools do not constantly paint a complete picture. A swift look provides valuable insights as you make the changes that Google’s PageSpeed insights suggests. You can do pre and post analysis and also correlate the changes to see if that led to a rise in traffic and conversion on your site.

However, one thing is crystal-clear: optimizing your page speed is essential for the future. And your entire focus should be on improving the speed of your web page.

“Backend is the most fundamental part of an application.”

We all have heard that multiple times.

As an app developer, your main focus is the backend of the web application and you make sure that it works efficiently to support the overall application. Yes, the backend is the spine of the web app but we also know that if your application is not pleasing to the eye, you may face difficulty in selling it to the audience.

Application development is a half-done job with a poor front-end. After all, what is seen is sold. A strong visual appeal can uplift the game of your application to the next level.

To accomplish this task, you can make use of a library called ReactJS. What is ReactJS? How can it be smartly used to elevate the overall persona of your newly-developed application?

What is ReactJS?

Fundamentally, ReactJS is an open-source JavaScript library to construct flexible and dynamic user interfaces. This component-based front-end library builds the view layer of your mobile or web application.

ReactJS is considered as one of the flexible libraries as it allows the developer to use it according to their own convenience and requirement. You can develop a little part of a new feature of your app, alter the entire look, or the whole user interface of your application.

It entails the use of a few additional libraries that match the changes you would like to make in any application.

The simple use of ReactJS has helped it gain much popularity and highlights it as the shining future of the web development domain. Big enterprises such as Uber, Facebook, Airbnb, PayPal, and more use React JS for their user interface.

How does ReactJS function?

ReactJS was introduced by Facebook when a team of developers from the franchise comprehended that the Document Object Model (DOM) is confined to a programming interface for XML and HTML documents only. They realized that it only explains the documents of a logical structure and their accessibility of manipulation.

ReactJS introduces virtual DOM which it implements in JavaScript as a tree representation. Hence, when it requires to write or read to the DOM, the virtual representation is used which is a systematic and effective way to upgrade the browser’s DOM.

Contrasting to browser DOM components, React components are plain objects and are cheap to make. React DOM takes care of repairing the DOM to coordinate with the React elements. The reason for this is often that JavaScript is exceptionally quick and it is a sensible decision to maintain a DOM tree in it that accelerates its basic manipulations. Although ReactJS was conceived to be utilized within the browser, its genius design has enabled it to be used within the server with Node.js.

What Are the Advantages of ReactJS?

1.     The Data Flow

ReactJS obeys unidirectional data flow. During the designing process, developers take parent component to nest child component within. But, with the flow of data being unidirectional, the debugging becomes simple and the errors can be easily spotted and rectified.

2.    The Performance

The virtual DOM in ReactJS makes the applications comparatively faster. Moreover, Virtual DOM makes the updating easy. How? By comparing the previous states and updating the features of the Real DOM that require alterations, the updates are simple because the entire application does not have to be updated anymore.

3.    Easy Learning

From the beginners’ point of view, ReactJS can be easily learned because it is the amalgamation of JavaScript and HTML concepts. If a learner spends the right amount of time with multiple tools and frameworks, he or she can learn the ropes of ReactJS’s library with some added advantages.

4.    Web and Mobile Applications

There has been a misconception that ReactJS is only restricted to application development, which is certainly false.

The framework for ReactJS called React Native that is originated from the ReactJS itself which is extensively used for the development of the amazing visuals of mobile applications. This property makes ReactJS a dual-platform library.

5.     The Diversity

The diversity of ReactJS makes it easily accessible for other frameworks such as Vue, jQuery, Angular, and Backbone, as it is not a framework itself.

6.    The Components

Components make or break the application as they pose to be the pillar React application. Mostly, one application is made up of various components. ReactJS components can be reused in the entire application that smartly decreases the development time of an application. These components encompass strong logics that assists in reusability.

What are the requirements to learn ReactJS?

For people with a keen interest in ReactJS, there are a few prerequisites that will pave the way for quick learning such as

1. HTML
2. Handful knowledge of JavaScript and ES6
3. CSS
4. Basic understanding of Node and NPM
5. Elementary programming concepts such as arrays, classes, functions, objects, etc.

 Conclusion

A course for the learning of ReactJS can take you a long way. With the help of some basic understanding, you can make the most of this rapidly growing library. Learn it today and take the visual magic of your application one step ahead.

Rust programing language, since its launch more than a decade ago, has managed to carve a niche for itself across a wide community of developers, attaining the top slot among the most sought-after programming languages.

The key to Rust’s success: its ability to have control over low-level details, as it can be used to craft game engines, websites, tools, file and operating systems, and more. Simply put, the language, being very simple, swift, and light, bears considerable resemblance to C++, and is more focused performance and security. Rust was created by Graydon Hoare for Mozilla.

Concepts of Rust

Ownership

Ownership is Rust’s most amazing feature, and it allows the language to make memory safety guarantees. In Rust, memory is managed through a structure of ownership with a set of guidelines that the compiler reviews at compile time. Owned data is only automatically removed when the retained variable no longer holds the data. This can occur when the owner variable goes out of scope and is wrecked; and the owner variable is set to another value, which makes the real data inaccessible.

Borrowing

As the name suggests, borrowing allows another variable to momentarily borrow the data in your variable and gives it back when it’s done. Several resources are too costly in terms of time or memory be copied for every reassignment. In these situations, the language offers the option to borrow.

Lifetimes

The Rust compiler uses lifetimes to keep track of the length of validity of references. The borrow checker is primarily responsible for checking references. In many situations, the borrow checker can deduce the precise lifetimes and handle everything on its own. But it often needs your help to appreciate it. If Lifetime does not do its work properly, several invalid references can be seen during runtime.

Why Use Rust?

There are multiple reasons why top developers make the most of Rust programming language, some of which are as follows.

Performance

Rust is super-fast and memory-efficient: with no runtime or garbage collector, the language can run performance-critical amenities, run on embedded devices, and easily gel in with other languages.

Reliability

Rust’s rich type system and ownership model ensure memory-safety and thread-safety, allowing you to remove several classes of viruses at compile-time.

Productivity

Rust has amazing documentation, a welcoming compiler with beneficial error messages, and first-rate tooling — an integrated package manager and build tool, smart multi-editor support with auto-completion and type inspections, an auto-formatter, and more.

Rust can build powerful web apps

Rust is unquestionably the best choice for developing web apps that offer performance that wouldn’t have been possible using JavaScript, the long-lasting scripting language of the web. Besides, Rust can be compiled into Web Assembly, a promising new domain to bring near-native application performance to the web. In fact, Rust has become the go-to language for writing code that compiles to Web Assembly. The language is also likely to soon rival well-known web-development languages for its unique features.

Rust is great for building distributed online services

For networked services, Rust’s trifling footmark and capacity to ensure memory safety across multiple threads make it a superb choice for services that scale across distributed systems online. Drawing data from different online services should also shortly be easier, with Rust due to enforce support for the async/await commands, which will make it much easier to write asynchronous code that doesn’t hang while waiting for data to be delivered.

Stack Overflow

Rust has been Stack Overflow’s most loved language for four consecutive years; no wonder, many who began working on it fell in love with it. Nevertheless, the nearly 97% of survey respondents who haven’t used the language may question its credibility. But these skeptics will be pleasantly surprised to learn that Rust enjoys a leading edge over other languages with just a handful of minor demerits.

Why you should learn Rust

Rust is a contemporary programming language that is essentially aimed at solving a slew of issues which C/C++ programmers generally face. Here are a couple of reasons why you should learn Rust.

The Package Manager

Rust is one of the few languages to come with a built-in package manager called Cargo. Compared to other package manager, working with Cargo is an exciting experience. Reason?  It uses the TOML syntax, which is quite expressive and user-friendly.

Plus, it obviates the need for setting up any build scripts. Cargo automatically deals with compiling and linking binaries for your libraries and program. No configuration is required for production or development and there’s no need to worry about targeting specific platforms. It simply works. Also, you can still have them even if there’s no need to build scripts. Custom build scripts are regularly used when linking against C/C++ libraries, and take into account as much customization as needed.

The Compiler

While the Rust compiler is not essentially the swiftest one, it is certainly still very well designed and has a number of features that many other compilers lack. Initially, it features great color coding which makes the productivity very easy to read.

The compiler is very thorough and provides considerable context to the source of your error. The compiler not only tells you about the error and where to find it, but it also gives the code straight in the terminal. It underlines the specific parts of a line that are erroneous. There are also exhaustive clarifications of why your code is wrong, and most remarkably, it can even tell you how to fix it. Note that in the above image, the compiler asks to add the mut keyword in front of window. If the compiler is unable to provide a direct fix for your code, it will still provide a command to give a more thorough clarification — typically in the form of Rust –explain {error_code}.

Conclusion

Over the last few years, Rust has seen a remarkable rise and we are finally beginning to see it intrude into large organizations and significant projects. Most conspicuously, WASM has first-class support for Rust. The language has also been selected as the most treasured language for two years in succession.

Microsoft behemoth Microsoft has also been very vociferous about their embracing of Rust.

Approximately, 70% of the security issues that the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) allocates a CVE to are memory safety issues. By and large, despite being a relatively new language, Rust is in a very good position and is on track to become the number one programming language of the world.

You must have heard someone mention wearable technology, but do you know what exactly it means?

What is wearable technology?

Wearable technology is a general term for a group of devices — including fitness trackers and smartwatches — that you can wear all day. These gadgets can actually connect with devices, such as computers and smartphones, which means they are able to do a number of amazing things.

Types of wearables

• Smartwatches
• Fitness trackers
• Sport watches
• Head-mounted displays
• VR
• AR/smart glasses
• Hearables
• Consumer health

4 ways wearable technology can improve our life

1. Wearable Technology Keeps Us Fit

It goes without saying that wearable technology seeks to improve users’ lives in more ways than one. Millions of people around the world are taking advantage of the technology to stay fit and in good shape. One of today’s top health-driven wearable gadgets is the FitBit Flex. The bracelet comes with numerous monitoring features to help you create objectives and improve your fitness. This device helps you track your activity levels, your sleep cycle, and your food intake while checking your progress and setting objectives. The gadget keeps a watch on your physical activity by tracking your steps, calories burned, or the distance you travel during a day.

2. Enterprise Situational Awareness

Situational awareness (SA) is the process of gathering information from across your organization, creating it into usable intelligence, and spreading it efficiently so your employees comprehend how to make good decisions to keep your organization, its assets, and its employees safe and secure.

These technologies are likely to revolutionize disaster recovery and emergency response by letting emergency services access more information while vigorously conducting their critical tasks. Providing key information can provide critical information for decision-makers. During an incident that requires portrayal of the incident command system approach; many of the decisions are made based on face-to-face or radio-based reports. Information from wearables could decrease imprecisions caused by inappropriately communicated information and provide precise situational awareness.

The Growth of Wearable Devices

Although wearable technology and devices may seem like a new trend, in reality they have been around for quite some time.

Tech giants IBM and Olympus are considered to be the trailblazers in the realm of wearable technology. As far back as 1999, the companies released the PC Eye-Trek, which essentially bears a number of similarities with Google Glass, a wearable computer designed by the search engine behemoth to include an optical, head-mounted display. Developed to mimic much of the same functionality that is expected of a traditional computer, Google Glass also falls into a category called augmented reality because it is intended to provide people information about the world around them as they travel through their daily lives.

Samsung, another technology giant, also came up with the Samsung Galaxy Gear around eight years ago, which epitomized another daring step forward for the format. The Galaxy Gear is designed to replicate and occasionally complement the functionality of a conventional smartphone.

Challenges in Wearable Devices

There are a number of problems relating to wearable devices that need to be dealt with for such devices to become mainstream, including:

• Power management
• Technological reliance created by augmented reality and automatic processing
• Advances in software architecture to compensate for the challenges of navigating on such small-screen interfaces
• Adequate security from threat actors with the potential to control the data stores on the device

But with safety and other risks addressed, the hands-free and location-reliant processes of wearable computing devices could result in a number of applications. For instance, the devices could provide new capabilities for those requiring high-tech agility and connectivity in the field, such as emergency workers, search-and-rescue teams, warehouse staffs or anyone on the move. The systems also make it possible to track people, such as nurses carrying out rounds or emergency workers in the field.

Every new technology has an outline and detection phases in its life cycle, including wearable devices. A new catalyst that will forward the life cycle of wearable devices is the overview of 5G, that will provide more bandwidth and open the gates for many choices like real-time monitoring of health and several apps working simultaneously.

There will be times when customers will question the objective and use of such devices, and some people will discard them altogether. But the potential of wearable devices is too much to overlook, and one can ignore their benefits to one’s own detriment. If previous experience with the commonplace importance of smartphones is any sign, then the future of wearable devices is just as positive.

Future of Wearable Technology

The world has certainly enjoyed improved technological advancement which has enhanced our quality of life. Major fields of endeavor such as the healthcare and transportation sectors, and even the Fintech industry, continue to grow phenomenally, with the future looking bright and promising. One mainly striking innovation which is slowly becoming omnipresent is wearable technology, leading to the enhanced demand for wearable app developers.

The usage of wearable technology has seen a stellar rise in the last two decades. There’s no doubt that smart watches, VR and AR technology, smart jackets and a wide variety of other gadgets have become an indispensable part of our lives. And this can be gauged from colossal investment being made in the wearable technology market.

Detail Overview of Wearable Apps:

Business intelligence plays a leading role in the strategic planning of organizations and is used for numerous reasons, including gauging performance improvement toward business objectives, carrying out quantitative examination, reporting and data allocation, and recognizing customer insights. To this end, organizations gather data from internal IT systems and outside sources, prepare it for evaluation, run queries against the data and generate data visualizations, BI dashboards and reports to make the analytics results on hand to business users for effective decision-making and strategic planning.

How Business Intelligence Works

BI is used as a basis for strategic decision-making removing as much of the conjecture and speculative guesses from the decision-making process as possible. Organizations collect the essential data, examine it, and ascertain which actions to take to meet their objectives.

On the technical front, raw data is gathered from the business’s activity; data is processed and then stored in data storerooms; and once it’s stored, the scrutiny process to answer business questions begins. BI applications help organizations to bring all these diverse sources into a single integrated view providing real-time reporting, dashboards, and analysis.

Benefits of Business Intelligence

BI is more than just software; it’s a rounded enterprise to use data in everyday operations. Here are some of the fundamental benefits of business intelligence.

Quicker analysis, intuitive dashboards

Business intelligence platforms are developed to do strong data processing in the cloud or on your company’s servers. These tools draw data from several sources into a data storeroom, and then examines the data consistent with user queries, drag-and-drop reports, and dashboards. BI helped Lenovo raise reporting proficiency by 95% across many departments.

Improved organizational competence

BI offers leaders the capacity to access data and attain a rounded view of their processes, and the ability to benchmark results against the bigger organization. With an all-inclusive view of the organization, leaders can detect areas of opportunity. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer uses BI platforms to join forces among subdivisions and developed models to enhance patient diagnosis and quicker, better ways to execute clinical trials.

Data-driven business decisions

Having precise data and quicker reporting ability make for better business decisions. MillerCoors modified mobile dashboards for their sales team so they can view real-time data and sales predictions before going into meetings with potential customers. They can speak of customers’ or prospects’ needs assuredly and know the data is current. Leaders no longer have to wait days or weeks for reports and cope with the risk of data that may be obsolete.

Improved customer experience

Customer experience and satisfaction can be directly affected by business intelligence. Verizon installed BI systems across many departments, producing upwards of 1,500 dashboards for workers. These dashboards drew data from processes and text data from customer support chat sessions. Using this data, the American telecommunications giant managed to recognize opportunities to improve customer service and decrease support calls by 44%.

Increased competitive advantage

Companies can be more viable when they know the market and their performance within the market. Rosenblatt Securities, an institutional brokerage firm, evaluated data from scores of sources and managed to see the best possible time to enter and exit the market and position themselves purposefully. With BI, businesses can keep up with changes in the industry, monitor periodic changes in the market, and forestall customer needs.

Improved employee satisfaction

IT departments and specialists barely take time out to respond to business user requests. Departments that previously had no access to their own data without communicating experts or IT can now jump into data analysis with little training. BI is intended to be scalable, providing data solutions to departments that need it and for employees who require data. Brown-Forman, one of the largest American-owned spirits and wine companies, scaled American interactive data visualization software company Tableau to 1,000 global users, and discovered that it fit well within their current data set-up.

Trusted and governed data

BI systems increase data organization and examination. In conventional data analysis, different departments’ data is siloed and users have to access numerous databases to reply their reporting queries. Departments across a company can access the same data at one time. Award-winning marketing agency Tinuiti centralized over 100 data sources using BI technology, saving their customers hundreds of hours of analysis time.

The Challenge

Case study: Heathrow International Airport

Being one of the busiest airports, Heathrow International Airport manages over passengers 0.2m every day, which is a Herculean undertaking. The situation can be exacerbated by stormy weather, delayed and canceled flights, shifts in jet streams, etc, disrupting the airport’s smooth functioning. Given these issues, the airport needed a Central Management System that would use the huge amounts of data being produced by operational systems at the airport and convert it into useful visual insights.

Heathrow has deployed Microsoft Azure technology to gather data from back-end operational systems such as check-in counters, baggage tracking systems, flight schedules, weather tracking systems, cargo tracking and many more.

Power BI converts the rudimentary operational data into useful visuals showing different statuses and figures of the airport systems.

This data is about flight movements, security queues, passenger transfers, and immigration queues. Eventually, Power BI uses data from these Azure services for analysis and construal. Then, the ground staff use this information to appropriately run and manage passengers. Nearly 75,000 airport employees have information on their fingertips thanks to Power BI.

Key Business Intelligence Trends

Here’s a list of some key business intelligence trends.

• Artificial intelligence
• Data security
• Data discovery/visualization
• SaaS BI
• Predictive and prescriptive analytics tools
• Real-time data and analytics
• Collaborative business intelligence
• Mobile BI
• Data automation
• Embedded analytics

Four Pillars of Power BI

The four strong pillars of Power BI include:

• Power query
• Data model
• Power BI desktop
• Power BI service

Top reasons to use Power BI for business analytics

• It’s easy to connect your data together
• It’s powerful and efficient
• It enables more cutting-edge analytics with familiar Excel features
• It brings together data governance and security
• It has the ability to customize Power BI app navigation

Advanced Dashboard

Detailed Overview of Power BI Trends & Practices