Tag Archives: IT Outsourcing

Augmented Reality (AR) on E Learning by mindfire solutions

Transformational effect of Augmented Reality on E Learning

Elearning, IT Outsourcing, Mindfire Solutions, , , Mindfire Solutions

The ed-tech industry has witnessed tremendous growth in the past couple of years. With the advent of the pandemic, remote learning became a necessity, and the value of the ed-tech industry increased exponentially. According to an industry report, the ed-tech industry was valued at USD 106.46 billion in 2021 and is expected to compound at a rate of 16.5% (CAGR) from 2022 to 2030.

From these numbers, it is evident that the number of Ed-tech companies is only going to increase in the future. To keep up with the rising demand, Ed-tech enterprises are increasingly shifting towards adopting new technologies to gain and maintain a competitive edge.

One such technology that is transforming the e-learning experience is augmented reality, or AR. It is becoming more popular as a way to make learning more engaging and interactive. According to a report, the implementation of augmented reality in e-learning is expected to reach a value of US$5.3 billion by 2023.

In this blog post, we’ll look at what AR is and how it is changing the learning experience. We’ll also discuss some use cases of AR in e-learning.

What is Augmented Reality?

Augmented reality is a technology that superimposes digital elements or content in the real world. This means it allows you to view the world around you with computer-generated images overlaid on top. 

The technology enhances your existing surroundings with digital content without the need for any additional external device. This is different from virtual reality (VR), which completely immerses you in a digitally created environment with the help of a device called VR glasses.

The technology enhances your existing surroundings with digital content without the need for any additional external device. This is different from virtual reality (VR), which completely immerses you in a digitally created environment with the help of a device called VR glasses.

How is AR Revolutionizing the Learning Experience?

Here are some of the transformational benefits of AR in e-learning:

  • Offers a Better Understanding of the Concepts & Information Retention

Many studies have shown that teaching with AR technology is more effective than teaching from textbooks or videos. This is because AR adds information to the learners’ surroundings – making lessons more visual-driven, thereby enhancing the probability of retaining for a longer period.

  • Improves Engagement 

AR offers more engagement by making learning more interactive and immersive. This motivates the learners to repeat their AR learning experience. It is also utilized to gamify lessons, which can encourage reluctant learners to get excited about learning. 

  • Enhanced Online Training

The technology can be used to create AR-enhanced online training modules. Learners can get practical demonstrations as AR simulations can allow them to experiment with AR objects. This can help organizations or institutions provide remote training more effectively and efficiently. AR training simulators are also used for creating digital prototypes of products, which allows trainees to get used to the process and reduces errors when they are physically performing the task.

  • Reduced Cognitive Load

AR is used to reduce the cognitive load required to understand abstract concepts by providing learners with information in a more digestible format.

  • Save Resources

The technology can save resources by reducing the need for physical materials. AR simulations can also replace the need for expensive equipment or trips to real-world locations.

  • Assess Learners’ Progress

AR can assess learners’ progress and identify areas where they need improvement. This assessment can be in the form of AR tests, AR quizzes, or AR simulations.

Use Cases of AR in e-Learning

Here are real-life examples of how some organizations are leveraging AR to enhance their learning experience:

  • Augmented Reality for Medical Education

An Australian University uses an AR-based application to teach their medical students cardiology. The app is used to create a 3D model of the heart’s electrical activity and to remotely demonstrate the procedure of ECG.

  • Augmented Reality for Combining Coloring Activities with Learning 

An ed-tech company created applications for children where they can color any diagram and map. Once the children are done coloring, the AR app then brings their painting to life and also, at the same time, imparts knowledge about the topic. 

  • Learning Language with AR

A London-based ed-tech company uses AR for teaching foreign languages. The app places 3D images of objects in the real world. These objects are labeled with the word for that object in the target language. For example, if you’re trying to learn Spanish, you might see a picture of a chair labeled with the word “Silla.”

Conclusion

Augmented reality is making learning more interactive, engaging, effective, and accessible. It can be used in a number of different ways to improve the e-Learning experience. As the technology continues to evolve, we expect to see even more innovative and impactful uses for AR in e-Learning.

While AR technology does come with countless benefits, implementing it can be a complicated task.

You can collaborate with Mindfire Solutions to simplify the development process and reduce your workload. At Mindfire Solutions, we have over 2-decades of experience developing innovative e-learning solutions by leveraging cutting-edge technologies that can engage and educate learners.

Contact Mindfire Solutions to implement AR in your e-learning services.

 

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How Blockchain In Supply Chain Can Help Overcome Operational Hurdles

Blockchain Technology, IT Outsourcing, , , Kisan Ranasingh
blockchain in supply chain
Blockchain in supply chain management

With bitcoins and cryptocurrency gaining much popularity over the last few years, its underlying technology – blockchain, seems to be the latest buzzword across industries. There seems to be a sudden urge among businesses to adopt and use the technology to significantly improve their workflow operations. The concept seems to have a promising future that would assist in solving several hold-ups of the existing technology gears. 

But first, let’s look at what blockchain technology is.

What is Blockchain?

A blockchain is a digital ledger that records all cryptocurrency transactions. It consistently keeps growing as “completed” blocks are added to it with a new set of recordings. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Bitcoin nodes use the blockchain to differentiate legitimate transactions. 

Using Blockchain in Supply Chain

As per a Zion Market study, the market scope of blockchain technology in supply chain management is estimated to grow to approx. USD 3.15 billion by 2028.

The use of blockchain in the supply chain helps firms significantly in cost reduction, source tracking, and establishing trust. The immediate need to eliminate intermediaries has paved the way for the automation of supply chain operations.

Supply chain blockchains have replaced coins to tokenize different types of transaction-related data. This has thus enabled the creation of unique, transparent, and easy-to-verify detectors for purchase orders, inventory units, bills of lading, etc.

This technology governed the overall blockchain supply chain market in 2021 and is expected to continue dominating the forecast period. The reason is the growing adoption of blockchain platforms for streamlining the supply chain processes.

How Supply Chain Industry Benefits From Adopting Blockchain

Blockchain in supply chain gives increased supply chain transparency, and significantly reduces costs and risks across the supply chain. Here’s how:

  • Real-Time Sharing of Data

While blockchain records actions in a chain of “blocks” and display the most recent information, all the previous records are also saved. Blockchain ledger allows you and multiple partners to work on the same data in real-time, without losing any. However, it is to be noted that the data once recorded, cannot be altered and only be viewed.

  • Enhanced Security

As every new block created is linked to the previous blocks, it’s impossible to fabricate or modify any data. To make any changes to the ledger data, you need to make changes to hundreds of copies of that ledger at the same time. Simply put, this means it can’t be hacked. 

Additionally, blockchain data is decentralized. This implies it’s not stored in a single location like its previous supply chain tech. The data can be accessed through the cloud network from any geographic location worldwide. However, while anyone can view the records via the internet, it would need someone to verify access to any specific data.

  • Thorough Transparency 

Blockchain ensures transparency throughout the supply chain process as it’s a shared database. This transparency is vital for managing products with shorter life cycles, and also for managing the entry of additional partners in the supply chain. 

Moreover, blockchain tech enables supply chain partners to monitor transaction status in real time. They know the exact location of the product without having any doubts created by manual records. This ensures smoother processes, reduced lead times, reduced delays and redundancy, greater team relationships, and a satisfied customer.

Additionally, blockchain supply chain innovations bring about the following key benefits:

    • Improved tracking of the material supply chain to meet corporate standards
    • Reduced losses from the counterfeit or black market
    • Reduce paperwork and administrative costs
    • Improved transparency and compliance over outsourced contract manufacturing
    • Reduced probable public relations risks due to supply chain malpractices
    • Builds stakeholders’ trust and ensures their engagement and involvement

Blockchain Challenges

  • More Industries Need to Adopt

While certain industries have successfully adopted blockchain, it is yet to see increased adoption in the supply chain industry. The technology makes transactions and international payments more secure, efficient, and transparent. However, more industries are yet to implement blockchain in the future as organizations continue to experience the benefits of its implementation.

  • Need For Strong Network

The key barrier to a blockchain is the relatively small network of users. To scale up operations, all members throughout the supply chain, from the supplier to the retailer, need to use it. Since the entire blockchain ecosystem still seems new to many, more users are yet to adapt, or are still adapting to it.

  • Complexity in Handling Data

While implementing blockchain is easy, blockchain programming is something that requires users to learn complex skills. This means firms need to give comprehensive training to their workforce or outsource their programming to a third party.

  • Clustering And Anomaly Detection

Clustering and anomaly detection are unsupervised learning methods that can be used for fraud detection by identifying patterns within your data that suggest fraud may occur, such as many small withdrawals from an account or many large purchases made at one store over time.

  • Regulations

The laws and regulations seem to be another barrier to blockchain adoption. Due to the global nature of supply chains, there is an intricate range of worldwide regulations to be considered. Today’s supply chain regulators are exploring ways to integrate the old and traditional laws with the new emerging digital technologies.

However, as more users of blockchain begin to see the advantages, greater will be the number of adopters of the cloud-based database infrastructure.

Final Notes

Blockchain technology has great scope and has promising years ahead in assisting firms as well as industries. Using blockchain in supply chain can help reduce administrative costs, achieve a boost in performance by streamlining processes, and widen visibility across overall operations. New emerging technologies thus offer promising opportunities to enhance and improve the supply chain industry and the transparency within.

To explore new ways to create business value using blockchain in supply chain, Mindfire Solution has a team that does the groundwork of developing customized solutions to help you bring efficiencies to your business model.

If you are looking to integrate blockchain technology into your firm’s supply chain strategy, Contact us.

 

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Distributed IT Team

Overcoming the Obstacles of Running Geographically Distributed IT Teams

Thoughts, , , , , ,

What it means to operate an IT team has evolved in recent years. Today’s teams are more efficient, flexible, and streamlined than the ones of the past, and much of this is because of a constant desire amongst people in business to enhance their capabilities and to harness the power of the latest technologies. Earlier, it was a given that the key players in a team would have to operate together in one building, or in close proximity. But this way of doing business had its drawbacks, which became evident over the years. There wasn’t room for personal flexibility for one. Also, sticking to this approach had a financial bearing as well.

Over time, technology opened up possibilities to revolutionize the way teams could function, and IT industry was amongst the frontrunners to seize the opportunity. From using video conferencing and Skype to deploying apps like Slack or GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar, teams can leverage technology to have virtual meetings anywhere – which essentially means that the members can work from anywhere too! However, there are challenges of operating a geographically dispersed team. Let’s examine what they are, the impact, and how seasoned business leaders overcome them and manage to get the most out of their teams.

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Perceived power imbalance

According to an article in HBR if more team members are consolidated in one location or they are in the locations that are geographically close to that of the team leader, then there’s a perception that these people have more power or access to power. This can lead to a feeling of isolation for the other team members or for that matter a feeling of complacency amongst the ones closer. Either way, it negatively affects the overall team morale. Since it is not possible to change the geographic locations of members, team leaders can implement creative strategies to diffuse false perceptions. For e.g., a team leader may need to give particular “power” assignments to those who are farther away from the headquarters or who are working in smaller groups.

Cultural insensitivity

Global teams will naturally contain people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Most people will not know everything there is to know about every other team member’s culture. This can lead to some awkward situations, to say the least. It could even lead to some people responding in culturally insensitive ways. One of the ways to nip in the bud is to raise the topic up in common meetings and suggesting that more often than not these problems are due to errors of judgment, ignorance and not malice. That they can be addressed by increasing one’s awareness of other’s cultures.

Language barriers

Usually, the prominent language in IT global teams is English. However, this is unlikely to be the native tongue for many of the team members. Those whose native language is English are likely to have an advantage in meetings with their peers. The less fluent speakers may feel shy about speaking up even if their ideas are good. Leaders can help overcome this impediment by setting forth guiding principles for discussions. An e.g. could be to suggest that the more fluent speakers slow down their speech and refrain from using difficult phrases. In addition, they might limit the amount of time they are given to talk and urge the less fluent speakers to speak more.

Lack of proper technology

The technology for high-level collaboration and remote communication is out there in the market. It is just that many businesses do not use them correctly. For any organization, there has to be some research done to correctly identify the optimal technological solutions they need to operate efficiently. There are multiple products options available in the market for each type of functions that facilitate collaboration for geographically dispersed teams. Getting the right ones is the key and can make the difference between building synergy and causing disruption.

Lack of good leadership

Diversified teams must have exemplary leadership at the helm. Without it, the teams will quickly fall apart. Besides having the required technical expertise the person in charge of leading such teams must have a global mindset, possess high emotional intelligence, and know the art of mending fissures when they appear.

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Conclusion

In a connected world, as businesses look to the future, geographically dispersed IT teams is a reality that has to be dealt with. For companies with a global outlook, not only is this approach a practical step forward but also one which can be harnessed to their advantage. The key is to recognize that the obstacles that exist are perpetual in nature and have to be dealt with on an ongoing basis.

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If you have any queries in this field, talk to Mindfire Solutions. For over 19+ years now, we have been the preferred Software Development Partner of over 1000+ Small and Medium-sized enterprises across the globe.

 

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IT Outsourcing Trends for 2018

Thoughts, ,

IT Outsourcing Trends for 2018There was a time when enterprises were outsourcing IT services to reduce operational expenses. But a large percentage of enterprises nowadays focus on the value of IT services and credibility of the IT service provider. Several studies suggest that IT services industry will grow steadily throughout 2018. But the enterprises will opt for IT outsourcing services to leverage next-generation technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), mixed realities, and big data analytics. The landscape for outsourced product development is ever changing. The enterprises will also look for outsourcing partners with the capability to automate business processes and operations more innovative way. Here are some IT outsourcing trends which will impact and shape the industry in the years to come. Continue reading IT Outsourcing Trends for 2018 →

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