Wednesday 29 January 2014

Information Technology


From the past… into the future

Yesterday
Information Communication - A necessity which became the genesis of mankind’s greatest achievement - Information Technology. Everything that is technological in itself acts as means of communication. Be it human to human, device to human or device to device, everything that is transmitted is a form of information or data.


Predating the era of Information Technology, the only means of transfer of information was via “writing”. Writing had a profound influence when it came to understanding and communicating data / information. The medium was strong enough to be preserved and carried to many generations. But the need for faster and wider data transmission arose. Technological advancement such as telephone, telegraph and television originated as a new medium of data communication.

These mediums worked across immense distances and still had data being transmitted in the blink of an eye It was indeed a golden era of information management across diversified communities and mediums. But the need for data to be stored, managed, maintained, modified was the only drawback that these mediums had. Thus a new day dawned in the era of information technology - Computers.

These machines had tremendous capabilities and were powerful enough to understand, manipulate and produce data; they made massive tasks seem minuscule to accomplish. The era began with the growth of technologically advanced machineries, devices and peripherals which were even more powerful than their predecessors.

Today
Now we live in an era of handheld devices and form factors. It is very unusual to find a home that has its members not glued to any screen based form factor. There was an era of cameras, telephones, pagers, video recorders all unique in their own space. But today we have devices that transmit, carry voice, manipulate and capture images and videos and also act as high end gaming machines all within one device, the size of ones palm.


Humans presumed this revolutionary change was the ultimate pinnacle that technology could achieve. However this will never cease to grow. The growth is rapid and practically uncontrolled. We now have switched from handheld to wearable devices. Companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft which used to manufacture Personal Computers and operate search engine are now the foremost players in this industry. SIRI, Google glasses, Microsoft Surface made their foray into this industry. We also have data being stored in an “As-you-wish-you-get” storage - Cloud Computing. Together all these technological advancement gained prominence and have become an integral part of our everyday life. The show must go on.

But where is the future heading?

Tomorrow?
It is heading into a new paradigm- Contextual computing. Many companies are trying various methodologies to understand human behaviour and psychology. There are devices that detect human behaviour and are programmed to react to situations and circumstances. Music players that calculate the seasonal changes, an individual’s mood to generate random songs that fit the scenario. The world’s first twitter wearable dress was launched which displayed live tweets. LED T-Shirts and self-Augmented reality, smart watches, health and fitness tracking.


Companies that use and harness these emerging technologies will be on the forefront as always. The era is never stopping. What was a myth turned into a reality and with every innovation, technology left a legacy behind. This legacy will soon be carried ahead with technology that shall be with us.. on us… and around us.  

 

Hardy Thomas, co-founder of Frozen Digit -
A Company acquired by Direction expanding its operations in Mobile domain.
www.frozendigit.com

Friday 24 January 2014

Choosing to be a Software Tester

"Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work on a job, you’ll make a living. But if you work on yourself, you’ll make a fortune.” - Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker.
Love what you do
It all starts with what you love. If you find yourself stuck in your present job and are considering software testing as a career, just make the switch. I am sure that it will eventually take you places.
In case you don’t like software testing, then find something else that motivates you and it will lead you to success.
My Experience
Without any bias against programmers, I would like to share my experience in testing. I have always found it to be a great platform to gain knowledge. For me, it is very important that I derive some learning from whatever I do, even though it may involve testing my patience or my depth of prior knowledge. In testing, one needs to be prepared to spend considerable time in debating. When approached with an open mind, the debates offer opportunities for understanding and introspection.
An important thing to note is that testing requires different skills from those of programming. Quite often, programmers cannot visualize their project in a real life environment. This vision is critical to determine all the scenarios under which the software needs to be tested.
How would you know?
The best person to tell you what you should pursue is yourself. Ask yourself, “What’s my specialty?” The answer can come from something that you have already done or something you have closely studied. It could be programming. It could be that the functional side suits you better. It could also be that your strength lies in business logic or communication skills. Use the answer as a pointer to the right career path.
Do what you love
Lastly, whatever you choose, always keep up the spirit of continuous learning. Regardless of how good you are or how many years of experience you carry, always look out for something further to learn. With the right attitude and persistent hard work, professional and financial success is bound to come your way.
 
Written by-
Mr. Akshay Thakkar,a Software Test Engineer having more than 6+ years of relevant experience in the area of manual and automation testing. He is involved in leadership & management of software projects including; maintenance & quality management.
He started his career with Eclerx Service Ltd, Mumbai as an Analyst for more than 2 years and then aligned his career to Auditime Information Systems Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai as a Software Testing Executive

Presently working as Software Test Engineer- EKRUI at Direction Software Solutions, Mumbai, India.

Thursday 23 January 2014

Yes! We’re now on Facebook!


For your daily dose of technology, trends and latest bubble news on Direction, a company on the leading edge of Innovation.

Follow us on:
https://www.facebook.com/directionsoftwaresolutions

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Ethics

Ethics - I take on this topic with lots of hesitation, being aware that I am addressing this issue knowing fully that at times I have been un-ethical. Ethics in the classical sense is often defined in terms of the words “morals”, “doing the right thing”.
Of course, the easiest ethical issues to discuss are other people, but for me this issue is most prevailing issue which leads to lot more problems like corruption, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, terrorism and caste and religious problem.

My reflections are, I must immediately concede, those of someone coming from a particular perspective. Necessarily I am drawing on my experience of more than 25 years of working in professional life.

As human being we face ethical issues in the followings:

1.     Personal life
2.     professional life &
3.     Social or public life

I feel we need a model - a mental model which according to me is made of five core human values - honesty, peace, right action, love and awareness.

Should we be ethical or unethical? This is I leave every individual to decide, however we should behave with other in same manner “What we expect from others”?

We all are perfectly imperfect & are short on values of honesty, peace, right action, love and awareness. We should try bringing them back in our value system. It is worthwhile!!!



Written by - Mr Sanjay Gupta.

With 27 years of experience in the software industry Sanjay Gupta serves as a General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of Direction, Sanjay is directly responsible for the management, growth and success of Direction's technology operations. During his tenure, Sanjay has significantly developed Direction's Product Development and E-Commerce divisions into high quality organisations - ensuring that Direction continues to remain within the global IT revolution.


Monday 13 January 2014

Direction All the Way..

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it.”

Each New Year is an opportunity to set personal goals and objectives. The New Year is the perfect opportunity to improve and test your personal capabilities and release a new and improved version of you. An IT company for the past thirteen years, We have found that the key is to set realistic, attainable, written, goals and milestones for the coming year.

By setting your goals with realistic New Years Resolutions, you can accomplish professional development and advance in the coming year.

Good Luck!!!