Archive for the ‘Free Software’ Category

Best Cloud ERP Software (May 2023) Forbes Advisor – Forbes

When youre ready to choose cloud ERP software for your business, its important to take into consideration what your business needs. There are essential features, such as inventory and financial management, but there are also bonuses that may make or break your decision, such as ease of use or integrations available.

Consider the features of each cloud ERP software youre looking into, but also look at what each one specializes in and how it can help your business. Some cloud ERP software are better for manufacturers, while others may offer tools vital for e-commerce businesses. Below are what Forbes Advisor suggests as must-have features and the key factors you should consider before signing on any dotted line.

You can find some cloud ERP software that offers features for every vertical in your company, but not all do. Some are better suited for manufacturers and dont include features needed by retailers or e-commerce businesses, for example. Be sure to consider the departments you have in your company and what features are most important to each.

Generally, ERP software is complex because theres so much you can do with it. You should consider how easy it is to use for all users. Cloud ERP software can come with a steep learning curve, especially for those who are less tech-savvy. Look for software thats customizable with zero or low code, that has easy-to-understand guides and training for users.

Implementation is something thats usually considered for traditional ERP software because it requires more help. Cloud ERP software is far easier, but you may want to consider asking your provider for help in setting up workflow automations, custom reports and settings you need for your business.

Implementation is just one part of overall support. Most cloud ERP software offer 24/7 support via one or more common channels, including phone, email, live chat or a ticketing system. Look for help documentation that can be accessed via the platform and paid training for your staff.

Cloud ERP software is more affordable than on-premises solutions, but its still fairly expensive. Most providers charge a monthly per-user fee. You can find some that offer a flat fee for unlimited users, but its rare to see this pricing structure. Keep in mind that you may need to pay for support, implementation and customization help. There could also be hidden maintenance fees or resource fees, given that your provider will be hosting the platform on its servers.

If you have software that you want to keep using for your business, its important that you note which ones are must-haves to cross-reference with a cloud ERP softwares list of integrations. Alternatively, you may have access to an open API, which would allow you to connect any software you have to your cloud ERP software, but this may require some dev help.

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Best Cloud ERP Software (May 2023) Forbes Advisor - Forbes

Apple, Google partner to combat creepy tracking tactics – Chattanooga Times Free Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Apple and Google are teaming up to thwart unwanted tracking through Bluetooth devices that were created to help people find lost keys, keep tabs on luggage or to locate other things that have a tendency to be misplaced or lost.

The two companies behind the iPhone and the software that powers Android phones on Tuesday submitteda proposalto set standards for combatting secret surveillance on Apple's AirTag trackers and similar gadgets. The concept also has the backing of Samsung, which sells the most Android smartphones worldwide, as well as tracking products similar to the AirTag such as Tile, Chipolo, and Pebblebee.

The $30 AirTag has become a popular item since its 2021 release, helping users pinpoint the locations of a wide variety of lost property. But stalkers have also deployed AirTags and similar products to shadow former love interests and other people who dont realize they are being tracked.

Bluetooth trackers have created tremendous user benefits, but they also bring the potential of unwanted tracking, which requires industrywide action to solve, said Dave Burke, Googles vice president of Engineering for Android.

Apple and AirTag hope to have a plan in place by the end of this year to thwart stealth tracking. The solution would be distributed through software updates to iPhones and Android phones.

Erica Olsen, the senior director of National Network to End Domestic Violences Safety Net Project, applauded the effort to set an industry standard that she believes will help protect survivors of abusive relationships and other people that have been targets of stealth technology. These new standards will minimize opportunities for abuse of this technology and decrease the burden on survivors in detecting unwanted trackers, Olsen said.

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Apple, Google partner to combat creepy tracking tactics - Chattanooga Times Free Press

When he woke up he gave me a free watermelon: Saiful Islams best phone picture – The Guardian

Smart shot

A software engineer who takes photographs as a hobby spotted this early one morning and stood on the boats railing to get the shot

Around 10pm the night before this photo was taken, Samsul, a watermelon farmer, had boarded his boat in Barishal, a district of Bangladesh. Hed sailed through the night to Dhaka, mooring in the capitals Sadarghat port, on the Buriganga River.

Around 5am, his trawler had taken its spot alongside another, selling pumpkins, and the farmer turned sailor transformed once again this time into an auctioneer, selling off his produce at wholesale prices to local market sellers.

By the time Saiful Islam wandered by, at around 7.30am, many of Samsuls watermelons had already been sold and enjoyed across the capital, and much of the farmers long shift was over.

Islam, a software engineer who takes photographs as a hobby, had the day off work and had headed to the port with his younger brother to shoot whatever he might come across. He describes the area as a hubbub of activity: shouting, bartering, cameraderie.

I saw him from a distance, and stood on the railing of the boat to get the shot. I didnt disturb him, as I knew how tired he must be, but he woke up a few minutes later. We chatted and I showed him the photo. Oh my God! he said.

It was already a very hot day, so he gave us each a free watermelon and went back to his boat, smiling.

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When he woke up he gave me a free watermelon: Saiful Islams best phone picture - The Guardian

Siemens provides automation and building technology for Middle … – Siemens press release

Technology from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio has beenintegrated throughout the farm to ensure efficient production, reduce waste,and increase the farms overall sustainability. Siemens Smart Infrastructuresbuilding management system Desigo CC controls and monitors air-conditioning andventilation, while Siemens Digital Industries SIMATIC automation and controlsystems deliver optimal growing conditions by controlling the lights and COlevels required by the plants. SINAMIC series variable frequency drives alongwith automation stations make sure plants receive the right nutrients and watersupply. SENTRON electrical components distribute power to the grow racks.

Siemens SCALANCE components create a communicationnetwork connecting these automation technologies while protecting the facilitywith Siemens cyber security solutions. Siemens Xcelerator is an open digitalbusiness platform that enables customers to accelerate their digitaltransformation easier, faster, and at scale.At its core is a curatedportfolio of connected hardware and software, a powerful ecosystem of partners,and an extensive marketplace.

Bustanicassystem is designed to circulate water to the crops to maximize water usageefficiency. When the water vaporizes, its recovered and recycled into thesystem, saving 250 million liters of water per year compared to traditionaloutdoor farming for the same output. The 330,000 sq. ft. facility requires 95%less water than conventional agriculture, and provides an output of 1 millionkgs of produce per year that are free of pesticides, herbicides and chemicals.

Weare proud to work with Emirates Crop One on a project that will transformagriculture and will allow people to eat fresher foods while reducing waterconsumption and transportation costs, said Franco Atassi, CEO of Siemens SmartInfrastructure in the Middle East. Bustanica uses smart infrastructure in its vertical farmthat will allow it to sustainably scale operations and become a model for othervertical farms around the world. The infrastructure installed today will allowfor the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in future.

Bustanicasproduce will initially be provided to airline passengers flying to and fromDubai. The company plans to sell leafy greens and other produce in localsupermarkets, and because the greens are grown in a controlled environment,consumers can eat them straight out of the bag.

EmiratesFlight Catering constantly invests in the latest technologies to delightcustomers, optimize operations, and minimize our environmental footprint.Bustanica helps secure our supply chain, and ensures our customers can enjoy locallysourced, nutritious produce, said Kieran Dowd, General Manager of Emirates Crop One and VicePresident, Sourcing Solutions, at Emirates Flight Catering. The technologyprovided by Siemens enables the facility to bring food production closer toconsumers, making our operations more efficient and sustainable.

Verticalfarming facilities are up to 100 times more productive than outdoor farms becausethey consume 95% less water and dont require any use of pesticides orchemicals. This method allows farmers to control light, temperature, water, andcarbon dioxide levels maximizing output and efficiency so they can growcrops year-round and near consumers. The industry is expanding to mitigatechallenges like food insecurity, limited arable land, labor shortages and tomeet growing demand for pesticide-free produce.

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Siemens provides automation and building technology for Middle ... - Siemens press release

Professional and Workforce Development Team Celebrates … – University of Arkansas Newswire

To mark Economic Development Week starting today, the U of A Professional and Workforce Development department wants to share an economic development initiative it has built and implemented to give back to the Northwest Arkansas community.

The International Economic Development Councilcreated Economic Development Week in 2016 to recognize economic development organizations and professionals who work in their communities. They have continued this tradition to promote and raise awareness for local job creation programs, advance career development opportunities and improve communities' quality of life everywhere.

RazorLearnRazorLearn is a U of A community-based initiative that connects you with volunteer community experts and civic leaders who want to share special skills and explore shared interests that are relevant to our lives, healthand growth.

For this initiative the PWD team, headed by Katie Ricardo, workforce coordinator, gathered proposals from local business owners, UofA alumni and company executives to build a catalog of inspiring and informative course topics.

"We have connected local communities with experts willing to share the knowledge they have worked hard to attain," Ricardo said.

The program is free to the public, and anyone can register. The current course catalog includes lecture categories such as retail, mental health, small business, a Lean Six Sigma White Belt certification and many more.

"The fact that so many people want to donate their time to teach their skills to this community is amazing," Ricardo said. "We already see that residents are attending and getting the most out of this free education offering."

PWD is gearing up to continue this series of classes and is taking new proposals. We want to hear from you if you are a subject matter expert who would like to share skills and knowledge and be part of the forward-thinking effort at the UofA and Northwest Arkansas.

ReimagineReimagine Arkansas Workforce Project is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help Arkansas residents get free online career training. The program and our team have helped over 2,000 Arkansans acquire training in 15 career fields, and 74 out of the 75 counties in Arkansas have had participant enrollments.

Our Reimagine team has been building courses, processing applications and helping thousands of Arkansans gain free online career training since August 2021. Team members have worked closely with the Arkansas Department of Workforce Development, local companies and many participants to offer the best grant-based program possible.

Some courses built to bring skilled workers into the workforce include Industrial Design, Aerospace Composites and Solar Energy (still in the building phase). The grant will end this fall.

"The grant may be ending, but we still have so many more people to help get signed up and begin on their futures," said Kerry Garcia, grant application specialist.

If you or someone you know may qualify for this grant, complete an application by Sept. 29.

PWD team members Kaleb Futch, Mark Berkowick and Austin Conely (former team member) collaborate at Learning Lab in Bentonville.

Reskill ArkansasPWD partners with the Arkansas Center for Data Science to help individuals start careers through online training. The Reskill AR program helps unemployed or underemployed individuals find stable, well-paying jobs at no cost to them through IT training programs and apprenticeships. Those who participate and gain experience through technology-focused training will discover their skills in demand throughout the state.

Mark Berkowick, assistant director of workforce readiness, has been working with area IT businesses and departments to research demand and pave the way to build the IT workforce in NWA since 2016.

"Some people want a thriving career in IT but don't know where to start and don't want to go back to school for a degree," he said. "We allow those people to take non-credit IT career training courses through the IT Readiness Program and potentially gain an apprenticeship for on-the-job training through Reskill AR."

Reskill AR had 295 participants in 2022. Some jobs in IT include IT generalist, web developer, software developer and cybersecurity specialist.

Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Career CoursesThe drone industry is on the rise in NWA. With the increase of drone delivery through local Walmart stores and drones used in agriculture and surveying, we saw an opportunity to help build and promote skilled workers for these jobs.

The PWD team has worked closely with Rich Ham, associate director of the Master of Science in Operations Management in the College of Engineering, to offer a hybrid, non-credit introductory drone class. Ham has almost 40 years of expertise in security, safety operations, program administration, compliance and enforcement. He has taught local area high school students the basics of drone operations and brought that curriculum to U of A PWD to offer to the rest of the community.

PWD will announce a new course this month that offers online training for drone pilots who have already received FAA certification and want to take their skills to the next level.

"Economic development is a multidimensional and continuous process utilized to create access for people and geographic regions," said LaShanda Owens, PWD manager. "Greater access removes barriers and provides people and regions with the capability to choose their own destiny. Our PWD team is skilled at defining and building training that helps bridge the gaps between industry, education and human capital. What this team does for the local area and the great state of Arkansas is amazing! Reimagine, Reskill and RazorLearn are just a few of the many ways PWD has engaged with the citizens of Arkansas. I am proud to be a part of this amazing team."

Current career opportunities within the U of A Professional and Workforce department include:

Program Coordinator

Special Projects Analyst

About the University of Arkansas Global Campus and Professional and Workforce Development: The Global Campus provides expertise in developing and delivering both academic and training courses and offers instructional design services, media production, and assistance with program planning and marketing. UofA Professional and Workforce Development, a division of the Global Campus, is a hub for professional and workforce development programs and courses. For a complete list of services available, visit the UofA Professional and Workforce Development website.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the UofA provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the UofA among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the UofA among the top public universities in the nation. See how the UofA works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.

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Professional and Workforce Development Team Celebrates ... - University of Arkansas Newswire