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1 5 Near Future Cloud Computing Trends Cloud computing has been around in one form or another for decades, but the idea has only started to take off in the last five to ten years. Like any newly popular technology, there is a cycle of unrealistically high expectations, followed by disillusionment and finally familiarity and productivity. In August 2012, Gartner published a report on the cloud computing hype cycle that shows cloud computing is starting to enter the disillusionment stage. The peak of the hype is over, and many business professionals are taking a more realistic look at the technology and wondering what to expect. As more companies migrate away from in-house resources to services in the cloud, look for these coming trends. ( Growth of Software as a Service The Gartner report predicts more than half of all enterprise organizations will have SaaS-based strategies in place by An August 2012 North Bridge survey of 785 high level executives backs up these predictions. North Bridge reports the 2012 spending on SaaS growth was six times the spending on other software, and 81% of the companies that responded either were already deploying SaaS applications or planned to do so within the next 12 months. CIOs responding to the North Bridge survey indicated 55% planned to increase SaaS spending for the remainder of the year. Scalability was the top reason for increased spending, followed by business agility and cost. ( Small and Medium Business Adoption Continues Cloud computing has many advantages for smaller businesses looking to grow. Instead of investing in expensive software licenses and hardware, businesses can rent services and storage through the Internet as they need them. Expect this trend to continue as the economy struggles out of the recession and business owners look to increase services and market share with minimal IT costs. Hybrid Clouds Increase Market Share Many businesses that need access to their data and services at all times are opting for hybrid clouds, a mix of public and private cloud services. The North Bridge 2012 report estimated hybrid cloud use to grow from 37% of businesses in 2012 to 52% in Growing Confidence in Cloud Services While only 13% of respondents in the North Bridge 2011 survey indicated complete confidence in cloud computing services, the number grew to 50% in the 2012 survey. The number of respondents who stated the technology needs to mature dropped from 26% in last year's survey to only 12%. As more companies experiment with cloud services, confidence will continue to increase.

2 ( Security and Privacy Concerns Most employers have opted for the Bring Your Own Device model, allowing employees to use their personal devices for business. As smartphones and tablet usage increases, employees will bring their personal cloud services to work on their devices. Employees prefer the BYOD model and lowers IT equipment costs, but personal devices can pose security and privacy risks. Gartner analysts estimate 70% of companies will have at least one executive in charge of managing Internet-connected devices by ( The Future of Cloud Computing is Growth While predicting the direction of technology is never 100% accurate, it is clear that cloud computing will grow aggressively in the near future. Cloud computing will have greater influence on businesses, their employees and the lives of consumers.

3 How NFC Can Increase Customer Satisfaction and Profit in Any Retail Store If there's two subjects always on a retailer's mind, it's raising profits and increasing customer satisfaction. Happy customers spend more money per visit and return more frequently. Near Field Communication can help your business by reducing or eliminating common causes of profit loss and customer frustration. Long Lines Mean Lost Business Lines at the checkout stand can cause customers to abandon their purchases. NFC helps eliminate long checkout times and increase checkout speed. No more waiting on customers to dig out their wallet, find the correct payment card and remember their PIN while customers in line wait to get to the register. With an NFC payment system, customer only needs to pass their device within a few inches of the NFC reader to transfer their payment information. This helps your cashiers serve more customers per hour, increasing customer satisfaction and keeping labor costs to a minimum. Payment Card Fraud Lowers Profits By their very nature, credit and debit cards are insecure. All of the financial information is printed right on the card where anyone can see it. In addition to the obvious problem of lost or stolen cards, unscrupulous employees can record the information on portable card readers or hidden cameras. When the customer discovers their card is missing or finds unauthorized purchases on their account, the financial institution issues a chargeback that leaves the retailer holding the bag. Since NFC never shows the customer's account numbers and does not require the customer to input a PIN, crooks cannot steal the customer's information by shoulder surfing or using a hidden camera. Even if the customer's device is lost or stolen, the security settings keep the thief from using it for payment. Boosting Loyalty Programs Most loyalty programs use stamp cards or branded store cards that accrue points. If the customer forgets to have the card stamped or swiped, they don't get credit for their purchases. If they lose the card, they may lose their progress. This can cause customers to put off purchases if they don't have their card with them. Loyalty programs that use NFC automatically record the customer's progress with no separate card required. Integrating Physical and Online Stores Some customers go to a brick and mortar store to try out merchandise, but end up ordering through the retailer's online store due to wider selection and delivery options. Imagine a customer tapping an NFC tag at a physical location to add it to your online shopping cart and completing the purchase online. NFC makes it possible to complete the transaction without searching for the item through a cumbersome menu. Secure and Always Available Gift Cards Offering gift cards through NFC can also reduce losses from gift card fraud. Thieves copy the

4 identification and PIN numbers on cards in the store, or remove an unactivated card from the packaging and swap it with a useless card. When the customer activates the card, the cashier scans the packaging and the crook goes on a shopping spree with the customer's card balance. Since NFC gift cards are not physical cards, there is no way for the crook to copy the information or swap the cards. Even without fraud, physical gift cards can still be a headache. Some customers keep the cards at home until they go to the store rather than carrying them in their wallet. If the customer forgets the gift card, they may leave the store and end up buying the item elsewhere. With NFC gift cards the customer doesn't have to remember the card, since all the information is stored on their device Increasing Profits from Coupons Since most paper coupons never get used, retailers must print far more coupons than they need. This wastes money on printing costs and causes a problem with supply when customer response is higher than expected. Like gift or loyalty cards, if a customer forgets a paper coupon they may put off buying the item indefinitely. NFC allows you to eliminate the cost associated with printing and distributing coupons, and control the number of coupons available. This gives you the ability to offer special in-store coupons and accurately track response rates. NFC Makes Sense for Retail Adding NFC to your business strategy increases customer satisfaction and profits. Customers like NFC due to shorter wait times, easier online shopping and simpler coupon and loyalty programs. Retailers enjoy reduced checkout abandonment and labor costs, lower coupon expenses and fewer losses due to payment and gift card fraud.

5 Top 5 Challenges to Multi-Platform Device Testing and How QA Service Can Help Some mobile software developers prefer to limit their efforts to a single platform, but this approach has its drawbacks. Your audience is limited by the number of people who own a device tied to that platform, and if the platform dies your app dies with it. Releasing your app across multiple platforms increases your potential audience, but also brings significant challenges. Proliferating Platforms There are an ever-increasing number of device platforms. In addition to smartphone and tablet platforms such as Android and ios, your app may run on embedded operating systems in Internet capable devices like televisions and digital media boxes. These devices may use Android as a base operating system, or a proprietary OS like QNX. Varying Input Methods These devices have a wide variety of input methods. A user may find it cumbersome to switch input methods when using your application. Smartphones and tablets usually have touchscreens, but they also have a varying number of physical buttons and a few have secondary input methods such as trackballs. Other devices use remote controls or wireless keyboards. Some can use multiple input sources, such as a tablet that uses a touchscreen and a Bluetooth keyboard. Screen Size and Resolution Differences A user interface that looks readable on a device with a 7 screen can be almost impossible to use on a device with a 4.3 screen. Screen layouts and GUIs designed for a low resolution device result in wasted screen space, ridiculously large text and blocky images on HD screens. Designing your app with screen size and resolution in mind is particularly important on small devices with touchscreens. Users find it difficult to make selections when the active area is smaller than the tip of their finger. Equipment Costs Building a comprehensive bank of test devices gets expensive very quickly. New devices launch every month, with prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Developers simply cannot afford to buy every device to test their app. OS developers and manufacturers provide emulator software for testing, but the use of emulators is limited. They are usually generic versions of an operating system available on many devices, and may not support features only available on specific devices. Emulators may run at a different speed than the actual device due to code compilation, and may not reflect the newest OS version on the actual device. Emulators may not work with your tools, forcing you to work with unfamiliar software. Unforgiving Consumers Squashing bugs before they reach the user is vital. Many platforms have a review system in place where consumers can rate applications. If a consumer has a negative experience with your app, they may leave a negative review. Too many negative reviews drops the score, deterring future buyers.

6 Mobile QA Service Helps Your Apps Pass These Challenges QA service eliminates these challenges by testing apps using automated methods, manual testing with emulators and a wide variety of actual devices with varying OS versions. Mobile QA service allows you to test your app on a wide range of platforms without the expense of buying physical devices or learning new tools. They provide you with screen shots of your app on screens of various size and resolutions. When the QA service finds a bug, they give you detailed test results and screen shots of any error messages. This helps your coders resolve problems quickly, reducing time spent chasing down bugs and increasing user satisfaction.