Be your own boss!!!!!!!!!!!!

Being a software engineer and slogging for 10 hours a day at work , I found Freelancing as a way to liberate myself. Writing is one of the things I always wanted to do. What better way than painting the canvas of an A4 sized sheet with the colors of your imagination and thoughts.

Like any kind of work , freelancing comes with it share of demons. There are times when I am completely out of work and there are times when I'm brimming with it so much so that I have to stall other life activities to meet deadlines. Having said that , there of course is uncertainty when it comes to freelancing but it gives you an opportunity to connect with a host of people which in turn gives you stories to write about or characters to get inspired from. And most importantly doing something which you love doing makes you feel all the more alive.

Do you have similar experiences or stories to share ? Do comment.

Relationship Management for the Customers : A quick Insight into CRM

The central focus of any business or industry is customers. A happy and satisfied customer doesn't only ensure customer retention but also helps in increasing the customer base.

CRM or Customer Relationship management helps in analyzing existing and potential customers data and interactions which in turn improves business relationship with the customer. Today a business of any magnitude needs a CRM system to facilitate smooth sales , marketing and customer support throughout life cycle of business with the customer. There are umpteen number of reasons why business needs CRM today. From being cost effective to providing a central data repository enabling automation pf processes , future prediction and analysis, CRM has become an key component in business. There are many CRM solutions available in the market today as per needs and complexity of the business . One such solution is Salesforce which provides a cloud based enterprise cloud computing solution. Insightly is another a strong and affordable customer and project management tool. The are a host of advantages of using CRM solutions. Some of the essential ones are ;

1. Centralized repository of customer data – CRM enables you to keep all your customer data at one place which can further be grouped on basis of location , business , priority etc. It also reduces the dependency on a particular sales representative who knows the customer's needs. Salesforce takes the centralization up by a notch by using the cloud based system thus making the usage independent of machines or networks.

2. Future prediction and analytics – With the historical data of current and future customers in hand , it becomes easy to predict the future needs of the customer and analyze the market trends as well. With all the necessary information at hand , the efforts in assessing the requirements and needs of the clients are reduced.

3. Tracking of tasks and events – The tool not only keeps customer's data handy but also keeps a track of status of contracts and interaction with the customers. Relying on a person or spreadsheets for this information would lead to some slippage and human errors but CRM tools provide a platform for information and error free updates.

4. Integrates and automates sales and customer support - Since the customer data and analytics are centralized , the process of sales , marketing and customer support for a product life cycle is automated through these tools. It targets on business objectives and a clear overview of the ,market needs and demands.

5. Cost effective -Since there is less need of manual work and resources involved, the solution is cost effective. With the system being automated , there is minimal chances of human errors thus eliminating risks .Once the solution is implemented ,the technologies used are economical in a long run.

Traditionally , CRM was used as a sales and marketing tools but customer service are a focus now. With the increased presence of customers on not only the real world but also the social media platforms , CRM enables handling of data and managing customer needs across platforms thus becoming a vital player in business today.

Spring Sprints - Paris Day 1

If you are a movie aficionado like me (or as people call me -”Filmy”) , then after seeing movies like Dil Chahta hai , Zindagi na milegi Dobara , Dil Dhadakne Do ,Queen etc etc ( I can literally go on and on ) you would have either planned such a trip umpteen number of times in your mind ( without the desired execution of course ) or would've wondered how could a trip change someone's life ( Hindi movies anyways exaggerate life :P)

I was no different. Ever since my college days I wanted to go trekking and camping with my friends but nothing really was materialized as per the plan. Fast forward life and I had a chance to visit the fashion capital of the world , the city of lights : Paris. And yes it did affect my life in more than one ways. 

It was a four day tour by one of the very popular tour operators among Indians for tours in Europe : Star Tours. You can visit them at : http://www.startours.co.uk/

The splendor and magnificence of Paris cannot be penned down in a single writeup and hence this would just be the beginning.

Our trip started on the 29^th April 2016 at around 5:30 AM . We boarded the bus from Wimbley , London , picked up passengers on the way and were off to Dover.

Dover is a coastal town in England. It’s a major port for ferries to Calais, in France. Built to repel invasions from across the English Channel, medieval Dover Castle overlooks the town and houses the extensive Secret Wartime Tunnels. The iconic White Cliffs of Dover are symbolic safeguards at Britain’s closest point to continental Europe.( That's what Wikipedia says but trust me I had the same feelings :D )

From there we boarded a ferry ;we as in the passengers and the bus. While the bus rested in the parking lot of the ferry , we made our way to the shopping mall , food court and the deck.

We treated ourselves to the shopping experience of the Duty free goods in the mall. Perfumes , chocolates , cosmetics , head phones ,speakers , electronic gadgets , the shop had it all.

We then made our way to the food court and enjoyed some English breakfast overlooking the English Channel . < Treat for the tummy and eyes :* >

The ferry then unloaded us at Calais, France. From Calais , it was a 3.5 hours to Central Paris.

The smooth roads, mustard fields , cherry blossom trees , tulips and 3 idiots on the Coach TV made the otherwise long ride effortless and unnoticeable.

In no time we were in Central Paris. To get a feel of the city and its abundance and magnanimity we took the river boat cruise in the pristine Seine River.

The cruise had provisions for lunches , dinners and a live commentary citing the monuments and landmarks as we crossed them. The boat passed through umpteen number of bridges including the romantic Alexander Bridge and the wishful locks bridge .On the way we crossed the Louvre , Notre Dame , Assembly Nationale , Grand Palais and ofcourse the Eiffel Tower.

The long day ended with a much needed sumptuous Indian Dinner at Bhojan.

It was time to conclude the day and gear up for a long fascinating and convivial trip to Disneyland the next day.

Stay tuned because the fun has just begun :D
Details on Day 2 Coming soon :)

A for Apple or Android?????

However inconspicuous it might sound , the decision of which mobile device to buy cannot be undermined in its worth and value. In the OS world of smart devices full of blackberries , Jellybeans , marshmallows and kit kats , two broad categories of Operating systems have endured the tough test of time in the ever changing digital world and have stood out : IOS and Android.

If you look at the 2015 market share of the two OS s in consideration , Linux based Android captures a whooping 85% of the market and Mac OS/Unix based IOS mere 13% ( stats rounded off to nearest whole no)

The debate on which is better however cannot be determined only by the market share.

The very distinctive feature which differentiates the two is the hardware-software match making.

IOS is restricted to Apple devices whereas Android is free and open source and hence caters to a large variety of devices.

In terms of pocket friendliness , Android scores over IOS by a significant margin. However , the whole user experience and ease of use is far better in IOS devices. IOS “takes care of itself” in that aspect giving the user limited control over file systems. The downside of this is of course restricted customization by the user.

Both IOS and Android have a come a long way since their inception in 2007 and 2008 respectively and have their loyal set of consumers. It'll be unfair to compare the two in strict senses but the next time you wish to buy a device your research can be based on the following:

1. variety in devices
2. budget
3. Control over customization
4. User friendliness