Albany , New York cloud Training

There has been and continues to be a plethora of observational studies by different researchers in the publishing industry focused on how e-books have affected hard-copy book sales. Evidence from these studies has indicated that there is a significant and monumental shift away from hard-copy books to e-books.[1]These findings precipitate fears that hard-copy books might become more expensive in the near future as they begin to be less available. This scenario could escalate to the point where only collectors of hard-copy books are willing to pay the high price for ownership.

The founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, made a statement in July 2010 that sales of digital books had significantly outstripped U.S. sales of hard-copy. He claimed that Amazon had sold 143 digital books for its e-reader, the Kindle, for every 100 hard-back books over the past three months. The pace of this change was unprecedented; Amazon said that in the four weeks of June 2010, the rate of sales had reached 180 e-books for every 100 hard-backs sold. Bezos said sales of the Kindle and e-books had reached a "tipping point", with five authors including Steig Larsson, the writer of Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, and Stephenie Meyer, who penned the Twilight series, each selling more than 500,000 digital books.[2] Earlier in July 2010, Hachette said that James Patterson had sold 1.1m e-books to date.

According to a report made by Publishers Weekly, for the first quarter of 2011, e-book sales were up 159.8%; netting sales of $233.1 million. Although adult hard-cover and mass market paperback hard-copies had continued to sell, posting gains in March, all the print segments had declined for the first quarter with the nine mass market houses that report sales. Their findings revealed a 23.4% sales decline, and that children’s paper-back publishers had also declined by 24.1%.[3] E-book sales easily out-distanced mass market paperback sales in the first quarter of 2011 with mass market sales of hard-copy books falling to $123.3 million compared to e-books’ $233.1 million in sales.

According to .net sales report by the March Association of American Publishers (AAP) which collected data and statistics from 1,189 publishers, the adult e-Book sales were $282.3 million in comparison to adult hard-cover book sales which counted $229.6 million during the first quarter of 2012. During the same period in 2011, eBooks revenues were $220.4 million.[4] These reports indicate a disconcerting diminishing demand for hard-copy books.

What is Design Thinking and How Does it Apply to HR?

[Jan, 28, 2020] |
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The Context Of Design Thinking And Its Application In Employee Skill Training

Design thinking is a crucial pillar in today’s problem-solving imperatives. In fact, it is being pursued as a unit course in various institutions across the globe, thus underlying its importance in aiding objective human thinking. It’s not a specific property for designers. Far from it, it has emerged as an innovative solution-seeking tool for all great inventors and innovators.

By description, it is a design methodology used for tackling complex problems that are virtually unknown or ill-defined, through a careful evaluation of the human needs involved, understandably restructuring the problem, by brainstorming to create many solutions, and by adopting a direct approach in testing and prototyping. It helps us come up with creative ways to solve nagging problems that stem from us and especially in the workplace setting.

The ‘overwhelmed/overburdened employee’ is a common term in HR offices across many organizations in the world. Employees are faced with a huge challenge in regards to coping with fast-paced technological and office changes in the working environment. This had led to a massive stagnation in productivity, prompting HR heads to look for new ways to reduce their employees’ stress and workload.

While evaluating many options, this model of thinking has posed as a helpful tool for HR managers when dealing with their vexed employees. IT training, in particular, has helped shape the productive realms of many companies out there.

Let’s explore how this thinking domain can be used to plan employee skill training:

Empathize

If you want to show concern for your employees, first empathize with their situation. Seek to understand the needs of the employees deeply, what they lack, what they need, and the challenges that they are likely facing. This will act as the basis of plotting the problem and working on the next phase of solving it.

You can collect data in this phase through empathy maps and journey maps. In the latter, you endeavor to steadily track the day-to-day activities and tasks of employees. This is achieved through observations or structured interviews. In turn, it aids in elevating the thinking process.

Through empathy maps, you ponder on collected findings and synthesize them keenly. Here, you seek to establish how an employee is thinking, their feelings, and insights into the probable root cause of the problem.

Define the Problem

After a comprehensive analysis of the collected data; the problem definition phase should follow. The idea here is to locate the underlying root of the problem concisely. HR should seek to utilize an analysis framework to help address problems affecting the holistic being of all employees. Therefore, each issue would require a list of underlying causes: lack of motivation, lack of knowledge/understanding, or just lack of skill.

Once the root cause(s) are clearly defined, a clear problem statement should be drawn up alongside performance goals that are firmly based on actual drivers.

Think Solely About Employee-Based Solutions (iterative learning)

Conventionally, customers are at the heart of every organization’s dealings. They inspire and drive the company’s objectives because they are crucial in profit making. However, employees have greatly suffered while working ‘behind the scenes.’ Such situations have led to employees feeling discontent and work under immense pressure, which inevitably leads to underperformance. To avoid this, the experimental learning concept can be utilized by HR offices to engage employees more by creating solutions that directly suit the situations they encounter daily.

Here, trainers are removed as the center of focus. An iterative ‘reflection’ cycle is established to tap continuous employee feedback in a bid to sharpen their skills. This method helps employees adapt to new technology through a well established IT consulting network. In the long run, employees don’t forget how they handled a particular problem, and this effectively raises a firm’s productivity.

Support Employee Tasks with Simple Technology (Ideate)

The simplest way to support employee-working experience is by not sidelining them unprepared with changing technology processes. As an HR Manager, fully engage your employees when transitioning to new tech by making use of effective training or consulting services. Specific training needs can be assessed and addressed within the organization or with a third party industry expert.

According to Deloitte’s 2016 Global Human Capital Trends Report, design thinking was isolated as crucial in crafting the employee experience. 79% of those interviewed identified it as imperative. However, almost a similar percentage agreed that a lot of compliance programs and training are still based on outdated modes of meetings and processes.

The report also recommended the need to put necessary consideration on employees through proper IT training for far colossal efficiency. One way to make this work is by drawing a connected roadmap of skills and information needed at certain work intervals. Shedding off overwhelming and irrelevant amounts of data for new employees is vital in retaining their concentration and output. What’s more, a customizable app can help employees undertake appropriate tasks at the specified time, thus resulting in higher revenue for the long term.

Implementing an Intuitive Tech Learning Approach (Ideate)

The basis of this argument is that not every employee is the same. All of them are differently gifted and shouldn’t be forced to use one inflexible technology or system that doesn’t cater to their individual needs in a buzzing work environment. This mode of critical thinking brings to life personas such that fictive employees representing a defined group of external employees are drawn up. In this set-up, the personas should be able to learn and work efficiently within their own small environment while quickly utilizing their own skill set and the required information to make things work.

An HR manager can replicate this working scenario through the use of role-plays. This can be achieved by conducting short-term soft skills training sessions to sharpen their ability to handle similar situations. In the case of new technology, video-replays on how to use it in a one-on-one customer scenario can help relieve the pressure and spur the employee to be more productive.

Prototype and Testing

Here, the HR Manager should run a couple of tests to ensure whether the desired model of skill training is working. One way to get started is by crafting a simple prototype of the technology required, probably as a single module to establish its viability.

The new technology should be vigorously tested during prototyping to pinpoint any leaks, disjoints, or performance issues. Structured walkthroughs can be implemented to help employees navigate the solution through proper IT training sessions.

What’s more, HR should conduct sessions to get the employees’ views, emotions, or feelings regarding the new solution. In case of any cause for concern, the prototype should be improved until it meets the intermediate needs of its users.

Iterations are also a common occurrence in this phase. Refinements and alterations are curved out to make sure that the final thing suits every employee in some understandable capacity.

Wrapping Up

Design thinking is crucial in any organizational setting in making sure that employees sync properly with the technology in place. This will go a long way in improving their productivity.

Common Computer Problems and How to Fix Them

[May, 09, 2013] |
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Technology is wonderful. It helps us run our businesses and connects us to the world. But when computer problems get in the way of getting what you need to get done, you can go from easygoing to mad-as-a-hornet in 3 seconds flat. Before you panic or give in to the temptation to throw your computer out the window, try these easy fixes.

5 Common Computer Problems

Sluggish PC

A sluggish PC often means low disk space caused by an accumulation of temporary Internet files, photos, music, and downloads. One of the easiest fixes for a slow PC is to clear your cache.

The way you’ll do this will depend on the Internet browser you use:

Chrome– On the top right-hand side of the screen, you’ll see what looks like a window blind. Click on that. Click on ‘History’ and hit ‘Clear Browsing Data’.

Safari– On the upper left-hand side, you’ll see a tab marked ‘Safari’. Click on that. Scroll down and hit ‘Empty Cache’.

Internet Explorer– Click on ‘Tools’ and scroll down to ‘Internet Options’. Under ‘Browsing History’ click ‘Delete’. Delete files and cookies.

FireFox – At the top of the window click ‘Tools’ then go to ‘Options’. Select the ‘Advanced’ panel and click on the ‘Network’ tab. Go to ‘Cached Web Content’ and hit ‘Clear Now’.

What is the most pressing problem in Project Management for a SoftwareProject Manager?

[May, 02, 2014] |
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A project manager acts as the primary link between business and technical teams. A project manager is responsible for maintaining the project schedule, developing project estimates, working with external teams and tracking project issues. The project manager belongs to either the technical team or the project management office (PMO). The project manager works with business teams, technical teams, business counterparts, testing resources, vendors and infrastructure teams.

A project manager is often challenged with diagonally opposite views from the business side and technical side. A project manager’s success depends on balancing the needs and emotions of both sides.

Understanding the Requirements
A project manager must familiarize with the project’s requirements as defined by the business or product managers. This will help you understand the business vision behind the project. You will need this knowledge while negotiating with the technical teams.

Understanding the Technical Landscape
A project manager must also understand the technical systems, resource skills and infrastructure capabilities available for the project. Business teams come up with expectations that are sometimes beyond the capabilities of the technology team. It is the responsibility of the project manager to understand the technical capabilities available to the project.

Walkthrough of Business Requirements
This is a critical step in the project delivery process. The project manager must invite members from the business team, technical team, testing team, infrastructure team and vendors. The project manager must encourage the various stakeholders to ask questions about the requirements. Any prototypes available must be demonstrated in this meeting. The project manager must find answers to all questions resulting from the requirements walkthrough. The project manager must get the final version of the requirements approved by all stakeholders.

Managing Conflicts in Timelines and Budgets
All project managers will face the conflicts arising from shortened timelines and limited budgets. Business teams typically demand many features that are nearly impossible to deliver within short timeframes. The project manager must work with business and technical teams to prioritize the requirements. If the project is executed in a product development organization, then the project manager could utilize agile methodologies to deliver projects incrementally. In this case, the project manager may be required to act as a scrum master to facilitate scrum meetings between various stakeholders.

The Art of Saying “No”
As a project manager, you may be forced to say “no” to demands from both business and technology teams. However, it is important to create a win-win situation for all parties when you are faced with conflicting demands. You can work with the stakeholders individually before bringing all parties together. Most stakeholders prefer to work together. The success of a project manager depends on how effectively he or she can bring out the best in everyone, driving everyone towards a common goal.

Finally, the job of a project manager is not to satisfy the demands from all corners. The project manager must identify the essential deliverables that will meet the business needs, with a solid understanding of what is possible within the limits of technology.

Smart Project Management: Best Practices of Good Managers

Is Agism an Issue in IT?

Tech Life in New York

City The Big Apple is home of two of the world?s largest stock market exchanges, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. As a leading business center in the United States, New York has more Fortune 500 headquartered companies than any other city. Technology is blossoming in the Big Apple as major internet conglomerates like Google move their offices into ?telecom hotels? such as the 311,000 square feet office space downtown. As in any other city there are pros and cons of living in New York City. For instance, there is so much to do, it?s easy to get around with the transit system, it?s safe, convenient, and has plenty of job opportunities. On the other hand, it can be overwhelmingly expensive, overcrowded, a bit impersonal and fast paced. New Yorkers enjoy Central Park, multi cultural activities and food, theatre, film festivals, farmers markets, fashion and anything else they could possibly think of...it?s all there.

The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so. ~Mark Twain

other Learning Options

Software developers near Albany have ample opportunities to meet like minded techie individuals, collaborate and expend their career choices by participating in Meet-Up Groups. The following is a list of Technology Groups in the area.

Web and Mobile Designers and Developers based in Peekskill · Startup Funders And Founders in New York (NYFnF) · New York Windows Developers ·

Fortune 500 and 1000 companies in New York that offer opportunities for Cloud developers

Company Name	City	Industry	Secondary Industry
NYSE Euronext, Inc.	New York	Financial Services	Securities Agents and Brokers
Anderson Instrument Company Inc.	Fultonville	Manufacturing	Tools, Hardware and Light Machinery
News Corporation	New York	Media and Entertainment	Radio and Television Broadcasting
Philip Morris International Inc	New York	Manufacturing	Manufacturing Other
Loews Corporation	New York	Travel, Recreation and Leisure	Hotels, Motels and Lodging
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America	New York	Financial Services	Insurance and Risk Management
Jarden Corporation	Rye	Manufacturing	Manufacturing Other
Ralph Lauren Corporation	New York	Retail	Clothing and Shoes Stores
Icahn Enterprises, LP	New York	Financial Services	Investment Banking and Venture Capital
Viacom Inc.	New York	Media and Entertainment	Media and Entertainment Other
Omnicom Group Inc.	New York	Business Services	Advertising, Marketing and PR
Henry Schein, Inc.	Melville	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Medical Supplies and Equipment
Pfizer Incorporated	New York	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Pharmaceuticals
Eastman Kodak Company	Rochester	Computers and Electronics	Audio, Video and Photography
Assurant Inc.	New York	Business Services	Data and Records Management
PepsiCo, Inc.	Purchase	Manufacturing	Nonalcoholic Beverages
Foot Locker, Inc.	New York	Retail	Department Stores
Barnes and Noble, Inc.	New York	Retail	Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, and Music Stores
Alcoa	New York	Manufacturing	Metals Manufacturing
The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.	New York	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Personal Health Care Products
Avon Products, Inc.	New York	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Personal Health Care Products
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation	New York	Financial Services	Banks
Marsh and McLennan Companies	New York	Financial Services	Insurance and Risk Management
Corning Incorporated	Corning	Manufacturing	Concrete, Glass, and Building Materials
CBS Corporation	New York	Media and Entertainment	Radio and Television Broadcasting
Bristol Myers Squibb Company	New York	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Biotechnology
Citigroup Incorporated	New York	Financial Services	Banks
Goldman Sachs	New York	Financial Services	Personal Financial Planning and Private Banking
American International Group (AIG)	New York	Financial Services	Insurance and Risk Management
Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc.	New York	Business Services	Advertising, Marketing and PR
BlackRock, Inc.	New York	Financial Services	Securities Agents and Brokers
MetLife Inc.	New York	Financial Services	Insurance and Risk Management
Consolidated Edison Company Of New York, Inc.	New York	Energy and Utilities	Gas and Electric Utilities
Time Warner Cable	New York	Telecommunications	Cable Television Providers
Morgan Stanley	New York	Financial Services	Investment Banking and Venture Capital
American Express Company	New York	Financial Services	Credit Cards and Related Services
International Business Machines Corporation	Armonk	Computers and Electronics	Computers, Parts and Repair
TIAA-CREF	New York	Financial Services	Securities Agents and Brokers
JPMorgan Chase and Co.	New York	Financial Services	Investment Banking and Venture Capital
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.	New York	Media and Entertainment	Newspapers, Books and Periodicals
L-3 Communications Inc.	New York	Manufacturing	Aerospace and Defense
Colgate-Palmolive Company	New York	Consumer Services	Personal Care
New York Life Insurance Company	New York	Financial Services	Insurance and Risk Management
Time Warner Inc.	New York	Media and Entertainment	Media and Entertainment Other
Cablevision Systems Corp.	Bethpage	Media and Entertainment	Radio and Television Broadcasting
CA Technologies, Inc.	Islandia	Software and Internet	Software
Verizon Communications Inc.	New York	Telecommunications	Telephone Service Providers and Carriers
Hess Corporation	New York	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries

training details locations, tags and why hsg

the hartmann software group advantage

why take Cloud Training with the hartmann software group?

A successful career as a software developer or other IT professional requires a solid understanding of software development processes, design patterns, enterprise application architectures, web services, security, networking and much more. The progression from novice to expert can be a daunting endeavor; this is especially true when traversing the learning curve without expert guidance. A common experience is that too much time and money is wasted on a career plan or application due to misinformation.

The Hartmann Software Group understands these issues and addresses them and others during any training engagement. Although no IT educational institution can guarantee career or application development success, HSG can get you closer to your goals at a far faster rate than self paced learning and, arguably, than the competition. Here are the reasons why we are so successful at teaching:

Learn from the experts.
1. We have provided software development and other IT related training to many major corporations in New York since 2002.
2. Our educators have years of consulting and training experience; moreover, we require each trainer to have cross-discipline expertise i.e. be Java and .NET experts so that you get a broad understanding of how industry wide experts work and think.
Discover tips and tricks about Cloud programming
Get your questions answered by easy to follow, organized Cloud experts
Get up to speed with vital Cloud programming tools
Save on travel expenses by learning right from your desk or home office. Enroll in an online instructor led class. Nearly all of our classes are offered in this way.
Prepare to hit the ground running for a new job or a new position
See the big picture and have the instructor fill in the gaps
We teach with sophisticated learning tools and provide excellent supporting course material
Books and course material are provided in advance
Get a book of your choice from the HSG Store as a gift from us when you register for a class
Gain a lot of practical skills in a short amount of time
We teach what we know…software
We care…

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Cloud Training Classes in Albany, New York

Learn Cloud in Albany, NewYork and surrounding areas via our hands-on, expert led courses. All of our classes either are offered on an onsite, online or public instructor led basis. Here is a list of our current Cloud related training offerings in Albany, New York: Cloud Training

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Tech Life in New York

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Interesting Reads Take a class with us and receive a book of your choosing for 50% off MSRP.