The stronger your web host is in the following areas, the better they will be able to serve your business.

If you own or help run a business, web hosting may not be the first consideration that comes to the mind. However, having the right web host is essential to getting the most out of your business’s online activities.

The 6 web-hosting factors listed in this article affect everything from your business website performance in search results to how much your customers enjoy using your site.

1. Server uptime

Server uptime affects how much of the time your site is up (that is, online and accessible to visitors) versus down (that is, offline and inaccessible to visitors). It is usually expressed as a percentage; for example, if the server supporting your website has an uptime percentage of 99.9 per cent, that means that your website will be down 0.1% of the time.

As covered by Jennifer Kyrnin on LifeWire.com, it is important to think about how much downtime will cost your business. For instance, a server with 99% uptime might sound solid, but it will actually be down over three days per year. Those are three days of potentially lost sales. Kyrnin recommends choosing a web host with a minimum uptime guarantee of 99 per cent.

2. Webpage speed

Webpage speed is another vital factor when choosing a web host. Every second that your business’s site takes to load is a second that a customer can potentially get bored and leave.

If the delays last particularly long, customers may even assume your website is broken and never return. Some of this comes down to how fast your visitors’ internet connections are, but there is a factor your web host can control: how quickly their server responds to visitors and loads the pages they request.

Generally speaking, the type of web hosting plan you choose will have a big effect on how quickly your webpages load. A shared hosting plan—in which your site shares hardware with other sites—will have the slowest speeds. The next fastest is a VPS, or virtual private server, plan.

The fastest type of plan is a dedicated hosting plan, in which your business has the use of a server all to itself.

3. Website security

Web hosting security is critical for both maintaining your customers’ trust and keeping your business’s online presence up and running. As with webpage speed, generally speaking, a shared hosting plan will perform the worst in this area. A VPS plan will be a bit better in terms of security, and a dedicated plan will have the best security.

Another factor is the type of security certificate provided by your web host. The top tier of the security certificate is an SSL certificate. These come in many varieties, so make sure your web host provides the certificate type that fits your needs.

4. Search engine ranking performance

Your business’s performance in search engine rankings will help determine how easily customers can find it. Your web host will play a big role here. For instance, according to Google, their searches rely not only on the relevance of your website. Google searches also take into account the usability of a website’s pages.

A site that delivers fast loading times will generally outrank one that does not, all else being equal. The same goes for security: The more secure site may win in a tie. Finally, the Search Engine Journal highlights server uptime as a critical factor in search engine rankings. If your site is down often, it may plummet in the rankings.

5. Data server location

The location of your web host’s data servers is another important consideration. In general, the closer the server is to the customers you hope to attract, the better it will be for your business.

For example, if all other factors are equal, a business whose customers primarily live in Virginia will likely receive better performance from a server located on the East Coast than one located in California or India.

6. DNS considerations

Finally, the domain name system (DNS) also plays a role in how your business’s website performs. The domain name is essentially the name of your website, and it is tied to your website’s IP address.

You can purchase DNS hosting as a standalone service for your site. Alternatively, many web hosts provide DNS hosting along with their web-hosting services.

The difference is that web hosting involves storing all of the data your business’s website needs to remain up and running. DNS hosting allows visitors to connect to that website. Having a robust DNS service is vital to keeping your business usable for visitors.

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As demand increases, more merchants will be looking towards solutions that are convenient, cost-effective, secure, and accessible by large amounts of people

Blockchain has experienced a decrease in hype recently as the ICO bubble has officially burst and the market has slowed down. While likely temporary, entrepreneurs and companies have taken the opportunity to focus in on building and shipping products that can be instantly used.

One of the most compelling and obvious applications of cryptocurrencies are for daily transactions, both online and offline. While sceptics might argue everyday use of cryptocurrency brings risks such as volatility in prices, security concerns, and lack of usability, the data proves otherwise. 

In Japan alone, over 10,000 retailers have started to accept bitcoin. These retailers include everyone from local diners to Rakuten, one of Japan’s leading companies with over  US$7 billion in revenue in 2016. 

On a global scale, retailers such as Overstock.com, Shopify, Intuit, Expedia, and Virgin Airlines have already started to accept bitcoin as a payment option. Even Deloitte announced earlier this week that they are testing employees paying for lunch using cryptocurrency. 

In total, there are thousands of retailers either accepting cryptocurrencies or exploring ways to integrate them into their payment options. 

Validation for cryptocurrency payment solutions

In Asia, consumers and businesses already accept various forms of digital payments, touchless payments, and digital money such as WeChat Pay. The integration of crypto payments would make sense as the user experience would be nearly identical to current e-payment methods, and crypto users continue to grow in most major Asian markets. 

Naturally, there is still an education gap that needs to be solved, but as time passes, more and more people are becoming familiar and comfortable with cryptocurrencies, especially beyond speculative trading. The benefits of crypto payments include convenience, discretion, lower fees, and in some cases, the elimination of chargebacks. 

One company, PumaPay, was the first company to introduce fully decentralised subscription payments on the blockchain and focuses on offering the flexibility and ease of use of credit cards with the advantages of blockchain. To date, their payment solution for merchants has attracted the likes of Wix.com, FashionTV, PornHub, Rent24, Ubex, and over 100 other companies. 

You might be wondering how these transactions work. Put, PumaPay has a payment protocol that inverses the mechanics of the transaction and allows merchants to “pull” funds from customers wallets based on pre-approved terms. This means cryptocurrency can be used in real-time for transactions, eliminating chargebacks and fees besides what is needed to push the transaction on the Ethereum blockchain. 

This allows the creation of billing mechanisms that are very common in people’s daily lives but were not possible on the blockchain previously. The outcome means businesses can now easily integrate cryptocurrencies into their payment systems. 

Demand for crypto payments in distressed environments

Recently, Hong Kong protestors have made a vocal plea for merchants to start accepting cryptocurrency payments to help address the uncertainty being felt. As a result, malls and various retailers have begun to integrate cryptocurrencies. 

Around the world, similar tensions have led to an increase in usage and demand for retailers to offer this option. In Argentina, the government re-established capital controls in September 2018, limiting the number of Pesos a person could sell on the open market. This has caused a strong movement of crypto advocates who understand how such usage can be a hedge against macro-political and economic events.

As this demand increases, more merchants will be looking towards solutions that are convenient, cost-effective, secure, and accessible by large amounts of people. The benefit of cryptocurrencies is that they check all of these boxes and are available with an inclusionary rather than an exclusive approach.

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To make sure that we produce enough food for a growing population, we need to optimise our farming industry, and this is where IoT comes in

The current technologies are changing the world around us. If you are not convinced, take a look at self-driving cars and the application of artificial intelligence. However, do you think that internet-of-things (IoT) can have the same impact on our farming sector?

In this article, we will try to answer the above question. But, before we start, we first need to understand the problem that our farming industry is going through. Currently, we are growing food more than we need. But, this doesn’t mean that we are safe in future.

Our population can easily shoot to 9.9 billion by 2050. To make sure that we produce enough food, we need to optimise our farming industry, and this is where IoT comes in. It is also estimated that by 2050, over 2 billion smart agro-sensors will be used. This will improve agriculture by more than 2% while reducing risks and use of water by 7% per acre.

IoT can also help farmers to help deal with thousands of unforeseen circumstances such as diverse weather conditions. It can also help them understand what they are doing wrong and improve their farming practices. But, how it can be done? Let’s explore it in depth below.

1. Precision Farming

Currently, the agriculture sector has to go through a lot of risks. It can range from not knowing when the rains will happen to the lack of knowledge for identifying bad soil conditions.

These uncertainties are alarming. However, IoT can change how the parameters can be controlled, all thanks to the agro-sensors. The ago-sensors can collect data which is both accurate and real-time. By doing so, the farmers can make decisions based on the collected data and minimise the risk associated with it.

2. Big Data

When we speak of agro-sensors, we also indirectly speak of big data. In the year 2014 alone, agricultural land has access to 20 million data points. However, the number can easily jump to 4 billion data points by the year 2050.

So, what does that mean for the farming sector? This means that have more information regarding the different aspects such as pest infestations, soil quality, storage, and so on. In short, the huge amount of data will open doors to a better understanding of how things work, and also help researchers innovate and improve the overall farming sector.

That’s why you will find many IoT development companies that are already working on different solutions surrounding farming.

Also read: More details emerge on early stage funding round for Indonesian agritech startup Sayurbox

3. Agricultural Drones

Until now, drones have been used for surveillance, saving people’s lives during disasters and so on. Aerial drones can also be used to improve the agricultural sector. Yes, you read it right.

Agricultural drones open up new opportunities for the farmers to monitor crop and other important parameters such as health assessment, planning and so on. By using drones, the farmer can save time and use it in finding new strategies to combat farming issues.

Things like soil health and weather forecast can also be monitored using agricultural drones. All of this gives the farmer an eagle-eye view of their farms. In short, they are pretty useful and hold the key to revolutionise the farming sector.

4. Remote control

Farms are huge, and they require multiple workers to be maintained carefully. However, with the use of IoT, it will be possible for the farmers to take control of their farms remotely.

There are many problems such as soil dryness, low water presence, etc. All these problems bring huge losses if not fixed early. With IoT and the smart tools, the farmers will know what needs to be done when a problem occurs. This type of technology is known as “middleware technology.” Also, the apps that are created for showing the information are always available on the mobile application.

Conclusion

IoT can change and revolutionise the farming sector. Until now, there was no way for farmers to collect data and act upon it, but with IoT, they will have an eagle eye view on their farms.

All this is only possible due to the new technologies that we have. It is a combination of all of them, where IoT plays a core role. The biggest hurdle is to educate farmers about their benefits and equip them with the required tools. So, what do you think about IoT’s impact on the farming sector? Comment below and let us know.

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With its online travel agency, ride-hailing services, and corporate fleet services, Oway is one of the leading names in the local tech ecosystem

Looking at the services that Oway is offering, it is hard not to compare the Myanmar-based startup with its regional competitors Grab and gojek.

Starting off an as online travel agency, which was the first in the nation, the startup expanded its offerings to include ride-hailing and corporate fleet services.

Apart from that, Oway also counted Northstar Group, one of the early investors in gojek, as one of its backers.

Speaking to e27 over the phone, Oway CEO Alok Kumar even explains how Oway has also implemented the super app concept ahead of gojek and Grab. But he sees that their move has not been “well-discovered” since the startup has been focussing on the Myanmar market.

“We are constantly looking at options to upload more and more services and products onto the platform, but we have to be cautious with the timing of the market, whether they are ready for those services or not. One big challenge that we have is the capability and investment balancing act.”

Myanmar itself is considered as one of the emerging markets of Southeast Asia. Having been closing itself from the international world for years, in 2012 the country began to open itself up, marked by the entrance of foreign telco companies such as Ooredoo and Telenor into the country.

Also Read: iMyanmarHouse appoints Flymya’s ex-COO Grace Ei Thwe Aung as General Manager

Operating a tech startup in such market certainly comes with its own unique challenges. A Telenor report in 2018 mentioned underdeveloped digital infrastructure and low digital literacy rate as some of the challenges; the government itself has responded by establishing the Digital Economy Development Committee (DEDC).

But Oway manages to come out as a top player in this market. In terms of ride-hailing services, the company is the biggest in Myanmar due to its physical presence. It is also the largest fleet service provider in the country at the moment.

What is the secret sauce of taking over this promising new market? Kumar reveals the secret to e27.

Within Myanmar

The story of Oway began when chairman and co-founder Nay Aung returned to Myanmar from the US in 2013. Having worked in tech giants such as Google, he set up an online travel agency (OTA) business in 2014.

Back then telco penetration in the country was quite low, with only seven to eight per cent of the population having access to it.

But Nay Aung saw an opportunity coming his way when the telco licenses were being given to Telenor and Ooredoo, which fundamentally meant that the market will leapfrog in digital services and online biz.

Also Read: ShweProperty raises US$3M in fresh funding as 500 Startups makes an entry into Myanmar

The business was eventually expanded into two new verticals: ride-hailing (Oway Ride) and corporate fleet services (Oway Fleet).

Kumar explains that there are three important milestones that the company has made: Having the largest inventory of airlines and hotels in international and domestic destinations in its platform; pioneering and inventing a new business model in the ride-hailing space; as well as the partnership with Telenor and Wave Money.

These milestones are playing a crucial role in Oway’s strategy in winning the market, which displays a behaviour that is distinctive to an emerging market.

“What we are looking at in Myanmar today is a behavioural shift from the physical to digital. Myanmar was a closed economy and there is already a really strong behaviour existing in the market. People still have a certain higher level of trust … on purchasing with travel agents they know well,” Kumar begins.

This is why the startup invests heavily in making sure that the behavioural shift happens successfully.

“We want people to move and interact with us online because of three core reasons: We bring widest choices online, conveniences and ease of transaction that is not limited to store operation hours, and price value.”

Also Read: Cambodia’s Meal Temple Group invests in Myanmar’s food delivery startup Freshgora

The partnerships that Oway has fostered enable them to make these lucrative offerings for their customers. For example, its partnership with local digital payments provider Wave Money enables Oway Fleet drivers to digitally process any advance payments which include tolls, maintenance, and repair costs.

Oway is also not beyond offering discounts to customers of its OTA, a practice that remains common among fast-growing tech startups.

Beyond Myanmar

 

Since its inception, Oway has raised over US$14.7 million from investors such as Northstar Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Openspace Ventures.

The company says it is “on track” to raise its Series E funding round, which is aimed to further improve its existing verticals and operations.

In Southeast Asia, Grab has long expanded its business beyond its home country with massive investment plans in markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam.

Its rival gojek has also begun to expand its presence beyond Indonesia by entering Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and soon Malaysia.

When asked if the region is going to see Oway launching its services in countries other than Myanmar, Kumar reveals that the company is actually embracing the idea.

“It is in our wishlist and we are constantly evaluating options. But this is currently in the evaluation phase.”

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Image Credit: Oway

The post How Oway plans to win Myanmar as the country strives to build a digital ecosystem appeared first on e27.

If you think incompetence is a problem, now is the time to think again

Incompetence is on fire, especially in global politics. It’s one of those trends to be bullish on. That’s here to stay. You know, like blockchain and artificial intelligence and design thinking and agile. Disrupt or be disrupted. You know what I mean. Here’s a list of the top ten reasons why you should champion the incompetent:

1. They won’t call your bluff, to avoid you calling theirs. Finally, peace of mind if you suffer from imposter syndrome. Especially relevant for us millennials.

2. They will never make you feel inadequate. In an age of hyper-competition, this will soothe your soul. Nothing reveals your own abilities more clearly than looking after cleaning up someone else’s mess.

3. They will humble you with their entitlement. This isn’t great at first, but it helps you with your own self-development in the long run.

4. They find seemingly easy solutions to problems because they aren’t privy to realities in their industry or field of, um, expertise. This looks especially good with the execs. You know, out of the box thinking and all!

5. They will make you regret every single minute and dollar you wasted on them, thus encouraging the betterment of your time management and financial discipline in future.

6. They will make you look competent. Great feeling. It allows you to dissociate from all those incompetent people around you.

7. They encourage your colleagues to focus on other, personal aspects of their lives in order to minimise frustration, which may lead to increased work-life balance for the rest of their team.

8. They are great with the media. If you ever wondered how to ‘dumb down’ something so more people could understand it, you will find the best way to achieve this is not knowing anything about the matter in the first place.

9. Because they consistently fail to deliver, they will never notice their own failures or have to endure the tough emotions surrounding it. Emotions are really contagious so this spares you from falling into the trap of self-doubt.

10. They are easily able to tell their story and influence because they don’t have to worry about substance. Anything will inspire them to feel special and gifted, and relay this to the world. They are the ultimate motivational role-models. Just like the wonderful Lotus flower, which also grows on mud. Sh** is an impeccable fertiliser. And if that doesn’t inspire you, I don’t know what will.

11. They talk a good game because they prefer speech over actually attempting or doing something.

I think I overshot… time to conclude:

Incompetence makes us all better. It makes the world a better place. We need it to advance humanity. Incompetence is the new competence in so many important ways. Please take a moment to express your gratitude for the invaluable contributions incompetence has made over the course of your life.

If you want to make incompetence the hero theme of your next event or keynote, there truly are many promising options for you to deliberate. But you might as well look no further and book the ultimate one right here. You can even hire me to give you more great advice off the stage. It might also lead to something great.

Please don’t tag the people this reminds you of. You never know, the feeling may be mutual.

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This article was originally published on LinkedIn

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