Virtual Attendance System: How It Helps To Increase Virtual Workforce Productivity?

Attendance and leave management are important HR activities and necessary components of payroll input. HR may need help to combine diverse attendance inputs from various recording methods, such as manual attendance registers, ID cards, or biometric scanners, across all business sites.

Being a Human Resource Manager, virtual workplace productivity is one thing you cannot take complacently. It drives your organization toward its business goals. Running an organization is quite meaningless without the purpose of achieving business goals. Workplace productivity is directly related to employees and combines efficient time management and focus on fulfilling tasks.

Let’s focus our attention on one interesting statistic from anonymous research, an average employee stays productive only for around 2 hours and 53 minutes. Think about it, out of 8 hours a day, employees are less productive for 5 hours than they should be. It is not a favorable scenario for an organization. Moreover, productivity can fall in the case of virtual modes of operation.

Out of all the virtual workplace-related activities like chit-chat between co-workers, attendance is one task that consumes employees’ productive time.

So, what’s the solution?

Just like your business is running in a virtual mode. It is beneficial to adopt a virtual attendance system.

Why so? Let’s find out!

It Helps to Manage the Remote Staff

Soon after the pandemic hit, the world got introduced to a new mode of business operations, i.e., work from home. Attendance is one of the biggest issues when it comes to managing a virtual workforce. Efficient management is directly proportional to the rate of workplace productivity. Better management leads to higher productivity.

Equipping your team with a centralized attendance system makes it easier to manage the workforce by keeping an adequate record of working hours by employee, project, or any other required parameter.

Promise of Accuracy

To ensure higher accuracy, use attendance software that includes features such as payroll connection and digital timesheets. In addition, use web-based portals for timekeeping and biometric technology that are appropriate for your staff, and your software should be able to handle various input types.

Employees should be able to check their PTO, and supervisors should be able to receive notifications concerning overtime if remote data for timekeeping is accessible and integrated with the right and relevant systems. In addition, missed punch alerts assist both employees and supervisors in resolving issues quickly.

Easy Scheduling

Traditionally, office scheduling was rather straightforward. That is why we have terminology like daily office hours. However, remote or hybrid work becomes more challenging, yet flexibility boosts productivity significantly.

Encourage remote workers to use windowed work to manage their home and family requirements without using business time. It would be best if you had a more flexible online schedule to coordinate meetings and collaboration when everyone works slightly different hours.

Enhances Accountability

Having a virtual attendance system in place helps to review and improve the remote workforce’s time management. Efficient time management practice helps to enhance productivity. Managers or supervisors can keep track of employees’ activities which further helps to overcome the bottlenecks. Moreover, it helps to understand where employee engagement and productivity lags and identify reliable solutions to address the issues.

Easy Access

When remote workers are denied access to their records, they may become irritated. They can monitor their records using an online time and attendance system to see how much vacation time they have left if a specific medical treatment is covered by their insurance or to make simple modifications to their personal records. They can also check in when they suspect a disparity in hours paid and resolve concerns more swiftly due to accurate record keeping.

Quick & Easy Scheduling

Managers can become more effective at scheduling by allowing more freedom. For example, if your customer support team works remotely, you can use peak demand times to book additional employees and cut staff during downtimes precisely. Staff should only work when needed or when they are most productive. You may plan your staffing needs for weeks and avoid problems like conflicting schedules. Staff shortages will never catch you off guard if you streamline your system with other areas of your employee leave and holiday plans.

A Curb On Costs

Time and attendance systems can be tailored to help you keep costs connected with special projects under control. For example, you can limit hours and distribute time spent more effectively to guarantee that you stay within budget. In addition, adjustments can be made, or staff can be notified when they run out of time due to financial constraints.

While a remote worker may appear less productive, you can maintain control and enhance productivity optics with the correct time and attendance solution.

A virtual attendance system helps calculate total work time, late-in and early-out logs, and overtime performed per the applicable rules applied to individuals or groups of employees.

We have successfully installed an attendance solution for our teams at Deftsoft, which means we have the experience and unique on-hand knowledge to install attendance systems for our clients.

What is AWS (Amazon Web Services) and How Does it Work?

Amazon Web Services, also known as AWS, is a cloud platform that offers content delivery, computing power, database storage, and many more powerful cloud-based services. AWS helps businesses grow using database systems like MySQL, Oracle, and SQL services for data storage.

Amazon rents out database servers and takes care of their security and maintenance so that users can concentrate completely on their business. In addition, Amazon offers migration, development tools, networking, and management of their clients. You might be excited to know more about AWS. So, without chewing long fats, let us get started!

How Does AWS Work Flawlessly?

In the old-school days, if an organisation wanted to launch its application or website into the digital market, it had to buy a server. And servers come at a pocket-burning price. So the organisation needs to invest a huge amount of money in it. Moreover, server setups are laborious and time-consuming.

Servers need separate infrastructure to maintain them. If any malfunctioning server goes down, you need to hire an expert to bring it back online. And till that time, your online business goes down. Moreover, the organization needs to scale up its server count to manage all requests if there is high website traffic.

It is not with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Organizations do not have to buy physical servers. Instead, they all have to rent them, deploy the website or application, and pay for only what they use. No headache of setup, infrastructure, and maintenance. And the best part, you can rent AWS servers at reasonable prices.

Officially it is called Amazon Web Services. But I will say Amazing Web Services. Look how easy Amazon made it for organizations to maintain their applications and websites at minimal costs.

Some Top Companies That Use AWS

Top companies that use AWS

Following are some of the Fortune companies that use Amazon Web Services (AWS):

● Adobe: Multimedia software company.
● Airbnb: Rental service for local stays.
● Expedia: Online travel company.
● NASA: Agency for Aerospace Research.
● Netflix: An online video streaming company.
● Nokia: A mobile company.
● Samsung: A mobile company, apps developed by Samsung are deployed using AWS.
● Slack: A professional messaging platform.

What AWS Offers?

AWS offers 20+ cloud-based services. Here in the section, we have discussed some of the major AWS services:

Analytics- AWS allows you to create visualizations of the data you analyzed. Following are some of the analytics services that AWS offers:

● Athena for running SQL queries on the S3 bucket.
● Elastic search and Cloud Search for creating a managed search engine.
● Glue to create Extract Transform Load (ETL) systems.
● Kinesis for performing Real-time analysis on streaming content.
● Quick Sight for business insights and data visualizations.

Compute – AWS allows you to deploy applications in its cloud computing servers. Compute is also referred to as computing power. Some of the popular computing services of Amazon are:

● EC2 for virtual machines.
● Elastic Beanstalk for automated deployments.
● Lambda to run functions without a server.
● Elastic load balances to maintain to handle the bulk requests.
● Autoscaling to manage real-time requirements.

Databases – Another amazing service Amazon offers is a wide range of database servers. From relational databases to NoSQL database servers. A user can easily migrate from a local machine to AWS with the help of database migration services.

Important Information: There is a difference between database and storage. A database cannot include executable files. At the same time, storage is a service based on the file system that can store executables.

● Relational database service (RDBS) supports databases like MySQL, Oracle database, MS SQL Server, PostgreSQL SQL, and Amazon Aurora.
● Redshift is close relative to PGSQL.
● Elasticache supports in-memory cache services like Memcached and Redis.
● DynamoDB is a highly scalable NoSQL database with very low latency.

Developer tools – It is used to manage software development life cycles. You can use AWS’s developer tools to create, build, and deploy software applications. It includes:

● Code-Star service for creating, managing, and working with software projects.
● Code-Commit is version control software like git.
● Code-Build is for building your code base.
● Code-Deploy for automating the deployment of applications.
● Code-Pipeline lets you keep your eyes on building, testing and deploying the applications.

Migration – Migration on AWS is a piece of cake. You can easily push or get your data on AWS. In addition, you can migrate data from one database to another. AWS uses Server Migration Service (SMS) to migrate on-site servers quickly.

Database Migration Service (DMS) for migrating data from a database to another database. And Snowball to upload data to S3; pack and send the hard disk to AWS.

Mobile – This particular AWS service allows organizations to develop or development of mobile apps. In addition, it allows for to analyze of user data with the help of the following services:

● The mobile hub for adding, configuring, and designing features for mobile apps.
● Users can test the mobile app on hundreds of devices with a device farm.
● Cognito for single sign-on integration with mobile apps.
● Mobile Analytics for mobile data analysis.

Networking and content delivery – The primary network-based services on AWS are virtual private clouds. It allows organizations to initiate their resources in a secure and isolated network. In addition, it lets organizations connect with AWS and Route 53 by using Domain Naming System.

Security, identity, and compliance – With the help of AWS, an admin can manage permission, access restrictions, and security. AWS uses the following security services:

● Identity and Access Management (IAM) allow users to create, manage, and give different access to different users.
● Inspect vulnerabilities on virtual machines.
● Web Application Firewall (WAF) protects from attacks like XSS, SQL Injection, etc.
● Key Management Service (KMS) for managing encrypted keys. In addition, allow the user to create and control keys that can use to encrypt data.
● Guard Duty for detecting threats intelligently to protect AWS accounts.

Storage – AWS offers a file storage system. You can manage (upload, edit, or delete) your data. You only need an active internet connection and a smart device to log into the AWS panel. Basically, the purpose of the storage is to hold the data and information required to run or use by applications.

Some of the popular AWS storage services include:

● Simple storage service (S3) is a file system to store documents, images, files, folders, songs, etc.
● Elastic File System for EC2 instances.
● Glacier for storing the file for a long time at a low cost.

The Wrap

Every year for over a decade, Amazon Web Services has been named an industry leader in cloud computing by Gartner and its Magic Quadrant. AWS outperforms its rivals, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle, and Alibaba. In this competitive market, AWS dominates in market share and product diversity. It is particularly important in the fields of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and database platforms as a service.

In 2006, AWS was relaunched to include three services – Amazon S3, SQS, and EC2 cloud storage – officially making AWS a suite of core online services. In 2009, S3 and EC2 were launched in Europe, and the Elastic Block Store and Amazon CloudFront were brought online and adopted by AWS. In 2013, AWS began offering a certification process for AWS services, and 2018 saw the launch of an autoscale service.

Over time, AWS has added many services that have helped make it a low-cost, highly available, and scalable infrastructure platform. AWS is now focused on the cloud, with data centres placed around the world in locations such as Australia, the United States, India, Europe, Japan, and Brazil. The AWS Cloud spans 90 Availability Zones within 28 geographic regions worldwide, with announced upcoming plans for 21 more Availability Zones and 7 more AWS Regions in Australia, Canada, Israel, India, New Zealand, Spain, and Thailand.

7 Best PHP Frameworks That May Take Your Website to the Next Level in 2022

In this blog, we will discuss the 7 Best PHP Frameworks That May Take Your Website to the Next Level.

“A quality website is a unique and outstanding way to market a business or startup.”

A “good” website isn’t considered good enough until it converts users’ visits into business leads. It should be well functional at both the front end and back end. For instance, a quality website should be:

– Well designed and functional.

– Easy to use.

– Optimized for mobile.

– Optimized for search and the social web, and more.

All these qualities are easy to bag in the websites developed and designed on any of the following 7 PHP frameworks.

1. Laravel

2. Symfony

3. Zend Framework

4. CodeIgniter

5. CakePHP

6. FuelPHP

7. Yii 2

PHP Frameworks

1. Laravel

Laravel is a web application-based framework that is user-friendly and easy to navigate. Many business owners love to have their websites on it because of their simple, efficient, and powerful features.

In addition, this PHP framework provides a basic structure for developing powerful websites and web applications. Another reason why many corporates prefer the Laravel framework is because of its SEO-friendly feature, which helps them rank their business website on Google with ease.

2. Symfony

According to research, 79 per cent of websites use the PHP language, in which the Symfony framework makes a significant contribution. Moreover, Symfony-based websites offer ultimate flexibility and top-notch performance. Therefore, it is the best choice for web development.

In addition, it keeps a web application or website stable and sustainable, regardless of the framework version, and is quite user-friendly.

3. Zend Framework

Regardless of the size and nature of the business, the Zend framework let business owners generate their web application and can elevate business operations. Its supportive database includes an amazing MVC pattern that creates a robust web-based application.

In addition, Zend PHP framework settings are easy to understand and work on. So, if someone wants to make any minor changes, they can do it themselves.

4. CodeIgniter

Among PHP-driven frameworks, CodeIgniter has occupied approximately—5 per cent of the market share in web development. However, already 1,455,869 websites are on Google that is built on the CodeIgniter framework. The reason is it delivers effective and cutting-edge web applications.

The biggest benefit of using CodeIgniter is that it is easy to spot and fix bugs or errors that may affect website performance. In addition, it loads the website smoothly, and there is a quite unlikely chance of an unexpected website crash.

5. CakePHP

CakePHP is the most effective and beneficial framework for 21st-century business owners. However, when it comes to website development and design, no one wants to pick a platform or framework with many security holes.

Using CakePHP is the best decision for business owners who want the best security. Its CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) feature helps protect user-submitted tasks in less time.

6. FuelPHP

Flexibility and compatibility are the two main features of the FuelPHP framework that set it apart from other PHP frameworks. In addition, websites designed in FuelPHP are fast. Another reason FuelPHP is widely used as it can deliver almost all solutions and features that every website should have.

It has stable APIs that will help websites be extremely flexible, deliver maximum performance, and be easy to configure and use.

7. Yii 2

No online user loves slow websites or blank pages. Users usually switch to alternative business websites rather than waiting for the website to load. Building a website with the Yii framework, which offers outstanding tools, results in better website speed and performance.

Moreover, the Yii PHP framework enhances security by preventing cookie attacks and cross-site scripting, helping online businesses play it safe.

But Which PHP Framework is Better?

But which PHP framework is better_

Well, each PHP framework has its benefits. So, it’s completely up to you what you are looking for in your business website. Or, if you have any confusion regarding PHP frameworks, you can straightaway get in touch with our Deftsoft highly experienced professionals. 

We have been in the web development and designing business for the last 16 years and have served over 1000+ valuable clients. So, without any doubt, you can rely on us. 

Our highly experienced developers are proficient in every web development framework. If you need any assistance, connect with Deftsoft today.

How to Create a Website in 2022? CMS, Coding, or Integrated Approach!

Creating a website is the first step when you plan to establish your presence online. The reason is simple: 4.66 billion people use the internet and out of which nearly 4 billion people use Google. No doubt, having an exceptional website for your business would be an added advantage.

So, you finally decided to have a website, and when you researched, you found out you have two ways to create a website: CMS and Coding. If we see a little more densely, you will find there is actually one way, i.e., is coding. It is just with CMS someone has done the majority of the hard yards for you. There is an integrated approach also.

But things are not as simple as they seem. There are plenty of questions that come to mind when we start making a final decision, such as what are the pros and cons of creating a website using CMS or coding, which option is right for my business website, what is the best way of creating a website and so on.

This post will try to declutter your mind and provide you with answers to at least some of your basic queries. We will discuss the basics of what it means to create a website using a CMS and coding and what is this integrated approach.

Just to give you quick information — a recent report by BuiltWith said that there are currently 63 million websites that use a CMS. There are about 1.7 billion websites across the web.

The competition is quite tough between CMS and coding. But, in their own world, both are winners.

Creating a Website Using Coding

There was a good old time when all the websites were created using HTML, CSS, or PHP. What it requires is writing code for each functionality of your website. It means you write code for everything, such as embedding a simple image or video to create the structure of your websites such as headings, paragraphs, lists, and other items, determining the behavior of HTML web pages, and embedding additional programs and features.

It is an art, and a complex task to write a code for everything but offers its share of advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of Creating a Website Using Coding

– Coded websites are more secure than websites created using CMS. You write the code and own the code. It reduces the likelihood of the website getting hacked. A secure website is what every business would want.  

– Your website is unique. When you create a website from scratch and customize every aspect of the website, it is hard to find a copy of your website. A unique appeal to a website can draw visitors’ attention.         

– It is often found that a coded website loads better. It does not contain pre-designed, generic heavy codes that reduce the website’s loading speed, which is one of the core web vitals.

– If you want to add advanced features, you can easily embed the other coding languages.  

– You can have more control over technical SEO

Cons of Creating a Website Using Coding

– You need to have a sound knowledge of coding.

– Coded websites are difficult and time-consuming to update and make any changes.

– You may need to update the older version of your code to keep up with the latest changes in Google’s algorithms.

Creating a Website Using CMS

CMS or content management systems hit the internet world with a storm and revolutionized the way websites were created. It is a platform comprising two core parts: a content management application (CMA) and a content delivery application (CDA).

CMA is a front-end part that you see at the dashboard, while CDA is a backend part where backend processes happen. It takes the changes you entered into the CMA, assembles the code, displays it, and stores it. Popular examples of CMS are WordPress, Wix, Joomla, Squarespace, and Drupal.    

Advantages of Creating a Website Using CMS

– No coding is required. If you are someone who knows nothing about HTML, adding CSS, coding, and uploading files on a server, then CMS is the way to go.

– You can easily create a website in a short time. All you have to do is just install a preferred CMS on your desktop and create a website.  

– You can easily update the content and make changes on the website without the need to make actual changes to the code.  

Cons of Creating a Website Using CMS

You need basic knowledge of HTML and CSS to make full use of CMS. Otherwise, you will be restricted to only the basic functions.

Your website may have a slow loading speed, less security, and fewer unique features.

Understand the Integrated Approach      

Today’s content management systems have become highly sophisticated and started offering advanced functionalities. Most of the CMS platforms allow you to customize the codes. This is what the integrated approach is all about.

You can make changes to the code as per your requirements and make most of the CMS-based websites. No doubt you do not have the freedom you have with creating a website with coding, but it is better than just creating a website on your own with CMS and not making any changes.   

Final Words

The choice of the system to create a website depends on a variety of factors. There is no universal answer to which is the best. But, you can connect with professionals who are skilled in both methods to make a sensible decision.

We at Deftsoft can help you with creating websites with either method.

If you are impressed by the pros of creating a website using coding, our website designers team at Deftsoft is ready to take care of its cons and create and create a website with coding that works.

If you are in awe of creating a website using CMS, our web development team at Deftsoft is ready to provide you with an integrated approach and help you create a website that you can easily manage.

Stay Current with the Top Web Design Trends in 2021

What the coming year has in store for web design?

In 2021 you are expected to see dark mode, mixed media and 3d elements to the forefront with a focus on page speed and user experience.

In 2020 time seems to slow down with things changing so much that a day feels like months, and when it comes to change, web design and development is not far behind.

 Every year new web design trends promise to take us into the technology-driven future that we only dream of. But the 2021 predictions for web design trend are just the opposite of it. In 2021, web design trends share a common theme; from hi-tech fantasy, the focus is on achieving heights of realism. 

The web design trends will combine digital and ordinary life like never before. These trends show how important websites have become in our everyday life. Certain aspects of web design are not going anywhere like user-friendly navigations, data security, a fast load times. In addition to these trends, other web design trends that web designers look for include:

Parallax Animation 

 

Parallax Web Design - The Earth May Not Move for Us But the Web Can |  Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF)

In 2021, web designers will see the rise of web-based animation trends. Micro-interactions to particle backgrounds animation trends have become more complex as designers separate page elements into the foreground and background extremes to create a parallax effect. 

What is parallax? It’s an optical illusion when objects near to the viewer appear to move faster than the objects that are far away. 

Designers use foreground and background to provide additional benefits of immersion, transforming the computer screen into a theatre stage. When users navigate the web page, they are attracted to the magic of Parallax animation.  

Abstract Art Compositions

ART Work Designing - Deftsoft

If you think abstract shapes like squares, circles are simple, minimalistic and restrictive; your opinion is going to change in 2021. In the coming year, web designers will incorporate them into complex and unique compositions that will redefine the way a website looks. In 2021, web design for tech products, startups and apps will include abstract art elements as an alternative to photography. 

Abstract art elements are going to take the place of stock photography and figure illustrations. By usingabstract art compositionsthe web pages will feel expressive and alive, even in the absence of familiar human faces. 

You will see 3D Visuals Everywhere.

 

3D Web Illustration - Deftsoft

With the introduction of higher resolution screens, the 3D design has come a long way. In 2021, you will see high-quality 3D visual will blend smoothly with the rest of the web design. These 3D visuals add to the overall user experience. One pro tip for designers is to make sure 3D visuals are in harmony with the rest of the design elements. 3 D design elements will add a sense of uniqueness and dimensionality to every web page.

State of the Art Multimedia Experiences

State of the art multimedia experience

At present, everyone has access to faster internet speed. As the internet becomes available to everyone, multimedia web experiences are popping up everywhere. To create a user-friendly experience, designers are blending visuals, text, video and audio elements together. Successful design trends in the coming year will include;

  • Use of a variety of media formats to maximize the accessibility of content.
  • Pre-recorded media will include closed captioning and transcripts.
  • Designers will include alt text for images and accompany complex images with longer descriptive text.
  • Designers will avoid auto-playing video or motion content

Augmented Reality Experiences

Augmented Reality Design - Deftsoft

Along with multimedia experiences, designers should not overlook augmented reality. AR is more than hunting for Pokémon on your mobile phone. When it comes to AR in web design, we talk about web XR API and new software that have opened the technological front for users. In the future, more retail and e-commerce websites will use the power of AR to boost their sales and facilitate potential customers in the buying process. 

Digital Interpretation of Physical Products

It’s a proven fact that products are the heart of a website. In 2021, web pages will have their heart on their sleeves. There will be a creative digital interpretation of physical media. Digital interpretation means using colour codes to create visual synergy between the product and the website. This way, web pages will appear more organic and interesting. 

Designers will blend the real world and digital feels to create websites that will create high user engagement. 

Web Design will focus on User Preference. 

 

 UI/UX Designs - Deftsoft

 The primary focus of designers is to deliver personalized experiences to the user. A personalized experience can range from the option to switch between dark/light modes to changes in a site’s appearance and navigation. Websites will now contain content that is tailored to customers’ tastes, similar to the custom playlist generated by music apps. 

In 2021 focus will be on creating a more user-centered website. Designers will try to meet the needs, wants and tastes of users navigating through websites.

In addition to the above trends, 2021 will be the year of three-dimensional colours, captivating questionnaires, scrolling transformations, better ecommerce UX and more. All these web design trends look nothing like sci-fi movie design trends that are hard to implement. These are the actual design trends you will encounter in everyday life. These trends will give you an insight into what the future will hold for web design. For the success of your website, it’s essential to stay up to date with these web design trends. 

After reading the above trends, you will be in a better position to update your website design to create a positive impact on your brand and revenue.