Positive Aspects of Working from Home

work-from-home-300x149 Positive Aspects of Working from Home

Barely hanging in there while working from home, or has it been surprisingly easy? It’s been almost three months since the majority of the city, and the world went into lockdown mode, with every major industry grinding to a halt. From agriculture to the technology sector,  major losses have been experienced everywhere. The technology sector has been a little privileged in retaining its jobs, and not only that, working from the safety of home. However, we recognize that it’s difficult to see the silver linings sometimes, especially in a dark time like right now. But we want to share with you some reasons why working from home can have a really positive outcome. 

More Time, More Benefits

Some people have the innate ability to complete work while on the way to work. Multitaskers are far and few among us, but they do exist. Managing calls while driving long distances to work, or pulling out their laptops on the skytrain, some people just have a knack for working on the go. But for the rest of us (not to mention those who suffer from motion sickness), it’s not always that simple. The daily commute, which for some adds up to a significant chunk of the day, turns into a dreary cycle of wasted time. Maybe this isn’t you, and you really enjoy the peace of the morning commute. But we’ve realized that this newfound time, perhaps tallying up to a couple of hours, is a joy to behold. 

What can you do with this extra time? For some, it means getting started with the work day earlier and in fresher spirits. It allows for some time and space in the day to breathe, or incorporate creativity and innovation into an otherwise jam packed schedule. Or maybe this means more time to sleep and recuperate, one of the most crucial parts of a productive lifestyle. Think sleep is overrated? Read this article by Harvard Business Review, it might change your mind. 

A Forced Pause = Re-Examining Internal Systems

This time, although stressful, is an excellent way to force a pause and examine the internal systems of your organization. How is your security system running? Do you have WPA2 encryption enabled on your home wireless network?  Do you use multi-factor authentication (MFA)? If not, this would be a great time to install it. Requiring more than one mode of authentication when logging into your Microsoft Azure portal is crucial in this day and age. For more information, click here.

Improved Work Life Balance

We, at Optimus, have always demonstrated a deep belief in work life integration. For some, this is a new concept, or something daunting that only a few can achieve. But in reality, it’s not! Work life integration is not about letting your work life take over your home/personal place of being. In fact, it stands for the opposite. How can you bring the best version of yourself to work everyday? And how can you bring that person back home to your loved ones, creating connections between the two? By intertwining two seemingly “separate” worlds, there is less room to get “burned out” at work as well as in day to day duties. This does not mean checking your work email at the dinner table, but it does mean having meaningful conversations about your day with those that you care about! 

So what does this have to do with working from home? Well, in this strange era, work and home life are colliding in ways that we haven’t seen before. For freelancers and many people in the creative industries, this is no big deal. But for those of us who are used to working 9-5 at a desk with coworkers, it may feel like the world is imploding. How can you work all day in a place where you live, eat, and rest? If you haven’t already checked out our article on maintaining/increasing productivity while working from home, it’s a great place to start! In addition to that, think of working from home as a new opportunity.

A New Opportunity!

What do we mean by a new opportunity? Well, with working from home comes additional flexibility. Depending on your team and management, flexible work hours could come into play. If you are now juggling kids and their schedules as well, all cooped up at home, it gets tiring! We get it. But try and see how you might be able to integrate your schedules with those who are also living at home. Take breaks and have meals at the same time. Maybe go for a walk together! Work life integration is key in a time like this. To make your transition more comfortable you should also look into the tools that you might need while working from home. We are hosting a webinar series that focuses on this aspect and would be a great place for you to start.

Working from home has been exhausting for a myriad of reasons. And we’re sure there are many we haven’t covered. But looking at the silver lining in this situation is often a good starting point to remind us of what we can be grateful for. 

 

/by

Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

The Roadblock for Digital Transformation

Synapse-1-211x300 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

Source: Harvard Business Review

It is clearly established that Digital Transformation is the key to success and even survival for organizations, even more so with the current global crisis due to COVID-19. 64% of executives believe that they have less than four years to complete digital transformation or they will go out of business. 91% of global executives surveyed by Harvard Business Review feel that effective data and analytics strategies are essential for digital transformation. This data driven culture is critical to spark innovation and drive efficiencies, which is crucial for survival.

But, 80% of the respondents also say that their organizations are struggling to become mature users of data and analytics even though 79% of the employees use data and analytics at least once a week. What gets in the way of organizations effectively using data and analytics for business decisions?

More than half (55%) of the executives say the key roadblock stems from data silos and difficulty managing data coming from multiple systems. Digital transformation leads to a lot of data being captured across various systems which can be extremely valuable. However, less than 20% of this data can ever be analyzed due to the silos. This is mainly because of the disconnect between Big Data analytics, enterprise Data Warehousing, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning.

Simplifying Analytics

The need of the hour is to simplify analytics in a manner that breaks down these silos and makes the most of the data available for analysis without having to jump through hoops. In an ideal world, streaming operational data should be available for immediate analysis to generate reports and run models on the data. This is not a trivial problem.

Operational data is a mix of structured and unstructured data which is generally stored in a Data Lake, not suitable for analytics. Hence, the operational data needs to be imported into a Data Warehouse. The reporting and analytics services can then run on the Data Warehouse.

This creates three key issues. 

  1. Lag between the operational and analytics data stores due to the ELT pipeline. 
  2. Balancing the operational, ELT, reporting, and analytics workloads in the cloud. 
  3. Efficient and effective model management.

Organizations would really benefit from a framework which effectively addresses these issues and removes the roadblocks to data maturity. Azure Synapse Analytics is a step in the right direction with a big promise – Limitless Analytics Services in the cloud.

Azure Synapse Analytics to the Rescue

synapse-2-300x198 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft has launched Azure Synapse Analytics to fulfill the promise of limitless analytics services. This service creates a single place to collaborate for Data Engineers, Database Administrators, Data Scientists, Business Intelligence Analysts, and Business Users with everyone accessing the same data.

The service offers a distributed query processing engine, versatile form factor for computing (cluster/ serverless), and a single experience for the users to manage the end-to-end process. This provides the much required flexibility in scaling and a great user experience, which promotes collaboration.

Many features of Azure Synapse Analytics are now generally available with many more in the pipeline. We believe that this service will evolve rapidly into the standard for analytics at scale for organizations.

Benefits of Azure Synapse Analytics

Azure Synapse Analytics allows teams to seamlessly work together. However, the benefits go beyond this. Some additional benefits are:

1. Unified Experience

 

synapse-3-300x117 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

Source: Microsoft

Azure Synapse Analytics allows users to ingest, prepare, manage, serve, visualize, and analyse the data using a unified experience. Users can bring their analytics to where the data is located, rather than switching to a different interface. This gives a big boost to productivity.

synapse-4-300x169 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

2. Limitless Scale

Azure Synapse Analytics enables limitless scaling for data and analytics in the cloud. Data professionals can derive insights from all the data across data warehouses and big analytics systems at speed. They can query both relational and non-relational data at petabyte-scale using T-SQL language. Furthermore, they can benefit from a versatile form factor of using clusters and serverless computing. Finally, they can run analytics systems along with mission critical workloads with intelligent workload management, workload isolation, and limitless concurrency.

Synapse-5-300x169 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

3. Integrate Business Intelligence and Machine Learning

Azure Synapse Analytics allows users to integrate Power BI and Azure Machine Learning within the Azure Synapse Studio. Then BI professionals and Data Scientists can tap into the available data immediately to create faster insights.

Synapse-6-300x169 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

4. Cloud-Native HTAP Implementation

The announcement of Azure Synapse Link (Preview) brings cloud-native hybrid transactional and analytical processing (HTAP) for Azure Cosmos DB. And with this, plans to expand it to other data stores in the future. It creates a tight seamless integration between Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Synapse Analytics. This enables users to run near real-time analytics over operational data which is stored in Azure Cosmos DB.

Synapse-7-300x126 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

Want to learn more? Click here for a quick and informative video that demonstrates the power of Synapse Analytics Link.

5. Price-Performance

Price-performance is also a critical part of data solutions. According to Microsoft, Azure Synapse Analytics offers better price-performance as compared to Google BigQuery and Amazon Redshift based on field tests done by GigaOm.

Synapse-8-300x221 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

Source: GigaOm Report

The TPC-H and TPC-DS results published by Microsoft show a significant reduction in price of Azure Synapse Analytics as compared to the others in the preceding as well as following graphics.

Synapse-9-300x294 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

Source: Microsoft

Speed

As demonstrated in this video from Ignite 2019, Azure Synapse Analytics can be blazing fast in a petabyte-scale environment combining relational and non-relational data. This can be a game changer for organizations where faster decision making can lead to substantial profit increase.

Synapse-10-300x168 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

Getting Started

Synapse-roadmap-300x166 Integrate Data Silos with Azure Synapse Analytics

We have multiple offers that make it easy for organizations to get started with Azure Synapse Analytics no matter what stage they are at in the process. 

  1. Just getting started?  We offer a free two-hour lunch and learn workshop to help you understand this service. 
  2. Do you already know about the service but need help figuring out your next step?  We can conduct an assessment, strategy, and roadmap workshop that will provide your organization a plan with how to move forward. 
  3. Do you have a roadmap but need help with implementation? We can get you started with the first pilot which can be completed in 2-4 weeks. Once you have experienced the value from the pilot, we can help you with the implementation as per the roadmap.

 

Contact us at info@optimusinfo.com to get started.

/by

Why Implementing a Cloud Management Service is Crucial: The Benefits of CloudCheckr

Financial-analuze-powerbi-300x225 Why Implementing a Cloud Management Service is Crucial: The Benefits of CloudCheckr

Have you read extensively about digital transformation? And read all about how to take your business to the cloud, upping your game? We have, too. But we want to let you in on a secret weapon of sorts. Yes, you heard us right. It’s something that’s understated but will make a monumental difference in your day to day operations. CloudCheckr, a comprehensive cloud management platform, provides total visibility and deep insight, as well as cloud automation and governance. Intrigued? We were, too. Read on to learn why CloudCheckr is the simplest path to your technological future. 

What Is CloudCheckr?

CloudCheckr is a management platform that aims to give comprehensive cost and security to all of your cloud services. An Amazon Web Services (AWS) Advanced Technology Partner with Security and Governance competencies, the platform simplifies and contextualizes data from your public cloud services into actionable insights. As well as this, it works on Azure and other public clouds such as GCP. What does this mean? A clearly organized, visual platform that shows you where your resources are going, all while integrating over 500 Best Practice Checks.  

How We At Optimus Integrate CloudCheckr:

Not only do we at Optimus use CloudCheckr in our daily workings, we also want our clients to gain the same benefits. Our offer? When Optimus is your Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP), CloudCheckr comes included. 

What Are the Benefits of Using It?

So what’s so good about the platform? We’ll tell you. Being a multifaceted platform, they have everything you need to manage and allocate costs, optimize spending, and regulate your finances. They relay usage reports in easily readable dashboards for all members of your team, curated whenever you want them, whether that’s weekly or monthly. 

With emerging public cloud security challenges arising in the near future, a cloud management platform such as CloudCheckr can help you attain the financial benefits you were promised. They are the next step to complete digital transformation and success. They can ensure that your cloud infrastructure is audit ready for 35 regulatory standards. This allows no room for error. It’s a completely scalable service that can keep up with your rapidly expanding environment and provides detailed usage statistics for resources across Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. 

Challenges You May Be Facing In Its Absence:

Of course, using a platform such as CloudCheckr isn’t necessary. But perhaps it should be? When optimizing costs on your own, a lot of issues easily arise. Keeping an enterprise wide inventory gets complicated fast, and assets can slip through the cracks, creating almost undetectable leaks in your system. This is money that could have been re-allocated to optimize workloads. 

 

For more information, contact us.

 

 

/by

Digital Transformation in a Nutshell: Understanding Microsoft’s Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure

Digital-Transformation-Clooud-Adoption-300x188 Digital Transformation in a Nutshell: Understanding Microsoft’s Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure

What is digital transformation? We’re hearing a lot about it these days, and especially more in the seemingly strange “apocalyptic” era that’s taking place right now. There has never been a time in history that there has been such a need for the Cloud. As we navigate through this uncharted territory and wonder how on earth people managed to live with so much uncertainty in the past, most of us have found solace in virtual connection. Now don’t get us wrong, we encourage and embrace the outdoors and passions that don’t require a screen in front of our eyes; however, right now, the only way to connect with those outside our household is virtually. We are all gravitating towards supporting people and programs that allow us to do that. 

So how is it that some businesses are now elevated among the rest? It’s simple. Digital transformation. Those who have taken their passions and programs to the Cloud, and done so successfully, are experiencing lower levels of strain at this time. But how can you or your business embrace digital transformation? We’re here to tell you about Microsoft’s Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure, and how it urges you to look at business objectives before jumping right into your transformation. This framework is crucial in adopting the Cloud successfully. 

What is the Cloud Adoption Framework?

It was developed by Microsoft as the One Microsoft approach to Cloud adoption in Azure. Sharing guidelines from Microsoft professionals and customers across the board, this framework aims to educate on the best practices to drive desired business outcomes. It uses a cloud adoption lifecycle, providing the full lifecycle framework with detailed steps and tips along the way. Put simply? Your ticket to digital transformation, outlined by the best in the game, packaged up and wrapped in a bow. 

Why is it Crucial for the Successful Adoption of Cloud?

A lot of people want quick results on projects without really delving into the process and examining why they’re doing what they are doing. We strongly believe that this framework should be a crucial part of your process going forward. Sure, it might be “easier” to skip the “why” questions and favour how you will move to the Cloud… but this framework makes you look at what business goals you are intent on achieving and aids in creating a plan. This is an integral part of long term success when adopting the Cloud. Microsoft defines cloud adoption as “[…] a means to an end. Successful cloud adoption starts well before a cloud platform vendor is selected. It begins when business and IT decision makers realize that the cloud can accelerate a specific business transformation objective. The Cloud Adoption Framework can help them align strategies for business, culture, and technical change to achieve their desired business outcomes.” 

We at Optimus use the Cloud Adoption Framework in our own work extensively. While planning with clients, we adopt this framework to move them to Azure because it encourages best practices and makes our clients’ cloud adoption successful. 

How to Get Started

Is your team new to this framework? An easy way to get going is to read “Get started with the Cloud Adoption Framework”, an article by Microsoft explaining how to begin your Cloud migration journey with Azure. It will walk you through the entire process while outlining best practices. From outlining how to look at your “motivations” or goals, to defining methodology, this guide has you covered on all bases. 

Find out how to implement Microsoft Azure in your business by contacting us at Optimus. Don’t miss out on the chance to take your business to the Cloud.

 

 

 

/by

Keeping Up With the Times: The Technology Industry’s Response to COVID-19

Tech-Giants Keeping Up With the Times: The Technology Industry’s Response to COVID-19

In the whirlwind of the last few weeks, the world has turned to the digital side of things for solace. Working from home has only been possible through the use of technology such as video calls, data sharing, and the cloud. But how has the tech industry responded to help cope with COVID-19 and working from home? We’re here to tell you. Keep reading for the latest updates on how the tech industry has given back. 

Local Technology Companies 

With relatively smaller tech companies, such as ourselves, we’ve found people dedicated to giving back in this time of need. Although most small businesses across the world are taking a large hit due to this unprecedented and unexpected catastrophe, they have made it a priority to put their employees and local community above their own needs. Whether creating internal agendas donating to local COVID-19 relief groups or organizations such as the Vancouver Food Bank, smaller communities are dedicated to providing help as best they can. Here at Optimus we have been doing the same. While still working from home and putting the health and safety of the community that we live in first, we have raised money for the Food Banks of Canada, the donations of the employees matched by the company itself. So far we have been able to raise over $8500! 

Interested in making your own contribution to the city of Vancouver in this time of need? Look no further, click here to view the ways that you can give back. 

Tech Giants and their Massive Impact

The tech giants that are at the forefront of innovation right now have put a lot of their projects on hold like the rest of us to help in the times of the COVID-19 crisis. Not only monetarily, although that is a significant portion of their contributions, but also by cushioning the economy after this is all over through expanding the job space by tens of thousands. Amazon has created 10, 000 new jobs and other companies are following suit. Apple has donated 10 million masks to healthcare facilities and are still paying their hourly workers as they would have regularly. Amazon, Cisco, Google and more are all contributing as well. Google, a well known search platform as we all are aware, is creating a website specifically for COVID-19 education and awareness, and Cisco has committed $225 million towards awareness and reparation as well. 

Responding to Demands 

For those of us who have the luxury of working from home, it hasn’t been smooth sailing. Increased distractions, lack of space, and feelings of isolation are just a few of the barriers to overcome (for more information on how you can stay productive while working from home, click here). But what about the companies who are providing us with services that make our remote work possible? Our reliance on the cloud now is higher than ever. Suddenly, cloud computing resources are at the forefront of essential infrastructure, allowing the government and health organizations to spread important information, allowing coworkers to stay connected, and keeping people in touch with their loved ones. What toll is this taking on the cloud giants? COVID-19 is “stress-testing” cloud service providers, pushing infrastructure to its limits. As well as this, the crisis has exposed the flaws and areas of improvement needed in infrastructure, testing how far companies can stretch before they break. Microsoft has reported a 775% spike in cloud services demand due to COVID-19, and other providers are stating similar stories. It’s clear that some of these cloud giants will have to come up with new business strategies to keep up with what the world needs right now: connection. 

Expansion and Creation of Apps

With this pandemic as well as tensions on the rise, many people are turning to technology as a form of entertainment while they stay indoors. Because of this, we’re seeing a boom in the creation and expansion of entertaining apps whether that be video games or extensions/plug-ins for your devices that allow you to connect with people regardless of their location. A few noteworthy examples that we would include in this list are Netflix Party (a Google Chrome extension that allows multiple users to watch the same movie in real time), and House Party (an application that allows users to join and exit different conversations with friends over video in real time, almost like they’re entering and exiting rooms in a house). Aside from the entertainment sector, we’re also seeing a spike in the availability of online courses as well as programs. Many tech companies are offering free or reduced rates for their services. Microsoft is a leading example of this as they are offering Microsoft Teams, an application that allows coworkers to collaborate through audio and video calls, for free. 

This is a scary time. We’re not going to dissuade you of that fact. But in the face of uncertainty, we encourage you to look at the tech giants, and take advantage of the resources that so many companies are providing, while giving back to your own clients as well. We hope that you and your families are staying safe and healthy, not to mention connected through some of the aforementioned services. 

 

/by

Support For Our Community

COVID-19-Support-300x200 Support For Our Community

Small businesses and individuals around the world are feeling the negative effect COVID-19 has had on the economy. Here at Optimus, the health and safety of our employees and community remain our priority. We have encouraged our employees to stay positive and give back to the community where they can. We started a donation program where every dollar donated by an Optimus employee will be matched by the company itself. Our employees actively participated in this donation program and we raised over $8500 collectively from our Vancouver and Noida offices. We then donated the amount to Food Banks of Canada and other local organizations and are continuing with this initiative.

 

Want to contribute? Here are some organizations you can donate to:

Food Bank

Canada Helps

WHO

Vancouver Foundation

/by

Playing Pretend: How to Keep Productivity Levels Up While Working From Home

tea-cup-laptop-apple-7360-scaled-e1585866114401-300x177 Playing Pretend: How to Keep Productivity Levels Up While Working From Home

When you are used to working from the office, staying home and trying to meet deadlines can prove to be a challenge sometimes. Various industries have been affected by COVID-19 in different ways, some more detrimental than others. We at Optimus are lucky to have the luxury of mobility; we can work from home. But when sitting alone on the couch, with no coworkers in sight, how can we stay focussed? We have a simple, yet absurd solution. Play pretend. 

Dress to Impress

Stay with us, we know how strange it may sound. But just as important as brushing your teeth and washing your face before working from home, we encourage you to get dressed up as if you were going into the office. Not only does it hit “refresh” in your mind for a new day, it puts you in the headspace of work, rather than lounging around. Dress as if you could be “Skyped by a potential client at any moment” says an article from The Guardian. It’s not just about having other people there to view you in professional attire, it is about taking the same time to respect yourself and get into the right frame of mind as you would on a regular workday. Keeping up your routine is key. 

Working From Home ≠ Working In Bed

“Why does that cause an issue? I should be fine working from bed! Shouldn’t I be comfortable while working?” Firstly, agreed. Don’t set yourself up in a sharp nook of your home and expect your finest work. But do remember: you’re not at the office. That itself creates chaos in what would otherwise be a smooth sailing ship. It’s hard to feel like working when you are sprawled out in bed, or laying out on the sofa. Just a suggestion, but we’ve found it helps to sit up straight and reside at a desk during work hours to encourage the same routine you would have had at the office. And speaking of routine, it leads us to our next tip: keeping a scheduled day including breaks and team calls (to keep your sanity and stay connected). 

Schedule Your Day

Not being in the office means a lack of people to bounce ideas off of, or grab a quick lunch with between meetings. But it doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice some of these privileges completely. Why not schedule your day around outcomes, coming up with a daily goal to hit? And by laying your day out, and scheduling in some breaks for yourself, shoot your coworkers a calendar invite for a 15-minute brainstorm session, or maybe even a working lunch. Just because you are at home, doesn’t mean you have to isolate yourself from the office community; stay connected! But while staying connected, remember to keep boundaries between your work and personal life. Getting stuck working all the time because you can’t “turn off” or not working at all because you are watching TV, is not productive either. 

Be Careful of Isolation

When staying home, especially if you live by yourself, it can get lonely sometimes. Just as it’s important to stay connected and integrated with your office community, staying in touch with family and friends is a surefire way to keep yourself from feeling isolated. Text, video call, and email those who are1 near to your heart, or maybe reach out to some old friends. 

Distractions 

Finally, when working from home, it’s easier than ever to get distracted. Along with following the tips above, we encourage you not to get too caught up with the news. Staying informed is always important, don’t get us wrong. Listening to trusted resources and turning your TV on is good, but we would suggest not having the news channel on 24/7. Not only does it take away from your mindshare, it also may create a worrying atmosphere considering the state of the globe today: not conducive to a working environment. 

This pandemic has affected everyone, and we hope that you are staying home and healthy. But while staying home, we hope that these tips will help keep your productivity levels on the rise, without compromising your working environment.

/by

Starting a Data Project

chart-close-up-data-desk-590022-e1583771218589-300x168 Starting a Data Project

It’s exciting to hear ‘Data is the new Oil’ or the ‘new Gold’ or the new ‘something valuable’. What I dread, though, is the day we hear ‘Data is the new fad and a complete waste of money’. I hope that day never comes!

A lot will depend on how businesses approach data projects. Right now, it could go either way. There are many organizations throwing money at data projects to ensure they are not left behind. There are many more who are not even getting started fearing the outcome or the futility of it. If you belong to either camp, I will share a simple process to maximize the return on your data projects.

Where Data Projects fail

Data projects are complex and resource intensive and hence have many failure points. Most failure points are like the failure points of any complex project. Data availability, data quality, team quality, team work, communication, and so on. There is one, though, which is unique to data projects and at the root of all failed projects. It’s what I call the ‘rabbit hole question’. If a data project begins with this, it is likely to fail.

The Rabbit Hole Question

This is the question I most often hear from companies wanting to start data projects. It is some variation of – ‘What can I do with my data?’. I agree that it is the most natural question to ask, however, not the question that is going to set you up for success. It is the dream question for the salesperson who can now engage the solution architects. Who will then build an exciting solution. A solution that is likely to cost a lot of money and take a lot of time. Worse, it may not yield any results. Why? because it’s the ‘rabbit hole question’.

This question propels everyone to start thinking about what all to do with the data. Or, where all to apply the algorithm or the tool. There are many possibilities and hence many potential projects. But there is no way to figure out what we will get at the  end of these projects. We will only discover it as we go along. And chances are we may not like what we see in the end, if we see anything at all.

Avoiding the Trap

So, how do we avoid the ‘rabbit hole question’? Where do we start and how do we proceed to maximize our chance of success? The answer is to flip the question – ask “What can my data do for me?”. Better still, use a top down approach of starting with your Business Objectives. The graphic on the right illustrates a more sensible approach to data projects.

info-03-e1583772519476-300x219 Starting a Data Project

The key is to break down the process into two phases – Planning and Execution. Planning requires little time but a lot of thinking but is crucial for success.

It is important during planning to stop thinking about the data you have and what to do it. Instead, start with what the key objectives for your business. Next is to think about the Actions required to achieve those objectives. That leads us to thinking about the kind of decisions we need to take. Then we can ask the question – “What insights do I need to take these decisions?”. These required insights then lead us to the relevant data and findings.

In this process, we may find that we do not have some of the required data. We can then start collecting those. In the meantime, we can then switch to execution with the data we already have. We can use the data and findings to generate relevant insights. These insights then drive the appropriate decisions. These decisions then guide us with the required actions to achieve our objectives.

Data Strategy Workshop

In our experience, the knowledge required for Planning is available in the organization. It usually sits in different silos though. Also, we find that the key stakeholders are usually not aligned.

Hence, we recommend conducting a Data Strategy workshop. Such a workshop aligns all stakeholders around the business objectives. It then allows the group to connect the objectives all the way to the Data they have.

Screen-Shot-2020-03-09-at-9.40.40-AM-300x78 Starting a Data Project

The outcome of the Workshop is an aligned Data & AI Roadmap. We can then jump into execution with the least effort and cost. The initial success then builds confidence in the organization for further projects. It also frees up time of critical resources to contribute to these projects.

Screen-Shot-2020-03-09-at-9.34.57-AM-300x79 Starting a Data Project

Optimus has already conducted Data & AI workshops for various organizations with fantastic results. If you would like your organization to have a clearly defined, cost effective, Data & AI Roadmap, please contact us at rajeev.roy@optimusinfo.com 

 

 

/by

The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus Intern

Intern-Focus-300x143 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus Intern

Optimus Information offers an incredible internship program for software engineers unlike any other. Everybody at Optimus holds interns to the highest standard. There is no spoon-feeding or babysitting in the office. This 6-month program teaches interns the ins and outs of a variety of software and exposes them to experienced professionals. Along with technical skills, interns will build their soft skills through mentor-mentee interactions, team huddles, and extracurricular activities.

Since Optimus Information is a global company, applying for an intern position can be fairly intimidating. Those who want to learn from Optimus need to be motivated, resilient, and ambitious. The company seeks out individuals who are willing to increase their intellectual capital, eager to step into a self-led role, and ready to tackle all challenges that may come their way. 

From the perspective of current interns, we hope to share some insight on how to stand out and lay a strong foundation for an amazing, successful career with Optimus Information. Although we are not pursuing the usual software internship, we have the inside knowledge as HR interns. We have compiled a list of “Do’s and Don’ts” that will hopefully help those who are potentially looking to pursue a career with Optimus.

HR Interview

1-300x300 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus InternAlthough Optimus Information is a software company, your transcript, and coding knowledge are not the only fundamentals that will get you an offer letter. The perfect candidate for Optimus is someone who exerts confident energy and has a good understanding of social cues. During the first HR interview, your interviewer will be evaluating you on your personality and your demeanor. Based on how you present yourself and your communication skills, your interviewer will determine if you are the right fit for the company. If you can successfully impress your interviewer, you will proceed to the second round of interviews where you can demonstrate your technical abilities.

DO review your CV.

If you 2-300x300 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus Internhave double-checked your CV, triple-check it. The way your CV is laid out will tell a lot about your character before the interviewer even meets you in person. Ensure that there are no spelling or grammatical errors and that everything on your CV is accurate and up to date. Your interviewer will ask questions based on what you have written on your CV. For example, if you added “skills in C++”, don’t be surprised when the interviewer asks you to discuss concepts and theories behind the language.

DO dress to impress.3-300x300 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus Intern

First impressions are the most important component of any interview. Show the interviewer that you want the position before you introduce yourself. An interviewer will respect those who put effort into the way that they present themselves. Let the interviewer know that you are a professional who cares.

DO respect your interviewer.9-300x300 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus Intern

Wait for your interviewer to ask you to grab a seat before sitting down. This minuscule detail will show the interviewer that you understand respect, as it is a huge component to succeeding in the corporate world. Be polite and confident.

DO speak in English.

4-300x300 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus InternAs Optimus is a global company (with its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada), you will be dealing with overseas clients. English will be the primary language that you will communicate. Prove to your interviewer that you can communicate well in English. Freshen up your grammar and sentence structures prior to your interview to ensure fluidity and accuracy in your speech.

DO NOT be too nervous.

Your interviewer is trying to learn more about you.5-300x300 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus Intern They want you to sell yourself to them and demonstrate your incredible personality. Although it will feel intimidating, know that they are there to help you achieve your goals. Non-verbal communication can tell a lot about somebody’s character so keep a mental note on your body language. Listen to what the interviewer asks and answer it to the best of your ability. Avoid losing your train of thought due to your nerves. Be confident and proud of who you are. Show them what you are capable of.

Bonus: Congratulations! You passed the interview. Here are some tips to help you become and remain a successful Optimus intern.

The Optimus software internship is not a walk in the park. You will be working from 8 AM to 8 PM Monday to Saturday for 6-months. Be prepared to work hard and learn a lot. Since this is a challenging program, only the goal-oriented, ambitious-driven, and strong-minded individuals will be successful. Luckily for you, we have the tips to help you stay on top and remain optimistic.

DO communicate with your mentors and buddies.

6-300x300 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus InternYour mentors and buddies are there to help you transition from college life to corporate life. They are there to help you with professional and personal issues so do not be afraid to reach out. Most of the mentors and buddies at Optimus were past interns who have already experienced the Optimus internship. All you need to do is ask for advice and your buddies will definitely be there to help.

DO stay positive.7-300x300 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus Intern

If you ever feel stressed or overworked, just remember the end goal. Keep pushing forward and do your best. Know that you have your team of interns throughout the next 6 months who are experiencing the same ups and downs as you. Keep each other accountable and motivate each other to push on.

DO NOT rely solely on somebody else.8-300x300 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus Intern

One of the Optimus Values is to be self-led. You will learn to tackle challenges and obstacles on your own. It is okay to ask for help but do not rely on someone else to have the answers to all of your problems. Self-reliance will be a key learning takeaway from this internship.

DO NOT be afraid to take initiative.

10-300x300 The Ultimate Guide to an Optimus InternHaving an entrepreneurial spirit at Optimus is highly praised. If you find an opportunity, take it. Pitch your ideas to your mentors or supervisors and take initiative. Learn from others and implement these skills to your own work.

Optimus Information emphasizes on high intellectual capital. Many people may feel like the internship program pushes them to their limits but those who complete the program remain on top compared to their colleagues. Good luck to all future candidates.

 

/by

4 Tips to Prevent “Run-Away” Azure Costs

,

Imagine you return to the office on Monday morning and discover a mysterious spike in your Azure consumption. You are now significantly over your monthly budget. As you feel a headache forming, you ask yourself: “Wasn’t moving to the cloud supposed to reduce spending?”

Here are 4 easy and basic actions you can take to prevent a run-away Azure cost incident.

1. Delete or deactivate unused resources

According to Microsoft, “The challenge with cloud computing is that once you flip the switch on, the meter keeps running until you switch it off” (Aleenah Ansari). You don’t leave the heat on when you take a weekend trip. So, why would you pay for unused resources in the cloud? Part of optimizing for cloud is deleting all unused resources so you are not unknowingly incurring cost on an unused resource that is still active. If the resource needs to be kept, place the resource in a free or low-cost configuration (for example, a dev or test configuration which automatically starts at a lower price tier). 

Read this article to learn more about how to optimize your cloud investment with Azure Cost Management.

2. Create subscription budgets and alerts

Just like managing your own personal finances, you can set limits for your Azure budget. Microsoft  Azure allows you to set alerts and thresholds to monitor your budget based on cost or usage. You can even set up an automatic trigger when a given budget threshold is reached. For example, you can notify operations staff, trigger VMs to shut down, or you can move your infrastructure to a different pricing tier when you hit a certain budget.

As a best practice, it is important to review your budget regularly to see how much you have spent and to make proactive changes if needed. Use this tutorial to create and manage Azure budgets.

monthly-budget01-1030x624 4 Tips to Prevent “Run-Away” Azure Costs

Based on the fields chosen in the budget a graph is shown to help you select a threshold to use for your budget.

3. Use management groups to roll-up observation across all subscriptions

Modern TV streaming services give you parental controls to easily see who’s watching what and manage who should be allowed to watch what. Azure offers a similar feature to easily and efficiently manage multiple subscriptions within your organization. Azure management groups allow you to manage access, policies, and compliance of those subscriptions by providing a level of scope above subscriptions.  

Once you have organized your subscriptions into containers called ‘management groups’, you can apply your governance conditions to all your subscriptions in that management group. Note: All subscriptions within a single management group must trust the same Azure Active Directory tenant. However, once they do, the costs from individual subscriptions can also be rolled up to the containing management group, allowing for convenient budget monitoring and alerting across multiple subscriptions.

Root_Management_Group-1030x635 4 Tips to Prevent “Run-Away” Azure Costs

Azure management group hierarchy.

4. Improve system monitoring, alerts, and notifications

Your smartwatch counts your steps, monitors your sleep habits, and notifies you when you’ve been sitting too long. Wouldn’t it be nice if you received similar alerts about your Azure account? Using tools like Azure Monitor and Application Insights can help you understand how your applications are performing and can even proactively identify issues affecting them and the resources they depend on.

Azure Monitor can be used to monitor the availability, performance, and usage of your web applications. Alerts in Azure Monitor also notify you of critical conditions by sending a text or email to an administrator responsible for investigating an issue. Alerts can also attempt to take corrective action, such as launching an automated process that attempts to correct an error condition.

Azure_Monitor-1030x567 4 Tips to Prevent “Run-Away” Azure Costs

A high-level view of Azure Monitor.

Managing a cloud tenant can have unexpected challenges. However, using these features from Azure will help you maximize your cloud infrastructure without extending your budget. Reach out to us if you want to learn more about optimizing your Azure infrastructure.

 

All product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

/by