Multiple Benefits of Indian SEZ’s

Simply put, SEZ i.e. a special economic zone is a geographical location where concerns associated with economic laws pertaining to export and import are liberal as compared to few other parts of the country. These lands are projected to be duty free zones for multiple purposes of trade, operations, duty and tariffs. These units are self-contained and are well incorporated with the architecture and assistance of its own. However, there can be certain units established under SEZ for manufacturing goods and other initiatives for instance processing, assembling, trading, repairing, reconditioning and many more. According to the law SEZ units are meant to be free of customs in India. Goods and services that come into these zones from traffic sections are treated as exports from India and products and services rendered from the SEZ to the DTA are taken as imports to India.


SEZ Benefits


Other than providing state-of-the-art infrastructure and the admission to a high percentage of skilled and trained labor, SEZ benefits also comprise providing developers and enterprises with an attractive and conducive incentive framework. This includes a 100 percent exemption from income tax up to five years. Furthermore, there is also a 50 percent tax exemption for about two years. Simultaneously, 100 percent FDI is given to the manufacturing department and there is also an exemption from industrial licensing requirements. The sections that come under SEZ comprise a variety of zones that includes:-


* Export Processing Zones (EPZ)

* Free Zones (FZ)

* Industrial Estates (IE)

* Free Trade Zones (FTZ)

* Free Ports

* Urban Enterprise Zones


Conventionally, the aim and objective of an SEZ structure is to capitalize on the foreign investment in the country. Recently, there have been several engineering services company that has contributed in the development of these zones. Dedicated groups of these companies have been present at the SEZ’s to address every client need. Starting from technical assistance to employee augmentation these companies have put forward their expertise in ensuring seamless business operation within the SEZ’s. Some of the environment friendly SEZ benefits offered by these companies include:-


* Global standard landscaping for approximately 15,000 trees

* Bicycles for intra-zone mobility

* Favorable landscape having huge amphitheatre that is accessible and visible from across the entire campus

* Rain water harvesting

* Water treatment plant

* Sewage treatment plant

* A stream is being converted to a natural water body


These apart, there are other benefits as well. These companies also provide complementary consultancy services, for instance turnkey solutions for establishing green field projects in multiple sectors of precision engineering and manufacturing services. Furthermore, there are incubation facilities provided to the users till such time their respective units in the SEZ are not ready.

Related Links: engineering services outsourcing, sez karnataka

Tips to Start Planning for Next Year’s Tax Returns

Tax planning is a fundamental part of wealth management and what is a matter most is after tax returns. It’s never a good idea to tackle investment planning without tax planning or vice versa as the two is inextricably linked and your adviser should provide both investment and tax expertise.


You many missed out the tax deadlines this year, but it's time to start effectively planning for the following year. Being organized and planning ahead can save time, money and difficulties in the coming year. These tips can make tax planning for the next year simple.


* Review and regulate your withholding


If you’d prefer more money in each paycheck this year, now is a good time to review your withholding and make adjustments for next year.


* Sort out your record keeping


Be consistent and establish a central location where tax-related records can be preserved all year long. Prevent a rush for misplaced mileage logs and charity receipts during tax time.


* Examine your paycheck


Correcting a mistake in your paycheck can get you back on track before it develops into a big problem. It is a good idea to ensure that your employer has appropriately withheld and reporting health insurance payments, charitable payroll deductions, etc. As these payroll adjustments can make a big difference.


* Decide on a tax professional


A tax professional helps strategize, plan and make financial decisions. Decide on a tax professional so that there is more time against a deadline. It is important to choose a tax planner wisely as you are eventually liable for the correctness of your own return no matter who prepares it.


* Plan to itemize deductions


An early or extra mortgage payment, pre-deadline property tax payments, planned donations or strategically paid medical bills could amount to some tax savings.  A bit of calculating tax planning can pay off in case your expenses descend below the amount to make itemizing advantageous.


* Manage education payments


As the American Opportunity Tax Credit, that offsets higher education expenses, are set to expire after 2012, it may be beneficial to pay 2013 tuition in 2012 to take full advantage of this tax credit, up to $2,500, prior to it expiring.


Keep abreast with the tax law changes, helpful tips and IRS announcements all year. Think about your particular circumstances and goals before making large financial decisions and partner with a reputed tax expert to get the best benefits


Read More On: Foreign Bank Account, Entity Formation, Overseas voluntary disclosure, IRS Amnesty  

Proactive Online Fraud Protection that Builds Consumer Trust

The unprecedented growth of electronic communication networks has facilitated the increase of e-commerce market. Today consumers can sit in the comfort of their homes or office and make online purchases.   Such facilities for e commerce transactions have also created a number of opportunities for the growth of online frauds attacks. Global enterprises also face the problem of grey market sales and counterfeits.

 

The number of online fraud attacks looming large over financial institutions and retailers offering online services, threaten the brand and reputation of the organization besides loosing the confidence of the customers. The fraudsters make use of various techniques to extract critical personal and corporate information from the database. To mitigate such attacks organizations need to be well equipped with latest online fraud protection methods. Such anti-fraud solutions include a combination of various measures, which also includes fraudulent email detection, computer security assessment, blocking and educating the consumer.

 

Online frauds such as copyright and patent theft, identity theft are quite frustrating and financially taxing on the enterprises and the consumers alike. Pharmaceutical industries, luxury goods and cosmetic industry are some of the major industries that face the flak due to       sale of counterfeits products. The electronic industry along with the cosmetic and luxury goods industry are also the ones which face the   brunt of online frauds and counterfeit items. Since these industries thrive well in the e-commerce trade, cyber criminals in their attempt to make maximum profits tend to ruin the brand name and reputation.  Organizations thus need to work out ways and means to prevent internet frauds.

 

Most of the companies today that have entered the world of e-commerce and have made their presence felt worldwide, are struggling to bring in preventive measures in key areas of enterprise risk management.  This would help them protect their products and services from counterfeits, online fraud , grey market and also channel price violations. Further, business houses and enforcement agencies have also used anti-counterfeiting tools such as Sales Intelligence and MAP monitor to protect brand names.

 

However, to initiate activities towards online fraud protection, organizations need to deploy effective fraud detection systems. Further, to ensure that the products and services have an online fraud protection covering; organizations need to have proactive solutions in place.

 

Service providers today have worked out effective online fraud protection solutions for their client organization. The comprehensive SaaS-based solution can monitor large number of sites and provide enterprises with unmatched visibility into counterfeit actions in the global market. This facilitates organizations to automatically enforce protective measures and even auction site shutdown, ensuring consumers of effective online fraud protection and gaining their confidence.

 

Read More On: Gray Market

 

Encouraging a Culture of Innovation to Beat Competition

Fostering a culture of innovation and creativity in business can help one stay a step ahead of competitors, by ensuring that products and services remain up to date and in line with what customers need. Innovative businesses often have strong, inspirational leaders and management and well-trained and motivated employees. These businesses maintain a culture of innovation, constantly looking at every aspect of the organization and not just its products and services.  


In today’s business environment, it is difficult for businesses to outgrow, out market, or out price the competition but driving innovation while implementing continuous improvement will help businesses stand out from the competition. Every business wants to innovate, even if it is not on the same level as Apple or Google.  Innovation has to have a purpose. That’s exactly what Apple has been doing, and its devotion to designing new customer experiences centered on technology has contributed to a 1,300 percent rise in its stock price in the past 10 years and a market capitalization that exceeds that of Microsoft. Apple keeps innovating because it has deliberately fashioned a culture of innovation. The company’s steadfastness to design and innovate is built into its DNA and that enables it to promote, conceive and implement revolutionary ideas and remain in a continuous state of reinvention.


Business innovation now a day’s does not only mean making the product development better but it also means that companies should keep  reinventing themselves in ways, that the internal and external customers goodwill towards the company increases. Research has found that companies that do the best in a tough economy are those that innovate and are open to outside ideas. The power of the crowd innovation is being utilized by many businesses and many companies are doing efficiently by outsourcing their first line support and service function to the crowd.  Air New Zealand’s Aviation Design Academy for example, set out to design the best long-haul flying experience.  Passengers were asked to design parts of the flying experience on their new 777-300 aircraft – the cocktail, in-flight food, eye mask and one “freeform” idea.


The winners had the opportunity to take a flight from Auckland to London to sample the implementation of their ideas.  The competition attracted huge number of entries and generated more interest in Air New Zealand’s marketing initiative.


In many cases, CEOs see collaboration as key to their success with innovation. They know they cannot do it all using internal resources. So they look outside for other organizations to partner with. True innovation requires someone who can visualize the possibilities of an idea generation and who has the ability and tenacity to successfully implement it. With successful idea management services, organizations can blend the strengths with various feedbacks as a means to encourage a culture of innovation. This way the best idea is most likely to successfully beat completion in the market.


Read More On: innovation products, idea management solutions, managing innovation, crowdsourcing software

Computer Programming, One of the Most _In-Demand Computer Careers

Computer professionals are so much in demand today that those with an undergraduate graduate degree in computer science or information technology can easily get established in a computer technology career. However, if you’d like to stand out from the pack, consider obtaining a certification in software development or completing some technology training. 


There are plenty of opportunities for anyone interested in pursuing a career in computer technology. One of the most in-demand computer careers is computer programming. Computer programmers write computer software. However, writing computer software is not as easy as it sounds. For that, the programmer needs to be proficient in various programming languages such as C, C++, XML, Java, Lisp, Python and others.  


The process of writing software or the source code of computer programs is known as computer programming. Computer programming is actually a set of instructions written in one or more programming languages that the computer follows in order to perform certain activities or operations. Hence, it involves designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. Besides being adept in programming languages, the computer programmer must have knowledge in application domains, specialized algorithms, and formal logic. 


As part of their job, computer programmers perform various activities namely


  • Coding : is the process of writing computer instructions using some human readable programming languages.

  • Compilation : The process of translating source code into object code is referred to as compilation. 
  • Debugging : refers to the process of finding and reducing the number of bugs, defects, or issues in a computer program.

  • Documentation : Known as internal documentation or programmer documentation, it is the process of documenting source code so that other programmers can easily navigate through the code in order to find or fix bugs or to add new features.

  • Integration : The ability to read or manipulate the data or information on any program by another program using standard format is known as integration.

 

  • Maintenance: It involves the process of restructuring the body of code in order to improve the readability and maintainability of the code and to reduce the complexity of the code.   

 

  • Requirements Analysis : It is the process of determining the requirements of the client so that the software developed conform to client needs and requirements.

 

  • Software Architecture : It refers to identifying key scenarios, quality attributes and specific requirements that need to be considered so that the software has a solid foundation. 

  • Software Testing : It is the process of executing a computer program in order to validate and verify its quality.

 

  • Specification : It is a set of requirements that a program or software must fulfill. A programmer expects the program to perform certain activities and if it fails to meet even one of the applicable specifications, it is termed as being out of specification.

Read more about : ieee computer society & swebok

 

Lower the Cost of Localization with Enterprise Translation Services

Today more and more enterprises are finding lucrative markets abroad. Though there is nothing wrong in starting an international expansion program, there are certain factors that enterprises need to keep in mind to ensure smooth business operations. Almost all enterprises that have went ahead with their expansion plans have faced bottlenecks in the form of language issues, marketing issues, government regulations, legal issues, and so on. In this article, let us focus on language issues, which have put many enterprises in serious trouble.


One of the important issues faced by enterprises looking to set foot in a new market is the lexical difference that exists among languages, which makes language translation a huge issue. Languages differ lexically due to many reasons. One of the foremost factors is the environment that one lives in and one’s culture that plays a role in the development of language. Hence, there would be words only for those things in the environment that matter. As the environment changes the store of words also changes. For instance, since hippopotamus is found in Ethiopia, Amharic language has a word for hippopotamus, but Inuktitut language does not as they are not found in northern Canada. In some cases, two similar sounding words mean differently in different languages. For instance, in Portuguese the word “raro” means rare while in Spanish “raro” means strange. Similarly, the Spanish word “exquisito” means exquisite while in Portuguese it means strange. Thus, these lexical differences create a lot of problems when enterprises try to translate their marketing and operational materials into the local language.


Translating content to the local language is a serious thing, which cannot be taken lightly. For instance, when the car giant Chevrolet named its new model Chevy Nova, it never thought that in Spanish it meant, "Does not go", which definitely not an ideal name for an automobile. Hence, instead of depending on untrained bilingual employees who find it difficult to express idioms and collocations clearly in host language, enterprises must collaborate with solution providers or experts in providing translation services in the enterprise space. One of the important advantages of enterprise translation services is that it gives enterprise business customers new ways to engage their global communities by providing trusted and rapid translations to expand business.


With cost and speed being two of the primary concerns of enterprise translation projects, enterprises must invest in enterprise translation services to lower the cost of localization by as much as 50% while doubling the speed of translation.


Related links: language translation network, Translation Services

Efficient Data Center Solutions At Work

Today most companies witness three critical efficiency issues with their data center. They are the neediest to efficiently cool off the total IT load, being able to properly manage the total consumption power, and being able to optimize the use of the available space. The main aim of all these three concerns is to increase the bandwidth density by making the processing capacity high and minimizing the data center footprint and reducing other operational costs.

 

The data center challenge

The critical challenge that most companies face is that these efficiencies are susceptible to function against each other. For example, when the IT load is maximized with a high-density equipment, it has automatically increased the system’s power and cooling needs and the energy costs. Hence, these three concerns are associated with each other that there will be difficulties with any one being manufactured, installed and supported by multiple vendors. Therefore, it is essential to have a well integrated approach towards data center solutions.

Opting in for Data Center Solutions

While choosing a data center solution provider it is important to analyze the consultative assistance offered by the service provider along with the products that they offer. This is important for setting up a balanced, efficient and optimized datacenter. Opt in for a solution provider that:

 

* Reviews the data center in terms of its effective operations and performance

* Assists in setting up  a balance between your cooling, density and power needs for optimum energy utilizations and system performance

* Help is in increasing effectiveness of the cabling architecture for maximizing the IT investment output

Innovative Data Center Solutions

Leading solution providers specializing in OEM manufacturing have come up with high-end data center solutions that provide advanced storage server facilities and other computing solutions. This apart there are other quality services ensuring consistency and performance. Some of the other services include the following:

 

* The services have the capacity of fulfilling all the rack assembly, cabinet and product –level requirements that an organization wants

* Assists in integrating software, hardware and peripherals for a turnkey and ready to implement solutions

* Service providers of data center solutions work in cooperation with an organization’s engineer on various aspects such as configurations, design optimization and enhancements

* Provides racks for industrial applications, web servers, networks and database servers that are apt for laboratory, workshop or any kind of commercial environments

With the help of such simple and effective data center solutions it is easy for a company to have a balanced data center operations in a cost-efficient manner.

Read More About: custom computer systems, unified storage solution

Augment Business Interactions with Social Media Analytics

Today social media to a great extent is used as a platform not only to socialize but also to seek opinions, make recommendations, and assert views. The popularity of social media is substantiated by Gartner forecasts on social media revenue. According to Gartner, Global social media revenue would reach $16.9 billion in 2012, up 43.1 percent from 2011 revenue of $11.8 billion. The social gaming market also shows an upward trend with Gartner expecting its revenue to reach $6.2 billion in 2012. This highlights the importance of social media analytics.

 

Social media analytics is defined as “the practice of gathering data from blogs and social media websites … and analyzing that data to inform business decisions.” Social media analytics is important today as one in every ten internet visits end on a social network.

 

Though the different websites in the social space were first built with the aim of connecting people, it is now powerful platforms for persuasion. A growing number of people now use social media to share opinions, make recommendations and seek guidance and direction. This is because compared to other forms of advertising such as TV ads, Newspaper ads, online video ads, online banner ads, sponsored ads and so on; word-of-mouth advertising plays a significant role in the decision-making process. Hence, a greater percentage of social media users trust completely/somewhat recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising.

 

In such a scenario, it would come as a shock that only a very few enterprises have actually made social networking a part of their marketing strategy even though they realize its importance in augmenting business interactions. A recent survey conducted by the Center for Complexity in Business (CCB) at the University of Maryland substantiates it. In this survey it was found out that most enterprises do not have a clear cut idea as to the concept of real time analytics and they do not have a strategy for investing in social media analytics tools that support big data analytics.

 

With Gartner including social media in its top 10 strategic technology trends for 2012, it is high time that enterprises give social media the importance that it deserves.

 

Also read more about : social gaming analytics & facebook analytics

 

Phishing Hazards and Protection

Not all “pop-ups” that you encounter while browsing the internet or checking your mails are online advertisements. A novice or anyone unaware of the ways hackers and third party intruders work might just be a victim of phishing by clicking on random pop-ups and lose all private data. This apart, Phishing attacks also reach your computer from random mails coming from unauthorized sources having compelling content such as winning a lottery, mobiles, or employment opportunities offering you additional links to click and browse. The moment you click on these links you are taken to fictitious websites that asks you to share your private data and results in hacking your account. There are also cases when the entire computing device got corrupt owing to a single Phishing attack.


The objective of a phishing attack is to steal personal data and confidential information from the enterprises. In the recent past, numerous esteemed brands from the financial, manufacturing, banking and other sectors have been subject to Phishing attacks that has resulted in revenue loss as well as brand erosion.


Therefore, the remedy is not the generic anti-malware, spyware or virus programs that are available in the market. In order to combat phishing and eradicate from the source it is essential to set up a robust anti-phishing strategy that would offer a complete and effective protection from phishing. However, the existing generic phishing awareness programs only provide a limited security against malicious attacks. Consumers and enterprises need more in terms of Phishing protection. To aid this requirement, there are eminent brands that go beyond the restrictions and address the threats experienced by official employees and individuals. Such programs help in safeguarding an organization and  its employees from Phishing attacks.


Benefits of Innovative Anti-Phishing Solutions


The new age anti-Phishing tools offered by eminent service providers offers statistics on user and employee behavior and assess security awareness amongst the employees and recognizes the potential data leakage and data loss prevention. Furthermore, they also review the incident response program. Post this a customized e-mail is sent to every employee offering notifications about their individual responses and the desired action. In addition to that, an e-learning module helps in training people about the security awareness. Other benefits include the following:


* Helps enterprises in estimating the probable threats associated with phishing

* Offers flexible reporting capacities and incorporate them back into the enterprises’ main performance-indicator framework

* Offers a “road map" solution highlighting on phishing awareness and training within the organization

* Recognizes weakness within people, process and technology links

* Helps in prioritizing remediation attempts via effective benchmarking and maturity evaluation

* Maximizes employee awareness and knowledge to help guard sensitive information


Hence innovative phishing protection programs can successfully detect risks for certain segments and protect the overall business.


Phishing is nothing more but an outcome of social engineering. It is a criminal strategy that implements technical deception to rob personal data, financial data and other identity details. The hoax e-mails result in counterfeit websites that might even corrupt the computing device.


Read More About: anti phishing software

Robust Solutions That Ensure Consistency in Global Supply Chains

A company's supply and fulfillment arrangements are a significant aspect of company success. Supply chain solutions can make enormous difference in the full product cycle when it comes to handling and taking the goods and items to the final destination. Recent years have seen major changes in the logistics and supply chain management (SCM) landscape. Organizations need to start looking at their supply networks as a competitive channel to deliver low costs and effective top-line growth. 


Visibility of the entire global supply chain is a fundamental necessity for reducing risk, without a completely integrated vision and approach an organization may take the wrong decision. Efficient supply chain solutions help in the mapping of goods, complete and accurate reports, implementing correct handling measures and making the product line reach its final destination in best of conditions are the signs of effective supply chain solutions.


Global supply chain management is an important issue for many businesses. As it is necessary to have a transparent and a well structured process, it is a flexible and integrative system that ensures an efficient supply chain management. An optimized supply chain management solution can help in lowering operational expenses with timely planning for procurement, manufacturing and retail fulfillment. It can efficiently decrease unnecessary expenditure by simply enhancing inventory management it can ensure that there are no needless expenses.


As a global supply chain is an expansive and complicated chain of network where each segment is interlinked with the other, it is important to need to employ competent supply chain solutions that provide best practices for order and contract management, quality and certification management, logistics management, warehouse and inventory management, returns management, legal disposal of electronic equipment, product configurations, systems integration and testing, fulfillment and retail distribution services. 


By integrating all the global network assets into a single instance, an efficient solution provider ensures consistency in global supply chains and simplifies service management with improved precision. Just like the traditional supply chain management it looks at diminishing the costs of procurement and reducing the risks related to purchasing activities, a renowned service provider will keep in mind the interest is in the company’s world wide suppliers and not just the local suppliers.


As the future growth of the market depends on international customers, customized products, supply chain globalization needs to be managed effectively. Look for a solution that provides detailed information about order and backorder status, inventory levels, real-time demand visibility, quality and delivery status.


Also read more about : Order Fulfillment