The Tools Idea Management Software Can Provide You With

Business Tech

software

Idea management software is becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason. This is because they allow businesses to be systematic about how they innovate. Today, almost everything is in the cloud, and this means that businesses also have the opportunity to look further afield for their idea management tools, being able to find something that meets not just their particular needs, but also their budget.

What Is Idea Management Software?

Idea management software is best described as a turn key system, which is often provided on the cloud. Its goal is to make sure that you easily and quickly create a process of innovation that helps to improve your organizations. To do this, all these software packages usually have a number of key features, which includes:

  • The ability to create a web portal under your brand, where you can manage ideas through.
  • The ability to determine who can have access to which parts of the portal. Certain areas may be public, for instance, whereas others may be restricted.
  • Enabling people to submit ideas into the system.
  • Ensuring different ideas can get grouped into relevant categories.
  • Allowing people to view, comment, and vote on submitted ideas.
  • Enabling participants to work together, so that they can improve submitted ideas.
  • Finding out which ideas are the most popular.
  • Evaluating the various ideas using predetermined criteria that are relevant to you.
  • Selecting ideas that may need testing, or even implementing.
  • The ability to ensure users know what has happened to their idea.
  • The ability to provide rewards to various participants, which usually is some sort of virtual reward.

Who Uses Idea Management Software?

The amount of organizations that use this type of software is almost countless. However, two of the most famous are Dell IdeaStorm, by Dell, and My Starbucks Ideas, by Starbucks. Both of these platforms are targeted specifically at consumers. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. For instance, other businesses use portals and platforms to speak to employees within their organization, to increase B2B customer involvement, to speak with suppliers and other stakeholders, and so on. Either way, the software is there to create a systematic way to innovate within an organization, making the chance of the ideas becoming successful much larger as well.

Because idea management and innovation is now so popular, there are countless organizations that have created software tools. You do, therefore, have to make sure that you properly compare the market in order to make sure that you find one that fits your specific needs. As such, your very first innovative project should be one that determines what the needs of your organization actually are: what do you want to innovate, where do you want to innovate, why do you want to innovate, how do you want to innovate, and when do you want to innovate? Another important question is just how much you are happy to pay for the system as well, although the most important thing is that you get good value for money.

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What’s the Difference Between Internet Plans?

Tech

internet plans
internet plans
Photo by CC user tipl on Flickr.

With the vast amount of internet plans available on the market today, it’s no wonder that you may feel like your head is exploding. With each internet provider such as Frontier Communications, you’ll find several different internet plan options as well as internet bundles, making it so that you have a lot to think about. With this said, how do you go about choosing the right one for you? First off, we’ll need to take a look at what an internet plan really is, what your general options are and what added options you can include in conjunction with your chosen plan. Once you’ve gone through all the information below, you should find yourself having a much easier time figuring out which of the internet plans available is the right one for you.

What is an internet plan

Essentially, an internet plan is a plan where you’ll find yourself privy to internet access for a certain dollar amount each month. You’ll also find that most internet plans are based on a subscription status, generally 6 months to a year, though you can sometimes have the option to subscribe to a 2 year service.

What are the different types of internet plans available on the market today

Although all are considered internet plans, they do vary widely from one to the next. This is because of the differences that each plan offers, along with the cost differences and speed at which you’ll be able to surf the internet. The main differences that you’ll find when searching for a new internet plan is the:

  • Cost- Costs vary widely not only from internet service provider to provider but also between each of the different internet plans within the same company. These costs generally range due to subscription service length, internet speed chosen and the data plan chosen.
  • Speed- Internet speeds do vary, but you do get to choose a speed that is closest to what you’re looking for. Generally speaking, if you need to access information extremely quickly, you’ll want to go with a faster internet speed plan.
  • Data plan- Some companies offer different data plans at different monthly rates. These data plans differ depending on how much you plan to upload and download.

How to choose the best internet plan for you

Depending on what you plan on using the internet for, you’ll find that not all plans work in your favor. If you plan on using the internet for your home office, most likely you’ll want to go with a plan that offers high speed access and a large data plan. If you just plan to use the internet every now and then, you’ll want to stick with a small data plan. If you use streaming services on a regular basis, then a plan offering a high speed connection is certainly the best option for you. Some plans also come with a discounted option of adding in a TV subscription or phone line, so you’ll want to take those into consideration as well.

Hopefully, with the information provided above, you now have a clearer understanding of what direction you’d like to head in. Just remember, internet plans do vary a lot both in what they provide, how fast the service is and how much they cost on a monthly basis. This means that it’s best not to rush into one plan over the other and to instead take the time to dissect each plan. That way you’re much more likely to be happy with your plan in the long run.

 

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Don’t Make Identity Theft Part of Your Lifestyle

Tech

When things are going great, life can be as good as it gets.

You have a good job, money is not an everyday worry, you live in a nice home or apartment, your family and friends are healthy and safe, and the list goes on and on. Sounds pretty good, yes?

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Now stop for a moment and image how that ideal life can be turned upside down when you’re the victim of identity theft.

In just a short period of time, that life you so enjoyed can be turned on its ears, leaving you feeling helpless and potentially in a major financial hole.

Keep Identity Theft Thieves at Bay

So that you can keep those at bay who would do you financial harm, remember these tidbits:

  • Choose How to Protect Your Identity – Your first order of business is making sure your identity (particularly your financial well-being) is protected as much as possible. You may be at a lost how best to do that, but there are companies and services out there such as ITPBureau.com to assist you. When working with such businesses, they are experts in narrowing down the field of identity theft providers, giving you more knowledge of which one best fits your identity theft protection needs. By comparing a number of providers, they can match you up, giving you more peace of mind;
  • Don’t Be Careless with Your Identity – Having the best identity theft provider around won’t mean all that much if in fact you are careless with your identity, notably your financial persona. It is important that you always guard your financial identity (credit and debit cards, bank account info, your Social Security number, PIN numbers for important financial items etc.). As identity theft thieves become even better with compromising technology and using it to their advantage, it is all the more important that you avoid being careless with your data. If someone calls you and poses as a business owner, make sure you do not give out sensitive info like a SSN or other personal identification. In many cases, that “business” calling you is actually an I.D. theft criminal, hoping you will provide him or her with data they need to become a nuisance in your life. It just takes one slip-up on your end to give a thief or thieves an invitation into your financial world;
  • Public Places Can Be Dangerous – Never stop yourself from going out in public (see more below), but be careful when you do. Stop and think for a moment about how many times over the years you’ve likely exposed your credit card, left a financial receipt behind, and so on. You may have gotten lucky and not been the victim of an identity theft crime at the time, but chalk that up as just that, luck. If you’re out a restaurant, make sure your waiter or waitress takes the merchant’s copy of the receipt with them, avoiding having it sit on the table while other people are coming and going;
  • Careful When Traveling – You should never shy away from travel when you have the opportunity, but do it so carefully. Identity theft thieves oftentimes will target a hotel or motel, figuring there are golden opportunities awaiting them to catch travelers with their guards down. Even though you do not need to be obsessive about it, don’t leave your laptop (if you travel with it for business or personal reasons) sitting around with sensitive data on the screen. When out of your room, avoid leaving credit cards behind on a table or any information that leads to your bank account. While you’d like to think most individuals working in hotels and motels are honest, is it worth the risk of having your financial life turned upside down?

Your lifestyle should be one of hard work and lots of fun when the work day is over.

Don’t make the job easy for identity theft thieves; keep them working overtime in trying to penetrate your financial world.

If you want to live a lifestyle that is free of financial headaches from criminals, take the time to review what you’re doing right protecting your identity, along with seeing where you need a little reinforcement.

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