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Balancing Automation With Security

Automation helps in enhancing the productivity of a company by streamlining the processes. Technological advancements have helped companies in automating routine tasks for better management of time and resources. Undoubtedly, automation seems like a lucrative option and a large number of companies are grasping the opportunity. However, it has some security risks that should be taken into consideration before incorporating automation into your operations.

  • If your business process makes use of IoT enabled devices for data collection and process execution, a through security audit is recommended. It is also important to make sure there are no vulnerabilities in the internet or LAN connection that may install Trojans or malware in the system.
  • When automating your company’s payment process, it may be a risk to provide access to multiple people. If multiple employees are authorized to set up and verify payments, the chances of insider threats may increase.
  • Relying excessively on automated tools is another security risk for your business. Periodic manual checks to correlate automated process findings should be conducted.
  • Like other software, ignoring regular updates of automation software may open a back door for cyber attackers.

Once you understand the risks associated with automation, here are some ways to help you balance automation with security:

  • Set Security As A Priority: As the automation market is growing, the service providers have a zeal to launch the latest solutions at a higher pace than their competitors. This may lead to ignorance of security measures during the beta phase of development. Thus, make it a point to ask the automation provider about the built-in security measures. Also, you may consider a trial period to test if the products match your security standard.
  • Think Before Scaling Up: Investing in automation for the sake of keeping up with the trend may lead to the obliviousness of security measures. Thus, before you invest in automation, you should consider the need and purpose. Also, pay attention to your system and infrastructure security before scaling up the automation operations.
  • Regular Updates: Outdated software has vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers and may lead to cybersecurity breaches. So, it is important to be aware of software updates provided by your automation service provider.
  • Automate Cybersecurity: Incorporating automation in your cybersecurity strategies can help in improving your security protocol by offering features such as better threat detection, data correlation, etc.
  • Training: Before incorporating automation in your operations, train your employees to train them on ways to use the automation tools while considering security protocols.

We, at Centex Technologies, provide state-of-the-art IT security solutions for businesses. For more information on securely incorporating automation tools into your work processes, call us at (972) 375 - 9654.

UX & UI in Website Design

As quoted by Steve Jobs, ‘Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.’ UX & UI are an integral part of a website design process that make it more responsive and user-friendly. In order to understand the future of UX & UI, it is first important to understand the terms individually.

 What Is UI?

UI or user interface is the point of contact between human and computer. It includes anything that a user interacts with in order to use an application or website like screens, touchscreens, keyboards, sounds, lights, etc.

What Is UX?

As defined by ISO 9241-210, UX or user experience is "a person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service".  It includes all the users' emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, psychological responses, behaviors and accomplishments that occur before, during and after use. 

Talking in terms of business websites, UI is more focused on how a product’s surface looks and works; whereas UX is focused on a user’s journey of using your product.

Here are some future trends that you should look forward to:

Future UI Trends For 2020

  • Custom-Made Graphics: Your business website should help people relate to your brand. So, making use of photos or imagery with people who are relevant to your business is a good idea. Instead of using stock photos, the future will see creation of custom-made graphics for business websites and other digital content.
  • Motion Graphics & Motion Effects: With the rise of 5G, it will become easier to load complex animations. So, this will pave way for websites with a creative UI having animated texts, fonts, graphics, etc. instead of static images.
  • Responsive Colors: This trend has been around for a while and is expected to be adopted by more brands. Instead of sticking to a single symbolic color, the brands tend to include an array of responsive colors to the website design. These may include a set of pre-defined colors or a dynamic color system that adapts according to the color of environment for a more symmetrical view.

Future UX Trends For 2020

  • Designing For Speed: As data transfer speed and latency rate are improving significantly, UX is directly related to loading speed of your website. For 2020, the focus will be on optimizing your website for speed. Also, some good UX practices such as loaders (button that shows your webpage is loading) will become irrelevant. The only use of loaders will be in call-to-actions such as order confirmation, transferring funds, etc.
  • AR & VR: AR & VR are becoming an integral part of UX design. Common examples of including AR & VR in design are apps like Snapchat, Sephora, etc. The trend is being extensively adapted to offer user convenience.
  • Device Synchronization: Users tend to use a website across multiple devices like desktop, laptop, smartphone, etc. With increasing use of mobile devices, device synchronization is an important future trend for UX design.

For more information on UI & UX, contact Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.