Linux is one of the widely used Open source operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distributions. Linux kernel and operating system first released on October 5 1991 by Linus Torvalds is one of the defining components of any Linux system.

There are different operating systems available which we use daily but here i will provide you with some of the best reasons where Linux installation on a machine is better as compare to other operating system specifically for those who are new to computer world.

1: Viruses/malware

Viruses and malware can attack your PC anytime and this is one of the most important reasons why you can select Linux. As on Linux operating system the concern of viruses attack become zero. Therefore purchasing of virus protection software cost is waived off after using Linux.

2: Security

Being Open source in nature Linux provide you with good security in your Operating system. Incase any virus released in Linux operating system you will get quick patches released either on the same day or next day. This normally doesn’t happen if you use any other operating system.

3: Cost effectiveness

Another reason for being open source is the cost effectiveness as other operating system requires licensing towards the installation. Say for eg: Microsoft licenses are only allowed on a single computer whereas Linux can be distributed to any number of computers without spending single penny.

4: Freedom

With Linux advantage you have freedom to control every part of your operating system. Again Linux provides you with freedom of licences and control over desktop look and feel.

Previously we have discussed that Customer relationship management (CRM) software or Lead management software is very important for an organization who is into either products or service selling. A lead management or client management is very necessary in today cut throat completion to make powerful client base for a business. A small business CRM can help in achieving this because it allows you to have customer information with the previous records of their activity in the CRM software which make quick and easy to access as and when required.

Again with the help of advance CRM software available where the communication can be shared in group for eg: A is constantly communicating keeping loop with B. negotiation with customer C and incase A is not available, B can handle the client easily which helps in customer relationship.

Today pace in selling or in business is necessary as keeping the customer on hold may loose customer interest, Henceforth with a use of customer relationship management software you can pace up your sales, lead management, customer management, marketing automation etc. With few clicks you get all the history of the customer you are looking out for wasting your time on going through papers and other stuff. If you have history of your customer purchase and transactions it becomes easy when re-ordering happens.

Hence with the above one can say CRM software can help in different sales and marketing areas of an organization. A CRM application is helpful not only organization/sales perspective but it can help the customer also which dealing with your organization.

eCommerce websites are becoming one of the most powerful medium for online buying and selling of goods & Services. May companies are now focussing on their online store as it allows them cost effectiveness and selling the products and services at low rates as compare to bear the expenses of virtual stores.

There are many platforms available where an eCommerce vendor can choose from, but there is no distrust that Magento is considered as one of the most influential eCommerce platform. The reason behind this is being Open source Magento is one of the strong ecommerce platform available today. Another important advantage of using Magento is that it enable the store owner to install, run & customize it easily.

Magento eCommerce store allows you to have integration with the payment gateways, Analytics other extensions etc. It also allows you with variety of themes from where you can choose the best suitable for your store and products.

Some of the powerful services offered by Magento are as follows

- Quick operation

- Easy integration with 3rd party tools

- Categories and Product management

- Shipping management, order management

- Customizations as per user requirements.

- Strong Open source community

- Other support services are available

Apart from the above one of the most important feature is that Magento is having user friendly interface.

We always learnt during our management studies “Doing right things at a right time” to ensure smoothness in business operations and this can be accomplish when you have a proper processes in place from different department. It also applies where you are ensuring to contact right person in your organization to get the work done on time.

Business Process Management – workflow management helps you to increase and the capability of each department. Company can easily track different processes of their departments to track the work completion. It allows you to take necessary actions in terms of delays in the work from one department. Apart from that business process management tools helps every employee to complete their duties and task with the help of certain clicks.

Another advantage of a BPM tool is that the person who is initiating the case does not need to worry as it allows you with information through emails, sms on the task done by different department. It also allows the company to become global, say for example a product concept is created in one place and design done in another place and so on. Today BPM – Business process management is considered as one of the emerging technology to improve the efficiency of business. It includes component of workflow management, document management, business rules and ERP integrations.

Thus, work flow solution can help a company to improve its performance dramatically.

Software development industry mainy drives their project life cycles through two approaches.

1. Traditional software development approach/Waterfall method.

2. Agile methodology

Before choosing a vendor for software development or specifically for custom software development it is important to get familiar with these 2 methods to see which method is best suitable for business requirements.

Let’s start with the Traditional software method; normally these practices are broken down into different phases. The initiation starts from the set up of the requirement to see the timelines and implementation bias. After the requirements are done second step is to design the diagrams and models to provide a road map for the developers.

Further moving on after the road map is created the third phase consist of the development of the project. The development is broken into smaller task which is distributed among various teams depending on the skills. During the project execution normally testing part is done to avoid bugs in later stage. And after the project comes to completion the customer start the testing of the software and after the client is satisfied the project is delivered

Summary of Traditional Approach:

Requirement set up – Design – Development – Testing – Customer Testing – Project delivery

The main feature for implementing through tradition approach is heavy documentation, which allows you to set the timelines and project implementation requirement clearly before start. Because of this there are chances where changes in the requirement will affect the development. Although in real software development there are various problems that may arise as there might be change in the company processes or other changes during the development phase. Because the Tradition approach to software development does don’t provide changing ability to address the issues. Hence a little more flexible approach specifically for custom development is agile methodology.

In Agile method the more concentration is on the proper completion of the task through team collaboration. This phase rarely rely on the documentation part to measure the progress of the project. Hence agile development is not restricted to Functional requirement document. Agile method is followed in case of dynamic needs of the project or custom software development.

The Approach of agile development:

In Agile method the tasks are broken into small increment which is also known as iteration having short cycles which complete in 2 to 4 weeks. Further iteration follows the similar process of traditional software development which is as follows:

Requirement set up – Design & Development – Client Demo – Re- evaluation – Phase delivery

In the above if you see the customer involvement is very necessary as in every small phase the client testing is require to see if any alterations or customizations require in the development process. The Agile method involves different iteration to complete the total project requirements. Another advantage of Agile Methodology is the client receive working version of the software as the development happens in phases which decrease the risk of ROI – return on investment and provide the client with continuous feedback on the software development.

There are very less risk in Project delivery if a firm opt for agile methodology but it should be noted that with Agile development the vendor who is developing the software must be very experience to give proper timelines on the project & customization points. Another important point to be consider while applying agile methodology is that this method highly dependent on customer feedback and their involvement. If client doesn’t have time to invest then it may be difficult to do development through Agile.

From the above differentiation we can say that both waterfall and agile development methods are workable solutions with success. But to summarize in short Waterfall strategy are applied when the project requirements are very much clear and do not need customizations. And agile development is applied when the project requires flexibility and customization as per business processes.