New Cloud-Native and Orchestration Center of Ericsson is all set to make its debut in the US

Ericsson is all set to double down on cloud-native with the latest Cloud Native and Orchestration Center in North America. In recent times, cloud-native has been used to run and build software apps that make use of the scalability, resilience, and flexibility of cloud computing. As of now, the company is focusing on North America because operators there are at the forefront of the transformation. More than 100 experts from Canada and the US have come together to launch the latest infrastructure. The new center from Erricson will make use of this expertise to develop, implement, support, and design life cycle management for global cloud-native solutions.

Senior VP and Head of Digital Services at Ericsson, Jan Karlsson, has stated that most of the networks in the digital age are migrating to the cloud and the telcos in the US are way ahead in this transformation. He furthermore added that the company’s global customers are having challenges while migrating to the cloud, so this new solution will focus on easing those troubles. The new center in the US was set up to help the companies overcome these challenges. Telcos are the main target for the same because they tend to face even more complex challenges.

 

ICICI Bank launches iMobile Pay, a Contactless Payment Solution

ICICI Bank has launched a contactless payment service, iMobile Pay, through its banking app. The iMobile Pay solution will enable the ICICI Bank customers to tap their smartphone to pay at POS machines of merchant outlets.

This service will be available to more than 15 million debit and credit card customers of the Bank. With iMobile Pay by their side, these customers will no longer have to carry their cards for payments at retail outlets.

"We, at ICICI Bank, focus on technological innovations to offer unique, fast and convenient solutions to our customers. We were first to introduce ‘Tap to Pay’ facility five years ago by digitising cards and offering secured contactless payment through our digital wallet app, Pockets. Now we have extended this facility through our mobile app, iMobile Pay. This contactless mobile payment solution offers cashless payments to the Bank’s customers using just their smartphones, thereby eliminating the need to carry cash or debit and credit cards," said Mr. Sudipta Roy, Head- Unsecured Assets, ICICI Bank.

iMobile Pay is based on the NFC technology and it will empower the ICICI Bank customers to create digital versions of their debit and credit cards on the solution's app. Customers will have to update the new version of the iMobile Pay app from Google Play Store on their NFC-enabled smartphones of OS- Android 6 and above, to avail this service.

 

Cloud Kitchens Remain on Cloud Nine

A cloud kitchen, also known as a ghost kitchen, is a restaurant that operates online. With the advent of cloud technology, these virtual kitchens shot to fame since their first appearance in New York in 2010. There’s a concrete reason as to why restaurateurs in the city chose this model while abandoning their original brick-and-mortar businesses: Rent was skyrocketing. More recently, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, cloud kitchen space got even bigger with more brands opening their subsidiary ‘delivery only’ kitchens. Again, there’s a reason that why established brands launch their online kitchens other than expanding their footprint: The food delivery industry is booming and it continues to expand wings across continents. However, these established brands face challenges operating these kitchens as they find it puzzling to manage two different business models parallelly. The brick-and-mortar facilities are conventional and these brands are not accustomed to running a ghost kitchen.

On the other hand, individuals who run cloud kitchens have shown promising results. Let’s analyze how running a cloud kitchen is a lucrative business. First things first, location is not mandatory, wholly depends on online ordering mechanism (that promises better reach), basic kitchen equipment will suffice, and minimum staff requirement. With that said, no or less investment is required to launch a cloud kitchen. However, there’s a small hitch that might play a spoilsport: acquiring the license.

In addition, the popularity of a cloud kitchen relies on how efficiently it collaborates with third-party food delivery platforms, such as Grubhub, UberEats, etc. A better reach is directly proportional to an increased number of orders.

In a nutshell, launching a cloud kitchen is as convenient as ordering a meal online. Although there must be proper research in place that going forward will play a vital role in running the business effectively. In countries like India, cloud kitchens are fairly a new concept. It takes just Rs 10, 000 to acquire the license and start the business at any given place.

According to Restaurant Times, “Licensing is an integral part of setting up a restaurant. Few licenses are essential to procure in the first month of operations for a hassle-free business. These are FSSAI license, GST Registration, Municipal health trade licenses, fire licenses, etc. It is advised to hire an agency for applying for all the permits because it is the most tedious and time taking task. Apart from this rest of the permits would cost you around Rs 10,000 (if the FSSAI license is applied for one year).”

The quote used in this piece was extracted from the mentioned publication.

 

 

What are the Easy Ways to Create a VPN?

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) can spoof your location or give access to geo-restricted content on the internet. It keeps you safe from malicious practices and hides your original IP address by assigning you a bogus one.

Although there are commercial VPNs that can get the job of hiding your original identity done with just a single click. But if you're against VPNs that sell data to third parties, then you can go for the option of hosting your own VPN server at home with the limited resources you have in hand.

Keep on reading to know what are the easy ways to create a VPN server at home.

What Are My Options?

A VPN server can easily be hosted by using Cloud Services.

You can use your router to create a VPN server.

And if you don't have a VPN router but have a router that supports third-party firmware, just flash your router.

Create a dedicated VPN server on a device (PC or Raspberry Pi).

What Is A VPN & How Does It Work?

A VPN can hide your online identity on the internet as you surf. It makes sure that you are not vulnerable to hackers and eavesdroppers looking to exploit sensitive information (bank details, pins, passwords).

Not even your ISP or government authorities can track your traffic when you're browsing the internet with a VPN connection. 

When you connect to a VPN, a secure bridge is formed between the user and the VPN server. Whatever requests you generate, they're encrypted while traveling through that bridge until it reaches the destination page.

It can even geo-spoof your location to a different region as if you're physically accessing the internet from there.

Create a VPN On Cloud

Cloud computing is everywhere and cloud-based solutions are being utilized by leading industries in the world.

One of the easy ways to create a VPN is using cloud services. The best part is that you won't have to maintain or audit anything.

Algo VPN is the best choice if you want to create a disposable VPN solution. Other than that, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Digital Ocean are other options for you to consider.

You may have to install some dependencies, run some commands, set your VPN profile up, and play with the access keys a little bit while setting up your VPN server.

Creating a VPN using cloud services can have its cost, but you won't have to deal with anything and there's no third party involved. 

Create a VPN On Your VPN-Enabled Router

To create a VPN using this method, you'll need a router that has VPN functionalities in it. It's just a normal router, but it has the capability to host a VPN server.

You'll have to follow some linear system-specific steps to easily create a VPN on your router.

Just visit the configuration page of your router and head to the VPN section.

You can either search for your router's manual and get help from there.

Follow the instructions and set up your own VPN server on the router.

Create a VPN By Flashing Router Firmware

This is the alternative way to create a VPN on a router if it doesn't have built-in VPN functionalities.

By flashing your router's firmware, you're simply installing a new operating system that will enable the VPN feature and you'll be able to host a VPN server on the router.

The only thing you need to check is whether your router has the compatibility to support any third-party firmware like OpenWrt or DD-WRT. Once that is confirmed, flash your router's firmware cautiously to avoid any mid-process errors.

Once the router firmware is flashed, the VPN feature will be available on your router and you can create a VPN server easily.

Create a Dedicated VPN Server

To create a dedicated VPN server, you need a device that would be running all the time.

You might need to install a third-party VPN server, like OpenVPN. You can do this on any platform (Windows, Mac, or Linux). 

You can even use a Raspberry Pi device with OpenVPN to create a lightweight and low-cost VPN server. It works fine and there would be no latency issues.

Just set up port forwarding, create a connection, allow the users you want to give access, configure the firewall settings to allow remote connection to your network, and set up a VPN connection on your PC.

You're all set to host a VPN server.

Disadvantages of Creating a VPN

Hosting your own VPN server is a good idea but there are some technical drawbacks you might want to consider.

• Poorly configuring a VPN might expose your online identity on the web if your VPN starts leaking your IP Address or DNS.
• Creating a VPN requires good internet speed. If you have bad or average internet, then hosting your VPN server might further slow down your internet connection.
• You need to update your VPN with the latest patch and maintain everything on your own.
• You won't have the choice to connect to multiple VPN servers.

You should be able to create your VPN server now. Although the wise choice would be to get a third-party VPN service so you can escape all the additional efforts of maintaining your VPN server.

 

 

Five tips for finding the right broker for you

You want to start trading, but this isn’t possible without a good broker! In this article, we want to introduce you to different ways to find the right broker for you!

Why is it so difficult to find a good broker?

Unfortunately, as soon as there is money involved, there are scammers, usually not far away. These scammers create fake brokerages, steal, and head off as soon as you invest your money. Especially when it comes to trading, there is a lot of money involved. This means you have to be even more careful! Not only a fake broker can be a trap but also false tips. These days we see these issues more often. So-called Influencers give financial advice. Let it be cryptocurrency or stocks - don’t believe these influencers! These people only have their benefit in mind: raising the price for a specific asset and then selling it with a high profit. In return, the value of the asset goes down again, and you will lose your money! Some of these influencers are even sponsored by trading platforms and therefore are biased. Here we want to help you find the right broker for you and your needs, so you don’t fall into the trap of these scammers.

These five tips will help you to find a good broker:

Are you looking for a broker so you can start trading? If this is you, this is the right article for you; here, we have five important tips and tricks that will help you find the right brokerage.

Read the reviews

It is essential to do your research and read the reviews of a brokerage before you start to invest your money! This will help you to determine if this brokerage is the right choice for you and what current and former users think of this type of broker. Not only are the reviews critical, but also the overall information that comes with them. For example, how high are the fees, and what’s the minimum deposit? Here you can find more information!

What trading method do you want to use?

Do you want to start day-trading or trading binary options? Whatever the method is, you are interested in, keep in mind that not every broker offers the same trading methods. For example, if you want to start trading binary options, you should look at brokers that focus on these types of trading.

Any special features?

Are you looking for any special features in your broker? For example, if you already decided on trading binary options, you should look into the double up feature, which allows you to double your investment before your trade expires. This also means that you can earn double the return. Not every broker offers this feature, so look for one that does.

Want to use your broker as an app?

Some brokers have an app so that you can trade on the go. This is important for day-traders since you can make trades, for example, on the bus, in between meetings, or when you have some time to spend.

Use customer service

Customer service is an important part when it comes to finding a good broker. Before investing, we recommend checking out the customer service, for example, by contacting them via email or phone. How professional is the customer service, and what kind of impression do they leave? This way you get a good feeling if this broker is really the right choice for you!