What is a Community?

By Brenda V.

We all know the meaning of the term community; however it is in these past few years that the word has taken a larger significance because of the boom caused by the social media revolution.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a community is “a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society”. In the end it all refers to an entity made by a group of people that somehow communicate and collaborate toward achieving a common goal or are bounded together by similar interests.

We can find communities in places like churches, schools, work, neighborhoods, etc., the main point here is that we as human beings like to be with other people and feel part of a group.

With the explosion of the internet we find that getting together with similar people is easier than ever, joining groups or discussion boards is just three clicks away. It is easy to find ourselves chatting with people from all over the world and obtaining valuable information.

Every community has to offer certain elements to make it run smoothly such as: providing enough tools to make it easier for members to form a bond and a strong connection to each other or to offer and facilitate the information sharing; but what is most important is to always give its members a sense of fun and discovery.

Sometimes these communities help people to gather as much information as possible before buying a product or hiring a service, just like the case of IWantAnOffer.com, the very first online community solely dedicated to the real estate industry in the United States.

IWantanOffer.com’s real estate community has achieved this and much more by creating a website where all the people interested in buying or selling any real estate can join and talk with other people interested, share information and create bonds between buyers, sellers and agents. It’s not just a place to put an ad of your house, but a place where you can interact with those people interested in your property and obtain feedback of your selling process. It’s a place where you can ask other people about the best places to live or even ask questions about remodeling your house, finding appraisers, etc. It’s a web site where anyone can obtain important advice before deciding upon purchasing a property.

Here at Sieena, we helped IWantanOffer.com develop this incredible web site, an online community for the real estate industry in the US.

We invite you to visit their website and give it a tour, who knows? You might end up buying something you like!

IT outsourcing, it’s not all about rates!

By Brenda V.

Outsourcing is referred as the act of a company to contract a third party vendor to provide that specific service, due to the fact that accomplishing those activities in-house would represent (most of the time) higher costs and the need of additional staff.

The act of outsourcing has been around for many years now, small to large companies are born from the act of specializing in a certain activity to offer that experience and specialization to other companies whose core activity is completely different.

When speaking about IT outsourcing, the interest for this type of service providers is normally focused on eastern countries like India or Pakistan, but sometimes outsourcing difficult project work can bring a lot more trouble than benefits for the client; and I’m not only speaking of the different language (which brings a very strong accent), I am speaking about the different culture which will always bring a different way of looking at things, a simple email can be interpreted in different ways by two or more people.

We, as humans, have the tendency of reading or listening to what other people say accordingly to our own experience and assumptions, making it very difficult to communicate clearly with someone else; we can find these communication problems everywhere, in our home, at work, etc., but just imagine having to deal with this in a project work with people from a totally different country and that they live and work in a different time zone. Not only do I need to wake up extremely early or stay up late for phone meetings, but I need to make sure that whatever it is I am saying goes through clearly to the other person on the line, someone I might never even get to meet him or her in person.

Are you willing to put your money in the hands of someone you have never met? Well maybe they have lower rates, but sometimes it’s just not about the money.

When seeking an IT outsourcing firm it would be always wise to find an IT partner that has been working with similar companies and that can have references and testimonials of their work. Someone who might not have the exact same work culture than me but that has the base of knowledge needed of how I do things, how I work and how I like things done; someone that is reliable and above everything, someone that has the experience and resources to help me out with my project.

Do your research, listen to your business partner’s referrals and maybe even consider outsourcing companies closer to you than on the other side of the world… Maybe you will find that you can obtain much more benefits by considering a nearshore software development partner.

Benefits of Gaining Immediate Access to Market Research Data

by Sieena

Giving customers real-time data access is a major advantage that many of them will be able to utilize in making their business practices that much more effective. By having direct access to their data as well as informational and comparative reports using the latest results, your clients will be empowered in maintaining and bettering their day-to-day operations. Instead of having to deal with waiting on reports that are not exactly up-to-date, your clients can now have instant access to the latest information as well as any analyses that have been done for them automatically.

With real-time data access and instant access to the latest results and analysis reports, not only is the amount of time spent on monotonous work cut to a minimum but, also, your clients are able to work proactively in order to keep their business operations running more smoothly and effectively. This real-time data integration for real-time business is truly a revolutionary way to do business. It will give clients the ability to spot a problem or make certain increases, decreases, and other changes based on the most up-to-date data, saving time and money in addition to preventing many unnecessary problems before they begin to take hold.

For virtually all types of businesses, real-time data access can provide many benefits. Having to wait on data and analysis delays the implementation of changes based on this important information. Instead of treading water in a constant game of catch-up, our systems provide not only instant access to a company's data but they also perform simultaneous updating and querying, making sure that your clients are being provided with the latest results and most up-to-date details. With this information, companies are armed with the knowledge necessary to prevent potential snags and to make their business run more effectively.

Instead of having to send out endless emails and multiple versions of the same reprts to a number of different people, your clients are able to have a web-delivered, real-time platform to manage data. This means that any staff member can have direct access to their data without needing to request and wait for it. For you, that means that less time is spent distributing the same information to many different people. Being able to offer real-time data access through the web provides a major advantage to your clients while also cutting down on the amount of work you, as a market research firm, are doing as well.

Nearshore Software Development – The Benefits of Nearshoring for US Companies

In the business world, nearshore software development, or simply, nearshoring outsourcing, refers to the use of another business for certain activities that are close to home. In other words, it is the same thing as traditional outsourcing, only the companies that are being outsourced to, are in a close vicinity to the country in which the company that hired them is located. For example, suppose a small software development firm in the US wants to find another company for IT outsourcing purposes. It would not be unheard of in this particular industry to outsource that type of work to India or China. If the US based company instead goes with a company from Mexico, then that would be an example of nearshore outsourcing.

So what would be the benefits of using nearshore outsourcing for your company’s information technology outsourcing? In other words, why nearshore? There are actually several reasons why nearshore software companies might be preferred. Here are some of the benefits of using nearshore development companies. One of the main reasons why this is commonly done is cost reduction, which may sound strange at first. After all, being cheaper was one of the main reasons why IT outsourcing, as well as outsourcing in other industries, caught on in the first place.

Nearshore outsourcing is actually less costly for a few reasons. Although traditional outsourcing was supposed to reduce costs, many times, additional unforeseen costs later surfaced, making it not that cheap after all. Using a nearshore development firm will allow a US company to save money on things like travel expenses, having to redo some of the work performed because the workers didn’t understand what was required and telecommunications expenses. Another benefit of using a nearshore software development company has to do with better efficiency in the workplace. If a US based company decides to use India for its information technology outsourcing needs, the differences in the time zones can cause a big headache for project managers. Having a nearshore software development company in the same time zone as your company will eliminate the time difference issue.

And finally, another benefit to nearshore outsourcing rather than the traditional IT outsourcing has to do with differences at a cultural level. A US based company and a company based in India are going to have more cultural differences than say a US firm and a company in Latin America. That’s not to say that there won’t be any culture clashes, but just not as many.

These are just some of the main benefits of working with Nearshoring IT firms. You can find many different firms working in Mexico, one of them is Sieena.

Since 2004, Sieena, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, has provided comprehensive IT support and nearshore software development services, including Rich Internet Applications and customized SharePoint deployments. The award-winning Sieena development staff has built and maintained business-critical Web platforms for small-to-medium businesses up through large multi-national corporations. To learn more about how Sieena can meet your software development goals, e-mail us at contactus@sieena.com or visit our Web site at www.sieena.com.

Why is it important to know how to interpret non-verbal Communication for recruiting?

By Brenda V.

Nearshore Software Development

I have been recently attracted to all social behavior studies, call it in person or online, I did not study a psychology related major but when you have to interact with people pretty often you tend to get interested in these subjects. As a recruiter knowing how to see what people are “not saying” can help you in making a much more efficient decision, this doesn’t mean - that you will know when people are lying - but that you will know when to find yellow flags and make more inquiries about it.

Just like when they say about people talking to you, and rolling their eyes to the right means they are making things up and when they roll them to the left they are remembering something, or if they are looking away from you while talking they are not being truthful. I don’t honestly paid attention to it, mainly because I can never tell my right from my left!, but the important thing is, everyone is different and lately there has been a great deal of studies mentioning that eye contact is not a sign of people telling lies.

On an article from Psychological Science “Reading between the Lies: Identifying Concealed and Falsified Emotions in Universal Facial Expressions,” it mentions that our faces reveal four universal emotions: happiness, sadness, disgust and fear; Adds Dr. Porter: “If someone is telling a really important lie in which the consequences are dire, say life imprisonment, the lie will be revealed anyway. Because unlike body language, you can’t monitor or completely control what’s going on your face. This research was the first detailed experimental demonstration of the secrets revealed when people put on a “false face,” faking or inhibiting various universal emotions.”

Knowing the basics on how we as humans have developed forms to create masks to protect us from our surroundings is a very vast and complete subject itself, and just by knowing some of it we can use it in our everyday lives… not just as recruiters trying to find the perfect candidate, but as salesman’s trying to get that deal or even a businessman trying to network.

Here at Sieena our candidates have to go through several interviews, exams and technical tests before being considered for any internal position. Since our clients are US based they are always looking for the best possible talent in the market to help them cover their business needs, therefore we proud ourselves of improving our talent acquisition method to fulfill our client’s expertise expectations.

Source:

Dalhousie University (2008, April 24). Lying? The Face Betrays Deceiver's True Emotions, But In Unexpected Ways. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 13, 2009

Top 10 reasons to consider Monterrey for your IT solutions needs

If you are thinking about obtaining a competitive advantage for your business while trying to maximize your resources, don’t forget to consider Monterrey, Mexico as your next IT solutions alternative. Here you will find the top 10 reasons in why considering Monterrey is the best option for you and your company.

Monterrey is considered one of the most important commercial and technological centers of Latin America.

1. Industrial Leadership: Out of all the cities in Mexico, Monterrey is known as the industrial capital of the country; it’s one of the most accessible cities in the country with more than 200 flights making daily connections. The city with the largest industrial leadership; hosting a wide variety of international corporations from the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
2. Cultural proximity: Because of Monterrey’s large base of international commercial exchange, you will find the work culture and ethics are very similar.
3. Geographical location: Monterrey is located within a 3 hour flight from the most important cities in the United States like: Dallas (1:50 hours), Houston (1:30 hours), Los Angeles (2:50 hours), New York (4:00 hours), etc.
4. Time Zone: Having almost the same time zones as most cities in the US makes it easier to schedule meetings and conference calls.
5. Infrastructure: Monterrey is one of the top business cities in Latin America, providing a modern business environment, top class infrastructure and accommodations for all visitors.
6. Government Support: The government has been pushing the creation of an IT cluster in the northern part of the country. This is why it is easier to find help in implementing strategies and activities to accelerate the growth of IT local firms.
7. Talent Acquisition: The city hosts the most important and influential universities with international recognition, making it easier to have access to the best local and bilingual talent.
8. Lower Rates: Mexico’s salary fees tend to be lower than in the US, helping client’s reduce the total cost of a project while taking advantage of the nearshore benefits.
9. The North American Free Trade Agreement: The agreement provides with intellectual property protection for US customers as well as the ability to provide temporary labor resources with work visas like the H1B or TN.
10. Reduced costs to work with a team: Not only will you be able to save on normal salary fees but if you want to meet your team in person, travel costs are lower than flying overseas.

Why do people Blog?

By Cesar Olivas

There can be as many answers for this question as people who blog, but the growth of the internet has revolutionized communications, the way we get information across, especially in places where the media is property of the government. In these kinds of places, where people cannot freely speak their mind, blogging can be extremely attractive, this is their way to express their thoughts.

For the rest of us, the answer will differ. Some people would say (and have told me) that blogging is a waste of time, that I cannot possibly get anything from it, but I know that they are wrong. In this age, blogs are used to inform, to teach, to spread the word about news, technology, and knowledge in general, and network with individuals like us; in politics, it is used to express opinions that would not be expressed through conventional media; In education, you can basically Google a tutorial on something and it will most likely take you to a blog, where you are going to find the information that you were looking for; in business, it is a way to advertise a product, to show it to the world, to make a campaign. Some people will just do it because they want to be heard, or they want to keep their online diary; but there is a common goal:

• To reach as many people as possible.

Why do I blog? For lots of these same reasons, because I want to be heard, because I want to teach and be taught, because I want to make an online presence, create a brand. As a web designer, this is something that I have to do, that will be fundamental for my career, and the more knowledge I share, the more I can get from people who hear me.

Blogging is the new way of saying “I exist”…like some people would say: “I blog, therefore I exist”…

So let’s keep blogging, let’s stay alive.