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In our rapidly evolving work-from-anywhere world, employee downtime and productivity are rising concerns. Just ask Chetu— (sidenote: wrongful termination laws were not on their side). the Florida-based company that came under fire for terminating an employee who turned off their webcam While I’m not on board with you watching your employees via webcam all day, the productivity concerns are real and valid. The important thing to note is that most employees to be productive. They aren’t shirking responsibilities behind a turned-off webcam; they are trying to get their work done as efficiently as possible—and they’re being slowed down by poor DEX. want What Is DEX? DEX, or the digital employee experience, is the way employees interact with technology during their workday. And it’s a key factor in evaluating how an organization stacks up to the rest in the race for effective tech. DEX measures the quality of your workforce’s interaction with the tools they use daily. These tools help them get their jobs done and your company running. So, why are some companies still behind in adapting to new technologies that can help their employees stay productive? Many companies are stuck using tech tools that don’t serve the modern workforce. These inefficient tools slow down operations and ultimately make your employees feel unproductive. In a survey facilitated by Lakeside Software, respondents indicated that they lose about one hour of weekly work time to lousy tech. Naturally, this leaves them frustrated and feeling less than satisfied with the tools their company provides them, which could ultimately lead to dissatisfaction with the company overall. Here are a few tips on how companies can better support their employees. Evaluate Your DEX Maturity. The first step is to look honestly at your company’s DEX efforts and see how you can improve. helps you evaluate where you’re lacking and be honest about what changes need to be made to benefit your employees and, ultimately, your bottom line. Exploring your DEX maturity After all, the two are intrinsically linked—companies with poor turnover rates burn through a lot of cash trying to find new employees, only to have them leave again a year later. The proof is in the pudding: 14% of the employees surveyed said they’d previously left an organization due to poor DEX, and over 60% said they would consider it. When looking into DEX, start at the beginning: clearly evaluate where your company is at to see how you can best improve. A true DEX leader is fully committed to improving the digital employee experience and seeks to make it part of the business's core strategy. They’re willing to invest in IT resources as part of their proactive approach and closely track the impact of their efforts across functions—whether that’s human resources, finance, operations, or another area. They know that optimized digital experiences drive better customer experiences and invest in them accordingly. Quell employee frustrations through comprehensive DEX efforts. Investing in your employees should seem like an obvious step. Still, many employees aren’t just frustrated with the loss of productivity—they’re also frustrated with the overall IT infrastructure that supports their workplace. When investing in DEX, enterprises need to consider how they can and begin to take proactive steps toward improving their tech stack. remove silos between departments Comprehensive DEX efforts take on the following qualities: They’re proactive instead of reactive. They don’t just respond to emergencies as they come up. Instead, they create systems to prevent these issues from ever happening in the first place. They break down silos and become more integrated. They do away with disparate teams and workflows and see the company from a holistic point of view. They go from manual to automated. They adapt to automated systems that can remediate, update, patch, and more. They go from being IT-dependent to self-reliant. This doesn’t mean you don’t need IT—it means you have an “always on” IT infrastructure that supports users with self-help remediations instead of limiting their support to when IT is available. They use complete data instead of incomplete information. They can gather objective system details to make better decisions with accurate metrics. They go from static to predictive analysis. They leverage the power of AI and machine learning to study patterns and trends that could negatively impact their digital environments. They go from one-size-fits-all to personalized IT. This one is really important to pay attention to and is perhaps the biggest mindset shift for companies. Personalized IT provides end users with exactly what they need, like specific hardware and software that suit their unique job responsibilities and work styles. For some companies, the above list will seem like a major change. But for companies looking to become DEX leaders (rather than webcam spies), this list will be essential moving forward. DEX can reduce employee turnover and frustration, increase your output, and heighten your productivity—this is one investment that’s really a no-brainer. Photo by on Annie Spratt Unsplash

How Effective Tech Can Reduce Employee Downtime and Attrition

Collaboration between healthcare and technology industries is moving faster than light. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) in their 2021 Future of Healthcare research that most healthcare systems are planning to increase their investments in digital healthcare tools. reported There is a myriad of reasons for that. The increase in the demand for personalized medicine and the pressure to cut down on healthcare costs has further impacted the need to improve healthcare and technology collaborations further. And that’s not all of it. Following the pandemic, there has been an increase in the need to digitize healthcare further. This has prompted many healthcare providers to lean on the technology that provides digitized delivery of healthcare services in the future. Now, we will look at the top technology trends that your healthcare facility can latch onto in 2022. So, put on your seat belts! 7 Emerging Technology Trends in Healthcare in 2022 Here is a list of top healthcare technology trends expected to transform the healthcare industry in 2022: Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) Cognitive automation (CA) Telemedicine Virtual Reality (VR) AI-empowered Big Data and data analytics Digital Therapeutics Robotic Process Automation (RPA) 1. Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) - think IoT but medically There is the Internet of Things (IoT). So, we shouldn’t be surprised if something else pops up. The Internet of Medical Things is a connected infrastructure of healthcare systems and services that provides adequate care to rural and isolated communities. This technology also aims to provide adequate care to patients who cannot physically meet up with their healthcare provider. IoMT is propelled by innovation and data integration that enables patients to receive timely and high-quality treatment in the comfort of their homes. Here’s how it works: it involves connected digital devices that help to collect, store and convey data through a digital network without human assistance. These connected digital devices include wearables and trackers, which are a massive part of the development of IoMT. For instance, trackers allow people to access real-time data on their behavior daily and proffer recommendations. IoMTs software encourages patients to increase their motivation to lead a healthy lifestyle with features that allow them to track their progress daily or weekly. Through this technology, your business can easily see your patients in a more active capacity than ever. Plus, it’s cost-effective! The data set from this emerging technology includes the patient’s sleep patterns, nutrition habits, average activity level, and other parameters. Healthcare providers can build a more realistic tracking program with these essential parameters to accurately track patients’ progress. With IoMT facilitating telehealth, here are a few ways different healthcare businesses or facilities can take advantage: assisted living technologies; disability and rehabilitation assistive tech; speech assistive tech; chronic disease monitoring technologies. 2. Cognitive Automation - who says your healthcare facility can have its own Alexa? Cognitive automation is a new and fast-emerging technology in digital transformation. It is listed as one of the emerging IT trends in healthcare, and its popularity is expected to increase by 2022. The Cognitive Automation (CA) technology seeks to mimic the behavior of humans beyond repetitive tasks. It serves as the digital brain of the healthcare organization. CA takes the automation capabilities of current software providers and applies Machine Learning algorithms to introduce decision velocity in the healthcare industry. This technology makes it possible to process zettabytes of data within seconds, thereby providing decision-makers with recommendations readily available and backed with real-time data. The end goal of this emerging healthcare technology is to establish a self-driving enterprise whereby operational processes are automated. What say you try out cognitive automation programs to automate your operational processes, cut costs, and maximize your business efforts? 3. Telemedicine - reach more without expanding The pandemic has provided the healthcare industry with the option of turning telemedicine into a current trend for the industry. COVID-19 contributed to the increase in the provision of virtual healthcare, which includes scheduling online appointments, provision of remote care, and video conferencing. Telemedicine is a healthcare technology practice that unlocks the hands-free communication channel. Healthcare providers and patients can get across in real-time virtually. The pandemic opened the potential in this emerging technology as monitoring cases of patients in isolation can be done remotely. In general, it helps to contribute to health equity. This means that healthcare is provided for people of all groups, no matter their geographical, economic, political, and social standing conditions. The emergence of this new technology is a giant leap in how healthcare is provided and is expected to be popularized in the coming years. No physical appointments; no schedules, except a patient’s condition calls for it. For your healthcare facility, this means wider reach without having to allocate half of your budget to that expansion. 4. Virtual Reality (VR) - give your doctors more tools to work with There has been a recent use in augmented reality and virtual reality, but these areas will need applications in the coming years. This technology serves as a supplement for many activities undertaken by healthcare providers, whether done on-site or on a remote basis. Virtual reality technology has been used in healthcare to: provide surgical training; visualize real-case scenarios to clinical students; make clinic tours; advance the quality of analysis provided to lung scans and treat critical health conditions. Virtual Reality technology helps people with developmental disorders such as ASD to train their social and coping skills in virtual environments. Thanks to virtual reality in healthcare, doctors can continuously train and improve their skills by using virtual environments. It significantly decreases the probability of medical errors and improves value-based care. This is a plus for your healthcare facility as it helps to ensure all your medical providers have all the resources to meet the needs of a patient. 5. AI-empowered Big Data and data analytics - process data faster The introduction of AI technology in the healthcare industry and data analytics will save the industry a significant ton of money in the coming years. Let’s put it this way: it will save YOUR healthcare facility a ton of money. The long-distance analysis and measurement of patient data are healthcare technology trends in the coming years. A large volume of information is created every second, culminating in extensive data needed to be processed. Processing this data manually could lead to the loss of a massive amount of data, which is why AI-powered data processing exists to help prevent this. Concerning healthcare, Big Data can derive from the following: electronic health data (e.g., EMR, ENR, images demographics); biometric data from portable wellness trackers; biobanks to aid with research-design efforts. The need for the automated process of Big Data instead of humans is inevitable as it provides real-time analytics for decision making. AI-empowered Data analytics also helps make predictions in which accurate predictive analysis is completed. This helps to gain insights on previous patient interactions, thereby making predictive analysis needed for changes to occur. This technology will help patients get accurate treatment plans and timely services. It also, in turn, helps healthcare providers enjoy the optimization of their activity and a greater level of control over the supply chain. 6. Digital Therapeutics - take evidence-based care to level 100! Digital Therapeutics is a patient-centered trend in healthcare that delivers evidence-based care via software. It represents a digital health sector that comprises technologies, products, and services spanning the healthcare industry. Digital Therapeutics is an evidence-based behavioral treatment delivered digitally and facilitated by software that helps enhance the accessibility and effectiveness of healthcare. It also helps to prevent, manage and treat diseases. Digital Therapeutics is also used with drugs and medical devices that help improve the care provided to patients. The digital therapeutics technology helps monitor blood sugar readings, offer medication regimens, diet, and offer clinicians a complete picture of the status of the patient’s health. These services provided by this technology helps to provide a compelling survey of patients’ lifestyles and daily activities. This helps to manage some critical health conditions in the patient offering personalized therapies for anxiety and depression. An increasing number of healthcare companies are taking a thoughtful approach to Digital Therapeutics, and it is expected to be an emerging technology in the healthcare sector by 2022. 7. Robotics Process Automation (RPA) Robotic process automation empowered technology has become a significant milestone in healthcare information technology development. This emerging technology makes it possible for health providers to: experience accurate automation; cost reduction; staff optimization; and the introduction of transformational changes. The inclusion of AI algorithms in this technology is helping to provide a guide to patients in need of healthcare providers through the scanning of their symptoms. Thus offering cutting-edge diagnosis techniques for them more accurately than the conventional search engines. The Robotics Process Automation has introduced some robots that can mimic the behavior of humans to the healthcare sector. This robot in development helps to offer numerous capabilities, including the detection of screenwriting, the input of data, and the implementation of pre-defined actions. The RPA technology enables quick scheduling and accurate appointment setting in the hospital. It helps to detect the relevant personal information about the patient quickly, pulls rapid diagnostics of the patient’s symptoms, and pulls the patient’s insurance details. Besides, RPA helps to schedule appointments with a doctor as it checks for free spots in the schedules of the doctors working in all hospitals close to the patient’s location. In recent times, healthcare organizations have widely applied the Robotics Process Automation to: collect and handle medical information more efficiently, enhance appointment scheduling, deliver optimal care to their patients, and improve their hospital organization management processes. Moreover, this is predicted to further develop in the coming years, making it an emerging healthcare technology area in 2022. Now, keep in mind that executing any or all of these trends is as crucial as gaining knowledge. You want to work with companies in the technology sector that can expertly develop these types of software and effectively integrate them into your system for optimal functionality. We have identified the top 3 custom software development companies for healthcare providers. We selected these companies based on testimonials, healthcare-related case studies, regulatory-bound procedures, customer satisfaction, and awards. Here they are: Top 3 Healthcare Software Development Providers 1. Altoros Labs Altoros Labs is one of the largest healthcare software development companies out there. Their wide range of healthcare solutions is designed to improve your business functions and minimize costs. They cater to clients’ unique needs from the healthcare background and render unsurpassable and result-oriented healthcare software development services. Altoros Labs is situated in 10 different countries globally to provide scalable healthcare solutions readily for their clients. With Altoros Labs, you get GDPR- and HIPAA-compliant healthcare technology solutions. Their services include: creation of patient portals; designing solutions for clinical management; development of hospital management systems; development of remote patient monitoring (RPM) systems; custom pharmacy management solutions; revenue cycle management software building. to this healthcare software development provider to get started with discovering the scalable software that is right for your business and take advantage of all the opportunities that 2022 brings. Reach out 2. Chetu Chetu is a healthcare software development company that has earned a reputation of being one of the best and preferred healthcare software development companies globally. They help to provide the right strategy and the right technology needed to develop software for healthcare organizations, enabling them to move in the forward direction. The company has gotten diverse experience in assisting healthcare organizations upscale their business delivering back-to-back successful projects for their clients. Their software products are enriched with sophisticated modern-day technology, which helps to provide their user with an unparalleled user experience. Reach out to them to develop healthcare technology apt to boost your business operations. here 3. Intellectsoft Intellectsoft has carved a unique position among the most reliable healthcare software development agencies. Its cutting-edge transformative solutions and customer-centric approach make it one of the most sought-after software development firms for healthcare providers. The company provides its clients with: healthcare web/mobile applications; digital healthcare solutions; IoT-powered medical solutions; EHR systems; clinical data management. Reach out to them to get started with your healthcare facility to keep up with digital transformation in 2022. here The Bottom Line And there you have it, the top healthcare technology trends in 2022 that your business can latch onto quickly towards efficacy. The technology industry is infiltrating every business sector, and the healthcare industry is no different. This means that to move ahead, stay ahead and be relevant; your health center needs to make do with this trend. And what's more, the technology infiltration is a welcomed one for your business as it can single-handedly transform your operations for the better. So, what do you say?

7 Healthcare Technology Trends to Watch Out for in 2022

Technology influences all aspects of human life, and healthcare is no exception. The rapid technological evolution makes hospitals and other healthcare providers look for solutions that simplify and accelerate their routine. The market for healthcare software development , accounting for USD 13,100 million in 2017 and being forecasted to reach USD 19,300 million by the end of 2025. More and more companies join the competition every year, so it has become difficult to find a reliable provider with proper skills, competencies, certifications, and domain knowledge. is already huge Below, you will find a list of medical software development companies that have proved to be experienced partners when creating robust healthcare software for providers in the US and worldwide. This compilation was based on a thorough assessment of the market leaders based on the following criteria: major healthcare clients, market presence, experience in the healthcare industry, and clients’ reviews. 1. Itransition Colorado-based Itransition is a custom software development company that delivers software solutions for medical organizations and care providers. It creates patient portals, solutions for clinical management, mobile health applications, and more. Employing virtual & augmented reality, IoT, and artificial intelligence, Itransition provides solutions for advanced diagnostics. Itransition’s healthcare software is compliant with HIPAA and other healthcare-related policies. The company’s team of more than 1500 IT specialists delivers healthcare software development to more than 30 countries. <a href="https://medium.com/media/f45777b0568fe3f2a0a9eef2d446b79d/href">https://medium.com/media/f45777b0568fe3f2a0a9eef2d446b79d/href</a> Denver, CO Location: 1998 Founded: $10,000+ Min. Project Budget: Summer Infant, Maximus Major Healthcare Customers: 1000–9999 Average Number of Employees: Website: https://www.itransition.com/ 2. Chetu Since 2000, Chetu has been a medical software development company. The company’s service list includes the development of HIPAA-compliant electronic health records (EHR) and health information exchange (HIE) solutions, electronic prescription services, patient management systems, and many more. The company also delivers solutions for individuals with disabilities. <a href="https://medium.com/media/9c19c7a2e8e80d5e1d5e4d336d1cf281/href">https://medium.com/media/9c19c7a2e8e80d5e1d5e4d336d1cf281/href</a> Plantation, FL Location: 2000 Founded: $10,000+ Min. Project Budget: Memorial Healthcare System, Conifer Health Solutions, MedAdept Major Healthcare Customers: 1000–9999 Average Number of Employees: Website: https://www.chetu.com/ 3. Macadamian Founded in 1997, Macadamian is a full-service software development firm with a focus on healthcare solutions delivering. The company develops of a wide range of healthcare solutions, including cloud-based care management products, digital healthcare solutions for patients, and many more. All of the products are made in compliance with HIPAA and FDA regulations. <a href="https://medium.com/media/47a5910134419ca2c8b5801044afb196/href">https://medium.com/media/47a5910134419ca2c8b5801044afb196/href</a> Gatineau, Canada Location: 1997 Founded: $50,000+ Min. Project Budget: Siemens Healthineers, Bio-Optronics, Fresenius Medical Care Major Healthcare Customers: 50–249 Average Number of Employees: Website: https://www.macadamian.com/ 4. Cabot Technology Solutions Ohio-based Cabot Technology is a software development company that provides solutions for Healthcare. The company offers software for appointment making, health centre search, real-time monitoring, and more. Cabot also creates HIPAA-compliant Electronic Medical Record and Electronic Health Record solutions and builds medical devices. Highland Heights, OH Location: 2006 Founded: $10,000+ Min. Project Budget: Envision, ATMEL Wearable App, Erudyte Major Healthcare Customers: 50–249 Average Number of Employees: Website: https://www.cabotsolutions.com/ 5. Velvetech Illinois-based Velvetech is an award-winning medical software company. It delivers the development of health monitoring solutions, medical education platforms, web/mobile applications for post-acute care coordination, practice management systems for medical practices, and more. Velvetech also empowers its healthcare software products with such emerging technologies as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things. <a href="https://medium.com/media/64a5d44eb6bfcf5e7b17414514b50345/href">https://medium.com/media/64a5d44eb6bfcf5e7b17414514b50345/href</a> Northbrook, IL Location: 2004 Founded: $25,000+ Min. Project Budget: American Academy of Family Physicians, MedAdept, Healix Major Healthcare Customers: 50–249 Average Number of Employees: Website: https://www.velvetech.com/ 6. IT Craft With more than 17 years of experience and 280 professionals aboard, IT Craft is a software development company that offers healthcare solutions. The company delivers the development of healthcare-related mobile/web applications, custom healthcare portals, IoT-powered medical solutions, electronic health record systems, data management systems, and more. Berlin, Germany Location: 2001 Founded: $10,000+ Min. Project Budget: Arctrieval, DRG Major Healthcare Customers: 50–249 Average Number of Employees: Website: https://itechcraft.com/ 7. Seamgen Established in 2008, Seamgen is a California-based software development enterprise that offers healthcare applications development. It delivers solutions for e-prescribing, remote diagnosis, electronic medical records management, patient management portals, etc. Seamgen serves healthcare organizations of all sizes and specialities, from insurance teams to large hospitals. All of the company’s technical solutions are HIPAA-compliant. San Diego, CA Location: 2008 Founded: $75,000+ Min. Project Budget: DizzyDoctor, WellMed, WellRx Major Healthcare Customers: 50–249 Average Number of Employees: Website: https://www.seamgen.com/ 8. SunNet Solutions Established in 2011, SunNet Solutions is an award-winning medical software company. SunNet delivers the development of a wide variety of healthcare-related software solutions, from tools for health progress monitoring to medical cases management systems. SunNet has delivered a large number of digital healthcare projects, including the end-to-end creation of FACN website and Act Early Texas website. Houston, TX Location: 2001 Founded: $25,000+ Min. Project Budget: FACN, Act Early Texas Major Healthcare Customers: 10–49 Average Number of Employees: Website: https://sunnet.us/ 9. Nisos Technologies Nisos Technologies is a healthcare software development company that delivers custom software development to healthcare providers, healthcare software organizations, and healthcare insurance firms. The company delivers the creation of the following healthcare software: clinic management software, online appointments systems, health and wellness software for employers, physician referral management systems, and more. Brooklyn, NY Location: 2012 Founded: $25,000+ Min. Project Budget: Magnacare, Brighton Health Plan, Mount Sinai Major Healthcare Customers: 10–49 Average Number of Employees: Website: https://nisostech.com/ 10. BVG Software Group Founded in 2011, California-based BVG Software Group is a company that delivers web and mobile solutions for various industries, including healthcare. The company provides healthcare web/mobile applications, digital healthcare solutions for patients, digital instruments for psychological parameters research and diagnosis, and more. South San Francisco, CA Location: 2011 Founded: $10,000+ Min. Project Budget: SkinData, Almed, Kisquali Games Major Healthcare Customers: 10–49 Average Number of Employees: Website: http://www.bvgsoftwaregroup.com/ <a href="https://medium.com/media/3c851dac986ab6dbb2d1aaa91205a8eb/href">https://medium.com/media/3c851dac986ab6dbb2d1aaa91205a8eb/href</a>

Top Healthcare Software Development Companies

As the metaverse develops, it presents opportunities for restaurants to improve critical areas of their business such as online ordering, loyalty programs, and menu management. Software companies can profit by helping restaurants integrate restaurant management software with metaverse-compatible technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality (VR), the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchains, and cryptocurrencies. Those technologies can be used as part of online worlds and spaces that comprise the metaverse. A good example of the metaverse is , a selection of virtual reality worlds owned by Meta, the parent company of Facebook. These worlds can be explored with the Oculus Quest 2, a VR headset. Horizon Worlds Metaverse Software If you want to take your software company to the next level, it’s time for you to develop metaverse-powered software that will appeal to restaurants. There’s no time to waste, Restaurants are already exploring the use of that software. So, it’s best to find a software development company that offers metaverse development services. With access to those services, software proprietors can use metaverse technologies to enhance restaurant management software features. Those features can include online food ordering, customer loyalty and rewards modules, and staff management. Food Ordering in the Metaverse Restaurant management software platforms often include an online ordering module that is integrated with a point-of-sale (POS) system. This combination makes it possible to create a seamless, convenient digital food ordering experience for customers. Just imagine if you could extend the functionality of a restaurant software platform by bringing online into a metaverse world. It’s possible. food ordering services Metaverse food ordering capabilities can be created through the development of custom e-commerce shopping cart software and designs, payment gateway integration, and digital wallets. The wallets can store payment information from credit cards, debit cards, and bank accounts. A variation of the digital wallet is the crypto wallet, which can be used to store, send, and receive cryptocurrency for online payments. Allowing food to be ordered in the metaverse and delivered in the real world creates an engaging customer experience. That’s why integrating virtual reality and augmented reality (AR) software with restaurant management software would be so powerful. Experienced AR developers could build a metaverse-enabled mobile application incorporating unique 3D modeling capabilities for restaurant menu items. Customers could use the application in conjunction with AR glasses or smartphones to view three-dimensional displays of entrees, appetizers, and drinks. Few things will stimulate a person’s appetite faster than seeing a delicious plate of food. So, software companies have a unique opportunity to acquire restaurants as clients by developing mobile AR software applications that make food look enticing. Customer Loyalty and Rewards Customer loyalty programs help restaurants retain customers. These programs can be launched in online worlds that are part of the metaverse. Of course, customer loyalty and rewards software modules would have to be developed, and those modules would have to contain several important features: integration with POS systems, customer activity tracking, and social sharing. Social sharing features would enable restaurants to reward customers who share offers on social networks. NFTs in the Metaverse It’s also possible to use digital assets known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for restaurant loyalty programs. An NFT is a blockchain-based digital unit representing a unique asset such as collectible artwork, media, and real estate property rights. NFTs are unique cryptographic tokens that cannot be replicated. Offering NFT-based memberships can elevate the customer loyalty experience. And, a software development company can make those these memberships possible by building and integrating an NFT marketplace with customer loyalty software. It is on that marketplace that NFTs can be created, bought, and sold. A cryptocurrency wallet would have to be developed specifically for use with the marketplace. Of course, the wallet should store a cryptocurrency such as Ethereum. Customers will then be able to buy the restaurant’s NFTs with Ethereum. A good option is to make the wallet compatible with multiple cryptocurrencies. Doing so will ensure that customers have tremendous flexibility. Staff Management Staff management software helps with managing employee onboarding/offboarding, hours/timesheets, and payroll. Employee training, in particular, could be enhanced through the use of VR technology. VR would make a cost-effective and scalable addition to a restaurant’s training program. The VR software applications could be created with gaming engines such as Unreal Engine and Unity and would have to be compatible with popular VR headsets such as the Oculus Quest 2 and Samsung Gear VR. VR apps can then be integrated with human capital management (HCM)software modules that are used to manage employee training and information while maintaining labor law compliance. Restaurant Management Platform Integrated with Metaverse Software Software proprietors can help restaurants enhance their marketing, customer experience, and operations by implementing custom software solutions that integrate metaverse-compatible technology with a restaurant management platform. Online food ordering, customer loyalty programs, and staff management are all restaurant management software modules that could be taken to the next level. To provide these capabilities, software companies can use the services of an experienced software development company. That company can provide metaverse development services and would be proficient in blockchain technology, augmented and virtual reality, and 3D virtual design. The developers would also ensure that the metaverse network and all components within the network remain secure and in reliable working order through maintenance and upgrades.

Metaverse: The Next Game Changer For Restaurant Management 

Hybrid Meta-Heuristic for Efficient Course Timetabling

Authors: (1) Maria Rigaki, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic and maria.rigaki@fel.cvut.cz; (2) Sebastian Garcia, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic and sebastian.garcia@agents.fel.cvut.cz. Table of Links Abstract & Introduction Threat Model Background and Related Work Methodology Experiments Setup Results Discussion Conclusion, Acknowledgments, and References Appendix 8 Conclusions By employing model-based reinforcement learning, MEME generates adversarial malware samples that successfully evade antivirus systems and train a surrogate model mimicking the target classifier accurately. Our experiments show that MEME surpasses existing methods in evasion rate, suggesting its potential for various applications, such as testing model robustness and enhancing cyber security against advanced persistent threats. Future work may involve exploring ensemble surrogates and other optimizations to enhance MEME’s performance further. Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge support from the Strategic Support for the Development of Security Research in the Czech Republic 2019–2025 (IMPAKT 1) program, by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic under No. VJ02010020 – AI-Dojo: Multi-agent testbed for the research and testing of AI-driven cyber security technologies. The authors acknowledge the support of NVIDIA Corporation with the donation of a Titan V GPU used for this research. References 1. Akiba, T., Sano, S., Yanase, T., Ohta, T., Koyama, M.: Optuna: A Next-generation Hyperparameter Optimization Framework. In: Proceedings of the 25th ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining. pp. 2623–2631. KDD ’19, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA (Jul 2019). https://doi.org/10.1145/3292500.3330701 2. 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Enhancing Cybersecurity with MEME: Reinforcement Learning for Adversarial Malware Evasion

Authors:
(1) Vinod S. Khandkar and Manjesh K. Hanawal, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India and {vinod.khandkar, mhanawal}@iitb.ac.in. Table of Links Abstract & Introduction Related Work and Background Challenges in TD Detection Measurement Setup Development Case Study : Wehe - TD Detection Tool for Mobile Environment Shortcoming of Wehe on HTTPS Traffic TD Detection of HTTPS Traffic Conclusion & References VII. CONCLUSION Net neutrality violation detection is a need of an hour. As many of the ISPs are also content providers these days, they compete with each other, which can lead to one deliberately discriminating the services of the other to gain market share. However, users should have the freedom to choose services as per their wishes. Our work considered various challenges in the detection of traffic discrimination in HTTPS traffic. As a case study, we validated Wehe, one of the latest tools available to detect traffic differentiation. The described challenges helped us divide the entire tool into multiple interdependent components and validate them independently. Our validation using commercial traffic shaper revealed that traffic in Wehe setup may not mimic the characteristics of HTTPS traffic accessed from the original servers. Hence, middle-boxes may not subject them to intended discrimination. Thus, Wehe may not detect discrimination of HTTPS traffic. Our new method that uses the appropriate SNI parameter value in the initial TLS handshake message overcomes this shortcoming. Hence our work provided a mechanism to detect a wide range of possible discriminations on the Internet. REFERENCES [1] T. Garrett, L. E. Setenareski, L. M. Peres, L. C. E. Bona, and E. P. 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Hanawal, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India and {vinod.khandkar, mhanawal}@iitb.ac.in. Authors: Authors: (1) Vinod S. Khandkar and Manjesh K. Hanawal, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India and {vinod.khandkar, mhanawal}@iitb.ac.in. Table of Links Abstract & Introduction Abstract & Introduction Related Work and Background Related Work and Background Challenges in TD Detection Measurement Setup Development Challenges in TD Detection Measurement Setup Development Case Study : Wehe - TD Detection Tool for Mobile Environment Case Study : Wehe - TD Detection Tool for Mobile Environment Shortcoming of Wehe on HTTPS Traffic Shortcoming of Wehe on HTTPS Traffic TD Detection of HTTPS Traffic TD Detection of HTTPS Traffic Conclusion & References Conclusion & References VII. CONCLUSION Net neutrality violation detection is a need of an hour. As many of the ISPs are also content providers these days, they compete with each other, which can lead to one deliberately discriminating the services of the other to gain market share. However, users should have the freedom to choose services as per their wishes. Our work considered various challenges in the detection of traffic discrimination in HTTPS traffic. As a case study, we validated Wehe, one of the latest tools available to detect traffic differentiation. The described challenges helped us divide the entire tool into multiple interdependent components and validate them independently. Our validation using commercial traffic shaper revealed that traffic in Wehe setup may not mimic the characteristics of HTTPS traffic accessed from the original servers. Hence, middle-boxes may not subject them to intended discrimination. Thus, Wehe may not detect discrimination of HTTPS traffic. Our new method that uses the appropriate SNI parameter value in the initial TLS handshake message overcomes this shortcoming. Hence our work provided a mechanism to detect a wide range of possible discriminations on the Internet. REFERENCES [1] T. Garrett, L. E. Setenareski, L. M. Peres, L. C. E. Bona, and E. P. Duarte, “Monitoring network neutrality: A survey on traffic differentiation detection,” IEEE Communications Surveys Tutorials, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 2486–2517, 2018. [2] V. Nguyen, D. Mohammed, M. Omar, and P. Dean, “Net neutrality around the globe: A survey,” in 2020 3rd International Conference on Information and Computer Technologies (ICICT), 2020, pp. 480–488. [3] Ramneek, P. Hosein, W. Choi, and W. Seok, “Detecting network neutrality violations through packet loss statistics,” in 2015 17th AsiaPacific Network Operations and Management Symposium (APNOMS), 2015, pp. 404–407. [4] D. Li, F. Tian, M. Zhu, L. Wang, and L. Sun, “A novel framework for analysis of global network neutrality based on packet loss rate,” in 2015 International Conference on Cloud Computing and Big Data (CCBD), 2015, pp. 297–304. [5] M. Dischinger, A. Mislove, A. Haeberlen, and K. P. Gummadi, “Detecting bittorrent blocking,” in Proceedings of the 8th ACM SIGCOMM Conference on Internet Measurement, Oct. 2008, pp. 3–8. [6] M. B. Tariq, M. Motiwala, N. Feamster, and M. Ammar, “Detecting network neutrality violations with causal inference,” in Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Emerging Networking Experiments and Technologies, ser. CoNEXT ’09. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery, 2009, p. 289–300. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/1658939.1658972 [7] R. Ravaioli, G. Urvoy-Keller, and C. Barakat, “Towards a general solution for detecting traffic differentiation at the internet access,” in 2015 27th International Teletraffic Congress, Sep. 2015, pp. 1–9. [8] Y. Zhang, Z. M. Mao, and M. Zhang, “Detecting traffic differentiation in backbone isps with netpolice,” in Proceedings of the 9th ACM SIGCOMM Conference on Internet Measurement, ser. IMC ’09. New York, NY, USA: ACM, 2009, pp. 103–115. [Online]. Available: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1644893.1644905 [9] P. Kanuparthy and C. Dovrolis, “Shaperprobe: End-to-end detection of isp traffic shaping using active methods,” in Proceedings of the 2011 ACM SIGCOMM Conference on Internet Measurement Conference, Nov. 2011, pp. 473–482. [10] U. Weinsberg, A. Soule, and L. Massoulie, “Inferring traffic shaping and policy parameters using end host measurements,” in Proceedings of IEEE INFOCOM, 2011. [11] M. Dischinger, M. Marcon, S. Guha, K. Gummadi, R. Mahajan, and S. Saroiu, “Glasnost: Enabling end users to detect traffic differentiation,” in 7th USENIX Conf. Networked Systems Design and Implementation, Apr. 2010, pp. 27–27. [12] V. Bashko, N. Melnikov, A. Sehgal, and J. 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Ensuring Fair Internet Access: Challenges and Solutions in Traffic Discrimination Detection

Q: What do a revolutionary from the 1800s, a supercomputer from the 1980s, and a tech start-up which supports decentralisation have in common? A: They’re all fictional. 🤣 Hilarious, right? Introducing the Luddites Let’s tie these things together. First of all, the revolutionary above refers to the folkloric figure of Ned Ludd, also known variously as General, Captain, and King Ludd. Whether there was ever a real Ned Ludd is very much up for debate. Sadly, since the Luddites were pretty much wiped out a couple of centuries ago by the combination of sending the military after them and executing them when captured (they threatened the almighty profit margin after all), we’re not likely to get an answer any time soon. What’s important for this article is that Ned Ludd was an idea. He was a mythical figurehead of a decentralised movement working to protect the livelihood of the individual worker, safeguarding their autonomy in the face of capitalist mechanical automation which worked to reduce them (or rather their cheaper, unskilled replacements) to cogs in a commercial machine. The Luddites are far from the first decentralised movement, and definitely not the last. They were unique, to my knowledge, in being the first to assemble a decentralised movement to oppose centralisation and concentration of power in the hands of a few. Those few being the capitalists who purchased the machines with the aim of exploiting their workforce by removing the need for expensive expertise. The Luddites were presented then, and are again now, as straightforward anti-progress revolutionaries. Even now the name is used as an insult, suggesting someone obstructs progress for the sake of obstruction. Ironically, those at the cutting edge of technologies designed to protect individual autonomy and identity have more in common with the Luddites than they do with most of the high-tech start-ups who claim to be fighting their corners. And the Supercomputer? In 1983 a film came out which became a cornerstone of hacker culture. No, not , I’m talking about the rightly-famous . Aside from being an innovative film, provides a brilliant illustration both of the danger of centralising power and authority, and of placing too much trust in technological infallibility. Hackers Wargames Wargames At the centre of the film is a supercomputer, Joshua (or more formally the WOPR), which controls the entire US nuclear arsenal and defensive systems. Even if you haven’t seen it, you can probably predict the rest of the film just from that. The centralisation piece is particularly striking when you know three names which deserve to go down in history (and likely others we don’t know): Stanislav Petrov, Vasily Arkhipov, and Sir David Ormsby-Gore. Their stories are worth looking up, but for this article what’s important to know is that it was their individual decision-making, their exercise of their autonomy, that means we’re not living in a nuclear hellscape today. As Joshua famously writes in , when there is only mutually assured destruction the only winning move is not to play. Wargames Obviously this lesson cannot be ascribed to our modern world, where we are completely dependent on massive interconnected systems designed to squeeze all the joy and freedom out of life and turn them into profitable numbers while having us make ‘the right’ decisions (i.e. buying the things advertised to us). Tech Start-Ups Are Fine Though, Right? And that brings us to the modern tech start-up, especially those that preach decentralisation and autonomy. Some, I’m sure, are sincere - it’s a statistical impossibility that all of them are presenting a smokescreen, but it’s definitely a minority. There’s a whole rainbow of -washings (green, pink, etc.) that companies use to publicly show off their credentials, whether social, environmental, diversity, or otherwise, while carrying on as normal behind the scenes, but I’m unsure what colour would apply to autonomy. VC-backed start-ups are funded by investment. Investors are looking for a return on their investment - usually by selling the company to bigger investors later on. Even if the first investors strongly believe in the ideals of the company rather than just the opportunity for profit, success and a sale dilutes everything further and further from those initial aims. Driving and supporting autonomy and decentralisation of power inevitably builds systems where it is harder for a single entity to extract value in the form of profit for themselves. Decentralised systems are resilient, not robust. They’re sustainable, not efficient. They tend towards value-sharing, not profit-making. This is a problem if the key incentives that drive an organisation are monetary returns on investments. What’s the Answer? Is there anything that can be done? Well, to a degree. The system is clearly built in such a way that gathering the resources to change it requires a level of investment which makes it hard to then change it without causing yourself damage. Taking part in these larger systems constrains our choices and autonomy, while opting out of them leaves us with ideological movements. Movements which are often unable to take effective actions, and easy for coordinated efforts to subvert for their own ends. At some point there may be enough smaller entities which aren’t profit-driven pulling in the same direction to make a difference, but until then all we can do is just not play the game. Instead of pursuing the big pay cheques of major tech companies, look to smaller organisations with different motivations. A question I was always told to ask when going to interviews was “why are you in business?” If the answer was “to make money”, it was not a sustainable place to work. For an organisation money should be a means to an end. Treating it as an end in itself is just chasing after a high score that means nothing outside the arcade (80s reference just to tie back to there). Wargames Take a lesson from the Luddites. Yes, they failed. Yes, they were utterly crushed by a system that turned people into nothing more than components in a money-making machine with no autonomy, no power, and no identity beyond ‘worker’. Failure doesn’t mean they were wrong. This article should not be taken as an incentive to or an endorsement of taking direct destructive action against datacentres, infrastructure, technology companies or similar. The author fully endorses the ideals of the Luddites, not their methods, or at least not the methods that will lead to similar reactions to those they faced.

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