3 ways data analytics is enhancing education technology

While remote learning isn’t new, it has become the new normal during this pandemic. Data analytics has greatly aided in remote education since data not  not only helps organizations better understand their users but also increase operational efficiency. An article shared by Study International describes 3 ways that data analytics is enhancing education technology. These insights were analyzed by Caroline Lewis of data analytics organization Tiger and Peter Croft of education technology company Tribal Group.

Data analytics help review, update software. “With regular usage, schools can tap into data analytics to show them the returns on investing in this software. This way, they are able to better plan digital resources to meet the needs of their teachers and students. The result? Improved spending and user experience for all.”

Data analysis gauges student engagement. “Administrators monitor student “touchpoints” based on how much time they spend in the virtual learning environment or when they submit their coursework. Understanding these learning analytics will give them a clearer picture of student habits, which are transformed into virtual profiles.”

Data can be used to develop predictive models.

“Unique student data can yield significant implications right away. For example, data analytics can identify students who are struggling or at risk, prompting intervention to bring them back on track. Schools and universities can further monitor the long-term efficacy of these initiatives, using the outcomes to better support teachers and students.”

 

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5 Benefits of Using a CRM for Your Business

Using a customer relationship management (CRM) system is a good idea for any business. As the name says, this software helps businesses to interact with its customers. If implemented correctly and utilized to its potential, a CRM will positively influence a company’s culture and income. A South Florida Reporter Article lists 5 benefits of using a CRM for your business to get the most out of your system.

Smart Ecosystem with Numerous Integration. “As a rule, the amount of integrations allowed by a system is limitless. Therefore, instead of copying all the information to one place, you can gather it automatically by synchronizing it with other services.”

Well-Organized Client History. “Systemized data makes post order management simpler. It also becomes easier to come up with relevant suggestions and custom offers. All client data is now stored in one place.”

Automation of Business Processes. “A CRM integrates all the communication channels so that you can reach out via emails or messengers without switching to other apps. Routine tasks like client notifications, document generation, and assigning tasks are easy to automate using the functionality of a CRM.”

Detailed Real-Time Analytics. “With just a few clicks, you can get a report for a particular time or a particular person’s performance. Altogether, it helps to detect the strong and weak points of every sales funnel.”

Strategic Planning Becomes Easier. “A CRM allows tracking client journeys from the moment of landing on a website to completing a purchase. Having this data at your disposal helps to optimize marketing and sales processes.”

 

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GL199 Error Company Being Processed in Different Job

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If you are running GL199 to close the period, you may encounter the below error message in the print file (or in the job scheduler log) “Company being processed in different job”.

This means that Lawson “thinks” there is another GL199 job running that is processing the same company your job is trying to process.  If that is the case, allow the first job to finish before running yours.  However, there may not be any other jobs running, yet you are still encountering the error.

To troubleshoot, first try to trace back to the first time the GL199 ran and failed (it may be in recovery or canceled).  Look at the examine log for that run.  There may be a different error that indicates the root cause of the issue.  If so, resolve that issue and recover or rerun that job.

If there are no issues to resolve, and you are certain that the GL199 hasn’t failed in the middle of updating records, you can get your DBA to update the status flag so that Lawson will no longer think the GL199 is running.  This can be accomplished by creating a paint screen for GLSYSTEM, or by making a direct update in the database.  The field “UPDATING” needs to be set to 0.  Additionally, you should check to see if your failed GL199 job is stuck in GLMONITOR.  If so, you should delete the record for that job.  But make sure you are deleting the record for your job!!!

Aquitaine Hospitality Deepens Partnership with Infor

Aquitaine Hospitality of hotel group Aquitaine Promotion is expanding its 2016 deployment of Infor HMS (Hospitality Management Solution) further. The business solution dedicated specifically to tourism, hotel and restaurant industry needs has worked efficiently for Aquitane and is planned to extend to their other properties, including the group’s brand new modern accommodation concept: “Live Hotels.” Per the press release, Aquitaine Hospitality is continually seeking to modernize practices and to invest in a solution capable of adapting to business requirements, brand and positioning specificities, and critical forecasting analysis models. Aquitaine Hospitality’s partnership with Infor helps to enhance their new concept of a lively, animated and collaborative hotel, integrated into the economic and social fabric of Bordeaux: Live Hotels.

 

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DME Queries in Lawson

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Lawson provides the ability to query Lawson tables via URL.  These transactions are called “DME” queries, and can be quite useful in IPA processes, or in scripting bulk data calls.

To query data using a DME call, the URL is https://<server name>/servlet/Router/Data/Erp?.  To select specific fields, use the “FIELD” key word.  To filter the results, use the “SELECT” key word.  You will need to have knowledge of the data tables and columns to build these queries.  The dbdef command in LID can be quite useful for this.

GEN

To query GEN data, the syntax would be https://<servername>/servlet/Router/Data/Erp?PROD=GEN

For example, this URL would return the PRODUCTLINE and FILENAME fields for the FILEDEF record with prefix “API”:

https://lawson.company.com/servlet/Router/Data/ERP?PROD=GEN&FILE=FILEDEF&SELECT=PREFIX=API&FIELD=PRODUCTLINE,FILENAME

LOGAN

To query LOGAN data, the syntax would be https://<servername>/servlet/Router/Data/Erp?PROD=LOGAN

For example, this URL would return the VERSION data in the LOGAN data area

https://lawson.company.com/servlet/Router/Data/ERP?PROD=LOGAN&FILE=VERSION

Data Area

To query your desired data area, the syntax would be https://<servername>/servlet/Router/Data/Erp?PROD=<data area>

For example, this URL would return the CUCODE “USD” from the CUCODES table in the TEST data area.

https://lawson.company.com/servlet/Router/Data/ERP?PROD=TEST&FILE=SELECT=CURRENCY-CODE=USD&FIELD=CURRENCY-CODE,DESCRIPTION

Output

The default output type is XML, but you can also output in CSV format.  To do that, in the URL, append the command “&out=csv”.

Infor and C3 AI Form Strategic Partnership to Deliver Scalable Enterprise AI Industry Applications

Leading enterprise AI software provider C3 AI and Infor announced in March a strategic alliance to jointly expand enterprise-class artificial intelligence (AI) solutions across applicable industries. This wil extend Infor’s native machine learning capabilities and allow the tech giant to explore expansion of its industry offerings into edge scenarios and analyze ways to provide deeper capabilities beyond standard Infor offerings. Per the press release, Infor plans to market, license, and deploy C3 AI prebuilt solutions to Infor customers under the Infor brand and to explore new solutions using the C3 AI® Suite. One of the first focuses will be on predictive maintenance surrounding Internet of Things (IoT) systems with the goal of providing a more proactive and accurate maintenance strategy within Infor’s EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) solution. Further, the partnership allows C3 AI exploration into other verticals and is designed to supplement Infor’s existing platform technologies in advanced analytics and embedded intelligence.

 

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Zahid Tractor Turns to Infor for Digital Transformation

Infor announced in March that Zahid Tractor, a Saudi Arabia-based Zahid Group company that supplies construction machinery and commercial vehicles, is now using the tech company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) to streamline and gain visibility across all departments. Integrating to Infor M3 for Equipment will allow Zahid Tractor to continue its commitment to excellence in customer service and offerings across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s construction, transportation and rental sectors. Per the press release, Infor M3 met all the requirements stemming from interface-driven initiatives Zahid Tractor has with its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners, which help increase supply chain visibility and improve service levels for their customers. This was a key prerequisite of the ERP solution for Zahid Tractor. The Infor M3 solution will be instrumental in helping Zahid Tractor tap high levels of growth in Saudi Arabia’s construction equipment market. Zahid Group is currently working with Infor to roll out Infor Birst Analytics and Infor M3 CloudSuite to other companies within the group.

 

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Outdated TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1

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After performing WebSphere or Infor application maintenance, your browser may present you with the error code “NET:ERR_SSL_OBSOLETE_VERSION”, indicating that the Quality of Protection (QoP) protocol in WebSphere is using an outdated version.

To resolve this issue, open the WebSphere administration console for the application causing the error.  Navigate to SSL certificate and key management.  Select SSL configurations on the right-hand side.  Then select the Node for your web application, and click “Quality of protection” on the right-hand side.  Select a supported protocol.  Save the changes and restart the WebSphere services.  NOTE: also make this change to the Cell if applicable.

 

The Future Of Cloud Is Vertical

The history of cloud services tracks had very neutral, horizontal offerings.  The cloud was for everyone and for every aspect in our personal and professional lives. However, that is no longer the case and the future of cloud is shifting to a vertical approach. Emil Sayegh, President and CEO of Ntirety, one of the largest managed cloud service platforms in the world, shares an article on Forbes about the narrative of vertical cloud progress. In recent years we’ve seen vertical progress with companies such as Azure and AWS, specialized in government clouds. Look for technical, security, and compliance tool sets for each cloud vertical that will look more like the .Gov cloud, but also look for other emerging verticals in healthcare, banking, IOT, manufacturing and self-driving vehicles to name a few. Verticals in these areas will most likely align with specialized tools, along with resiliency, security, and performance. The verticalized cloud will aid in businesses specializing industry-specific needs such as security, technologies, and application services. Technologies that would shine in vertical cloud growth include web applications, customer relationship management, application, data and systems monitoring, and email, voice, and messaging integration. Exploring vertical cloud offerings is a venture into specific sectors, says Sayegh. Vertical clouds focus on the needs and advantages required for businesses within that solution to improve user data experiences, provide critical business insights, operate under compliance and enhance security and reliability. Sayegh concludes that you will not be able to avoid this vertical cloud future.

 

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MSCM Handheld Test Fails with Secured URL

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If you are testing your MSCM handheld connection against the secured MSCM URL, and getting a “Test Failed” error, you may need to modify the Quality of Protection protocol in WebSphere.

The symptoms of the issue are: “Test Failed” message on the handheld, and the MSCM COMM log will show an error stating “Failed during SSL handshake”.

To update the QoP protocol in WebSphere, open the WebSphere Admin Console for MSCM, and navigate to Security > SSL certificate and key management.  Click “SSL configurations” on the right side of the page.  Then select the NodeDefaultSSLSettings.  Click “Quality of protection (QoP) settings” on the right.  Update the Protocol to “SSL_TLSv2”.  Click “Apply” and save the configuration.  Repeat these steps for the cell (if applicable), then restart WebSphere services for MSCM.

 

**NOTE: To avoid future issues with the MSCM/Lawson connection, it is best to set the QoP protocol in the LSF WebSphere Console to the same values as MSCM.  Do this both for the Node and the Cell.