Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, gradually turning every science fiction into reality. Beacon technology is one of those technological advancements, which was once a figment of the imagination of many researchers. Let’s have a look at how beacon technology is evolving and changing our business world.What is a Beacon?A Beacon is a tiny, battery-powered, wireless, low-cost sensor with a built-in Bluetooth chip device that works on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). It allows Bluetooth enabled devices to receive data within short distances.Beacon device is designed in such a way that it is easy to fix anywhere and can be efficiently used by everyone. It continuously broadcasts a radio signal, and when a device receives this signal it reads the beacon’s ID and triggers the action in the smartphone app based on the proximity of the beacon. What makes a beacon technology different is its ability to “wake up” an app, which is not open but has been downloaded on the Smartphone.Deep Dive into Beacon TechnologyMost beacons use BLE technology / Bluetooth Smart Technology as it requires low energy consumption and low implementation cost. The technology only allows for small amounts of data transmission, and it is the reason most beacons only transmit their IDs.Beacon IDs consists of three values:

Universally unique identifier (UUID)

Major value

Minor value
The purpose of transmitting the ID is to distinguish a beacon from all other beacons in a network. Major and Minor values are the integer values assigned to the beacon, for greater accuracy in identification. Beacon also carries information about its signal power to determine the proximity of the source.iBeaconiBeacon is a brand name created by Apple Inc., which was first presented at the World Wide Developer’s Conference in 2014 as part of Apple’s iOS 7. It is a technology innovation of Apple that has been implemented in the location framework in iOS 7 and newer operating systems. As described above, iBeacon uses BLE technology to sense proximity and transmit a UUID, which triggers an action in a compatible app or operating system.Eddystone – A Game ChangerIn response to iBeacons, Google came up with its beacon project called Eddystone on July 14, 2015, with more open and flexible approach. Eddystone is Google’s open-source, cross-platform BLE beacon format. While Apple’s iBeacon only works with iOS devices, Eddystone works with both Android and iOS devices. Unlike iBeacons, they broadcast not only their UUID but also pre-programmed web page URLs and thus don’t require the installation of specific apps. The URL could be a regular web page providing relevant information, for e.g. a beacon next to a restaurant can broadcast a link to a YouTube clip or their specialty menu. Certainly, Eddystone will bring in new IoT use cases.Beacons EmpoweredWith this drastic rise in beacon technology, companies are investing in this technology to generate greater revenues. Here I have given a brief detail about how retail industry is utilizing and availing benefits of beacon technology.Smart RetailThe rapidly growing e-Commerce industry has resulted in the decrease of footfall and in-store sales for both the small-time retailers and big brands. In-stores have understood that they have to mimic e-commerce in the areas of personalized offers and shopping experiences.Thus, Retail is a critical area where beacons are expected to bring huge impact – from proximity marketing to contactless payments to in-store analytics. 85% of the retail industry is expected to leverage beacon technology by the end of the year 2016. Beacons may seem like hype today, but let’s have a glance at few of its revolutionary aspects.Beacons send location awareness alerts, updates on merchandise/products, and promotional notifications to tempt a passerby to enter the store. It can also be used to analyse customers who walk past the store and their visit duration. This analysis will help in making strategic decisions on product display.Beacons use in-store navigation and provide real-world analytics like:

The areas and items a customer likes to explore

Where a customer spent most of her/his time

What and when s/he makes a purchase

Most in-store rushed locations

In-store deserted locations

Busiest days of the store

Number of people who walk into their store per day
These data provides insight into customer behavior and store performance. This analysis will help the retailers to organize their products, prices and place their products in strategic locations on strategic days and time. By knowing the repeated visitors to the store, retailers can reward those customers with loyalty benefits for their purchase.Beacon makes a customer’s in-store journey personalized and unique. It fetches data from the wish list of a customer and notifies him when he comes across that particular product. It also recommends products based on price, quality, and offers to provide better in-store experience.The customers who have already set up their payment information through their smartphone can use a connected beacon and complete their purchase by processing their payment (a.k.a contactless payment) without waiting in long queues. When a payment is done, the stock will be automatically updated.Beacon technology is spreading gradually in not just the retail space; it is being adapted to various other sectors like Hotels, Airline industry, Football Leagues, B2B arena and more. Beacons help businesses to attract more customers and to understand the demands of their potential customers. It is a cost-effective and targeted marketing technique that promotes your sales and generates higher revenues.

NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION”Identification is one of the key ingredients of effective communication. In fact, unless your listeners can identify with what you are saying and with the way you are saying it, they are not likely to receive and understand your message.”Communication refers to exchange of views, ideas, thoughts, beliefs and feelings with the intention of conveying information from the sender to the receiver, through verbal or non verbal means. We communicate for numerous reasons like for sharing information, learning, consulting, for connecting with others, writing rules and regulations, giving advice, sharing values and mission, teaching, expressing our expectations/ creativity/ philosophy/ research work, selling of products/ services, for publicity, maintaining public relations and advertising, networking with people with common interest or even with Internal and External source of the organization.A study conducted by North Carolina State University concluded that in most of the organization Communication Skills were considered more important than either technical knowledge or computer skills. This itself conveys the Importance of Communication in work place. Many experts explain Communication as ‘foundation of every relationship’s, ‘life blood of an organization’, ”life blood for a successful team’ etc.The Importance of Effective Communication is discussed further: –
# The success of any business depends on a sound professional relationship between both parties and communication plays a crucial role in building, maintain and enhancing such relations.
# Communication doesn’t only include exchange of words but listening, understanding and interpreting are also a part of effective communication.
# Human Resource (HR) is the most important element in any organization. Managing ‘Man’ is the biggest challenge for the organization. Communication is the lubricant which keeps this resource moving throughout the organizational machinery since it involves communication at all levels – Vertical/ Horizontal/ Parallel/ Lateral and Diagonal.Research has revealed that managers spend a great part of their work time in communication; they generally devote 6 hours per day in communication which includes both written and oral communication.Top management uses Communication for Internal Sources to: -
 Communication provides effective guidance to the employees by informing them about their duties, responsibilities, authorities and the power they have to perform the task.
 To impart the organizational values, mission, vision, goals, objectives to the workforce.
 They also use communication for implementation of the short and long term goals of the organization.
 Communication enables adequate flow of information for effective decision making and problem solving.
 Communication provides a channel through which the employees can give and receive ideas, view, suggestions, opinions, feedbacks etc for the growth and development of the organization.
 Communication enables the management to get feedback about their products/ services from the existing and potential customers.
 No communication or even lack of communication can create confusion and misunderstanding leading to undesirable outcomes, poor performance and low employee morale.
 Management explains their financial plans, operational structure, job expectations, work ethics, corporate social responsibilities, remuneration system, rules, regulations and policies and even provides training and development to the middle and lower level of hierarchy.
 Writing financial reports for directors and shareholders to inform and intimate them about the company’s progress and future plans.
 Communication enables messages to reach to the target audience and get appropriate feedback from them.For External Sources communication is required for the following reasons: - Finding prospective investors.
 Obtaining permits/ licenses.
 Dealing with buyers/ agents/ dealers and suppliers.
 Building long term relationships with the existing customers/ clients.
 Finding new prospective customers/ clients.
 Building healthy relationships with government agencies/ bodies/ organizations.
 Enhancing relationships with media and NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations).
 Building a congenial relationship with stakeholders and general society at large.However, it is often observed that the best way to communicate with Internal and External source is through establishing an open door organizational culture, collaborative sharing and supporting management which helps to create a safe and healthy environment.

Most of us know where to invest money in good times, but when it looks like the sky might be falling, knowing where to invest money and how to invest it becomes a puzzle. In 2014 and 2015 good investments might be hard to find, especially if yesterday’s good investments like stocks and bonds tank. This is not a prediction, but rather a “heads up.” You can’t prepare if you’re not aware, so let’s take a closer look at the sky.We all know that safe choices like money market funds and bank savings accounts don’t look like good investments for 2014 because they pay peanuts. But what if the sky starts falling: either interest rates ignite and/or the stock market tanks? Either way or both… where to invest money is the question of the day. Safe choices will look like good investments for parking money that must be safe.Wall Street’s traditional answer to where to invest money: put about 60% into stocks with about 40% in bonds holding a cash reserve on the sidelines. Problem: in 2014 and 2015 losses in stocks may not be offset by gains in bonds… as was the case for the last 30 years or so. If interest rates soar from today’s record-low levels, neither stocks nor bonds look like good investments.For over 30 years interest rates were falling and bonds were generally good investments. With today’s ridiculously low rates (created by our government to stimulate the economy) a rebound in interest rates is in the cards (as the government unwinds its stimulus). When that happens, bonds will no longer be where to invest money for higher interest income with relative safety. Bonds are NOT good investments when rates go up; they lose money. That’s the way it works. How to invest in bonds in 2014 and 2015 if rates take off: lighten up and opt for safety.Stocks had been very good investments five years running as the year 2014 began. This was at least in part due to government stimulus and cheap money. In a sense, stocks were where to invest money because nothing looked cheap except for money (short term interest rates were set at about one-tenth of one percent). With a gain of over 150% in five years, the downside risk in the stock market is mounting. This begs the question of how to invest money in stocks if the sky starts to look ominous.Remember that the stock market is actually a market of stocks, which means that the vast majority of stocks get hit when the market crumbles – but at least a few will be good investments. And the best way to find good investments in a bad market is to watch the price action. For example, as the market climbed 30% in 2013, some gold stocks were down about 50% by early 2014. If you don’t know how to invest in or how to pick a specific gold stock… you might want to know where to invest money to get a piece of this action. The answer is to invest money in gold funds and let them pick the gold stocks for you.The bottom line is that in 2014 and 2015 investors face an uphill battle, because both stocks and bonds look pricey. That presents a new challenge to today’s investor in search of where to invest money. We are facing uncharted waters in this modern electronic world, where no one really knows how to invest or where to find good investments for the future. This includes the big investors like life insurance companies and pension funds.My suggestion is to take some profits in your stocks and bonds, because the tide will turn eventually if not in 2014 or 2015. Then you’ll have a cash reserve, so you can take advantage of the situation as the skies darkens. Smart investors are always in search of where to invest money next, especially when a change of trend is in the cards. At such times, yesterday’s underperforming sectors or industries often become today’s good investments.