Online tutoring is becoming a go-to solution for many students across the globe, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This can be largely attributed to the advent of smart devices, faster internet speeds, and online tutoring platforms, which have enabled students to access affordable and effective tuition from the comfort of their homes.

Online tutor platforms use video conferencing software and other web-based technologies to link students with remote teachers. These sophisticated features make it easier for both instructors and students to learn.

This blog post will explore some of the advanced features that top online tutor platforms now offer.

1. Data Reporting

The best online tutor platforms offer detailed reports that allow instructors to track and report student progress. This will come in the form of analytics which will help instructors understand all aspects of their student’s progress. They can see how many hours of tutoring each student has completed, if students are struggling with specific concepts or topics, along with their demographic data.

This information is crucial, as it will help you understand your student’s strengths and weaknesses. This way, they can modify their tutoring style as needed and help students who might need extra help or a different tutoring style.

2. Class Scheduling

Online tutoring platforms make it easy to create and manage your classes. You can create recurring classes, choose a specific date and time, and manage your class size. You can also set up your tutoring schedule and assign specific times to individual students.

If you are tutoring children, this will make it easier to keep track of their progress and make sure they are getting the attention they need when they need it.

3. User Management

The best platforms allow tutors to create an account for each student. This account will include a grade book, feedback, and any other information a tutor might want to track or share with students.

This will help you track how each student is doing, identify any areas of weakness, and make adjustments to their curriculum if necessary. It will also allow you to provide more personalized feedback and ensure that each student is progressing appropriately.

4. Classroom Video Conferencing

The best online tutoring platforms now offer classroom video conferencing as an added feature. This allows tutors to see their students in real-time and vice-versa, making the tutoring sessions highly interactive and productive.

This can be particularly helpful if you are tutoring students in different time zones or even tutoring students with special needs, such as hearing and speech disabilities.

In Conclusion

Online tutor platforms are an excellent way for students to access affordable and effective tutoring from the comfort of their own homes. To ensure that you are using an online tutoring platform effectively, you need to ensure that it has all of the advanced features we discussed in this blog post.

These features will make it easier for students and instructors to learn, track students’ progress, and stay on top of their needs.

Both private and public clouds have their perks and downsides. Depending on what an organization or business wants, they could go one way or the other. To help with that, we put private and public clouds against each other to see what they offer so you know which suits you.

The private cloud has its charms, with the high level of control offered, among other perks of a self-assembled and maintained system. However, colocation has allowed data centers to pop up with the ability to cheaply provide high interconnection density, low latency, and more reliability, using innovations like cross-connection cabling, peering exchange, inter-site connectivity, and more.  

Let’s dive in and break them down.

What Is the Private Cloud?

A private cloud, also known as an on-site private data center, is a cloud computing paradigm in which one business has exclusive access to the cloud, its applications, and related equipment. Although a CSP (cloud service provider) could still operate a private cloud, it is devoted to a single user with no resource-sharing.

Private clouds are most commonly utilized by businesses that seek highly customized and secure IT infrastructures.

What Is the Public Cloud?

A public cloud is an IT architecture in which cloud providers offer computing capabilities, such as develop-and-deploy environments, data processing and storage, and apps, available to enterprises and individuals on demand via the public internet.

Public clouds are commonly used as a failsafe and recordkeeping medium for corporate data to ensure business continuity, offload front-end web applications to reduce latency to all users, and support the ‘cloud bursting’ of IT resources.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Private and Public Clouds

To help narrow down what would be perfect for your needs, it is worth looking at the advantages and disadvantages of each method. This will provide context and highlight what customers are looking for when they choose one or the other.

Private Cloud

Advantages

1. Better Resource Utilization

Many of the advantages of private cloud computing are provided by the server virtualization that underpins all forms of cloud computing. Typically, servers are underutilized, and virtualization improves resource efficiency for private cloud customers, allowing workloads to be transferred to a new physical server when service business requirements change.

2. Lower Costs for Some Enterprises

According to experts, businesses are frequently unaware of a public cloud’s total cost of ownership (TCO) until they get their bill. The data reveals that 41 percent (PDF) of IT decision-makers believe their private cloud is less costly than an equivalent public cloud.

Other companies like Netflix, which operates in an environment with light regulations, runs one type of workload, and sees usage fluctuations worldwide, would be better off with the public cloud.

3. Better Regulatory Compliance

Private cloud environments’ safety and customizability features have contributed to their appeal among enterprises with regulatory considerations. Private clouds may assist in addressing critical compliance requirements such as PCI-Compliant Hosting and HIPAA-Compliant Hosting.

4. Predictable Server Utilization

Organizations should consider private clouds with consistent and predictable resource requirements. These companies have a greater chance to optimize their resources and hence cloud expenditure, given that flexibility is optional.

Disadvantages

1. Most private cloud customers demand considerable IT expenditures for cloud setup, management, and maintenance.
2. Because the company must either create and manage its infrastructure or pay a third party, utilizing a private cloud is nearly always more costly than working with a public cloud.
3. Remote and mobile access is often restricted in most private cloud settings. Many private cloud systems do not meet the demands of the modern worker, owing to recent workforce changes and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public Cloud

Advantages

1. No CapEx

Organizations with a public cloud model often have reduced IT expenditures since they don’t have to acquire, run, or manage hardware or software. Furthermore, most cloud computing packages are predicated on usage pricing, which ensures that businesses only pay for the resources they utilize.

2. Automated Backups and Disaster Recovery

Companies can easily automate backups of their data, programs, and other assets across worldwide public cloud regions. As such, they can handle keeping hardware in several data centers or paying for accompanying labor and infrastructure costs, as you would with on-premises backup and recovery.

3. Scalable and Agile

Scalability is another key advantage of public cloud computing. Because public clouds are very scalable, organizations may quickly add or remove resources when needed. This enables businesses to react rapidly to shifting requirements and expectations.

Agility is part of the modern world’s business operations. It allows businesses to weather sudden changes or meet needs they could not have anticipated.

4. Improved Resource Allocation

Many traditionally time-consuming and blunder-prone processes are now automated in the public cloud over infrastructure, which the cloud provider is charged with maintaining. Businesses may, therefore, automatically deploy or recall resources, expand apps, and change capacity without placing a burden on IT. IT personnel may be freed up to focus on more significant and revenue-focused operations.

Disadvantages

 1. The Shared Responsibility Model

The public cloud approach adheres to The Shared Responsibility Model. This implies that, even though a third-party service provider watches and reacts to dangers to the cloud infrastructure, they are not responsible for safeguarding each customer’s data, apps, processes, or operating systems. That effort is solely the responsibility of the consumer. Many clients may be unaware of their position in the Shared Responsibility Model and might not have implemented robust cloud-specific cybersecurity policies.

2. Regulatory Compliance Difficulties

Given the multi-tenancy challenge, certain firms may confront high regulatory compliance criteria that are either challenging or impossible to achieve in a public cloud environment.

3. Vendor Lock-In

Given the multi-tenancy challenge, certain firms may confront high regulatory compliance criteria that are either challenging or impossible to achieve in a public cloud environment.

While the public cloud provides considerable cost reductions for most firms in the short term, the company will eventually become dependent on its selected cloud vendor to continue daily operations. Consequently, even if rates rise, the company may face vendor lock-in and have no choice but to pay. 

Final Thought

Each cloud has its appropriate uses and serves specific markets and needs. As such, the best way to decide which one to pick in the public vs. private cloud debate is to start with a list of your requirements. With that in hand, you can match your company or organization to the best cloud model to adopt.

You don’t even have to choose between the two anymore, given that hybrid packages now exist that make the best of both worlds.

Medical device certification has to remain somewhere at the top of entrepreneurs’ priority lists in the Medtech industry. It’s a clearance to move your product from a workshop to the public. What is the difference between a class 1 and class 2 medical device? What you should know about medical devices classification to better understand the process?

Paweł Zieliński – Marketing Manager Consonance

How Medical Devices are Classified

Depending on how your product is categorized by the regulatory bodies, different restrictions may apply to your medical device. Each regulatory body has established a number of distinct categories for medical devices. If you’re reading this I think you’ve already bumped into terms like FDA or MDR.

Categories (medical device classification) relate to the perceived risk of the product category.

Makers of medical devices that sell globally need to become familiar with the rules that apply in those areas. This can be difficult for most manufacturers to do and is easier said than done. While following one set of regulations, the US, Canada, and Europe all adhere to others.

Fortunately for the Medtech industry, there are significant similarities between global laws and standards governing medical devices. What I’d like to focus more on is classification established through EU MDR 2017/745 by the European Commission (EC).

It is important to understand how your medical equipment is categorized for the following reasons:

1. How your product is classified will affect what steps you need to take before selling it.
2. You may set requirements, particularly design controls, throughout the product development phase with the use of product classification.
3. Product categorization is a crucial factor in figuring out how much it will cost and how long it will take to get your gadget on the market.

MDR risk class system

Getting a CE marking is the first step in marketing in Europe. The criteria for obtaining CE certification are determined by the EU categorization of your medical equipment. The details required to identify your device class are included in the medical device regulation (EU MDR) of the European Union.

You must ascertain if your medical device:

• Non-Invasive – any device that does not enter the body by a hole or through the skin. Although these devices are normally Class I, some regulations and exceptions may apply, making them Class II or higher.
• Invasive – any instrument that enters the body entirely or partially, either by a bodily orifice or through the surface of the body, is considered to be invasive.
• Active – any device whose function depends on an energy source other than that produced by gravity or by the human body and which operates by altering the density of that energy.

There are specific guidelines that apply for each of the major categories and are listed in Annex VIII of the new medical device legislation. Determining categorization is rather simple when these criteria are taken into account, together with the time frame for use.

For instance, a device used continuously for less than 60 minutes is regarded as transitory duration, from 60 minutes to 30 days as short-term, and longer than 30 days as long-term.

The United States and the European Union both use the same approach for classifying products:

• Class I – Non-sterile or no measuring function (low risk)
• Class I – Sterile and a measuring function (low/medium risk)
• Class IIa (medium risk)
• Class IIb (medium/high risk)
• Class III (high risk)

Before being sold in the European Union, all medical devices must first receive a CE label, which involves comprehensive technical paperwork. All classes of medical devices in the EU, with the exception of Class I devices that can be self-certified, need collaboration with a Notified Body.

In order to handle product registration in Europe, businesses must engage with an authorized representative.

Class I Devices

Equipment that provide a low to moderate danger to the patient and/or user are classified as Class I medical devices. Today, 95% of medical devices fall into this group, which accounts for 47% of all devices and is free from regulation. An application for premarket notice must be submitted if a gadget fits within a general group of exempted Class I devices.

Class IIa Devices

The MDR classifies Class IIa medical devices as medium-risk devices. In contrast to a Class I item, the manufacturer must now wait for a notified body to provide a declaration of conformity following its conformity evaluation. Catheters, hearing aids, and temporary contact lenses are a few examples of this risk category.

Class IIb Devices

Class IIb medical devices are categorized as medium- to high-risk devices under the MDR, hence a notified body is also necessary for their CE route. Devices in this danger category include ventilators, insulin pen, long-term contact lenses, and incubators.

Class III Devices

Class III devices are regarded as high-risk and are subject to the strictest regulations, including the device’s clinical evaluation.

Devices like pacemakers, artificial heart valves, surgical mesh, breast implants, and other items that must be continuously monitored throughout the course of their lifespan fall under this risk category. This class represents up to 10% of regulated products.

If you want to know more, listen to the latest episode of podcast Medtech NOW!

Are you about to start your new Medtech endeavor? Is getting a certificate for a medical innovation that hard or expensive? We discussed with Kinga Kierepka, Head of Quality Assurance at Consonance about QMS, ISO 13485, CE mark, timeline, costs, device classification and more.

Medical Device Classification rules

The key is risk. The dangers related to each medical equipment are used to categorize them. The level of regulatory control increases with class number, further defining the regulatory standards for a generic equipment type. The intended purpose of the device and any specific indications for its usage, in addition to the danger the device poses to the patient and/or the user, are used to classify it.

Determining your device classification for Europe

The risk class of a medical device is determined by the EU using a rules-based methodology. There are 22 rules for categorizing any medical equipment in Annex VIII of the MDR. The regulations are broken down into four sections, and each section’s regulations only apply to a certain class of devices.

• Non-invasive devices are covered by Rules 1-4.
• Invasive devices are covered by Rules 5-8.
• Active devices are covered under Rules 9–13.
• Nanomaterials and other devices that don’t fit within the first three categories are covered by special regulations 14–22.

The duration of the device’s use is also taken into consideration when deciding whether rules within a category apply. The three durations that are listed in the MDR are:

• Temporary: Intended to be used continuously for no more than 60 minutes
• Short Term: Intended for continuous usage for up to 30 days, but no more than 60 minutes.
• Long Term: Intended for usage for a period of time longer than 30 days.

Getting your device certified can be difficult and usually requires investments. Because there is a possibility to fail with a device clearance, a reasonable choice is to hire a company which offers medical devices regulatory consulting services. Their purpose is to guide you through the entire process and provide you expertise which raises the maximum chances of speeding up the time-to-market process.

Hacker infiltration of a company’s infrastructure can result in costly data breaches and system failures. Peace of mind for business owners comes from knowing that their systems are secure. However, this isn’t always an easy thing to do – there are several ways hackers can infiltrate a company’s infrastructure.
That’s why you need a penetration testing service provider to walk you through this process and help you identify and eliminate security vulnerabilities. But what exactly are hacker entry points? And how can you effectively eliminate them from your systems? You’ll want to know about securing your systems and hacker entry points!

What is a hacker entry Point?

A hacker entry point is a point of entry into a company’s IT infrastructure. It could also be a means of gaining access to the company’s data or assets. Hackers achieve entry through remote attacks or social engineering tactics such as phishing emails. They target weak points in the network infrastructure to gain access and spread malware within the network. Some of these points of entry include:

• Weak passwords
• Unpatched software
• Open ports on the firewall
• Outdated antivirus software
• Vulnerable servers
• Unprotected IoT devices and web applications

How to eliminate hacker entry points.

Business owners should regularly evaluate their IT infrastructure to identify vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit. This is referred to as penetration testing. These tests can help you determine vulnerabilities in your IT systems and identify possible access points that hackers can use to gain access to the systems. The testers will then create a list of recommendations to help strengthen the security and prevent future attacks.
Your penetration testing service provider will then recommend how to plug the holes identified during the testing process. They will also provide customized security solutions to meet your needs and keep your company secure.

Penetration testing services

Pen testing companies offer various services that can help you strengthen your system’s security and reduce its vulnerability to hacking attempts. This includes internal and external pen testing and can cover all aspects of your system, including firewalls, networks, servers, and databases.
Some of the common penetration testing services include:

• Network penetration testing services
• Cloud penetration testing services
• Web application penetration services
• Mobile penetration testing services
• IoT testing
• Social engineering services
• Red teaming
• Firewall security testing services

What to look for before hiring a pen testing vendor

Here’s what you should look for when hiring a penetration testing company:

• Experience – The vendor should have experience in the IT security industry and proven success in providing practical solutions to clients.
• Communication – You should choose a company that offers clear and effective communication throughout the project. They should explain every step of the process and answer any questions you may have.
• Flexible service options – Some pen testing companies offer fixed-price and time-based pricing. Choosing a company that offers a flexible service option that meets your needs and budget is essential.

Conclusion

As a business owner, it’s essential to make sure that your company’s infrastructure is secure. Hiring a reputable penetration testing company is the best way to keep your systems safe and reduce the risk of data breaches and other malicious attacks. Protect your business today!

The professional world differs between China and the rest of the world not only because of various geographical features but also societal and cultural differences. For example, in terms of web development, China, specifically Shanghai, surpassed its international peers ages ago. Shanghai is recognized for being highly supportive of techpreneurs which is why Shanghai web development is extremely popular in the world. Chinese tech trends and practices are cultivated by Shanghai’s tech community. So if you are looking for the best web development company, then you should give Shanghai’s web development community a chance.

But unless you have a good understanding of the best Shanghai web development companies, you will have a hard time picking an ideal one. In the following, we have described a few considerations to identify the best web development company:

• The preferred operating system is one of the factors that you cannot overlook when searching for a reliable web development company in Shanghai. As per various surveys, techies in Shanghai are inclined toward windows majorly. This makes Windows OS familiarity and availability quite common.
• For web developers, the development language plays a vital role in making their clients’ digital requests a reality. Chinese web developers are known to use Java and JavaScript much more than SQL, which is an international favorite. As a result, most of the top-tier web development companies hire developers that are proficient in Java and JavaScript.
• According to a case study performed by the Chinese tech giant, Alibaba Cloud, front-end engineering is considered a vital skill for all front-end developers in Shanghai, China. Front-end engineering skills are so in high demand that most of the big-shot web development companies based in Shanghai employ those who can handle project feasibility, analysis, and optimization.
• The digital ecosystem in China is vast and there is always a demand for skilled web developers. Web development as a profession pays well, so in every web development company based in Shanghai, you can get help from a highly competent and experienced web development team.

From the aforementioned, you have understood the popular as well as important considerations regarding Shanghai’s web development community. Now, let us get acquainted with some of the best web development companies in the following.

SEIRIM – A reliable cybersecurity-focused website and web application development agency

SEIRIM is a well-known name among Shanghai-based developers and entrepreneurs. This top-notch web design and development agency serves as an expert consultancy to meet client expectations using a scientific and artistic approach. SEIRIM not only has a track record of efficient project management, but it is also proactive in SEO best practices. Its capable team includes industry veterans who have worked on the websites for Giti, Atam, CS Global, etc.

Lantern – A renowned web agency trusted by high-profile companies in Shanghai, Lantern is a renowned web agency.

Lantern is a well-known web development agency based in Shanghai that deals with top-tier clients from China as well as other parts of the world. Lantern was founded in 2008, and now it has grown into a reliable as well as experienced company that’s helping clients from all over China, Europe, and the U.S. As of now, the company is maintaining up to 50 high-quality websites across the globe. Its list of significant clients includes Pandora, Stellar Works, NYU Shanghai, Roche Pharmaceuticals, etc.

Lordeys – An international and award-winning web development company.

Lordeys is best known for the international awards it has won for its expertise in handling international web development projects. This Shanghai-based company focuses mostly on industries in B2B and B2C that have a presence in China as well as overseas. Their service focus areas are web design (both UI and UX), web hosting, web development, app design, mobile app development, etc. Lordeys’ key clients are Mercedes-Benz, AMG Auto, Baidu, and Porsche. Since 2014, the Lordeys team has expanded to a total of 250 dedicated personnel.

Pulse Branding – An emerging company with a specialization in neuromarketing

In Shanghai, you will find renowned agencies that excel at web development for various kinds of projects. But there are also some relatively new yet highly promising agencies like Pulse Branding that are quickly progressing and making a name for themselves. Pulse Branding specializes in neuromarketing, which is a unique approach even if we consider the high-end tech industry within China. Their service offering mainly includes web design and development, brand strategy consulting, etc.

Most of the aforementioned web development agencies provide a dedicated account manager that handles all the requests on a priority basis and ensures that the end result of any project is nothing less than remarkable.

Conclusion

The web development industry is at its prime in Shanghai at this point. Several leading companies, like the ones we mentioned above, are empowering the tech industry through their innovative approach and skills.