Showing posts with label benefits of cloud. Show all posts

The Ride-on The Next Cloud Wave at Intersec, Dubai



While the Big Mac index reflects the purchasing power parity between nations, the Intersec's performance reflects Dubai economy.

For the past three years, exhibitors get lesser, and crowds get thinner at Intersec, mirroring the fact of the economic downturn in Dubai. Nonetheless, Intersec, as the most significant security tradeshow and congregation hub in the Middle East and North Africa region, still retains its status with quality leads to offer.

Intersec, as always, connects us with our longtime partners and it was a pleasure meeting Mr Faisal Kan, the CEO of IPTec UAE, Mr Kinan Alfin, the CEO of Link2Tec, Rouaa and Noor Alkhalifa from Ultratech Sudan, Mr Mohan Das Kuttath from Okaz Telecom Saudi, Mr Ibrahim Elshamy from Intelligent Project Qatar, Mr Mahmoud from DLink Kuwait, Benacer Douadi from Safety and Protection Ltd Algeria, and many more to catch up with our latest developments.


One of the discernible trends I have observed, the main exhibition halls that used to be occupied by the surveillance system and CCTV products have shrunk, many famous brands disappear, lost in the fierce competition. Access control products, the once smaller in size if compared to surveillance, has now seized a larger hall space.

This time around, we exhibited FingerTec products; but highlighted our arrays of cloud solutions. It has marked the transformation of our company, from a hardware-driven company to a software-driven, from outright purchase to subscription-based, from standalone simple biometrics product to a cloud ecosystem company.

I'm proud that we come prepared as compared to many market players to ride on the next wave of cloud computing technology advancement. While many Chinese companies still relentlessly showing their perpetually lower price hardware products; we manage to bring forward a cluster of mature cloud products, under the trademark of TimeTec Cloud City, complemented and integrated with easy-to-connect IoT devices.

Many visitors found TimeTec's latest QF Master App awe-inspiring. 

We turned a standard Android phone into a face recognition terminal that opens the door. The QF master App scans face for recognition and also scans QR codes for verification. It integrates with the latest TimeTec BLE-2 door controller via Bluetooth communication. 

Two parties, one from Saudi Arabia and another from UAE, foresee the massive potential of TimeTec cloud solutions, hence, have proposed joint ventures and investments to foster stronger ties with us. Besides, Assa Abloy of Dubai scheduled a meeting with a prominent housing developer for an integration proposal of the Assa Abloy locks and i-Neighbour cloud intercom system, i-Comm, an integral part of our smart community product, i-Neighbour. And soon, our esteemed distributor of FingerTec, Magnum Connect of Dubai will actively promote TimeTec Cloud solutions with the blessings of the CEO, Mr Nayagam Pillai, to carry this product forward.

February is going to be a busy month for us with proposals to write and follow-ups to make.

Till next time, Intersec.



Teh Hon Seng, Group CEO of TimeTec Group of Companies. Prior to forming TimeTec, Teh led PUC Founder (MSC) Bhd to be listed on MESDAQ (ACE) market of Bursa Malaysia in 2002. Teh initiated the R&D in fingerprint technology in 2000, which later developed into a renowned global brand for commercial fingerprint product known as FingerTec. In 2008, he foresaw the trend of cloud computing and mobile technology, and over the years, he had strategically diversified and transformed its biometric-focused products into a suite of cloud solutions that aimed at workforce management and security industries including smart communities that centered around the cloud ecosystem. Teh has more than 10 patents to his name, and he is also a columnist in a local newspaper and a writer of several books.
benefits of cloud

HR-ing in the Digital Era



AI, Big Data, cloud services, Internet of Thing - these are the latest buzzwords we’ve heard so much about lately. All these technology enhancements change the way organizations operate; where most systems are offered online, made transparent and accessible at any time, anywhere. But why and how does this digital transformation affected human resource or HR?

Organizations that are ready to adopt this digital transformation need to brace for various changes in their systems either abruptly or progressively including their daily work processes, recruiting flow, on boarding process and workforce management, and when the workforce is concerned, HR is in charge. Therefore, HR professionals have to play a role in ensuring that the changes made would not interrupt the business operation.

Here we provide 3 important aspects that every HR professional should consider when selecting new systems:

Automation in Recruitment
While old school HR sifts through resumes to find the right ones to interview, modern HR should be using advanced technologies to automate the recruiting process. Why? Because they can and the tool is available for use. One perfect example of a recruitment cloud solution that offers Applicant Tracking System is TimeTec Hire, where resume screening process is done automatically based on the settings provided by the HR/recruiting team. Say a company is looking for a copywriter with at least 2 years writing experience having a degree in English and great personality. By using TimeTec Hire, an admin or a recruitment personnel can set these requirements as mandatory e.g. 2 years writing experience, a degree in English, and etc, and when resumes started coming in, these requirements will be compared against the resumes and the system will shortlist a few candidates to go through the next process such as a quiz with a string of relevant questionnaires. Successful candidates of the quiz will then proceed to the interview session, where interviewers will have to fill up the interview score card set in the system for the system to average out the result.

There are plenty of benefits for company to use TimeTec Hire. The obvious ones are time saving, reduce demand on valuable resources, and everybody involved in the process will be kept on their toes on progress and update of recruitment process. Apart from that, automation of recruitment using the likes of TimeTec Hire will eliminate bias that is quite apparent in many organizations because naturally, most people want to do a favor to other people, hence, ‘cheating’ in the recruiting process by selecting candidates dear to the recruiter. TimeTec Hire as well simplifies the onboarding process because when the data are available, the data can be transferred into the HR system such as TimeTec Profile to be further completed with other necessary information. Having your own recruitment solution gives the control back to you, and provide you with comfort knowing that no prospective candidates escape your attention. And one other thing, after all is done, the data are kept organized, secured and easily accessible even after a few months, and this alone is a relief to many HR personnel who are in charge of filing and documentations.




Workforce Analysis Capability
Besides recruitment solution, today’s companies also need other workforce solutions to streamline processes and it is imperative that the 21st century solutions provide more than automation to the HR. Good solutions must not only be of convenience to the admin and users at large, they also must be able to provide analysis on the organization’s workforce, such as work performance analysis, predict employee flight risk, overview of employees Key Performance Indicator (KPI), discipline indicators and etc. The advantages of a cloud-based system is data accessibility. However, data are just numbers and information, and without analysis or interpretation, nothing much can be derived from any solutions. At the one hand, HR can draw their own conclusions from their observations. However, the accuracy of those conclusions could be questionable. On the other hand, by having a system such as TimeTec TA, the cloud-based time and attendance solution that collects attendance/clocking data based on the schedule/roster set by the admin at their disposal. HR can analyze employees’ work rates percentages, identify problematic areas, plan for remedial actions to improve the workforce’s discipline and eventually, productivity, all using reliable and accurate data collected from their employees overtime. In short by HR tapping on an awesome workforce tool like TimeTec TA, they have access to analysis charts to provide an overview of the whole organization down to the selected individuals.



Mobile Technology is Not Optional Anymore
Another technology that HR needs to pay attention to is mobile technology. Smartphone usage is  no longer about calling someone dan texting them. It has evolved to include more useful functions such as e-wallet, banking activities, health and fitness, smart community, music and more. Some useful features that smartphones offer are real time, GPS whereabouts, photos, instant notification and instant updates. Therefore, developers are exploiting those features to offer cool Apps for work and leisure alike. One such App that puts the cool smartphone features to use is TimeTec Leave, the cloud-based leave management system by TimeTec. The App lets employees apply their leave via smartphone and at the same time, the boss or superior will receive the application instantly for review and approval. The employees can also view their leave information such as leave allowances, leave types, leave balances, leave calendar, leave policy and much more from the App. The employer on the hand can derive the leave data for analysis and find areas for improvement to increase employee’s engagement. The mobile technology is part of the digital revolution, and not only a solution like TimeTec Leave is using it, TimeTec TA offers various clocking methods via the App for convenience amongst other useful features offered to consumers. Therefore, HR needs to open up to smartphone Application usage to create better working process and better results for the company. 


As a conclusion, in moving forward HR has to embrace comprehensive and transparent systems that not only able to analyze but also evaluate data and information, while at the same time offering platforms that are inclusive all employees’ views and feedback. The digital era closes the gap between HR and employees more than ever by presenting various options and channels of communication to utilize. The only thing HR professionals need to do is to imagine new ways of delivering HR services to its organization and deploy the technologies available to their advantage.

TimeTec Hire Beta version will be available in July, so head on to www.timetechire.com to try!
attendance on cloud

FingerTec Software Makes Way for the Superior Cloud Software. 10 Reasons Why You Should Elevate to Cloud, Now!




FingerTec biometrics are bundled with Windows-based software, be it TCMS V3/TCMS V2 for time attendance, or Ingress for door access. For the most part, the Windows-based software is able to fulfill the majority of our worldwide customers requirements. However, there are circumstances whereby the business requires more from a solution and this is where the cloud software like TimeTec steps up. 

Growing Business Needs Scalable Solutions
When the business thrives, the staff count multiplies and the management of employees become more complex for a Windows-based system to handle. Quantity-wise, Windows-based software has its own limitation, for example in Ingress when one customer connects 150 units in a system, real time monitoring is no longer an option and eventually the customer is forced to invest more on servers. The problem worsens particularly when the company has branches in multiple locations, mobile workforce and flexible working hours. With TimeTec TA, not only that it can handle unlimited FingerTec terminal connection regardless of the locations, it also can connect to the mobile App that can capture attendance through other ways apart from biometrics, such as GPS, NFC, Beacon and Wifi. TimeTec TA promotes efficiency with cloud technology.

Data is King
Data is an asset to any organization and people are talking about its importance now, more than ever. While Windows-based software such as TCMS V3 and Ingress contains important data, TimeTec cloud solution offers that and a whole lot more. TimeTec provides huge data storage without having to spend a large amount of money, and there is no limitations set on the number of connected biometrics terminals to connect to TimeTec. Data in TimeTec is accessible and available at all times on web and app for convenience.

Constant Update
How many times do you have to wait for your software to finish updating? Updating on Windows-based software stops you from using the system and worse, you need to repeat the process in every computer. Software update for Windows-based usually take months to be developed, so if there’s any bug or problem, you’d have to wait for the fix in the next few months release. Cloud solution like TimeTec updates automatically, regularly and quick so the next time you log into the system, you can see the changes and updates; time saving and efficient. 

Maintenance Free
The common rule when using any software is to perform housekeeping and maintenance by removing or archiving old data. The process is tedious and requires a dedicated personnel to perform this regularly. Software that hasn’t been maintained well will lag and prone to crash. That’s not the case with TimeTec cloud solutions. At TimeTec, the maintenance of servers and database are taken care of at all times. Users will be informed on scheduled maintenance date and time, and the down time will be very minimal to avoid any disruption to its users.

Better Server Performance
The capacity of a server in a Windows-based software depends on the PC, and for a PC to act as a server, a user needs to have a high spec PC; which will be very costly. Even then, there’s still limitation on the memory (RAM) which will reduce the speed of the software, server maintenance and so on. TimeTec solutions runs on the highly reliable and well known Amazon server, which is robust, stable and secure. Its huge storage and server facilities provides smooth and better user experience as a whole. Data in the server is also backed up regularly, keeping all data safe and sound.

Access from Anywhere
Windows-based software is not designed to work with Internet or with different devices such as mobile phone. Connection for Windows-based software is limited and cannot be used for companies with multiple branches from different countries. As TimeTec solutions are cloud based systems, users can access the solutions from anywhere, anytime from a place with  Internet connection. TimeTec mobile apps are also available for user to clock and view their attendance, leave information and more.

Shorter Implementation Time
As accessibility for Windows-based software is limited, implementation time for a new system would take much longer time than on cloud. On premise system requires the same implementation to be done at multiple locations, so you have to repeat the setup process every time. With cloud services like TimeTec TA, you can setup for multiple branches a lot more quicker as the setup is shared and will reflect at all branches. Admin also can make changes and it will reflect to all branches within seconds.

Data Centralization
Often times organizations face challenges when they have multiple branches in different locations. One of the challenges is data centralization. Admin from different branches need to compile and send information regularly just to update their HQ. TimeTec cloud solution eliminates this process as all data from the company will be in the same account and viewable at any time. Analysis and workforce overview are also available in TimeTec to provide a clear overview of the company’s workforce status.

Better User Experience
FingerTec Windows-based softwares are designed for Admin view only; where the main objective is for Admin to process attendance data or control access devices. Normal employees have no access whatsoever to the system and can only wait for the Admin to confirm on their data. On the contrary, TimeTec cloud solution provides a platform where both Admin and employees can view, edit and approve data, allowing a two-way communication for a more transparent system. In addition, TimeTec solution is complemented with mobile app where the process of view, edit, apply and approve can be done straight from a smartphone.

Mobile Friendly
Let’s admit it, mobile phone has become a necessity in our everyday life. That’s why TimeTec solutions offers mobile apps that compliment and complete the solutions. Users can clock their attendance, view schedule, request for OT approval and more directly from TimeTec mobile apps. This is not possible if you are using Windows-based software. Receive notifications, monitor attendance and overview of attendance in real time, straight from your mobile phone when you use TimeTec cloud solutions.

Cloud is the future. Many organizations have moved to cloud and benefit from the system. If you are still have doubts about cloud, we offer 30-day FREE trial at www.timetecta.com so you can give it a try!

Free Consultation, contact info@timeteccloud.com and we’ll be right there with you.
attendance on cloud

Let’s Explore Cloud Attendance, It’s Your Obvious Choice!



Attendance clocking for workers has been around for decades; the difference is the way data is collected; the objective remains to trace the time an employee works for a company. The time data is significant for a business entity not only for payroll purposes but also more importantly for the company to comply with the labor law. Punch clock, RFID card, and barcode are some of the most commonly used clocking methods and now cloud attendance is the future. Having similar objective with the rest of the time attendance solutions, we present you 7 key factors why cloud attendance should be your business obvious choice today!

 1. Data Available When You Need It
Some cynics would argue that cloud solution is not new; it’s not something to get excited about anymore, yaddi yaddi yadda. Yes, it’s true that cloud is no longer a novelty solution. However, cloud solutions provide convenience that no Windows or other conventional solutions could ever offer. Data centralization is key to efficiency today; you want the data to be available when you open your laptop and when you access your smartphone, and cloud attendance like TimeTec TA definitely gives you that and even more. 

 2. Clocks At Your Disposal
Today’s world is so mobile, one can be at home working and one can also be away from the office and working; the office is not the ultimate workspace anymore. Cloud attendance like TimeTec TA caters to staff mobility with various easy clocking options provided on your mobile phone app, from GPS to NFC and Beacon clocking.  And for the stationary personnel at the office, biometrics and pc clocking are available to link to TimeTec TA too. 

 3. One Solution Fits All
As your organization expands and downscales, your organizational needs change. Cloud attendance such as TimeTec TA caters to that with its scalable offerings. Subscribe only what you need and add more as you grow and vice versa. And the absence of hardware and infrastructure investment in cloud solution makes it easier for your business to make decision. 

 4. Transparency is the Best Policy
Access to data in many companies has always been one sided where only the company has access to your information. Cloud attendance provides you with your own data and your immediate staff’s data to enable you to oversee the overall performance, to rectify and remedy wherever necessary. The accessibility to one own’s data strengthens staff’s morale and boosts accountability. 

 5. Data Lost No More
Utilizing cloud attendance like TimeTec TA, data lost is a myth. For TimeTec TA, data is backed up securely in at least two servers, guaranteeing data availability at all times and data retrieval is easy, providing convenience at its best.  

 6. Saves Time & Money
Unlike the conventional system where you have to tabulate attendance data, do configurations through different PCs without guidance and support, Cloud Attendance made it easy by centralized configurations and settings, applicable to many branches. Data tabulation and analysis can also be easily obtained through this online solution. 

 7. Say Goodbye to Carbon Footprints
Cloud attendance like TimeTec TA is good for the environment. Providing flexibility in clocking methods, staffs do not need to travel back and forth to the office space to clock out, as he or she can do it from a mobile phone and the company still receives genuine attendance data. Cloud attendance also lessens the use of paper and pen because everything is handled electronically. 

 Open an account with TimeTec TA, get your 10 user licenses free for life, and experience the convenience of Cloud Attendance. Click www.timetecta.com for more information. TimeTec TA App is provided for free with free licenses and subscription. 
Android

4 Ways Cloud has Changed Data Analysis


What are the components necessary to carry out data analysis? Usually, this includes a suitable data collection process, the architecture, and infrastructure in place, access to data, transformation, techniques and models for analysis and finally the interpretation of results.
Add in the Cloud element and the process is similar to what is commonly practiced, with exception to differences in the method of data generation, storage, and access. Information can be collected on a larger scale and centralized more conveniently because of the scalability and broad network access feature when using cloud infrastructure.
Data is also now remotely hosted but the access is ubiquitous. Applications and services operating on a cloud platform can be accessed worldwide by users on connected computers and smartphones.
In TimeTec TA, essentially what we offer is a system that captures, stores and processes the data of working hours for employees using cloud technology. With cloud, the data is simply generated through more methods, capable of incorporating the interaction from many computer browsers and mobile devices.
So, how does cloud change data analysis for the better? 
Better Access
When we use the cloud software such as TimeTec TA for time and attendance, it leads to better data accessibility as the privilege of access can now be offered to all employees based on company policies and role settings. Each staff can access their own attendance records in real time and request for amendments where necessary. This gives them the chance to manage their own time and fosters responsibility for their own performance.
Using system role, direct supervisors who work with employees on a day to day basis is given the tool to effectively manage people in their own team. Information sharing becomes straightforward and aligned with operational needs and personnel responsibilities.
By giving access to relevant information within limits, these people can also analyze patterns in the working hours and spot inconsistencies or non-compliance instead of leaving it all in the hands of the Human Resource Manager or Administrative staff.
Better Response Time
Over here at TimeTec, we are constantly working on making improvements and product enhancements to deliver the best possible user experience to customers. To achieve that, we need to understand our users’ needs, and naturally, this entails gathering information and customer feedback before making changes. We also established a mechanism such as ‘Request Form’ for users to directly share their thoughts or submit features request within the software.
Due to the nature of a cloud-based system, performing clear analysis in this step is even more crucial as the eventual solution when it goes live; as it is immediately and simultaneously available to all users. However, the upside is that this becomes an opportunity for us to achieve a better response time for our customers.   
More Data to Support Decision-Making
Data analysis these days can be done on many levels, be it basic and rudimentary or done through business intelligence applications with highly tailored dashboards or even using the latest processing engines on very huge datasets. Whichever way used, the purpose is to get meaningful insights and preclude bias in supporting decision making.
As mentioned above, due to the connected and elastic nature of cloud, data can be collected on a larger scale and from more sources such as from devices or sensors. Generally, being able to gather more information is better so as to give us a more complete and well-rounded picture of things. However, this also presents new opportunities and challenges in terms of using complementary data sources, integrating them and choosing the best analysis techniques and ways to interpret data. We wouldn’t want to be making flawed interpretations and bad decisions based on the data.
Data Analytics Cloud
To go a step further, with some of the analysis software moving to cloud drives, information and analysis results are becoming even more accessible in organizations. For instance, Time Warner Cable’s B to B Sales Division use the Salesforce Cloud for analytics and forecasting. Amazon also has recently launched their Kinesis Analytics, a new service for its AWS cloud platform allowing developers to analyze data being streamed to their servers in real time.
Cloud technology has indeed changed the way we collect, store, analyze and share data in the workplace today.  And I reckon that cloud has made its way into the world we live in and it’s here to stay.


Ms Lai Yuen Kuan is a Monash University Graduate in Business and Commerce, majoring in Accounting & Finance. She worked at KPMG Malaysia as an Auditor for 5 years and now serving TimeTec as a Data Analyst.

attendance on cloud
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)