The latter half of 2020 saw one of the biggest marketing face-offs of the new generation go ahead. Sony (PlayStation 5) and Microsoft (Xbox Series X/S) have been pulling out all the stops in their quest to win the hearts and wallets of gamers around the world.
Now that the first estimated reports of who outsold who are emerging, let’s look back at who won the console wars this time around.
PlayStation 5
Speaking in broad terms, Sony’s current focus is on developing large-scale, blockbuster, single-player experiences such as God of War, The Last of Us, Horizon, Bloodborne, and many others. PS5 exclusives such as Returnal (which critics are already hailing as one of the best roguelike games ever made) or Deathloop are all but guaranteed to be financial and critical successes, based on the recent reputation of Sony Interactive Studios, and it seems that players around the world have latched onto this.
Sony’s focus on the single-player experience led to two factors that they’re currently eclipsing Microsoft under: the enhancements to their next-gen controllers, and accessibility.
The PS5’s DualSense controller features incredible pieces of new technology such as improved vibration, adaptive triggers, and long battery life. And the Xbox Series X? Well the batteries last slightly longer, I guess.
Games developed under the Sony Interactive Studios banner have also been the most-hailed titles from the disabled gaming community in recent times. Games such as The Last of Us Part 2 or the upcoming Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart have been unilaterally praised for their accessibility options, providing in-depth customisations for players with motor disabilities, hearing loss, and eyesight issues alike.
With these features in mind, it’s no wonder that many gamers are attempting to pick up the PS5 in preparation for some of 2021’s best upcoming games, such as Battlefield 6, God of War 5, Diablo 4, and countless others.
So, did it work? Well it’s almost impossible to buy a PS5 in Australia as of May 2021, and the console has outsold Xbox’s equivalent by a factor of two according to some reports. However, are PlayStation playing a long game that can rival Microsoft’s?
Xbox Series X/S
Counter to Sony’s strategy, Microsoft have released two next-gen consoles; the highly-specced Xbox Series X and the less powerful Xbox Series S, which retails for a more accessible price.
At the current moment, Xbox’s primary marketing strategy seems to be slightly more future-focused than Sony’s. Microsoft are wearing the Xbox Game Pass – a subscription service similar to Netflix that allows broad access to a large library of games – on their sleeve.
Game Pass has a unique position in the current console market, as it allows players on either an Xbox or PC to access these games. Xbox exclusives are no longer console exclusives – they’re now more broadly available to the huge PC market.
To push for Game Pass subscriber numbers, Microsoft has been aggressively enveloping some of the world’s biggest games publishers – the most notable of these being Bethesda, which Microsoft acquired for $7.5 billion. Bethesda is a studio with some of the industry’s best-selling franchises under its belt, and the assumption is that when they bring out new games, they will now be exclusive to Xbox and PC, perhaps even available on day one via Game Pass.
One other object of note is Microsoft’s lean towards backwards compatibility – the ability to play older games on your next-gen console. In this area, they have Sony beat. While Sony is slowing rolling out free PS5 upgrades for PS4 games, Xbox players are already enjoying the next-gen benefits on a huge amount of classic games thanks to Smart Delivery.
And finally, though these will likely be stamped out, consumers seem to be troubleshooting more Xbox Series X/S issues on a technical front. Never a great look.
Decisions, decisions…
While many consumers have already picked a side – and that side largely seems to be with the PS5 – Microsoft are certainly running with some strategies that could mark longer term success.
The console wars happen once in a generation, but they also last a generation. We’ll be eagerly watching, and playing, as each mega-company continues to try and outplay the other. Or maybe we’ll lose interest as soon as The Sims 5 comes out.
Magento 2 Multi-vendor Marketplace Moduleoffers sellers a board to list and deals with their inventories. The store owner needs to buy the Magento 2 Marketplace Plugin and move the module to the backend of the store. Once the store owner installs and configures the Magento 2 Marketplace Module, the sellers without a very remarkable stretch register from the front end of the store. Sellers can offer their things to the tremendous horde of Marketplace and appropriately get an extraordinary arrangement. While as the store admin can charge a worldwide or individual commission to sellers and can earn a huge profit by selling goods of third-party sellers. Customers get various sellers on one platform which saves customers time and tries.
Top Features of Magento 2 Multi-seller Marketplace module by Knowband
Magento 2 Marketplace Module offers a direct and simple installation. Specialized Knowledge of the store admin isn’t required to configure the Magento 2 Marketplace Plugin.
Magento 2 Multi-Vendor Marketplace Plugin offers the administrator the permission to manage the summary of merchants at the Marketplace. The vendor account request is sent off to the Marketplace admin for approval. At the point when the Store owner acknowledges the requests, the third-party merchant can list its things.
Magento 2 Multi-Seller Marketplace module permits sellers to successfully submit their goods from the front end of the store. Customers need to check an extra checkbox to enlist their account.
Sellers can add their goods/ services from the front end of the store. If the product is approved at the backend by the store admin, the item will be accessible at the front end of the store.
Orders received at the Multi-Vendor Marketplace gets recorded in the Order tab in the backend. Marketplace Admin updates the order status from the backend of the Magento 2 Multi-Seller Marketplace module.
Sellers will get an update about various activities at the Marketplace through Email Notifications. Store admin can modify the email formats offered by Magento 2 Marketplace module at his Convenience.
To know further about the Magento 2 Multi-Vendor Marketplace Plugin by Knowband, go ahead and get in touch with us at [email protected]
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a massive shift in the way we work. With social distancing and frequent lockdowns to contend with, a large portion of the global workforce is operating from home. In the US, 58 percent are working remotely from home,[i] a clear reflection of the distributed nature of work that will dominate the future. Fortunately, most enterprises and other systems today can go virtual. Distance doesn’t matter. The Tour de Suisse, a bicycle race, has gone virtual with shades of Mixed Reality (MR)[ii]–and if that doesn’t surprise you, heavy-duty mining equipment in Australia has been operated by experts sitting 1,500 km away, in the safety of their offices, for a few years now.[iii] The mining teams can just as easily do this sitting at a desk at home. If such a vast variety of roles and operations can go remote/ virtual, why should Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) be any different?
PLM has already helped organizations cut down costs and has enabled the faster creation of innovative products. Now, as COVID-19 wreaks havoc across the globe, PLM can rise to the rescue of organizations operating in industries such as Manufacturing, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Retail, Life Sciences, etc. PLM applications are more critical today than ever before because they can help businesses rapidly adjust their production lines to meet changing customer needs.
The problem is that PLM has its roots in manufacturing with a closed set of users. The challenge is twofold: one, to extend PLM so it goes beyond the engineering team and becomes available for collaboration with other functions like manufacturing, quality, procurement, services, sales and marketing, and the leadership as well; two, PLM was designed to manage product lifecycle integrating with upstream CAD and downstream ERP systems, however today it needs to integrate with new technologies like Mobility, Advance Analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), Automation/ RPA, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Additive Manufacturing, etc.
Industries, where PLM implementation is mature, can easily make the necessary changes—this means an industry like Automotive and Transportation where 23.8% have adopted PLM or Industrial Equipment where 20.2% have adopted PLM can be first movers and lead the way.iv Forecasts suggest that industries such as Life Science, Consumer Goods, and Retail will increase adoption, with PLM growing at the highest CAGR of around 8% across these industries. v These industries too should adjust their PLM strategies to become future-ready. With technology partners, who are well versed in PLM implementations, this is not difficult to achieve.
A well-known business specializing in performance running shoes and athletic wear, based in Seattle, makes a good example of how even mid-sized companies can update their PLM quickly so they can continue to respect the health guidelines and social distancing norms imposed by COVID-19. The organization’s complex processes require designers to work with new materials and for teams to test these designs before they go for production. To do this, the organizations have incorporated 3D design and modeling into their PLM processes. Its designers use high-resolution images of materials to create new products, cutting down on the need for sample requirements.vi Their real-time data platform and modern UIs, integrated with PLM, are at the core of better collaboration between teams that manage schedules, plans, sourcing, design, testing, and design approvals for productions. Step-by-step they have overcome the limitations imposed by COVID-19. Now, they even have role-based applications to extend the ability of their PLM. These apps cater to the needs of individual users, improving collaboration, productivity, and agility
Improving productivity, efficiency, and business agility by extending PLM with roles-based applications
Mobility Apps
Automation Apps
Process Apps
Reporting Apps
Tracker Apps
Provides flexibility to work from anywhere, over any device. Users can capture images and share them across functions
Replaces repetitive tasks with RPA to provide 20 to 25% faster resolution for service requests
Creates end-to-end business processes to improve turnaround time
Provides end-to-end visibility and facilitates faster and more accurate decision-making by leveraging analytics
Enables status updates, helps identify bottlenecks, and reduces delays by 15 to 20%
The strategy is easily replicable. The bigger challenge before organizations is to ensure that while these changes are being made and the ability of PLM is extended, it keeps the future firmly as a guidepost. The investments being made today must stay relevant to the business needs two to three years into the future. Businesses that do this will thrive in the long term.
“Time is money.” is one of most commonly used phrases of all time.
The current generation has proved time is equally valuable as money. It can’t be denied that recruitment is a tiresome job. The challenges faced in the recruitment process have elevated as a consequence of the pandemic and sudden lockdown. The change pushed recruiters to opt for virtual interviews rather than face to face. The current situation indicates that the new normal way to recruit is here to stay. An automated recruitment management system is meant to decrease the workload of the human resource management team.
Let’s delve into the features of recruitment management software that saves time of human resource management team:
Recruitment process
One of the basic features of recruitment software is the recruitment management process. Hiring an employee begins with creating a vacancy and evaluating the budget for the created vacancy. This web based application assists the HR in framing job description, pre-screening of the applications, assigning tests to the selected candidates via bulk email, creating job offers , etc. this features smoothens the process of recruitment by decreasing the workload of the HR. It helps to schedule interviews and keeps the applicants updated with the status of the recruitment.
Posting on outsourcing platform
Posting the availability of jobs is a crucial task. Recruitment software allows the HR to post job applications on various sourcing platforms such as naukri.com monster jobs, etc. An HR can advertise the availability of jobs on various other social media platforms. It is essential to maintain an active profile until the organization has scaled down the eligible candidate. As an inactive profile might decline the number of applications. The application notifies the HR of the status of the post on these platforms and even notifies to update the profile once the applicant is selected. Premium job- postings , industry specific job posting are few of the activities automated by the recruitment management software.
ATS
ATS, abbreviated for application tracking system, has a pivotal role to play in the recruitment process. Once the job opening is posted online applications start pouring in. The recruitment software is designed to pre screen the application in accordance with the required qualifications. It filters the application based on the job description and notifies the HR of the eligible candidates. The HR can track these applications and communicate for further rounds of interviews. It notifies the candidates of the further rounds and if the candidate has qualified for the second round.
Onboarding
Once the candidate is selected begins the onboarding procedure. The selected candidate receives an offer letter describing the responsibilities and the ctc amount that will be offered. Earlier the candidate has to visit the office and submit hardcopies of the documents for verification purposes. With the pandemic and the new normal the candidate is now provided with the credentials generated by the IT team. The candidate can upload the required document on recruitment software. It minimizes the risk of error and acknowledges the new joinee’s understanding of the policies of the organization
Management of data
A newly hired employee submits documents including personal information, bank account details, medical informations, etc. it is essential to store these data on a secured platform. Web based application provides a secure centralized platform to store data decreasing huge loads of files and spreadsheets. This feature even stores the application and allows the candidates to track the status of the resume logging in using the credentials provided by the IT team. Features such as candidate login, resume upload, resume extractor automates the whole procedure recruitment within a few clicks.
The motto of AI is to save time. These features automate a major portion of the task leaving time to strategically plan for future steps for betterment of the organization. Recruitment teams can plan for scaling tests and frame assessments to opt for the most potential candidates for the available vacancy.