Barracuda Consulting, LLC

Written By: Jacquelyn Annete García Vadnais With Serbia’s upcoming application to the European Union in 2020, it has become a hot spot for real estate investors to consider. Aside from soon prospectively joining the European Union, Serbia has many potential areas where real estate investors stand to make substantial gains. One particular city in Serbia that is already gaining traction with real estate investment is the capital city of Belgrade. In order to understand more about why Belgrade, Serbia is a wise locale to invest in real estate, it is recommended to learn a little bit about the history, legal policies for investors, and the current economic and real estate environment in Belgrade. Background of Belgrade, Serbia Serbia has a distinct history that dates back to the 6th and 7th centuries when the Serbs first arrived in the Balkans. When the Serbs first settled in the Balkans until now, they have formed a border that connects the East and West. The Ottoman Empire came ...

Written By: Kelly Buckman What do you think of when you hear the term ‘Virtual Reality’? Do you think of the next big thing in the world of gaming? Or maybe a way of relaxing and tuning out the hectic world of the 21st century? Beyond recreational use, perhaps you’re aware that VR is used by NASA scientists to simulate a walk on Mars to prepare astronauts for a possible landing, and by educators to educate parents and teachers about distracted driving and enhance cognitive learning. In fact, the market for Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) is projected to reach $160 billion by 2020. * There is one use in particular for VR that has shown a lot of promise in recent years, namely, enhancing patient healthcare. In fact, the healthcare industry is finding virtual reality to be an effective tool for not only diagnostics, but also for treating patients, medical training, and patient education. Diagnostics and Prevention VR simulations use diagnostic images from CAT scans...

Written By: Jacquelyn Annete García Vadnais I n recent years, there has been a trend for investors to build extensive real estate portfolios around the globe. As more popular markets became oversaturated and too expensive for extensive real estate investment, real estate investors have targeted emerging markets as a viable real estate investment that has significant short-term benefits and long-term investment gains. In terms of investment prospects, it is wise to look at the entire picture when considering whether a respective property and/or market are the ideal fit for your real estate investment portfolio. One global market that has been experiencing a great deal of interest is Moldova. Particularly, Chisinau, Moldova is becoming a hot spot for real estate investors looking for significant returns. To learn more about why Chisinau, Moldova may potentially be the ideal fit for your next real estate investment, consider the information below.  Background of Chisinau, Moldo...

Written By: Kelly Buckman As we’ve seen time and again, many of the latest trends in Healthcare technology today come from the business sector, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data, to name just a few. So, it comes as no surprise that one of the newest up and coming advances in Healthcare IT involves a way of structuring data that has its roots in the digital currency market. Best known for being the public ledger for all transactions in the Bitcoin (cryptocurrency) network, blockchain is a “distributed and a write-once-read only record of digital events in a chronological order that is shared in a peer-to-peer network”. [Bitcoin or cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security, making it difficult to counterfeit. It is not issued by any central authority and is immune to government interference or manipulation.] Because it is a data structure that can be time-stamped and signed using a private key ...

Written By: Kelly Buckman By now, we’re all familiar with fitness trackers and their value in helping us meet our goals of getting and staying healthy. In fact, the number of connected wearable devices is expected to climb from an estimated 325 million in 2016 to over 830 million in 2020. That’s an increase of nearly 40% for a device that is primarily used to help people get and stay healthy. * It stands to reason that this technology would be adopted by hospitals and healthcare providers to improve the quality of care, although the ramifications of such usage are far reaching. One example of beneficial use of wearable technology is tracking bracelets worn by doctors, nurses, and patients that can help capture data on the amount of time a patient spent in the waiting room, or the time a doctor spent in front of a computer. The data collected can then be used to improve patient workflows or reduce wait time, which can lead to a direct cost reduction per payment. Sharp Chula Vista Medica...

Written By: Kelly Buckman Most of us in the healthcare IT field are familiar with the concept of Artificial Intelligence, or AI. AI attempts to harness the ability of computers and machines learn and perform tasks in order to automate and increase the efficiency of business processes. AI can be grouped into three separate areas of study: deep learning, machine intelligence, and machine learning. Here I will focus on the last of these, machine learning. Machine Learning automates the analysis of data and inputs to develop computing models needed to operate an automated computer, software program or process, thus eliminating the need to do this manually, saving time, energy, and resources. Sounds great, right? It’s easy to embrace this technology as the way of the future, a means of achieving more efficient operations. However, it’s important to understand the limitations and risks associated with this technology. -Machine Learning is susceptible to errors and when errors do occur, it c...

Written by: Kelly Buckman Most of us are familiar with this common scenario: An individual or a company employee is working in an application on their pc when a menacing message appears advising them that their computer has been locked and that they will have to pay a fee to regain access. It’s called ‘ransomware’, a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until an amount of money or ‘ransom’ is paid. Ransomware attacks are carried out through a technique known as crypto viral extortion, in which the victim’s files are encrypted, making them inaccessible until a ransom is paid to decrypt them. Since 2012, the prevalence of ransomware scams has grown globally. One example of ransomware, crypto locker was especially successful, extorting an estimated $3 million before it was removed by authorities. Another, Crypto Wall, was estimated by the FBI to have accrued over $18 million by June of 2015 (per Wikipedia). Pretty scary stuff for both the individual co...