Hadoop Buyer's Guide - Part 2

Continuation from part 1 >>> Click Here...

... 4 Critical Consideration for RFP ...

1. Performance and Scalability
In its earliest days, Hadoop was primarily used to crawl and index the Web, which was less sensitive from that standpoint than many current use cases. Today, growing numbers of Hadoop projects are being tasked with delivering actionable results in real-time, or near real-time. Not surprisingly, the definition of Hadoop’s performance has evolved in lockstep: in the earliest days, fast throughput was the primary metric; now, it includes low latency. This recent emphasis on low latency places intense focus on two major attributes of any Hadoop platform:

• Its raw performance. This refers to everything from how quickly it ingests information and whether this data is immediately available for analysis, to its latency for real-time applications and MapReduce speeds.
• Its ability to scale. This describes how easily it can expand in all relevant dimensions, such as number of nodes, tables, files, and so on. Additionally, this shouldn’t impose heavy administrative burdens, any changes to application logic, or excessive costs.

This section explores a number of capabilities that are directly related to how well your Hadoop implementation will be able to perform — and scale.

#architectural foundations for performance and scalability
For specific features that should be present in your Hadoop environment, have a look at Table 1, which itemizes a number of critical architecture preconditions that can have a positive impact on performance and scalability.

#streaming writes
Given that Hadoop typically is meant to work with massive amounts of information, the job of loading and unloading data must be as efficient as possible. Yet many Hadoop distributions require complex and cumbersome batch or semi-streaming processes using technologies such as Flume and Scribe. To make things worse, these deep-seated inefficiencies are magnified when data volumes are in the gigabytes to terabytes and beyond.

A better technique is for your Hadoop implementation to expose a standard fileninterface that lets your applications access the Hadoop cluster as if it was traditional Network Attached Storage (NAS). Application servers are then able to directly write information into the Hadoop cluster, as opposed to first staging it on local disks. Data bound for Hadoop can also be automatically compressed on the fly as it arrives, and it’s immediately available for random read and write access by applications through multiple parallel, concurrent connections. These immediate interactions permit the real-time Hadoop-based decision-making described earlier.

Consider an online gaming company that’s relying on Hadoop to track millions of users and billions of events. There are very short windows of opportunity to introduce virtual goods to players, because these users tend to come and go very quickly. Fortunately, real-time or near real-time analysis on streaming data helps increase revenue by making it possible to offer timely suggestions. Although projects like Apache Drill are meant to facilitate rapid decision-making, this isn’t possible unless the raw data itself arrives in the Hadoop cluster as speedily as possible.

#scalability
IT organizations eager to capitalize on Hadoop are often faced with a conundrum: either acquire more hardware and other resources than will ever be necessary and thus wastefully expend scarce funds and administrator time, or try to squeeze as much as possible from a relatively limited set of computing assets and potentially miss out on fully capitalizing on their Big Data.

A scalable Hadoop platform can help balance these choices and thus make it easier to meet user needs while staying on budget.

Recall from earlier that a given Hadoop instance’s scalability isn’t measured on a single scale. Instead, you should take several factors into consideration:

• Files. Hadoop’s default architecture consists of a single NameNode. This constrains Hadoop clusters to a (relatively) paltry 100 million to 150 million files, a number that’s also impacted by the amount of memory available for file metadata. And in small clusters, ceilings on the number of blocks on each data node further constrain the number of available files. Look for a Hadoop platform that avoids the single NameNode bottleneck and has distributed metadata architecture, and can thus scale to billions ― or even trillions ― of files and tables.
• Number of nodes. Another dimension of scale is the number of physical nodes. Depending on the processing or data storage requirements your selected Hadoop implementation might need to scale to 1,000 nodes and beyond.
• Node capacity/density. In addition, for storage intensive use cases you need to scale through nodes with higher disk densities. This serves to reduce the overall number of nodes required to store a given volume of data.

#real-time nosql
More enterprises than ever are relying on NoSQL-based solutions to drive critical business operations. The only way for these new applications to achieve the reliability and adoption of RDBMS-based solutions is for them to conform to the same types of rigorous SLAs that IT expects from applications built on relational databases. For example, NoSQL solutions with wildly fluctuating response times would not be candidate solutions for core business operations that require consistent low latency.

Apache HBase is a key-value based NoSQL database solution that is built on top of Hadoop. It provides storage and real-time analytics for Big Data with the added advantage of MapReduce operations using Hadoop. About 30-40% of Hadoop installs today are estimated to be using HBase. Despite its advantage of integrating with Hadoop, HBase has not reached its true adoption potential because of several limitations in its performance and dependability.

Fortunately, there are a number of innovations that can transform HBase applications to meet the stringent needs for most online applications and analytics. These include:

• Reducing the overall number of layers
• Eliminating the need for Java garbage collection
• Eliminating the need for manually pre-splitting tables
• Distributing metadata across the cluster, rather than on a single NameNode
• Avoiding compactions and the related I/O storms that these trigger

2. Dependability
You can expect Hadoop to be subject to the same dependability expectations as every other type of enterprise software system. You can also anticipate that the same IT administrators who are caring for the rest of your IT assets will also manage your Hadoop implementations.

To reduce the overall burden on users and administrators alike, the most successful Hadoop infrastructure will be capable of coping with the inevitable problems encountered by all production systems. Many of these reactions should be automated to further enhance dependability. This section reviews several traits of Hadoop platforms that have been architected to thrive in the most stressful
environments.

#architectural foundations for dependability
Table 2 depicts several foundational principles that help increase the dependability of your Hadoop implementation.

#high availability
High availability (HA) refers to the propensity of a Hadoop system to continue to service users even when confronted with the inevitable hardware, network, and other issues that are characteristic to distributed computing environments of this size and complexity.

To deliver the availability that you’ll need for mission-critical production applications, your Hadoop environment should incorporate each of these HA capabilities:

• HA is built-in. First and foremost, it shouldn’t be necessary to perform any special steps to take advantage of HA; instead, it should be default behavior for the platform itself.
• Meta data. A single NameNode that contains all meta data for the cluster represents a single point of failure and an exposure for HA. A solution that distributes the meta data coupled with failover has HA advantages and as an added benefit, there’s no practical limit on the number of files that be supported.
• MapReduce HA. One important aspect of HA is how MapReduce jobs are impacted by failures. A failure in a job or task tracker can impact the ability to meet SLAs. Determine whether MapReduce HA includes automated failover and the ability to continue with no manual restart steps.
• NFS HA. This offers high throughput and resilience for NFS-based data ingestion and access.
• Recovery time from multiple failures. One of the areas of differentiation across Hadoop distributions is the time and process it takes to recover files in case of a hardware, user or application error, including the ability to recover from multiple failures. How soon are files and tables accessible after a node failure or cluster restart? Seconds? Minutes? Longer?
• Rolling upgrades. As Hadoop and its complementary technologies evolve, you should be able to upgrade your implementation without needing to incur any downtime.

#data protection
For growing numbers of organizations, Hadoop is driving crucial business decisions that directly impact the bottom line. This is placing heightened emphasis on safeguarding the data that Hadoop processes. Fortunately, well-proven techniques such as replication and snapshots have long been fundamental building blocks for protecting relational data, and they each have a role to play in shielding Hadoop’s information as well.

• Replication. This helps defend Hadoop’s data from the periodic failures you can expect when conducting distributed processing of huge amounts of data on commodity hardware. Your chosen platform should automatically replicate ― at least 3X ― Hadoop’s file chunks, table regions, and metadata, with at least one replica sent to a different rack.
• Snapshots. By offering point-in-time recovery without data duplication, Hadoop Snapshots provide additional insurance from user and application errors. If possible, your Hadoop platform’s capabilities should permit snapshots to share the same storage as live information, all without having impact on performance or scalability. You should also be able to read files and tables directly from a snapshot. Snapshots go beyond mere data protection. For example, data scientists can use a snapshot to aid in the process of creating a new model. Different models can be run against the same snapshot, isolating results to model changes.

#disaster recovery
Hadoop is particularly prone to events that have the potential to significantly disrupt business operations, because:

• It’s commonly deployed on commoditized hardware
• It stores enormous amounts of information
• Its data is distributed, and networks are prone to sporadic outages
• Today’s IT environments are routinely subject to attack

Since there’s such a good chance that you’ll encounter an emergency, you would be wise to employ mirroring as a preventative measure that can help you recover from even the most dire situations.

Mirroring. Your Hadoop mirroring should be asynchronous and perform auto-compressed, block-level data transfer of differential changes across the WAN. It should mirror data as well as its meta data, while maintaining data locality and data consistency at all times. This ensures that applications can restart immediately upon site failure. It should also have the following characteristics:

3. Manageability
Early in Hadoop’s history, it was fairly common for sophisticated developers with source code-level understanding of Hadoop to manage multiple Hadoop environments. This could work because these developers detailed knowledge of Hadoop internals and because they had combined developmental and operational responsibilities as is typical in startups. This clearly won’t translate into mainline IT usage because it simply is not feasible for an operations team to handle many different systems in addition to Hadoop. Total cost of ownership (TCO) is always a major consideration when IT compares solutions, and it’s especially relevant in Hadoop environments.

Seek out a Hadoop platform that supplies comprehensive, intelligently designed tooling that eases administrative burdens. As Hadoop continues to mature, Hadoop distributions will compete on the quality and depth of their management tools in each of these critical areas:

Administration

• Volume-based data and user management
• Centralized node administration and troubleshooting
• Adding and removing disk drives directly through a graphical user interface (GUI)
• Rolling upgrades that permit staggered software upgrades over a period of time without disrupting the service
• Automated and scheduled administrative tasks
• Multi-tenant user access with data and job placement control

Monitoring

• End-to-end monitoring of the Hadoop cluster, from the application to the hardware level, including detecting disk failures
• Alerts, alarms, and heat maps that provide a color-coded, real-time view of the nodes, including their health, memory, CPU, and other metrics
• Integration, via a REST API, into different open source and commercial tools as well as the ability to build custom dashboards
• Visibility through standard tools like Ganglia and Nagios

Finally, Hadoop implementations routinely scale to hundreds ― or thousands ― of nodes. Attempting to manage the configuration, deployment, and administration of all these nodes is a chore that should be automated as much as possible. Fortunately, leading operating system vendors are continually refining their automated configuration and service orchestration solutions. For example, Juju from Canonical offers both a graphical user interface and a command line interface that lets administrators automate all facets of their distributed processing environments.

4. Data Access
Gobbling up colossal arrays of information is only the beginning of your Hadoop story. To unlock all of your data’s potential value, you need a Hadoop platform that makes it easy to ingest and extract this information quickly and securely, and then lets your developers build fully capable applications using well-proven tools and techniques. It’s even more auspicious if your existing applications can easily connect to Hadoop’s data.

This section is all about making sure that your appointed Hadoop platform will interact smoothly with the rest of your IT environment.

#architecture foundations for data access
Before reading the suggestions for enhancing data access in Hadoop, take a look at picture below for some fundamentals.

#standard file system interface and semantics (posix)
A POSIX file system that supports random read/write operations on Hadoop as well as providing NFS access opens up Hadoop to much broader usage than is commonly found with the default HDFS. This also simplifies tasks that would otherwise have required much more complex processes.

Administrators and users should be able to mount the cluster over the network like enterprise NAS. Browsers such as Windows Explorer, Mac Finder, IDEs, and standard Linux file interaction commands like ls, grep and tail ― will thus all be able to work directly with the cluster. With the Hadoop cluster treated like part of the file system, users can drag and drop data into Hadoop or hit the Tab key to autocomplete instructions on its command line interface.

Going beyond new Hadoop-based applications, other solutions ― legacy or new, and written in your choice of programming language ― can use the file system to access and write data on Hadoop. A POSIX file system also makes it straightforward to import and export information to/from relational databases and data warehouses using the standard tools without a need for special connectors.

For example, a retailer could quickly load data in parallel using standard tools through NFS. Data will be streamed in directly, and won’t require creating sequential writes that will slow down the entire process.

#developer tools
Developers have decades of experience employing popular tools and methodologies for interacting with relational databases. While Hadoop introduces new paradigms and concepts, you should seek out platforms that boost developer productivity by:

• Offering open source components on public GitHub for download and customization
• Making binaries available through Maven repositories for faster application builds
• Providing a workflow engine for building applications more quickly
• Enabling standard development tools to work directly with data on the cluster
• Permitting existing non-Hadoop applications and libraries written in any programming language to be able to access and write data on Hadoop
• Supplying SQL-like interactive query capabilities

#security
Scarcely a day goes by without a news headline about a data breach or other major security violation, often involving Big Data. Given the amount of information stored in Hadoop ― and the broad range of this data ― it’s essential that you take proactive steps to protect your data before your organization is featured on the news. Sadly, some Hadoop implementations are so challenging to secure that customers avoid the subject entirely, and never actually enable security.

Rather than referring to a single capability, your Hadoop security should be far-reaching, and encompass each of the following safeguards:
Fine-grained permissions on files, directories, jobs, queues, and administrative operations
Access control lists (ACLs) for tables, columns and column families
Wire-level encryption between the Hadoop cluster and all external cluster access points both natively and through third parties
Standard authentication protocols such as Kerberos, LDAP, Active
Directory, NIS, local users and groups, and other 3rd party authentication and identity systems
Simple yet secure access to the cluster through a “gateway node,” while blocking direct interaction with all other nodes

...

Comparing Major Hadoop Distributions

Just about every organization is seeking ways to profit from Big Data, and Hadoop is increasingly serving as the most capable conduit to unlock its inherent value. This means that Hadoop is likely to have a major role to play in your enterprise. Given this probability, you should carefully consider your choice of Hadoop implementation, and pay particular attention to its performance/ scalability, dependability, and ease of data access. In particular, make sure that your selection conforms to the way you operate, and not the other way around. On the next picture is a quick comparison chart of some of the differences across the major Hadoop distributions.

Original Source : Hadoop Buyer’s Guide ebook by Robert D. Schneider

Hadoop Buyer's Guide - Part 1

Introduction

This Buyer’s Guide by Robert D. Schneider presents a series of guidelines that you can use when searching for the essential Hadoop infrastructure that will be sustaining your organization for years to come. In fact, this guide is specifically designed to be incorporated into your RFP when it comes to evaluating Hadoop platforms.

Notes : You can also have the insight about Big Data & Hadoop in here :

• Part 1 : Click Here
• Part 2 : Click Here

Related Hadoop Projects

Hadoop has also spawned an entire ecosystem of ancillary initiatives. Here are just a few examples of other projects:

 

Why your choice of hadoop infrastructure is important?

Acquiring, deploying, and properly integrating all of the moving parts that constitute the Hadoop ecosystem has proven to be a hardship for many IT organizations, which would much rather focus on their primary business responsibilities than the care and feeding of a hand-crafted Hadoop environment. To further muddy the water, not only is Hadoop continually evolving, but so are all of the related projects in its ecosystem. In an effort to ease the task of rolling out a complete Hadoop implementation, a number of vendors are offering comprehensive distributions that generally fall into one of three models:

• Open source Hadoop and support. This pairs bare-bones open source with paid professional support and services. Hortonworks is a good example of this strategy.
• Open source Hadoop, support, and management innovations. This goes a step further by combining open source Hadoop with IT-friendly tools and utilities that make things easier for mainline IT organizations. Cloudera is an instance of this model.
• Open source Hadoop, support, and adding value through architectural innovations. Hadoop is architected with a component model down to the file system level. Innovators can then replace one or more components and package the rest of the open source components and maintain compatibility with Hadoop. MapR is an instance of this model.

Critical considerations when selecting a hadoop platform

Adopting a Hadoop distribution is a vital decision that has far-reaching ramifications for the entire organization, in ways that you can’t fully anticipate when you create your initial appraisal. This is particularly true since we’re only at the dawn of Big Data in the enterprise. Hadoop infrastructure is just that: infrastructure, and it requires the same level of attention and scrutiny as your organization expends when choosing other critical assets, such as application servers, storage, and databases. Thus, you shouldn’t be surprised that your Hadoop environment will be subject to the same requirements as the rest of your IT portfolio, in terms of:

• Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Data protection
• Security
• Integration with other applications
• Professional services
• Training

To begin, don’t think of Hadoop as a single solution, but rather as a platform with a collection of applications on top. These elements must work together to derive maximum value. Secondly, don’t force your enterprise to conform to your chosen Hadoop technology; instead, find solutions that adapt to the way you operate your business.

Consider using the guidelines in this section to help you construct an RFP, just like you would when identifying any other fundamental software product. For clarity, these are grouped into four major categories:

• Performance and Scalability
• Dependability
• Manageability
• Data Access

For each recommendation, Robert D. Schneider explain what it is and what to look for in a Hadoop distribution. Also, provided are several examples that demonstrate how these capabilities add value in real-world situations. 

Continue To Part 2 : Click Here

Kebahagiaan Anda

Jika kekayaan bisa membuat orang bahagia, tentunya Adolf Merckle, orang terkaya dari Jerman, tidak akan menabrakkan badannya ke kereta api.

Jika ketenaran bisa membuat orang bahagia, tentunya Michael Jackson, penyanyi terkenal di USA, tidak akan meminum obat tidur hingga overdosis.

Jika kekuasaan bisa membuat orang bahagia, tentunya G. Vargas  presiden Brazil, tidak akan menembak jantungnya.

Jika kecantikan bisa membuat orang bahagia, tentunya Marilyn Monroe, artis cantik dari USA, tidak akan meminum alkohol dan obat depresi hingga overdosis.

Jika kesehatan bisa membuat orang bahagia, tentunya Thierry Costa, dokter terkenal dari Perancis, tidak akan bunuh diri, akibat sebuah acara di TV.

Ternyata, bahagia atau tidaknya hidup seseorang itu, bukan ditentukan oleh seberapa KAYAnya, TENARnya, CANTIKnya, KUASAnya, SEHATnya atau seSUKSES apapun hidupnya. Tapi yang bisa membuat seseorang itu bahagia adalah dirinya sendiri yang mampu mau MENSYUKURI semua yang sudah dimilikinya dalam segala hal.

• Kalau kebahagiaan bisa dibeli, pasti orang-orang kaya akan membeli kebahagiaan itu dan kita akan sulit mendapatkan kebahagiaan karena sudah diborong oleh mereka.
• Kalau kebahagiaan itu ada di suatu tempat, pasti belahan lain di bumi ini akan kosong karena semua orang akan ke sana berkumpul di mana kebahagiaan itu berada .

Untungnya kebahagiaan itu berada di dalam hati setiap manusia.

Jadi kita tidak perlu membeli atau pergi mencari kebahagiaan itu. Yang kita perlukan adalah HATI yang BERSIH dan IKHLAS serta PIKIRAN yang JERNIH, maka kita bisa menciptakan rasa BAHAGIA itu kapan pun, di manapun dan dengan kondisi apapun.

KEBAHAGIAAN itu milik "Orang-orang yang dapat BERSYUKUR".

Sumber : Agus Gunawan (Chief HCM - PT AGIT - Via Email Blast 5 September 2014)

Mental Pemenang

Sir Edmund Hillary adalah orang pertama yang menaklukkan Gunung Everest. Edmund memang gagal pada pendakian pertamanya. Namun, pada pendakian berikutnya, dia mampu menyelesaikan dengan baik. Ratu Elizabeth memberikan sebuah penghargaan atas prestasinya.

Semua orang memberikan penghormatan dengan standing ovation, lalu Edmund berkata : “Gunung Everest pernah menaklukkan saya sekali dan dapat menaklukkan saya kembali, tetapi saya kembali dan kembali lagi. Dan sekarang saya menjadi pemenang karena gunung itu tidak dapat menjadi besar tetapi saya dapat menjadi besar!”

Seorang pemenang bukanlah mereka yang tidak pernah kalah, namun mereka yang mampu bangkit setelah mereka jatuh. Sayangnya, hanya sedikit orang-orang yang mau segera bangkit dari keterpurukannya untuk berusaha kembali memperoleh apa yang mereka inginkan. Tidak ada kegagalan yang permanen.  Kegagalan permanen hanya terjadi karena sikap mereka yang keliru dalam menghadapi kegagalan. Kegagalan memang menyakitkan, namun selalu membawa keuntungan jika kita mau belajar darinya. Percayalah !!! tidak ada usaha yang sia-sia begitu saja.

Milikilah tekad dan semangat yang membara untuk menaklukan kegagalan dan mengubahnya menjadi sebuah prestasi yang membanggakan. Gagal itu biasa !. Bahkan kegagalan menjadi syarat mutlak bagi seseorang untuk meraih kesuksesan yang sesungguhnya. Segeralah bangkit dan berusahalah lebih keras lagi, karena keberhasilan sudah ada di depan mata untuk kita raih.

“Keberhasilan tidak diukur dengan apa yang Anda raih,
namun kegagalan yang telah Anda hadapi dan
keberanian yang membuat Anda tetap berjuang
melawan rintangan yang datang bertubi-tubi."
-Orison Swett Marden-

Sumber : Agus Gunawan (Chief HCM - PT AGIT - Via Email Blast 22 Agustus 2014)

Melakukan Lebih

Tahun 2006 Dr. Samuel Weinstein, ahli bedah jantung anak asal New York sedang mengoperasi jantung seorang anak berusia 8 tahun. Setelah 11 jam operasi, anak itu mengalami pendarahan yang hebat. Tidak ada obat yang dapat menghentikan pendarahan, ditambah lagi golongan darah yang langka B negatif.

Kebetulan Dr. Samuel memiliki golongan darah yang sama. Dr. Samuel mundur dari meja operasi dan meminta suster untuk mengambil darahnya. Pengorbanannya tidak sia-sia.!!! Anak itu selamat karena Dr. Samuel rela melakukan lebih dari yang seharusnya dia lakukan.

Ketika seseorang hanya memfokuskan diri pada hasil materi yang dia harapkan, mereka akan terjebak untuk tidak/enggan melakukan sesuatu yang lebih dari yang seharusnya. Mereka berpikir bahwa meskipun mereka melakukan lebih banyak toh hasil yang mereka dapatkan juga sama saja. Mereka menganggap bahwa rejeki yang diberikanNya hanya terbatas pada gaji yang mereka dapatkan.

Selama kita berkarya dengan sepenuh hati, apapun yang kita kerjakan tidak akan berakhir sia-sia. Kita akan selalu mendapatkan hasil sesuai dengan usaha kita walau mungkin diwaktu yang berbeda ataupun bentuk yang berbeda. Bukan hanya dengan bekerja lebih keras, namun juga mengembangkan sikap-sikap positif seperti jujur, ramah, mau bekerja sama dan memberikan pelayanan yang terbaik kepada pelangan, rekan kerja maupun atasan.

Tidak ada pekerjaan yang sia-sia.
Barang siapa melakukan lebih banyak,
dia akan mendapatkan hasil yang berkelimpahan.

Percayalah !!! apa yang kita tabur, itulah yang kita tuai.

Sumber : Agus Gunawan (Chief HCM - PT AGIT - Via Email Blast 15 Agustus 2014)

Wedding Checklist & Progress - Persiapan Pernikahan

There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company
than a good marriage.
- By Martin Luther

Setiap orang pastinya ingin menikah dan berkeluarga. Target saya sendiri adalah umur 25, namun karena saya masih harus mempersiapkan modal, targetnya saya revisi menjadi 26 atau 27. Masih ada 2-3 tahun lagi untuk mempersiapkan semuanya. Sampai waktu tersebut tiba, selain mengumpulkan modal, saya akan berusaha mengejar dan mencapai apa yang pernah saya cita-citakan. Selama waktu tersebut pula saya ingin mempersiapkan, merancang, mengenali dan mempersiapkan desain kehidupan yang akan dilalui bersama pasangan saya. 

A good relationship doesn't need any promises, terms or conditions, just two people who can trust and understand.

Bagi saya pernikahan itu adalah sesuatu yang sakral dan suci, dimana Tuhan akan menggenapi firman-Nya. Tidak ada kata cerai dalam kamus pernikahan. Apa yang dipersatukan oleh Tuhan tidak dapat dipisahkan oleh manusia. Jadi ketika berbicara tentang pernikahan hendaknya kita tidak bermain-main dan melibatkan Tuhan dalam persiapan dan prosesnya.

Beberapa waktu lalu, tanpa disengaja saya melihat postingan di kaskus mengenai Wedding Checklist & Progress. Saya rangkum dan kombinasi saja semuanya untuk persiapan saya di masa depan. Jadi postingan ini sudah saya edit dan kombinasikan dari tempat lain. Semoga rangkuman ini juga dapat berguna untuk anda. Selamat membaca. :)

---WEDDING CHECKLIST---

TEMPAT
[ ] Tempat upacara pernikahan
[ ] Tempat resepsi

DEKORASI
[ ] Dekorasi tempat upacara pernikahan
[ ] Dekorasi pelaminan
[ ] Dekorasi rumah

MAKANAN
[ ] Catering upacara pernikahan
[ ] Catering resepsi
[ ] Catering di rumah

SALON / MAKE UP & HAIR DO
[ ] Test make up
[ ] Mempelai wanita
[ ] Mempelai pria
[ ] Keluarga mempelai wanita
[ ] Keluarga mempelai pria
[ ] Bridesmaid
[ ] Penerima tamu
[ ] Pagar ayu
[ ] Flower girl
[ ] Lain-lain

GAUN / BUSANA
[ ] Gaun pengantin
[ ] Accessories pengantin wanita
[ ] Jas pengantin pria
[ ] Accessories pengantin pria
[ ] Gaun bridemaid
[ ] Accessories bridesmaid
[ ] Jas bestman
[ ] Accessories bestman
[ ] Gaun Ibu (untuk keluarga pria & wanita)
[ ] Jas Ayah (untuk keluarga pria & wanita)
[ ] Gaun pagar ayu
[ ] Penerima tamu
[ ] Flower girl
[ ] Lain-lain…

BUNGA
[ ] Hand bouquet tangan / dipegang
[ ] Hand bouquet lempar
[ ] Bunga bridesmaid
[ ] Bunga pagar ayu
[ ] Corsage pengantin (untuk di kenakan di jas)
[ ] Corsage untuk keluarga pihak pria
[ ] Corsage untuk keluarga pihak wanita

KUE PENGANTIN
[ ] Kue untuk dibagi-bagi stlh upacara pernikahan
[ ] Kue di pelaminan
[ ] Kue untuk dibagi-bagi di resepsi (mingle time)

MOBIL PENGANTIN
[ ] Mobil mempelai
[ ] Transportasi keluarga wanita
[ ] Transportasi keluarga pria
[ ] Perijinan, keamanan & parkir tamu

DOKUMENTASI
[ ] Photo prewedding
[ ] Photo liputan
[ ] Video prewedding
[ ] Video liputan

KARTU UNDANGAN
[ ] Kartu undangan
[ ] Kartu ucapan terima kasih
[ ] Kartu RSVP
[ ] Kartu nomor meja
[ ] Amplop plastic
[ ] Label stiker nama
[ ] List tamu undangan & print

SOUVENIR
[ ] Souvenir + packaging

ENTERTAIN
[ ] MC upacara pernikahan
[ ] MC resepsi
[ ] Music / Wedding Singer upacara pernikahan
[ ] Music / Wedding Singer resepsi
[ ] Sound system upacara pernikahan
[ ] Sound system resepsi

PENDUKUNG ACARA
[ ] Kembang api / Converti (wedding kiss)
[ ] Wine (tuang champagne gelas susun)
[ ] Fanta (wedding toast)
[ ] Gelas susun
[ ] Galeri foto (prewedding)
[ ] Stand foto + Foto
[ ] Meja display
[ ] Album foto / Bingkai foto
[ ] Genset
[ ] Koper + Gembok (tempat sumbangan / angpao)
[ ] Snow Machine, Bubble Machine, Dryice machine, Fireworks indoor and outdoor, Balon, Merpati, dll

Notes : 

• Wine/Champagne sparkling itu buat acara tuang champagne di gelas susun. 
• Wedding toast cukup fanta aja.

CATATAN SIPIL
[ ] Catatan Sipil

LAIN-LAIN
[ ] Cincin
[ ] Buku tamu
[ ] Alat tulis
[ ] Kotak angpau
[ ] Tempat souvenir

TIM PENDUKUNG
[ ] Koordinator lapangan
[ ] Checker jumlah piring catering
[ ] Pagar ayu / bagus
[ ] Bridesmaid & Bestman
[ ] Pengantin kecil / Flower Girl
[ ] Penerima tamu
[ ] Penerima angpau
[ ] Pembawa cincin

---WEDDING PROGRESS---

11 - 12 Bulan Sebelumnya

• Tentukan tanggal pernikahan, cari beberapa alternatif jika tanggal yang diinginkan tidak tersedia.Tentukan tujuan bulan madu anda dan mulailah mencari tour yang akan anda pakai.
• Cari informasi bagaimana mendaftarkan pernikahan anda di Catatan Sipil atau KUA.
• Cari informasi bila anda ingin menikah di Gereja atau tempat ibadah lainnya.
• Cari informasi mengenai segala sesuatu yang berhubungan dengan pernikahan, seperti bridal, tempat resepsi, jas pengantin, dan lain-lain. Informasi bisa didapat dari keluarga, teman atau kunjungi pameran-pameran pernikahan.
• Tentukan besar budget. Susun budget berdasarkan anggaran, dari paling besar sampai paling kecil dimulai dari tempat+catering, lalu gaun+foto, dst.
• Buat daftar tempat tempat resepsi. Mulai pikirkan akan diadakan dimana pesta pernikahan anda nanti, apakah di hotel, restoran, atau ball room gedung gedung yang disewakan.
• Lakukan test kesehatan pra nikah.
• Buat daftar catering-catering. Kunjungi mereka, dan lakukan test food. Mulailah menyusun menu untuk pesta pernikahan anda nanti.
• Pesan tempat resepsi dan bayar DP untuk pernikahan anda segera agar tidak didahului oleh pasangan lain.
• Mulai memikirkan tema Anda. Suka yang klasik? Atau pengikut trend? Ikuti pameran-pameran bridal dan baca majalah-majalah wedding untuk menambah wawasan Browse City By City Collections untuk koleksi & tren terbaru serta info pameran. 

Tips:

• Langkah pertama yang paling mudah adalah: pilih warna yang Anda suka, dan hubungkan setiap detail agar sama atau serasi dengan warna tersebut.
• Jangan lupa untuk senantiasa berkonsultasi dengan para orang tua, terutama yang bersangkutan dengan upacara / acara adat.
• Pertimbangkan kebutuhan akan Wedding Organizer. Bila Anda memiliki saudara / teman baik yang kompak & punya banyak waktu luang, mungkin Anda tak harus menyewa WO, tapi bila tak punya banyak waktu luang & ingin penanganan yang lebih profesional, WO adalah solusi yang tepat

9 - 10 Bulan Sebelumnya

• Tentukan pengiring pengantin anda. 1 orang remaja pengiring wanita , 1 orang pengiring pria, dan 2 orang pengiring anak kecil.
• Tentukan penerima tamu dan penjaga buku tamu.
• Tentukan siapa yang akan menjadi pengawas catering.
• Beritahu tanggal pernikahan anda di Gereja atau tempat ibadah lainnya, bila anda ingin menikah disana.
• Pastikan dokumen-dokumen penting untuk melengkapi syarat-syarat pembuatan akta pernikahan sudah lengkap dan tidak bermasalah, baik secara agama maupun legal (KUA atau catatan sipil). 
• Tentukan catering yang akan anda pakai, berikut menu utama dan pondokan.
• Tentukan jumlah tamu yang datang dari kedua belah pihak. Mulailah menulis daftar tamu, tanyakan kedua orang tua anda, nama-nama sanak keluarga yang harus diundang.
• Segera tentukan model baju pengantin anda, dan pilih salah satu dari bridal-bridal yang ada.
• Bila anda menginginkan kedua orang tua perempuan memakai baju dari bahan yang sama pada saat resepsi, mulailah mencari bahan sekarang.
• Tentukan seragam yang akan dipakai oleh penerima tamu, penjaga buku tamu dan keluarga. Mulailah mencari bahannya sekarang.
• Tentukan jas pengantin untuk mempelai pria.

7 - 8 Bulan Sebelumnya 

• Mulailah menentukan warna yang akan ditonjolkan agar pesta tampil selaras.
• Mulailah meminta vendor dekorasi Anda membuat sketsa dekorasi.
• Pesan benda-benda / souvenir ungkapan terima kasih untuk tamu.
• Pesan dekorasi ruang resepsi.
• Sewa kendaraan segera agar memperoleh jenis dan warna yang diinginkan.
• Pesan keperluan dokumentasi, meliputi: foto studio, foto liputan dan video.
• Pesan jas mempelai pria lengkap dengan asesorisnya.
• Pesan gaun pengantin yang diinginkan.
• Pesan kue pengantin. Jangan berpatokan pada bentuknya saja, lakukan test cake untuk memastikan rasanya (Tips : sesuaikan dengan warna nuansa acara secara keseluruhan). 
• Pesan kartu undangan. Pesan kartu undangan! Jangan lupa meminta 1 contoh untuk memastikan kerapihan & agar desain betul-betul sesuai dengan keinginan Anda & pasangan.

Tips:

• Pelajari baik-baik cara kerja para vendor dan komunikasikan keinginan Anda sedetail mungkin, dengan tetap mendengarkan masukan mereka yang sudah berpengalaman.
• Pastikan Anda mendapat keterangan secara tertulis mengenai segala detail yang Anda perlukan untuk menghindari kealpaan & kesalahpahaman di kemudian hari.
• Mulailah merawat tubuh dan wajah. Lakukan diet sehat serta facial secara teratur.

5 - 6 Bulan Sebelumnya 

• Pesan cincin pernikahan Anda.
• Kelompokkan kartu undangan untuk memudahkan pengiriman.
• Hubungi pihak catatan sipil/KUA sekaligus memastikan dokumen-dokumen apa saja yg diperlukan, dan beritahukan tanggal pemberkatan kita.
• Serahkan segera surat-surat untuk pembuatan akta nikah kepada yang berwenang.
• Beli atau sewa pernak-pernik kamar pengantin.
• Bentuk panitia keluarga untuk menentukan kepentingan masing-masing orang dan sebagai support mempersiapkan berbagai kesibukan.
• Belanja perlengkapan rumah tangga dan keperluan seserahan.
• Tentukan model dan bahan seragam panitia yang akan dipakai.
• Susunlah acara, jenis musik, penyanyi, hiburan dan Master of Ceremony yang akan mengisi acara pernikahan Anda.
• Susun daftar menu yang diinginkan, tentukan vendor dan lakukan test food, agar Anda dapat lebih leluasa menentukan menu yang berubah atau ditambahkan. 
• Mengantar pengiring untuk ukur badan untuk pembuatan gaun yang baru.
• Tetapkan sketsa dekorasi yang akan Anda pakai, dan bicarakan ekstra dekorasi untuk kamar pengantin Anda.
• Konfirmasi ulang semua vendor terkait untuk tugas yang akan mereka kerjakan.

3 - 4 Bulan Sebelumnya 

• Aturlah kendaraan yang dibutuhkan tamu dari luar kota.
• Buatlah janji dengan perancang untuk pengepasan gaun pengantin. (Tips: jangan tahan nafas dan usahakan senyaman mungkin! Tentukan juga sepatu dan aksesorinya).
• Ajak panitia keluarga dan orang tua mengukur badan untuk seragam yang akan mereka kenakan.
• Ambil pesanan cincin kimpoi.
• Diskusikan model rambut yang diinginkan dengan penata rambut Anda.
• Lakukan test make up dengan penata rias dan bicarakan kekurangan atau model yang Anda inginkan.
• Foto studio sebaiknya dilakukan pada waktu test make up agar mendapat hasil yang prima dan efisiensi waktu.
• Beli perlengkapan seserahan atau barang-barang yang akan dipakai dalam upacara adat dan sebagainya.
• Siapkan dokumen-dokumen penting untuk honeymoon jika Anda berencana berbulan madu ke luar negeri.

2 Bulan Sebelumnya

• Susun jadwal acara hari H mulai dari sebelum dirias sampai selesai pesta dan berikan copynya pada pihak yang terkait.
• Lakukan pengepasan gaun pengantin terakhir lengkap dengan aksesorisnya untuk memastikan tidak ada yang kurang atau salah.
• Ambil jas pengantin pria.
• Hubungi florist untuk memesan hand bouquet.
• Sewalah kendaraan untuk hari H segera agar Anda mendapatkan mobil dengan type dan warna sesuai dengan keinginan.
• Jika pesta pernikahan akan dilangsungkan secara sitting down party (makan di meja), mulailah menyusun pengaturan tempat duduk.
• Lakukan pengepasan terakhir gaun pengantin lengkap dengan asesorisnya.
• Tentukan siapa yang akan menjadi pengesah pernikahan Anda.
• Ambil pesanan kartu undangan dan mulai mengirimkannya.
• Pilih dan beli bingkisan ucapan terima kasih untuk orang yang banyak membantu Anda atau orangtua Anda.

1 Bulan Sebelumnya 

• Konfirmasi pada tamu atau kerabat di luar kota apakah sudah menerima undangan. 
• Adakan rapat panitia keluarga untuk mengkoordinasi masing-masing bagian tugas yang diambil, dan pastikan panitia sudah memiliki jadwal rundown acara.
• Konfirmasikan semua pesanan Anda atas dekorasi ruang resepsi, pendukung acara (genset, dryice foto, video, kue, MC, pemain musik (tentukan pula lagu-lagu yang harus dimainkan), pagar ayu/bagus dan bunga tangan. Pastikan tidak ada yang salah atau kurang.
• Recheck terakhir semua kelengkapan reservasi bulan madu Anda.
• Mulailah mengkonsumsi multivitamin dan perbanyak istirahat.
• Siapkan biaya tambahan untuk orang-orang yang membantu dalam acara tetapi tidak ada dalam daftar (supir, cleaning service, tukang parkir dsb).
• Lakukan perawatan pre-wedding lengkap (lulur, spa, ratus, dsb).    

2 Minggu Sebelumnya

• Tentukan orang yang akan bertanggung jawab membayar pembayaran tak terduga pada saat acara. 
• Minta seorang teman untuk mengadakan pesta lajang jika Anda menginginkannya.

7 Hari Sebelumnya

• Lakukan gladi resik acara.
• Nikmati hari-hari lajang terakhir Anda, pergilah dengan teman dekat Anda tanpa pasangan.
• Siapkan lingerie untuk malam pertama.
• Siapkan pakaian yang Anda butuhkan untuk honeymoon jika seusai pesta Anda langsung berbulan madu.
• Cari waktu untuk menghilangkan stress dengan melakukan meditasi ringan, membaca buku, atau relaksasi dengan spa.
• Diskusi ringan dengan bridesmaid dan bestman mengenai tugas mereka dan atur bila ada hal-hal khusus yang Anda harapkan bantuannya dari mereka.

1 Hari Sebelumnya

• Minum suplemen dan berendam dengan air hangat.
• Pikirkan hal-hal yang baik dan lucu mengenai Anda dan pasangan Anda.
• Cobalah untuk rileks dan istirahat lebih awal.

The Wedding Day

• Smile to everyone! Anda adalah raja dan ratu sehari, jadi bagilah kebahagiaan Anda dengan semua orang.
• Berdoalah agar Anda bisa lebih rileks & agar acara berlangsung dengan baik.
• Jangan lupa untuk sarapan secukupnya.
• Lakukan semua urutan acara dengan tepat waktu.
• Ingatkan bestman tentang cincin pernikahan.

Tips: 

• Jangan bawa HP, atau titip HP pada kerabat dekat Anda.

After The Wedding Day

• Kirimkan bunga, kue atau semua ucapan terima kasih bagi rekan kerja, panitia atau orang-orang yang membuat pesta pernikahan Anda tidak terlupakan. 
• Honeymoon!

Tips: 

• Bila ada masalah atau hal-hal yang tak sesuai rencana / perjanjian dengan vendor terjadi pada hari H, cobalah menyelesaikan dengan kepala dingin dan jangan ragu untuk meminta kompensasi yang sepadan dengan vendor tersebut. 
• Vendor yang profesional biasanya menyetujui, karena hal ini adalah hak konsumen. Tapi janganlah kesal berlarut-larut, ingatlah yang terpenting Anda sudah menikah dengan pasangan impian Anda!

Sumber : Kaskus

EULA & Bill Of Materials (BoM) & Bill Of Quantities (BoQ) - Overview & Differences

... EULA ...

#Wikipedia
In proprietary software, an end-user license agreement (EULA) or software license agreement is the contract between the licensor and purchaser, establishing the purchaser's right to use the software.

#Techopedia
An end-user license agreement (EULA) is a license that gives a user the right to use a software application in some manner. EULAs are designed to enforce specific software use limitations, such as only using the software on one computer. By entering into the agreement, the user is given permission to use and benefit from the software.

#Webopedia
Short for End-User License Agreement, the type of license used for most software. An EULA is a legal contract between the manufacturer and/or the author and the end user of an application. The EULA details how the software can and cannot be used and any restrictions that the manufacturer imposes (e.g., most EULAs of proprietary software prohibit the user from sharing the software with anyone else).

Not every EULA is the same. Some contracts stipulate acceptance of the agreement simply by opening the shrink-wrapped package; some require the user to mail back to the manufacturer a signed agreement or acceptance card; some require the user to accept the agreement after the application is installed by clicking on an acceptance form that appears on the users monitor. This last method is typical of applications that can be downloaded from the Internet. In all instances, the user has the option of not accepting the EULA, subsequently surrendering the rights and ability to use the software.

As in typical legal contracts, the EULA protects both parties from liability if the software is used in a way not intended by the manufacturer or author.

... BOQ ...

#Wikipedia
A bill of quantities (BOQ) is a document used in tendering in the construction industry in which materials, parts, and labor (and their costs) are itemized. It also (ideally) details the terms and conditions of the construction or repair contract and itemizes all work to enable a contractor to price the work for which he or she is bidding.

#Costplanner
A Bill of Quantities (BQ, or BoQ … and sometimes referred to as a Bills of Quantities) are prepared by Quantity Surveyors to provide an extensive and itemized trade list, including a description and quantity, of each of the components or items required for a construction project.

The main purpose of a Bill of Quantities is to itemize and define a project so that all tenderers are preparing their price and submission on the same information.

#Cambridge
A document showing a list of everything needed to build something and how much each item will cost : Some builders retain the bill of quantities as the basis of agreeing rates.

... BOM ...

#Wikipedia
A bill of materials or Product structure (sometimes bill of material' or BOM) is a list of the raw materials, sub-assemblies, intermediate assemblies, sub-components, parts and the quantities of each needed to manufacture an end product. A BOM may be used for communication between manufacturing partners, or confined to a single manufacturing plant.

#Cambridge
A document showing a list of all the materials and parts that are needed to produce something: The most expensive piece in the product's bill of materials is the touch-sensitive display.

#Investopedia
A comprehensive list of raw materials, components and assemblies required to build or manufacture a product. A bill of materials (BOM) is usually in a hierarchical format, with the topmost level showing the end product, and the bottom level displaying individual components and materials.  

#Business Dictionary
1.A list of materials required by a contractor to complete a contract, or by a supplier or vendor to complete an order.

2.A list of all raw materials, parts, intermediates, subassemblies, etc., (with their quantities and description) required to construct, overhaul, or repair something.

... Difference ...

The past few days, I post several content / article related with terminologies in my field as business development and as business analyst. You can click here if you wanna know about MoU and LoI. Also you can click here if you would like to know about RFP. Back to this post topic, EULA is something that must be signed by my customer when they buy product or license from my company or partner. BoQ is something / document that related with the purchased, it can be licenses or services. I have never used BoM terminology as long as I'm in the business development, but when I was searching about BoQ, the search engine show some article about BoM too. So what is the difference?

BoQ : Document showing list of everything (materials, parts, labors) for tender / project.
BoM : List of materials to produce something / to complete an order.

Knowing business language and terms is a must for me as business development and business analyst. I wish this article will be useful for you too whatever your roles. If you have any question, advice, and opinion please comment below. Thank you.

Letter of Intent ( LoI ) & Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) - Overview & Differences

... LoI - Letter of Intent ...

#Investopedia

DEFINITION of 'Letter of Intent - LOI'
1. An agreement that describes in detail a corporation's intention to execute a corporate action. The letter of intent is created by the corporation with its management and legal council, among others, and outlines the details of the action.

2. A document that can be used by parents to outline the thoughts and hopes that they have regarding their children in the event that the parents die. The courts use the information contained in the letter of intent to determine what happens to the children.

INVESTOPEDIA EXPLAINS 'Letter of Intent - LOI'
1. Letters of intent are used during the merger and acquisitions process to outlines a firm's plan to buy/take over another company. For example, the letter of intent will disclose the specific terms of the transaction (whether it is a cash or stock deal).

2. Unlike wills, letters of intent are often not legal documents. However, because a letter of intent represents the wishes and desires of the parents, the courts will still often use it as a benchmark in conjunction with other documents to determine what happens to the children. 

#Wikipedia

A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, and sometimes capitalized as Letter of Intent in legal writing, but only when referring to a specific document under discussion) is a document outlining an agreement between two or more parties before the agreement is finalized. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement. Such agreements may be Asset Purchase Agreements, Share Purchase Agreements, Joint-Venture Agreements, Lease Agreements, and overall all Agreements which aim at closing a financially large deal.

LOIs resemble written contracts, but are usually not binding on the parties in their entirety. Many LOIs, however, contain provisions that are binding, such as non-disclosure agreements, a covenant to negotiate in good faith, or a "stand-still" or "no-shop" provision promising exclusive rights to negotiate. An LOI may sometimes be interpreted by a court of law as binding the parties to it, if it too-closely resembles a formal contract.

A letter of intent may be presented by one party to another party and subsequently negotiated before execution (or signature.) If carefully negotiated, a LOI may serve to protect both parties to a transaction. For example, a seller of a business may incorporate what's known as a 'no solicitation' provision which would prevent the buyer from subsequently hiring an employee of the seller's business should the two parties not be able to close the transaction. On the other hand, a LOI may protect the buyer of a business by imposing a condition to complete the transaction on their part if financing the deal is not obtained.

The most common purposes of an LOI are:

• To clarify the key points of a complex transaction for the convenience of the parties
• To declare officially that the parties are currently negotiating, as in a merger or joint venture proposal
• To provide safeguards in case a deal collapses during negotiation
• To verify certain issues regarding payments done for someone else e.g. credit card payments

An LOI may also be referred to as a term sheet or discussion sheet. The terms reflect different styles (an LOI is typically written in letter form and focuses on the parties' intentions; a term sheet skips formalities and lists deal terms in a bullet-point summary), but usually do not indicate any difference under law. A contract, by contrast, is a legal document governed by contract law. Furthermore, there is also a specific difference between a letter of intent and a memorandum of understanding (MOU); an LOI outlines the intent of one party toward another with regard to an agreement, and may only be signed by the party expressing that intent, whereas an MOU must be signed by all parties to be a valid outline of an agreement. Nevertheless, LOIs are fairly often incorrectly referred to as MOUs and vice versa. 

... MoU - Memorandum of Understanding ...

#Investopedia

DEFINITION of 'Memorandum of Understanding - MOU'
A legal document outlining the terms and details of an agreement between parties, including each parties requirements and responsibilities. 

INVESTOPEDIA EXPLAINS 'Memorandum of Understanding - MOU'
The MOU is often the first stage in the formation of a formal contract. An MOU is far more formal then a handshake and is given weight in a court of law should one party fail to meet the obligations of the memorandum.

#Techopedia

Definition - What does Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) mean?
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a document that describes a formal agreement between two parties. It is not a legal agreement, but it does indicate the establishment of a business relationship that will continue and likely result in a legal agreement such as a contract.

This term is also known as a letter of intent (LOI) in the United States.

Techopedia explains Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
An MOU indicates that a legal contract will be forthcoming. This is more expeditious than other forms of documentation.

An MOU can also be put in place before the formalities of a contract when an agreement between parties has been reached but still requires written documentation.

MOUs can vary and be tailored to each organization’s or party’s needs. An MOU should state or describe:

• Who the partners are and their contact information 
• What it is they are going to be working on, the background of the project and why the MOU is being entered into 
• The scope of the document and who will use what the MOU provides 
• Specified activities, if already determined 
• Implementation of activities 
• Funding issues 
• Each party's roles and responsibilities 
• A time line, if desired 
• Duration of agreement 
• A signature and date of signature by all of the parties agreeing to the MOU

MOUs can be useful documents to get the ball rolling on major projects and can be used in any type of organization.

#Business Dictionary

A document that expresses mutual accord on an issue between two or more parties.

Memoranda of understanding are generally recognized as binding, even if no legal claim could be based on the rights and obligations laid down in them. To be legally operative, a memorandum of understanding must :

• (1) identify the contracting parties, 
• (2) spell out the subject matter of the agreement and its objectives, 
• (3) summarize the essential terms of the agreement, and 
• (4) must be signed by the contracting parties.

Notes :  Also called letter of intent.

#Differences By International Contract . Net

It is customary, in day to day business, to start writing negotiations in between parties when conducting any business purpose, whether buying, distribution or partnership agreements. This home for future consummation of binding mutual obligations can not be considered much less a contract itself, denominating legally as mere letters of intent or preliminary treatment.

A distinction has to be made very clearly as far as the effectiveness of such treatment preliminary binding and can advance even now they represent only simple conversations, writing minutes or crossover projects, offers and counteroffers in which the parties do not show their intent to be bound each other, but the only thing is that record to see the possibility of hiring in the future. Letter of Intents and Memorandum of Understanding (known as MOU´s) are drafts without binding efficiency and, at best, serve as mere interpretive elements in the event of needing to know the will of the parties to enforce when the business finally completed.

There are different types of Letters of Intent in international business. The most common are:

• Letter of Intent for International Sale Contract.
• Letter of Intent for International Distribution Contract.
• Letter of Intent for International Joint Venture Contract.

Without a certain formality, the Letter of Intent is ment to acknowledge the will of the parties to carry out in the near future all the steps necessary to perform a contract that gives way to a transaction in international business. It involves a reciprocal wills statement, without binding effect, but with high ethical value to the parties who sign.

Thus, among the purposes of the letters of intent we can include:

• Clarifying the key points of an operation for the convenience of the parties.
• The statement that the parties are currently negotiating.
• Provides guarantees if the deal collapses during negotiation.

Although the terms refer to different documents, the differences are often formal, reflecting different styles of writing or business customs, and not a substantial difference in what Letters of Intent and Memorandum of Understanding pursue.

Depending on which document the number of signatories will differ: In a Memorandum of Understanding, more than two parties may be involved but for a Letter of Intent only two parties are involved. The first one of them imply that all the parties involved have to be signatories, while a letter of intent needs only the party which proposes the agreement to be a signatory.

Both documents define the intent of the parties: both, a Memorandum of Understanding and a Letter of intent describe an intention to take some action. From the business point of view, it is defined as an agreement between two parties before the agreement is finalized.

It is essentially a collection of key points of an agreement between the two parties who pretend to conduct a business transaction, especially when announcing a joint venture, Letters of Intent and Memorandum of Understanding are signed for the purpose of declaring that the various parties involved are negotiating a contract. It is simply the agreement signed prior to the final agreement.

Another characteristic is that both Memorandums of Understanding and Letters of intent can resemble a written contract but usually not binding on the parties in their entirety. However, the majority of these agreements, contain provisions that are binding, such as non-disclosure and non-compete agreements. 

...

MoU and LoI is commonly used in business and legal world. As a Business Analyst, as a Project Stakeholder, as a Finance Team, and as a Management you should understand how important these are. At the first time, it's quite hard to understand these words. It is all about "agreement" and it looks similar. Then if you read carefully, you can understand that the main difference is only one. The difference is that the LoI is signed by the party expressing that intent, but MoU is signed by all party. When you talk about legal, it is very important that you understand the rules. So be careful when talk about the agreement.

Another related article :
EULA, BoQ and BOM >>> Click Here
RFP >>> Click Here