mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

Join us in exploring the world of modern development, evolving technologies, and the art of future-proof software

Month: September 2013

Weekly recap: 10 hard-earned lessons from a lifetime in IT, essential CIO technologies, and more…

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EducationEvery week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on essential CIO technologies, mobile BI, and more. I hope you find them useful:

4 technologies for every CIO’s roadmap
As a CIO, what areas must you focus on going into next year? While it varies by company, this article lists 4 game-changing technologies that must be on your radar. I personally feel that #2 and #3 are two of the most important areas a business can focus on.
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7 worst practices of Business Intelligence

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EducationImagine waking up at 2 a.m. to the sound of a screaming smoke alarm. Would you go back to bed? Of course not! You’re scrambling to get up and get the family out of the house as fast as possible!

Now, let’s compare that smoke alarm to your Business Intelligence (BI). Like a smoke alarm, a BI solution gathers data and alerts you to issues–but it ultimately falls on you to take action. This is where many businesses stumble. They either ignore the signals from their BI solution, or aren’t prepared to act when an issue arises. It’s like going back to bed when you hear the smoke alarm, or removing the battery so it won’t wake you up anymore.

I know that’s an extreme example, but it illustrates just one common “worst practice” of BI–a topic that we’re going to examine today. Now, chances are, you understand the concept and the value of BI. It helps you better understand your business and improves decision making, with the end goal of increased revenue.

The problem is, many businesses misuse BI, rendering their Business Intelligence either less effective or completely ineffective. What are these mistakes, and how can you avoid them? To help you answer those questions, I’ve compiled a list of 7 of the biggest “worst practices” of Business Intelligence, and outlined them below:
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The rising need for software flexibility (with example)

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EducationOne of the points mentioned in this recent article on buying software you won’t later regret was, “Look for adaptability.” Any software you purchase must be flexible, scalable, and easily adapt to future technology.

That being said, “flexible software” is still a rather vague term. What does it mean? What does it look like in real life? Today, I’d like to dive into this topic a little more, and explain what it means, how it helps your business, and even give you a real-life example of flexible software in action. Sound good? Let’s get started:
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