January 2014 - mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

Weekly Recap: Worst practices of cloud computing, state of the CIO, and more…

Every 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 the worst practices of cloud computing, the state of the CIO, and more. I hope you find them useful:

State of the CIO slideshow
In the annual “State of the CIO” research findings, nearly 50% of all CIOs admit that their IT departments aren’t considered a peer to the business. They aren’t looked upon as innovators, but cost centers. How can IT break free from this perception?
…

Weekly Recap: Worst practices of cloud computing, state of the CIO, and more…Read More »

7 habits of highly productive web developers

By Joe Stangarone / Web Development

A recent Forrester study highlights a major shift in the business landscape: More and more, software development plays an increasingly important role in a company’s competitive edge. According to the study, “Companies that are able to innovate quickly with software will outcompete traditional market leaders.”

There’s just one problem: As the study points out, software development is still a problem for the majority of companies. Most are not able to deliver software solutions as fast as the business leaders want them.

photo credit: Nathan E Photography via photopin cc

The fact is, as business moves to the web, software development speed plays a crucial role in a company’s success. The old software development methodologies–in which development projects required months (or even years) to complete–will no longer work. Businesses must permanently shift their development cycle into the “days and weeks” range.

How can businesses improve their development speed so drastically? While the answer to that question varies by company, today I’d like to focus on one area that’s relevant to most businesses: improving developer productivity.

What separates the productive developer from the unproductive? What do the productive developers do differently? How can developers become more productive? We posed those questions to a few experts in the area, and have compiled their advice below. Here are 7 habits of highly productive developers:
…

7 habits of highly productive web developersRead More »

21 ways m-Power will improve your enterprise systems

By Joe Stangarone / Enterprise Software, ERP Systems

According to Forrester, “approximately half of ERP customers are currently on releases that are two versions behind the current release, which may be four years old or more.” For these companies, upgrading to a new ERP version or package is often too difficult or expensive. Past customizations or enhancements have virtually locked these companies into their current ERP versions. An upgrade represents countless dollars and months of extra work—a project that most companies can’t afford to undertake.

The sad reality: These companies are locked into their enterprise system. Many feel tied to the old features and capabilities of their outdated systems.
…

21 ways m-Power will improve your enterprise systemsRead More »

Weekly Recap: 5 hybrid IT roles you need in 2014, how to control Shadow IT, and more…

By Joe Stangarone

Every 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 hybrid IT roles you’ll need in 2014, how to control Shadow IT, and more. I hope you find them useful:

5 Ways to Decide If Your Business Needs a Mobile App
Can your company still capitalize on mobile devices without creating mobile apps? Of course! Very few companies actually require native mobile apps. Chances are, creating web apps that automatically adapt to mobile devices is all most companies need.
…

Weekly Recap: 5 hybrid IT roles you need in 2014, how to control Shadow IT, and more…Read More »

7 secrets of effective IT departments

By Joe Stangarone / Strategy

What’s the difference between effective and ineffective IT departments? Some operate efficiently, while others race around fighting fires, barely keeping their head above water. Some drive the business forward, while others simply keep the lights on…but not much else. Why?

More than ever, this is an especially important question for modern IT departments. As technology plays a larger role in the business, more pressure will fall on IT departments. As more pressure is placed on the IT department, the need for highly efficient IT departments becomes greater than ever.

This brings us to the original question: What separates the effective IT department from the ineffective? What do efficient IT departments do that slow IT departments don’t do? We’ve posed those questions to a few experts in the area, and have compiled their advice below. While I realize that we can’t possibly touch on every reason, here are 7 important traits of effective IT departments.
…

7 secrets of effective IT departmentsRead More »

3 examples of wildly productive IT departments

By Joe Stangarone / Web Development

On our 2013 survey, we asked this question: “What problems keep you from accomplishing your goals?” In other words, what stops your company from addressing all of those pressing needs on your to-do list?

Can you guess the most common answer? For the third year in a row, the winner was…time! No one has enough time.

Now, I get it. Many IT staffs are overworked and understaffed. They have too much on their plate. There’s just not enough time in the day to tackle all of their “urgent” projects.

But, then I read stories like the ones below, and wonder if the issue isn’t a “lack of time” so much as it is an “inefficient use of time.” For instance, here are 3 great examples of IT departments completing big projects in impossible time frames:
…

3 examples of wildly productive IT departmentsRead More »

Weekly Recap: Hot IT Job Skills in 2014, BI Trends, and more…

By Joe Stangarone

Every 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 the hot IT job skills for 2014, top BI trends, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Top BI trends for 2014
Where is Business Intelligence heading in the next year? Besides the popular choices like cloud and mobile BI, I believe we’ll see more companies adopt self-service BI options. These solutions will let end users create their own BI apps, freeing the IT department up for more important tasks.
…

Weekly Recap: Hot IT Job Skills in 2014, BI Trends, and more…Read More »

Web app usability: 7 small UI elements that make a big difference

By Joe Stangarone / Usability

In his book, “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell explains how it’s often the little things that make the biggest difference. We might assume that big results come from big changes, but that’s not always the case.

I think the same holds true for web application usability. Sometimes it’s the small UI elements that make the biggest impact. If your web applications frustrate or confuse users, or if you just want to improve usability, you might just need a few small changes.

Today, let’s take a closer look at web application usability–specifically focusing on those small user interface elements or concepts that make a big difference. I’ve compiled 7 simple ways to improve your web application’s usability, without performing a major overhaul.
…

Web app usability: 7 small UI elements that make a big differenceRead More »

HTML5 offline app capabilities now added to m-Power

By Joe Stangarone / HTML5

I’m happy to share that we’ve recently added HTML5 offline application capabilities to m-Power! Using the HTML5 offline storage feature, we’ve converted all mobile m-Power templates into offline-ready templates.

Why is this so important?

Let me quickly explain: In the “Native app vs. Mobile web app” debate, the mobile web approach has always provided the most bang for your buck. Mobile web apps that work across all platforms (present and future) are typically more attractive to businesses than native apps that only work on a single platform.

photo credit: William Hook via photopin cc

However, while the native approach has always been more expensive and time consuming, it offered a benefit that mobile web apps couldn’t match: the ability to function without an internet connection. For many companies, this feature is an absolute necessity. For example:
…

HTML5 offline app capabilities now added to m-PowerRead More »

Weekly recap: 15 hot programming trends–and 15 going cold, mobile strategy priorities for 2014, and more…

By Joe Stangarone

Every 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 15 hot/cold programming trends, mobile strategy priorities in 2014, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Enterprise architecture: getting organized for the coming year
Why is architecture so important? Well planned, modern architecture gives businesses the ability to add new features and capabilities as needed, without tearing anything down or starting over. In other words, modern enterprise architecture is the difference between an agile business, and one that stagnates.
…

Weekly recap: 15 hot programming trends–and 15 going cold, mobile strategy priorities for 2014, and more…Read More »

Month: January 2014