mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

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

Author name: Joe Stangarone

Joe Stangarone is a 40+ year veteran of the IT industry and president of mrc—the software company behind the award winning development platform, m-Power. Joe shares his leadership and technology insights through the Cup of Joe Blog, focusing primarily on ways businesses can save time, money, and increase productivity using technology.

7 secrets of effective IT departments

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EducationWhat’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.
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3 examples of wildly productive IT departments

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ProductivityOn 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:
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Weekly Recap: Hot IT Job Skills in 2014, BI Trends, 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 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.
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Web app usability: 7 small UI elements that make a big difference

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EducationIn 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.
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HTML5 offline app capabilities now added to m-Power

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AnnouncementI’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
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:
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Weekly recap: 15 hot programming trends–and 15 going cold, mobile strategy priorities for 2014, 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 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.
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6 key enterprise application development trends of 2014

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Education“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” –Leon C. Megginson

As we start 2014, I believe that quote applies perfectly to the evolving world of enterprise application development. After all, web application development is undergoing some major changes. For instance, consumer devices have infiltrated the workplace. HTML5 will become the new standard this year. The cloud has matured, now offering even more business advantages. I could go on.

photo credit: sntgmdm via photopin cc
photo credit: sntgmdm via photopin cc

The point is, these recent tech trends will forever change enterprise application development. As technology plays an increased role in business in the coming years, companies that adapt to these changes will have an advantage. Companies that don’t will fall behind.

So, how is enterprise application development changing? What big trends can we expect in the coming year? In this article, we’ll examine some major trends, and explain why they’re so important. While this certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, the following includes some of the most important trends to watch in 2014:
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Build enterprise web applications without programming (New and improved)

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Save TimeIf you’re looking for a way to improve your application development speed, create mobile web apps, or just build enterprise web applications without programming, you should really check out the all new m-Power Trial. It’s recently been revamped with the new m-Power interface we released last month, making application development simpler than ever.

What will you find in the m-Power Trial? Using a simple, on-screen tour, the m-Power Trial will guide you through the process of building enterprise web (and mobile web) apps…all without any programming. Feel free to explore the interface in depth, and even experiment building applications over your own data.

If you’d like to check out the m-Power Trial, just fill out this short form.

Weekly recap: 3 ways enterprise IT will change in 2014, biggest tech disappointments, 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 ways enterprise IT will change in 2014, the biggest tech disappointments over the last year, and more. I hope you find them useful:

10 biggest tech disappointments of 2013
A good portion of the entries in this list share a common theme: security…or a lack thereof. Web application security is becoming one of the most important themes of the last few years, yet–as this article explains–best practices are still commonly ignored.
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10 most popular articles from 2013

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EducationAs 2013 draws to a close, I’d like to thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this blog over the past year. Of course, if there are any topics you’d like me to cover in 2014, please share them in the comments.

Over the last 12 months, I’ve written many different articles covering a variety of topics. Today, I’d like to highlight the most popular of those articles and share them with you. In case you missed any of them, here are the most popular posts I’ve written over the last year, as determined by the readers of this blog. I hope you find them interesting:
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