Join us in exploring the world of modern development, evolving technologies, and the art of future-proof software
Here’s a question for you: What’s the difference between a worthless business dashboard and a dashboard that makes an impact? To help you understand, take a look at the two dashboards below. Which one is better?
So, which dashboard is better? …
The 3 most important aspects of a business dashboardRead More »
How much time and money does your company waste maintaining your legacy applications? A recent survey indicates that companies use anywhere from 70-80% of their tech budget (and countless hours) just keeping their legacy applications running.
It’s kind of like owning an old, beat-up car. The car might still work, but it lacks modern features, doesn’t run very well, and a good portion of your time and money goes into keeping that car on the road. In fact, buying a new car would probably cost less than maintaining the old one.
Modernization is similar…but different. It’s similar in the sense that modernizing your applications is often less expensive than maintaining legacy applications. However, modernization is a bit more complicated than just buying a new car. How much more complicated? The degree of difficulty varies per modernization approach. Choosing the right approach largely depends on your company’s needs and goals.
If you’d like an in-depth look at modernization requirements and methods, here’s a free whitepaper that will help you: Crash course in modernization. If you just want a basic overview of your modernization options, I’ve summarized 5 different methods below, along with the pros and cons of each: …
Native, mobile web, or hybrid? For companies considering mobile apps, that is the million dollar question. Which direction do you take?
The answer: It depends. There’s no single correct answer that applies to every situation. Each option (mobile web apps, hybrid apps, and native apps) has its own advantages. The right path for your company depends on a variety of factors, such as: What are you trying to accomplish with your app? When do you need it? Which skills do you have in-house?
Here are a couple of options to help you figure out which path is best: First, you can check out this white paper that takes an in-depth look at the topic. Secondly, we’ve put together the following comparison chart for each mobile development method. It compares the main differences, advantages, and disadvantages of each. …
Hybrid vs. Native vs. Mobile web comparison chartRead More »
The difference between good and bad development tools/IDEs is like night and day. A good development tool will reduce development time and turn anyone into a web developer. A bad development tool will cause headaches, restrict your options, and even harm the company.
With so many options, how can you distinguish the good from the bad before you buy?
The key to success is finding the development tool or IDE that provides the most options and the fewest limitations. While that decision is largely based on your company’s needs, here are 7 essential elements that you should look for in any development tool or IDE: …
7 things to look for in a web application development tool or IDERead More »
What’s keeping your company from modernizing those legacy applications? If our 2011 survey is any indication, the answer is “There’s not enough time.” In fact, the survey results show that modernization is the biggest need, but a lack of time keeps most companies from addressing that need.
If your company lacks the time required to modernize your legacy apps, you’ll certainly want to read this story. It explains how one very small IT staff with limited time and resources managed to modernize their legacy green-screen interface quickly. You can read the whole story here.
Application architecture is one of the single most important, yet boring topics you’ll ever run across. You’re not going to make too many friends at a party talking about technology stacks, open frameworks, or any other architecture-related themes. In fact, you’ll probably get a lot of blank stares wherever you talk about those things.
Yet, the difference between good and bad application architecture is mind-blowing. Good architecture is nearly invisible. Everything just works, it’s easy to maintain, and all of your applications operate in perfect harmony.
On the other hand, bad architecture is only invisible at the beginning, but becomes increasingly obvious over time. When you buy a new development tool or begin using pre-built software, the applications may initially work fine. But, if they’re built on bad architecture, problems will quickly arise. What exactly can you expect? Here are 5 costly problems caused by bad application architecture: …
5 big problems caused by bad application architectureRead More »
Perhaps a better question is this: Do your end users or company executives see your IT department as slow and unresponsive? Do users complain that it takes forever to get new applications from IT? Do new development projects take months to complete?
Now, I do realize that most IT departments are swamped with work. There aren’t enough hours in the day to handle the daily duties and develop new applications in a timely manner. So, what’s the answer?
How can you turn your time-strapped IT department into the most responsive department in the company?
Rather than tell you, here’s a great story of a developer who did just that. In fact, he started completing projects so quickly, one executive in his company claimed that he was “developing solutions waiting for problems.” To find out how he did it, you can read the whole story here.
In a recent article, I explained a couple of ways that embedded BI is typically used. Software companies embed third-party BI tools in their software to quickly add new capabilities. Internal IT staffs use embedded BI to solve user adoption problems.
The big question: What should you look for in embedded BI software? The answer: While there are more, here are 5 of the most important features to look for in embedded business intelligence software: …
5 things to look for in embedded Business IntelligenceRead More »
What does “internal productivity” mean? It means your IT staff is productive without relying on outside help. It means that you develop your apps and complete your projects quickly using your current staff and skills. It means you no longer rely on outsourcing companies or consultants.
This is a great goal for any IT department, but it’s much easier said than done. How can you accomplish everything you want to accomplish, using your current IT staff? Rather than explain it to you, I have a great example of a small IT staff that had some urgent projects, but couldn’t bring in outside help. What did they do? They found a way to become internally productive, and managed to fix everything themselves. You can read the whole story here.
User adoption is one of the biggest reasons why business intelligence fails. After all, if no one uses it, business intelligence is worthless. What keeps users from using business intelligence? Depends on the user. Maybe it’s too difficult. Maybe it’s inconvenient. Maybe they’re just lazy.
Whatever the reason, business intelligence that isn’t used is not only a waste of money, it’s a waste of time. Users go back to what they’re comfortable doing, like using Excel or asking the IT department to run reports.
If any of this sounds familiar, then keep reading. I’m going to explain the concept of embedded BI, and how it can solve this problem. …
Can embedded BI solve your user adoption problems?Read More »