mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

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

Weekly recap: Survival strategies for IT chaos, why your development process is broken, 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 survival strategies for IT chaos, why your software development process is broken, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Why your software development process is broken
As businesses push for increased flexibility, many discover that one of the biggest problems lies in their development process. Despite their best efforts, they just can’t turn development projects around in time. What’s the answer?
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Weekly recap: Survival strategies for IT chaos, why your development process is broken, and more…Read More »

6 keys to a high-performing IT department

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ProductivityDo you want to hear a shocking statistic? According to Forrester Research, 70% of the companies listed on the Fortune 1,000 list ten years ago have now vanished. The reason: an inability to adapt to change.

As modern technology evolves, we’re seeing a shift in the business world. In the age of the web, business agility trumps size. More and more, the ability to adapt to change is critical to a company’s success.

From a technology perspective, this means that IT departments must evolve. Keeping the lights on is no longer good enough. These days, IT must innovate. They must move quickly. They must drive business forward.

However, this is impossible with slow or inefficient IT departments. The question is…how can IT departments become more efficient? What’s needed to create a high-performance IT department that actually pushes the business forward?

We posed those questions to a few successful IT leaders, who delivered some great advice that you can find below. If you want to create a high-performing IT department, you must:
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5 Reasons for Non-Adoption or Circumvention of a BI Solution

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Education** This guest post was written by Estelle Nicholson. Learn more about Estelle in the author bio at the end of this post. **

After an initial burst of enthusiasm, we’ve discovered that BI projects, like many other IT projects, get derailed or circumvented for a host of reasons. People who approach BI projects come from environments outside of traditional IT, so it’s important to understand reasons why your project isn’t getting off the ground (or why it’s crashing) and some of the potential consequences.
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Weekly recap: 20 great ideas to steal, the growing importance of business agility, 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 great tech ideas, the growing importance of business agility, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Make Business Agility A Key Corporate Attribute – It Could Be What Saves You
Here’s an amazing stat: 70% of the companies on the fortune 1,000 list a decade ago have now vanished. Why? They couldn’t adapt to change. Agility is quickly becoming a critical aspect of business, and one that you can’t ignore (if you want to survive).
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Weekly recap: 20 great ideas to steal, the growing importance of business agility, and more…Read More »

7 things experienced CIOs and IT leaders wish they knew earlier

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EducationA couple of weeks back, I put together an article entitled, “7 things experienced web developers wish they knew earlier.” It was filled with great advice from long-time developers, who shared some of the most important lessons they learned over the years.

That got me thinking. What about other professions? In any job, you’re bound to know more today than you knew starting out. There must be at least one important lesson that you wish you knew earlier.

Today, I’d like to approach this topic from a CIO and IT leader perspective. If you’re an experienced CIO or IT leader, what do you know now that you wish you knew when you started your career? If you were to have a conversation with a younger version of yourself, what advice would you give?

We asked those questions to experienced CIOs and IT leaders, and received some great input. I’ve compiled their advice below, but–as always–feel free to contribute your thoughts in the comments. Here are 7 things experienced CIOs and IT leaders wish they knew earlier:
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Is the CIO position dying or becoming more important?

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EducationOver the last few years, I’ve seen countless articles predicting the “death of the CIO.” Frankly, I’m tired of it.

Sure, the CIO position is evolving. It’s becoming more challenging. But, it isn’t dying. Far from it. As data expands and technology becomes an increasingly important part of business, the CIO’s role becomes even more critical.

These days, the modern CIO is pulled in all directions. They must keep the business current with rapidly evolving technology. They must address the ever-growing number of consumer devices and consumer applications in the workplace. They must keep the business’ current technology running smoothly while preparing for the future.

I could go on. The point is…CIOs and IT leaders have become even more important than ever before. The responsibilities and duties placed on these positions is only growing.

The question isn’t, “Is the CIO position dying?” Rather, the question should be, “How can modern CIOs address their rapidly growing challenges and responsibilities?”

Here’s one option to consider: Use a web application development platform. How does that help? More than you might think. We’ve put together a short paper that explains how web application development platforms (like m-Power) can help modern CIOs solve many of the issues they face today. You can find it right here.

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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Weekly recap: 6 technologies you should learn this year, the ROI of BI, 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 ROI of BI, technology you should learn, and more. I hope you find them useful:

More mobile, more apps: Is your business ready?
This article asks an important question: Is your business ready for mobile? It’s becoming more and more important for businesses to invest in a long-term mobile strategy. Not sure where to start? Here’s a short white paper that outlines some key considerations for businesses approaching mobile apps.
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Weekly recap: 6 technologies you should learn this year, the ROI of BI, and more…Read More »