mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

Weekly recap: 4 possible futures for IT, HTML5 is growing, and more…

By Joe Stangarone / Business Dashboards, BYOD, HTML5, Mobile apps

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 four possible futures for IT, HTML5, and more. I hope you find them useful:

HTML5 use is real: Majority of developers find it important for their job in next 12 months
If your company is considering mobile apps, you’ll face one big question: Should we build mobile web apps or native apps? While native has been popular among consumer recently, a recent survey indicates that developers think that HTML5 importance (particularly with mobile web apps) is growing. …

Weekly recap: 4 possible futures for IT, HTML5 is growing, and more…Read More »

Top 7 mobile app mistakes to avoid

By Joe Stangarone / Mobile, Mobile apps

What do television, personal computers, the radio, electricity, and the internet have in common? A couple of things actually: First, each one represents a major technology shift. Second, each one was adopted at a slower pace than smartphones have been adopted in the U.S.

That’s right. According to these statistics, smartphone adoption is faster than any other major technology shift in the U.S.

Now you see what all the mobile app fuss is about.

Businesses aren’t just rushing towards the latest trend, they’re rushing to take advantage of the fastest growing technology shift in history. But, be careful. Mobile app development isn’t something you should approach blindly. Understand your options and the pros and cons of each approach before you begin, and you’ll avoid a heap of problems.

What kind of problems? Mobile app mistakes could leave you with expensive maintenance, security breaches, user adoption issues, and more. How can you avoid these problems? If your company is considering mobile apps, here are 7 big mistakes to avoid: …

Top 7 mobile app mistakes to avoidRead More »

How to add commenting to your business applications

By Joe Stangarone / Web Applications

Commenting is everywhere on the web, and it’s generally very useful. What do other people think about a product? Check the comments. How are others reacting to a news story or article? Check the comments.

We no longer have to wonder what other people think about a product, recipe, picture, or nearly anything else on the web. Commenting facilitates interaction and lets anyone share their thoughts and opinions with others.

However, while commenting is widely used around the web, it has largely skipped the world of business applications. That being said, I believe that commenting does have a place in business apps, and could actually be quite useful. …

How to add commenting to your business applicationsRead More »

Weekly recap: Develop applications that empower users, BYOD acceptance, and more…

By Joe Stangarone / Application Architecture, Application Development, BYOD

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 importance of developing applications that empower users, cloud architecture, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Can business embed IT
Like it or not, IT departments are changing. We’re seeing a shift towards the integration of IT and the business. Technology shouldn’t be confined to one department. It must permeate the entire business. …

Weekly recap: Develop applications that empower users, BYOD acceptance, and more…Read More »

5 most common IT money-wasters

By Joe Stangarone / Development Tools, Spreadsheets, Tech Advice, Web Development

Tell me, is your IT department wasting your company’s money? That’s a tricky question to answer. Nobody wants to waste money, yet despite best efforts to the contrary, many IT departments unwittingly waste money every day.

How so? While I couldn’t possibly cover every way in one blog post, I’ve put together a list of some of the most common ways that IT departments waste money. If you’re looking for ways your company can save money, start by investigating these 5 areas: …

5 most common IT money-wastersRead More »

Getty Images Demands Big Money from Website Owners

By Joe Stangarone / Web Applications

** This guest post was written by Ryan Healy. Learn more about Ryan in the author bio at the end of this post. **

Have you ever used a picture on your web applications or website? And if so, have you taken the time to verify that you have the proper copyright to use that image?

If not, you could soon be the unhappy recipient of a settlement demand letter (AKA “extortion letter”) that asks for a large sum of money to pay for “damages.”

In recent years, companies like Getty Images, iStockphoto, Masterfile, Corbis, Jupiter Images, and others have become aggressive in pursuing people who infringe on an image’s copyright.

It doesn’t matter whether you use an unlicensed image accidentally or intentionally — the consequences are the same. …

Getty Images Demands Big Money from Website OwnersRead More »

Weekly recap: Top 10 strategic technologies for 2013, eCommerce mistakes, and more…

By Joe Stangarone / Business Intelligence, eCommerce, Tech trends

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 strategic technologies for 2013, Business Intelligence, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Business intelligence and why you need it
Business intelligence is a hot topic right now, but why is it so important? Why does your business need “business intelligence” all of a sudden. Here’s an article that will help you answer those questions. …

Weekly recap: Top 10 strategic technologies for 2013, eCommerce mistakes, and more…Read More »

4 ways to breathe new life into your old systems

By Joe Stangarone / ERP Systems, Modernization

Is your old enterprise software hurting your company? It happens more than you think. Although your old enterprise system might still “work”, it could be wasting money, harming productivity, or holding your company back. How so? Here are three common ways that old enterprise software can hurt a company:

1. End users are forced to work outside of the system: If end users aren’t happy with the tools provided by an enterprise system, they find workarounds outside of the system. A common example: Enterprise systems often offer sub-par reporting options, driving users to create their reports with Excel. This is not only inefficient, but leads to errors and wasted money.

2. You pay for unnecessary licenses: How many of your licensed users actually use your enterprise software? For instance, maybe some licensed users are no longer with the company. Perhaps others have switched job roles and no longer use the software. Chances are, you’re paying more in licensing fees than you should.

3. Locks your company to old technology: Does your old enterprise software keep your company from taking advantage of newer technology like web applications, mobile apps, or cloud computing? If so, it not only makes your company appear outdated, it’s also keeping you from all of the benefits that come with these new features.

So, if your old enterprise software is harming your company, you must answer one big question: What are you going to do about it? After all, replacing an ERP, MRP, or any other type of enterprise system is no simple job. It’s expensive, risky, and time consuming. As anyone who has experienced it knows, when implementations like this fail, they fail spectacularly. …

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How mobile will revolutionize inventory tracking

By Joe Stangarone / Mobile, Mobile apps

Mobile is about to change inventory tracking as you know it. Before I show you how, let’s take a quick look at current inventory tracking methods. Right now, inventory is typically tracked in one of two ways:

1. Manually: This involves employees manually logging inventory on paper, and then entering that information into their system. This is the cheapest option, but also the most time consuming.

2. Barcode scanners and software: This involves employees scanning inventory with barcode scanners, which automatically update the system. This is certainly much faster than tracking inventory by hand, but purchasing all of the scanning equipment and software can get expensive.

How will mobile change this? Mobile provides an inexpensive, yet efficient method to track inventory that can easily replace expensive barcode scanners.

Here’s a great story that illustrates this point: A medical supply distributor needed a better way to track incoming inventory. Rather than purchase expensive scanning equipment, they used mobile apps running on standard smartphones that automatically update inventory levels in their system. The result: They nearly automated inventory logging while using inexpensive, off-the-shelf parts. That’s just a quick summary, but you can read the whole story right here.