mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

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

Month: March 2014

6 Ways to Bridge the IT Skills Gap

EducationA recent study finds that a whopping 93% of businesses indicate there is an IT skills gap–a substantial shortfall between the supply of qualified IT professionals and the demand for modern IT skills. As technology evolves at breakneck speed, this IT skills gap is widening. Businesses are having more and more trouble finding IT pros with the modern skills they require–and the problem is only growing worse.

The big(ger) problem: The same study finds that the importance of information technology to a company’s overall success is growing. In other words, as technology becomes more important, finding employees with modern technology skills is becoming more challenging.

The real difficulty: Your company must address this skills gap while staying current with the ever-changing tech trends. After all, your business won’t stop and wait while you fix the skills gap. The competition won’t take a timeout while you search for modern skills. You must bridge the IT skills gap while operating at full speed.

How can companies deal with the shortage of qualified IT pros and developers? Outside of outsourcing everything or bringing in high-priced consultants, how can your company bridge this growing skills gap while remaining competitive?

Today, I’d like to focus on a few ways to address this IT skills gap in your company. How can your company stay on the cutting edge of technology in the midst of a skills gap? Here are 6 ways:

What is event-triggered messaging?

EducationToday, let’s explain another important term in the world of web application development: event-triggered messaging. What is it, why is it important, and how does it help your company? Let me explain.

Event-triggered messaging is a web application feature that involves automated email or sms messages sent on a pre-determined schedule, or based on application events. Messages can be triggered by any event, from customer interactions to changes in data and everything in between.

Weekly Recap: 10 best practices for legacy modernization, the future of information dashboards, and more…

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 data visualization, best practices for updating legacy applications, and more. I hope you find them useful:

IT Shifting from support function to business strategy
Nearly two out of three CIOs and other technology professionals say there’s a “major IT transformation” underway in their organizations, driven largely by broader efforts to deliver added value, enhance business performance and increase security, according to a new survey.

Weekly Recap: Data visualization is the future, how to measure mobile app ROI, and more…

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 data visualization, measuring mobile app ROI, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Application modernization a top federal priority
Over the past five years, legacy modernization has been a hot topic in federal government IT discussions. Modernization makes application environments more efficient and responsive, and puts them in a stronger position to address new requirements and technology.

5 (more) new realities IT must learn to accept

EducationEvery new tech trend comes with varying levels of acceptance among IT departments. When the web first rolled around, some recognized its value and jumped on board. Others sat back and waited. I’ve noticed similar responses to the recent major trends, like mobile and cloud computing.

Now, I’m not going to sit here and tell you which trends to adopt and which to ignore. After all, every company has different needs.

However, I’d like to take a step beyond the recent trends, and focus instead on the new “realities” brought about by these trends. What’s the difference between a trend and a reality? While you can choose whether or not to adopt a trend, realities aren’t up for debate. They’re happening, whether you like it or not. You can’t sit back and see what others are doing. You must adapt.

So, what are these new realities? While this isn’t an exhaustive list, here are 5 realities to which IT departments must adapt:

Weekly Recap: Mobile skills IT pros must master, startling security statistics, and more…

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 mobile skills IT pros must master, security statistics that show we need to reinvent enterprise IT, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Developing enterprise mobile applications
Mobile applications seem like a rite of passage for many enterprise development teams until they face the reality of supporting multiple devices and platforms. If your company doesn’t have one or two enterprise mobile applications, the perception is that the organization is getting left behind.

Top 10 mobile skills IT Pros must master
In a recent blog post, Gartner outlined 10 mobile technologies and skills that organizations need to master over the next two to three years. Additional training for enterprise IT staff will be especially critical during this time since mobile technology is evolving so quickly, with new risks as well as new capabilities emerging.

Security statistics show we need to reinvent enterprise IT
It seems that in a headlong race to become more agile and deliver on the innovation that the organization and the marketplace demands, enterprises are taking a fairly slack approach towards security. But perhaps this is an unavoidable reaction to the pressures organizations are under – is it feasible to deliver product more rapidly while still remaining secure?

What to consider when selecting a legacy modernization vendor
Legacy modernization isn’t an easy task, which is why in some situations an organization may opt to bring in a service provider. To achieve the maximum cost-saving benefits, it’s crucial that the relationship between a client and a vendor be solid. An organization’s laundry list of business needs and provider deliverables needs to be kept in mind when it’s hiring consultants and buying products for business transformation needs.

What is a ranking report (or “top N” report)?

EducationToday, let’s explain an important type of web report that could be a useful addition to any company’s reporting repertoire: the ranking report (also known as “the top N report”). What is it, why is it important, and how does it help your company? Let me explain.

The ranking (or top N) report creates variable rankings, across multiple dimensions, while specifying various selection criteria at run-time. In short, it lets you rank any aspect of your data from best to worst, or vice-versa. It lets users choose from a number of different criteria at run-time, and then instantly run a top/bottom ranking report complete with a graph.