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.

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How to create a shopping cart application in 1 hour

EducationSummary: The m-Power Development Platform is a low-code development platform that lets you create enterprise-class web applications without coding. This video takes you on a deep dive into m-Power’s build process, walking you through a start-to-finish shopping cart development project in just 1 hour.
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The 3 most important aspects of a business dashboard

analyticsSummary: Business dashboards help organizations get a clear view of their business at a glance. But, some dashboards do a better job of that than others. What’s the difference between the two? What elements must an effective dashboard include? What separates a good dashboard from a worthless dashboard? In this article, we explore the most important aspects of a business dashboard, and explain why each is important.
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Need a web solution right away? Here are two options.


As businesses struggle to adapt to current economic and remote work challenges, we’ve noticed that many are facing similar issues. Over the last couple of months, we’ve seen an increasing number of businesses dealing with these problems:
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7 web application development challenges you can’t ignore

developmentSummary: As technology evolves at breakneck speed, it brings new opportunities and challenges to web application development. If businesses want to create lasting, successful web applications, they must address these challenges.
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Remote training classes now available!

I truly hope you are staying safe and healthy as we navigate through this COVID-19 pandemic. It’s certainly a strange and difficult time. Businesses are being forced to adapt on the fly.

Here at mrc, we’ve made the move to a fully remote workforce during this time. How does impact our customer support? Thanks to modern communication tools, our support team can still provide the same level of service you’ve come to expect. If you have a support request, please submit it using the normal channels.

What about training classes? I realize that our normal training classes are held in-person…which aren’t feasible right now. Don’t worry, our support team has created remote training classes that are held via video conference. While you can customize your class, we’ve structured learning options into three tiers:

  1. Beginner – Geared for folks with limited m-Power exposure. These options focus on the essentials, such as: Reporting, menuing, m-Painter, promotion, automation, and debugging.
  2. Intermediate – Designed for users with a few years of m-Power experience. Intermediate options focus on more involved m-Power features, such as: Security, Bootstrap, Workflow Designer, application auditing, and dashboards.
  3. Advanced – Geared for the m-Power expert. These courses involve our most technical concepts, such as: Freemarker, user privileges, session variables, web services, AJAX, custom logic, and clustering.

You can select any topics you want, across any level. These options are designed to be a la carte, and we can cover 3-4 topics per day in a class. I believe these remote learning sessions will help our customers in a few important ways:

  • Simplicity – Remote training gives you all the interaction of an in-person training class, without the travel hassle or expense!
  • Flexible – Interested in just a few concepts? Great! Want to combine topics from different courses? No problem. We will put together a course that meets your needs.
  • Data Familiarity – Remote Learning classes will focus around your data. We’ll introduce a topic over our sample data, then move towards building apps over your data.
  • On-Demand Training – Conventional (in-person) training is usually Monday-Friday in one week. Remote Learning is different–we’ll work around your schedule. Our courses can be scheduled in half-day or full-day increments. So if that means you want to have m-Power remote sessions every other Thursday morning over a given time frame, we can make that happen!

To learn more about our remote learning options, please visit this page. Of course, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or comments!

Remote training classes now available! Read More »

Low-code: The catalyst to digital transformation?

EducationSummary: Digital transformation is a priority for many businesses these days. However, studies find that most lack the skills and resources for digital transformation–leading to high failure rates. In this article, we explore how low-code platforms can help businesses avoid many common issues in their digital transformation journey.
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Legacy System Modernization 101

EducationSummary: Legacy Modernization is an important, yet complex topic. Because every business is different, modernization needs vary from one company to the next. Which applications should be modernized? Which modernization approach is right for you? What steps should you take to ensure a successful project? In this guide, we answer all of these questions and more!
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7 essential elements of embedded analytics software

EducationSummary: What is embedded analytics and why is it so important? What should you look for in an embedded analytics platform? While the requirements vary by company, I believe that certain elements are essential in a good embedded analytics tool. In this article, we explore 7 essential elements you should look for in any good embedded solution.
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9 steps to streamline any business workflow

developmentSummary: In the digital age, speed is the name of the game. Any modern business needs efficient processes to operate at their best. The problem: Many are still living in the past. They rely on inefficient or manual processes that slow down their operations. How can you streamline your inefficient workflows? In this article, we explore 9 steps to meet this goal.
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3 lessons that CIOs learned in 2019

EducationSummary: As we start a new year, it helps to reflect on (and learn from) the past year. In this article, we take a look at the past year from an IT leader perspective. What are the most important lessons that IT leaders and CIOs learned (or should have learned) in 2019? What important takeaways from the last 12 months will help you succeed in the coming year? We answer those questions (and more) in this article.
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8 enterprise web application development trends to watch in 2020

developmentSummary: As digital technologies transform the business landscape, web development becomes increasingly important. In the near future, those who keep up with changing development trends will have an advantage over those who don’t. So, where is enterprise application development headed in the coming year? Learn more in this article.
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7 technologies that CIOs can’t ignore in 2020

trendsSummary: As technology evolves, it plays an increasingly important role in the business world. More than ever, the modern CIO must stay ahead of the ever-changing technology curve, and understand how new technologies might affect their business. What technologies could have the biggest impact on the business world in the coming year? In this article, we explore a few more technologies that the modern CIO cannot afford to ignore.
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7 challenges facing CIOs and IT leaders in 2020

EducationSummary: As technology evolves at an ever-increasing pace, it brings major challenges to the IT department. Modern CIOs and IT leaders must recognize and prepare for these challenges if they hope to remain competitive in the coming years. What challenges can we expect in 2020? In this article, we examine 7 challenges facing CIOs and IT leaders.
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What are the most over-hyped tech trends right now?

trendsSummary: Technology trends can be tricky. Some receive a massive amount of publicity, and live up to the hype. Others receive a lot of hype, yet don’t go anywhere. How can you identify which trends are worth your time, and which are overhyped? In this article, we explore 4 tech trends that are currently receiving more hype than they deserve.
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How to build an application with a low-code development tool

developmentA growing trend, I’ve written quite a bit about low-code development recently. We’ve explored the low-code basics, the pros and cons of low-code, how to find the right platform, and more. However, I realized that I’ve never shown you how to create a web application with a low-code platform.

So, we created a video to do just that. The following video walks you through a start-to-finish process used to create an application with a low-code tool. You might be surprised to learn just how simple this process is.

Want to try it for yourself? Set up an m-Power Test Drive.

Note: This video is best viewed in 720p(HD) resolution at full screen. Click the “gear” icon below the video to change the resolution.

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The Mobile App Comparison Chart: Hybrid vs. Native vs. Mobile Web (2019 Update)

mobileSummary: As mobile apps grow in the business world, companies face a problem: Misconceptions still surround mobile app development. Many businesses venture into mobile app development without truly understanding the difference between each approach. Others enter the mobile app world with false beliefs about the pros and cons of each method…that could cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars. To help clear up confusion, we’ve created a handy comparison chart to help you understand which mobile app approach is right for you.
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7 business tasks you could (and should) be automating

developmentSummary: These days, every business wants new ways to improve productivity. For many, the answer lies right under their nose. While they may not realize it, they’re wasting hours of time every week completing manual tasks that could (and should) be automated. What common tasks should your business automate?
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8 Principles of Modern Web Application Development

Updated October 2026 with an eighth principle on AI-written code, the 2025 OWASP Top 10, Google’s current speed targets, and a new FAQ. The expert quotes are from the original 2019 article.

developmentSummary: Web application development has changed over the past few years. Some principles that applied in the past no longer make sense, while new ones have sprung up. In this article, we explore 8 principles that modern web developers should follow when building business applications. The eighth is new for 2026 and covers code written by AI tools.

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7 Essential Elements of Enterprise Reporting Software

Updated October 2026 with a seventh element on AI features and a new FAQ. The expert quotes are from the original 2019 article.

EducationSummary: What should you look for in enterprise reporting software? The requirements vary by company, but I believe certain elements belong in any good reporting tool. Here are 7 of them. The seventh is new for 2026 and covers the AI features now showing up in reporting tools.

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