mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

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Education

7 signs that your Business Intelligence (BI) needs an overhaul

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EducationMany companies are stuck using BI tools and practices that are in desperate need of replacement. These outdated BI tools/practices waste precious time, harm decision-making, and keep these companies from truly taking advantage of their data.

How do you know? Outdated BI displays many warning signs. Unfortunately, many companies either ignore, or don’t recognize these signs. Maybe they don’t like change. Maybe they don’t realize there’s a better way. Whatever the reasons, ignoring these warning signs will ultimately lead to larger problems.

So, what are these warning signs? How can you know if your company’s BI needs an overhaul? To help you out, I’ve solicited input from multiple experts and have compiled their advice below. Here are 7 warning signs that you’re dealing with outdated BI: …

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How to create web reports your executives love

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EducationTell me: Are you happy with your reporting? Or, perhaps a better question: Are your executives happy with your reporting? If you answered “Yes” to both questions, I applaud you. But, you are in the minority.

Reporting is a perpetual problem. It was a problem 30 years ago. It’s still a problem today. Case in point: We recently attended a conference, and reporting was one of the biggest topics of conversation…but not in a good way. Many of the executives we spoke with voiced their displeasure over their company’s reporting.

The big question: How can you improve your reporting? How can you create web reports that your executives will love? While I’ve frequently written about reporting in the past, today I’m taking a new approach. To help answer that question, we’ve solicited input from other experts in the field, and have compiled their advice (as well as some of my own) below. I hope you find it useful: …

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What is n-Tier architecture, and how does it help you?

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EducationHave you ever wondered why your business applications don’t integrate well with other systems or applications? Have you ever wondered why your applications don’t adapt to changing technology? Have you wondered why it takes so long to add new features to your applications?

Chances are, the problem lies in your application architecture.

While often ignored, architecture is the most important aspect of business applications. Applications built on bad architecture will have all sorts of problems. They won’t grow with your company. They’re less secure. They’re difficult to maintain. I could go on, but you can read more about the benefits of good architecture in this article.

So, what makes good application architecture? How can you build applications on architecture that will grow with your business and adapt to future technology? While you have multiple application architecture options, we prefer the n-Tier approach. Rather than list every reason right here, we’ve created a short video that explains n-Tier architecture and how it helps your business.

7 common mobile mistakes that drive users crazy

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EducationAs more and more businesses venture into the mobile app world, there’s bound to be some growing pains. That happens with every new trend. Do you remember how bad websites looked when the internet was gaining popularity? Yikes!

Mobile applications provide an amazing opportunity for business, but also represent uncharted waters. How do you build mobile apps that help your business? How can you avoid the mistakes that alienate your users? If your business is building, or considering mobile apps, I’d like to help you avoid these mistakes.

Now, before I elaborate on the most common mobile mistakes, I’d like to quickly clarify the term “mobile app.” Many associate that term with native apps, when in reality, mobile apps can refer to any of three different app types: Native apps, hybrid apps, or mobile web apps (Here’s a table that explains the differences). When I say “mobile app”, I’m referring to mobile apps in general, not simply native apps.

Okay, let’s get into it. If you’re building mobile apps, here’s a list of the most common mistakes that will drive your users absolutely crazy. Am I missing anything? If so, please share in the comments. …

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Business advantages of Java

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EducationIf your company needs to build new web apps or just bring your current apps to the web, you have plenty of languages to choose from. Which one is best for your company?

Now, I realize this is a controversial topic, and I’m certainly not interested in starting a big war over programming language superiority. I’ve seen those arguments, and let me tell you…nobody wins.

That being said, I will gladly tell you why we chose Java, and why we believe it is such a great option for business. Rather than write it all in a blog post, however, we created this short video that quickly explains the business benefits of Java. I hope you find it useful.

If you could start over…

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Education“Why can’t our applications do (fill in the blank)?”

How many times have you asked that (or a similar) question? How many times have you wished that your old business applications were more capable, or included modern features?

Let me ask you a question: If you could start over, and build your applications for today’s world, what would you include? Mobile apps? Maybe email and sms messaging integration? Better reporting, BI, or workflow features? The list could go on and on.

Of course, all of this wishful thinking doesn’t do you any good. You can’t throw out your old apps and systems and build new ones from the ground up. That’s an expensive, time-consuming, and risky project. That’s something most companies just can’t do.

But, here’s something you can do: You can bring these modern features to your old apps and systems. No need to replace it. You can have all of the modern features you want, today! To learn more, this guide explains how m-Power lets you build modern features over your existing system, and even gives you a glimpse of what’s possible.

6 strategic development questions that many overlook

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EducationI’ve noticed a lack of long-term, strategic thinking in the business application development world. Many businesses build applications for current needs, but ignore the future.

It usually goes something like this: A manager says, “I need an application that does X, Y, and Z. When can we have it?” The developers rush through the project, deliver the application, and everyone’s happy.

Or, at least they’re happy for a year or so. Then the business changes, technology advances, and new trends roll around. Now, the application must also support A, B, and C. But it can’t. It wasn’t built for change. It wasn’t built for the future.

Now what happens? They need new apps. All of the previous work is now wasted because they didn’t build the initial app with the future in mind.

That leads to the obvious question: “How do you build applications for the future?” How do you build applications that adapt to change?

The answer: It starts with asking the right questions from the get-go. Ask strategic, long-term questions before you build your applications. To give you an idea of what to ask, I’ve come up with a short list of strategic questions to consider before building a business web application. While I’m sure there are others, these are all key questions which will help you build applications that last: …

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7 major web development trends of the next 5 years

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EducationDriven largely by the rise of mobile computing, web development has evolved dramatically over the last 5 years. Just think: Five short years ago, we developed web applications for use on a PC. Now, we develop applications for multiple devices.

While I could list many more ways web development has changed in the last few years, I’d like to instead focus on the future. How is web application development changing? What big trends will shape web development over the next 5 years?

I’ve compiled a list of trends that I believe will shape web application development in the coming years, which includes both my own predictions and predictions from others. While I don’t consider this a comprehensive list, I do believe that each of these trends will affect web development in the coming years.

One more thing: As this is a business-focused blog, the trends below are geared primarily at business application development…though most of them apply to development in general. Of course, if you think I forgot any major trends, please feel free to add them in the comments. …

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Workflow application demo

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EducationA couple of months back, we released a powerful new m-Power feature: Event-triggered messaging. In short, it lets your applications deliver email or sms messages on a pre-determined schedule, or based on application events.

Now, you can use this feature in all sorts of ways–from running and emailing reports on a scheduled basis to automatically corresponding with customers and everything in between. Really, you’re only limited by your imagination.

Today, I’d like to show you one very powerful use for event-triggered messaging: Workflow applications! That’s right, this new feature lets you create new workflow applications, or even add workflow elements to your existing applications.

Rather than try to explain it, we’ve put together this short workflow application demo video. Hopefully, it will give you a better idea of what’s possible, and even spark some ideas of your own. Enjoy!

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How to build applications your users will hate

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EducationIT departments are often frustrated by poor application adoption. They spend months building applications for their end users, only to see low adoption rates upon completion. The very users that begged the IT department for the application don’t use it once it’s built.

Why? What causes low user adoption? What makes users dislike an application that they themselves begged the IT department to deliver?

While there’s no single answer, user adoption problems typically stem from several common mistakes. Which mistakes? We posed this question to a few experts and have included their advice (along with some actionable takeaways) below. User adoption problems usually occur when developers…
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