mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

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

How to Choose the Best Low-Code Development Tool for Your Business

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EducationLow-code development has taken the tech world by storm. According to Gartner, the low-code market will grow from $18 Billion in 2021 to $32 Billion by 2024. It’s picking up steam and shows no signs of slowing down.

The problem: As demand grows, so does the total number of platforms on the market. Anyone looking around for a low-code tool will find hundreds to choose from.

The worst part is, they’re all different. They all have different capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Some focus on mobile while others focus on workflow. Some offer reporting/dashboarding features while others don’t. I could go on.

How do you know which one is best for your business?

The answer: It depends on your business, needs, budget, etc… To help you cut through the confusion, we’ve written up whitepaper that goes into more detail on the topic. It explains key areas to consider when looking for a low-code tool, and will hopefully make the process less painful. You can find it here: How to Choose the Best Low-Code Platform for Your Business

Scalability, Reliability, and Cost Savings: The Benefits of Cloud Computing for Software Development

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Cloud computing has revolutionized the way software is developed, deployed, and managed, providing businesses with the ability to build and launch applications that can handle the demands of modern users. With its three primary benefits of scalability, reliability, and cost savings, cloud computing has made it easier than ever for businesses to develop software quickly and efficiently.

This article explores how cloud computing can benefit software development and how companies can leverage it to streamline operations. The ability to scale up or down resources on demand, the highly available and fault-tolerant infrastructure, and the pay-as-you-go cloud computing model have all transformed traditional software development into a faster, more efficient, and cost-effective process.

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Video: Create a database CRUD application in 5 minutes

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analyticsWe just released a new video that shows you how to create a database CRUD application in 5 minutes using a low-code development tool. If you’re not familiar with CRUD, it stands for Create, Read, Update, and Delete, and it’s a fundamental concept in database management.

A CRUD application lets you perform these four basic operations on a database table. I know…this might not sound very exciting. But CRUD applications are the backbone of most modern software applications.

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Video: Create a database CRUD application in 5 minutesRead More »

Case Study: How to get the most out of low-code

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When most companies look at low-code software, they’re trying to fix a specific need. Maybe they get it to create a specific web application or system, speed up development, or help their end users create the applications they need. Of course, it’s great for all of that. But…it can be so much more.

The fact is, most companies aren’t getting the maximum value out of their low-code investment. If you’re only using it to solve one problem or help in just one area of the business, you’re missing out.

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Case Study: How to get the most out of low-codeRead More »

Thanksgiving Day Football: Fun Facts, Stats, and Web Apps!

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In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, we decided to celebrate in true m-Power fashion: We made a data-driven web application! Better yet, it’s all about Thanksgiving Football! We grabbed all the Thanksgiving Football Game statistics we could find and put them in a database. Then, we created a few handy web applications that answer questions like:

  • What is my team’s record on Thanksgiving Day?
  • Which teams have made the most appearances on Thanksgiving day?
  • Who won last year (or any year, for that matter)?

Sounds exciting, right? You can find it here: Thanksgiving Football Statistics.

Bonus!

While we were building the applications, we ran across some great facts about the Thanksgiving Day football games. So, we’ve pulled some of the more interesting “fun facts” and listed them below. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Football Fun Facts

  • The Detroit Lions(82 appearances) and Dallas Cowboys(54 appearances) have appeared in Thanksgiving Games most frequently, but…have never played each other.
  • The Lions and the Cowboys have only ever played home games on Thanksgiving (which explains the first fact).
  • Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson holds the NFL record for most rushing yards (273) in a Thanksgiving game.
  • Reggie White won John Madden’s first-ever “Turkey Leg” award, which was given to the MVP of the Thanksgiving game starting in 1989.
  • The Jacksonville Jaguars are the only current team who have never played on Thanksgiving Day.
  • The only current teams who are winless on Thanksgiving are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Jacksonville Jaguars (because they haven’t played)
  • The Detroit Lions have the most Thanksgiving day wins (37), as well as the most Thanksgiving day losses (43).
  • The Brooklyn Dodgers are in the top 10 teams with the most Thanksgiving Day appearances…despite having folded in 1945.

Finally, from all of us here at mrc, we wish you safe travels and a very happy Thanksgiving!

5 (unique) ways to improve business productivity with technology

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trendsIn this article, we’ll explore actionable ways that your business can improve productivity. Since this is such a broad topic, I’m focusing only on improving productivity through the use of technology.

In the spirit of productivity, I don’t want to hide these tips behind a long intro. Rather, let’s get straight to the point with a couple of notes before we dive in.
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Case Study: Low-code doesn’t mean low customization

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developmentThere are many myths floating around about low-code software. One of the most common myths: Low-code means low customization. There’s a general belief that low-code tools offer limited customization and functionality. Many believe there’s no way to add features or customize the output to perfectly fit their organization’s needs.

The reality: Every low-code platform is different, especially when it comes to customization. The problem is, when people use a basic low-code tool that limits their options, they assume that all low-code tools are similar. This isn’t the case.

The fact is, many enterprise-class low-code tools won’t have these limitations. You can customize applications however you wish. You can add custom logic or features if needed. You can even edit at the code level on some tools.

Here’s a case study that provides a great example of this. An automotive service company needed a way to create web applications and workflows that could be:

  • customized to their exact business needs
  • integrated with their existing systems
  • used to securely capture, share, and manage data across distributed locations
  • created and delivered quickly

After trying other low-code tools that lacked important features and customization options, they discovered the m-Power Development Platform. Read the whole case study to learn how m-Power addressed their needs and why they say, “m-Power owns the space on customization in terms of how well it integrates into what you’re doing and how easy you make it.”

How to create a web-based data management system in 7 minutes

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analyticsHow easily (and securely) can you manage your business data? In my experience, businesses typically answer this question in one of three ways:

1.“We use spreadsheets to manage data”.
This is probably the most common response, but also the riskiest approach. Sure, spreadsheets are readily available and easy to work with. They do the job when you only have small amounts of data. The problem is that many businesses stick with this approach as their data grows. This is a mistake. Why? Spreadsheets aren’t designed to be multi-user data management tools. When you’re managing lots of data across many users, spreadsheets will waste time and lead to data errors.

2. “We don’t really have a good way for users to manage data.”
In many companies, data just sits in the database–inaccessible to business users. Sure, the IT department can run reports and make changes but no one else can.

3. “We have a web-based database management system.”
This is the ideal response. A web-based data management system provides a secure way for end users to manage database tables using a web browser. Security is in place to ensure that users can’t see or manage data that they’re not authorized to manage.

If you don’t have a web-based data management system yet, how do you create one? We’ve recently published a video that walks you through the whole process. In this video, we create three different applications that let users view and manage their database tables from a web browser. Then, we’ll add security to ensure that only specific users can modify the database. Finally, we’ll wrap everything up into a data management portal so users can easily access all of the applications. All this in 7 minutes! You can watch it here:

Want to learn more? Set up a demo here: Set up a demo.