mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

4 great examples of mobile apps improving business

You’ve probably heard all of the mobile statistics by now. Mobile is the fastest growing trend in history. Tablets will outsell PCs/laptops this year. Smartphone and tablets accounted for 70% of total devices sold in 2012. The statistics paint a pretty clear picture.

But, you already know that mobile is the next big thing. You know that mobile apps are quickly becoming essential to the business world. Recognizing the trend is the easy part. So, what’s the problem? If you’re like many companies, the problem is understanding how mobile can improve your business. What type of mobile app should your company build?

If you’re asking yourself those questions, I’d like to help spark some ideas. This article highlights four innovative ways other companies are using mobile apps to improve business. Along with explaining each app, I’ve also explained how you might possibly apply each example to your business. Hopefully, the examples will spark some mobile app ideas for your company: …

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Considering mobile apps? Read this first…

By Joe Stangarone / Mobile, Mobile apps

I’ve noticed some confusion surrounding the term, “Mobile app.” People typically associate the term “Mobile app” with apps that are built for a single platform and downloaded from an app store. In reality, those types of apps are native apps, and they’re only one of three mobile app types.

This is where many businesses get confused. They see the popularity of native apps among consumers, and assume it’s the best approach for business. However, while native apps work great for the consumer market, they’re often the worst of the three mobile app options for business.

Why? We’ve outlined the reasons for you in a free white paper entitled, “Native Mobile Apps: The wrong choice for business?” The paper also explains each development option from a business perspective, along with the pros and cons of each.

So, how should businesses approach mobile apps? The video below outlines one method of building mobile apps that’s specifically designed for businesses:

Weekly recap: 10 development predictions, the need for adaptable ERPs, and more…

By Joe Stangarone / Application Development, ERP Systems

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 application development predictions, why ERP systems must adapt to business changes, and more. I hope you find them useful:

SMEs must be able to adapt their ERP to business change
A recent study by Aberdeen Group highlights the importance of being able to react quickly/inexpensively to business change without major disruptions. In a growing organization, change is inevitable, and companies stuck with inflexible ERP systems will ultimately suffer. If your company is stuck with an outdated ERP system, this guide outlines one way to fix that problem. …

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Why development projects fail (and what can IT do about it?)

By Joe Stangarone / Application Development, Development Tools, Web Development

Depending on the survey you read, anywhere from 25% – 68% of IT projects fail. These failures often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, waste months (or years) of time, and usually lead to people losing their jobs.

The big question: Why do projects fail so regularly?

Today, I’d like to examine IT project failure, but focus specifically on development projects. Why do development projects fail? Perhaps a better question: What can your IT department do to make them succeed?

To help shed some light on why development projects fail, we posed the question to a few experts on the subject. I’ve listed their advice below, as well as a short “take-away” from each point that briefly explains how IT can avoid each problem. I hope you find it useful: …

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Build web-based pivot tables (and more) without programming

By Joe Stangarone / Web Development

If your development process is too slow, or if you just want to build web applications without programming, you should really sign up for a free m-Power Trial. It’s completely free, and guides you through the process of creating enterprise web applications using m-Power.

Here’s the best part: We’ve recently updated the m-Power Trial with additional guides to walk you through the creation of even more types of web applications! Now, Trial users can build any (or all) of these web app types:

1. Web-based pivot tables (like this example),
2. Interactive reports (like this example),
3. Database CRUD applications (like this example), and
4. Database lookup applications (like this example).

Each application only takes about 15-30 minutes to build, and the whole process is entirely point-and-click. Want to get started? Sign up for a free m-Power Trial right here.

Weekly recap: 5 ways devops can help companies, tablets outsell PCs, and more…

By Joe Stangarone / Application Development, Mobile, Shadow IT

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 how devops can help companies create applications faster, why “Shadow IT” must be embraced, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Shadow IT: Once hidden, often hated, but well worth embracing
The concept of “Shadow IT” is becoming more and more prevalent. Tired of waiting around for the IT department, end users are now buying and using SaaS services without the IT department’s knowledge or approval. IT departments are scrambling to adjust, driven by the fear of being bypassed altogether. The solution: Give users a development platform that meets their needs, while giving the IT department control over data and user access. …

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4 steps to create a more agile IT department

By Joe Stangarone / Application Architecture, Shadow IT

Many IT departments have developed a reputation of being slow and difficult. They make users jump through hoops and then take months to deliver requested solutions. The business users often feel like IT stands in their way, or even holds them back.

The problem is, business users now have other options. Many are bypassing IT altogether and using unsanctioned SaaS options to accomplish their goals. If IT can’t (or won’t) deliver solutions in a timely manner, they find another way.

IT departments have no choice: They must become more agile and responsive to the business user’s needs, or risk being bypassed.

The question is…how? How can a slow IT department become more agile and responsive?

We posed that question to a few industry experts, who delivered some excellent advice. You can read their tips below, as well as some of my own. I hope you find them useful: …

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Think your outdated ERP keeps you from mobile apps? Think again…

By Joe Stangarone / ERP Systems, Mobile apps

“We’d love to build mobile apps, but we can’t because our business runs on an ancient ERP system.” I’ve heard that phrase (or variations of the phrase) with increasing frequency recently. Many people think that mobile apps (or modern apps in general) aren’t even an option because their business still runs on an outdated enterprise system.

If you’re in that boat, I have some good news: You can still build mobile apps even if you’re tied to an old system. Better yet, you can even integrate these modern apps directly with your enterprise system…all without any modifications to the underlying code. To learn more, check out this video:

7 development mistakes that make you look bad

By Joe Stangarone / Web Development

Have you ever used a web application that made you ask, “What was the developer thinking?!” Maybe it had a confusing interface or didn’t work right in your browser. Maybe it just didn’t work as expected.

Over the years, I’ve seen all types of application development mistakes, ranging from confusing to downright annoying. I’d even classify some as “dangerous.” Some mistakes hurt the user experience, and others even harm the business. However, they all have one thing in common: They make the developer look bad.

If you develop web applications for your company, how can you avoid embarrassing mistakes like these? To help you avoid making the same errors, I’ve outlined some of the most common web application development mistakes below. If you can think of anything that I left out, feel free to add it in the comments: …

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