mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

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

6 essential elements of a good reporting solution

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EducationHave you ever purchased business software, only to realize later that it didn’t quite meet every requirement? Maybe you overlooked a requirement, or maybe you assumed certain capabilities were standard, but they weren’t.

If you’re looking around at reporting tools, I want to help you avoid that mistake. The first (and most important) piece of advice is this: Never assume. Don’t just assume that every tool is created equal, or has similar features. Some tools may look impressive, but completely leave out some “basic” features.

So, what do you look for in a reporting tool? Obviously, the requirements vary by company, but I believe that certain elements are essential in a good reporting tool. What are they? We’ve put together a handy list of 6 essential elements you should look for in any good reporting solution. I hope you find it useful!

Solving the “build vs. buy” debate

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Save MoneyIt’s a common question, one that undoubtedly emerges with most large software purchases: Should we build or buy? Do we build our own solution from scratch or purchase a pre-built, off-the-shelf solution?

On one hand, building a custom solution is ideal. You’re left with software built specifically for your company, built to handle those small details unique to your business. That sounds great, but…there’s a problem: It’s expensive and time consuming. Building a custom solution from the ground up can take a year or two, depending on complexity. Oftentimes, it requires bringing in outside consultants, which only adds to the cost. …

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Create business reports in under 5 minutes

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Save TimeSome people request them from the IT department. Others lock themselves in their offices for a day or two and go crazy with spreadsheets. Others delegate the task. Whatever the method, everyone has a process for creating business reports.

But, what if your process wastes time? What if the hours you spend running reports or analyzing data are unnecessary?

Here’s a good test: Does it take longer than 5 minutes? If so, you’re wasting time. Within a matter of seconds, you should be able to see any piece of data you wish to see. For example, applications like this interactive report or this web pivot table report give you a high level view of data, but let you “slice-and-dice” it however you want. …

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Build 2 web apps in 45 minutes (without programming)

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Save TimeCreating enterprise web applications doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. We’ve set up a free m-Power trial that will walk you through the process of developing enterprise level web applications without programming. The on-screen tour will guide you through the creation of a simple web application, and the whole process should only take about 5-10 minutes.

Get started right here>>

Why are so many IT departments outsourced?

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Save MoneyDo you know why so many IT departments get outsourced? Because many businesses view IT as a service organization, existing only to support the business. They view IT as “order-takers,” not innovators. From their perspective, if the IT department exists only to take orders from the business, why not outsource?

I think that perception needs to change, and I’d like to show you how. …

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Stop wasting money on legacy application maintenance

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Save MoneyAccording to a recent survey, the federal government spends $35 billion every year maintaining legacy applications. In other words, it costs $35 billion dollars just to keep everything running smoothly. When I hear numbers like this, a couple of questions immediately come to mind. How do they determine maintenance cost? How much would it cost to maintain modern applications?

I think the better question is this: Why is maintenance for legacy applications more expensive than maintenance for modern applications? After all, if you modernized your applications, you would have to maintain the new applications too. What makes legacy application maintenance so expensive? While I’m sure there are more, here are 4 big reasons: …

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Create business dashboards the easy way

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Save TimeWhy don’t you have business dashboards yet? In my experience, if a company doesn’t have business dashboards, it’s usually for one of two reasons: Either they don’t see the value, or they think it’s too difficult.

What’s the value of a business dashboard? A good dashboard gives you a clear view of your business, improves your decision making, and helps you find problems before they get out of hand. …

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Mobile applications: Why architecture matters

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Save TimeA couple of months ago, I wrote up my thoughts on developing mobile applications for business. In short, I believe that creating web apps designed for mobile use makes more business sense than creating platform-specific applications. I’d like to go one step further and explain how this concept works from an architectural perspective.

First, you must understand n-Tier architecture. While this sounds like a complicated technical term, I assure you that it’s relatively simple and makes sense from a business perspective. In short, n-Tier architecture breaks an application up into separate layers, or tiers. Typically, there’s a presentation layer (what you see in the browser), an application layer (your business logic), and a database layer (data storage). …

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2 ways a portal will help business (and how to make one)

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Save TimeA customer portal (or customer extranet) is a secure area of your website designed for your customers. They can log in and perform a number of different tasks, such as pay their bill, view their information, purchase new products, ask a question, etc… If your business has customers (and I hope that it does), you should really have a portal set up. Why? I could rattle off a number of reasons, but here are the two biggest ways a portal/extranet will help your business: …

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4 reasons why software purchases fail

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Save MoneyHave you ever been in a “blame” meeting? It’s one of those meetings called when numbers are down or after a project or purchase failed miserably. As you might guess, there’s a lot of finger pointing and blame spreading. Not only are these meetings painful, they are completely unproductive. Since everyone is too busy deflecting blame, no one learns from their mistakes.

I’d like to help you avoid these meetings. Obviously, I can’t write a definitive guide on how to avoid failure, as every business and situation is different. However, I can help you avoid failure in one area that applies to most companies: Software purchases. In my experience, software purchases usually fail for one of four reasons. I’d like to explain those reasons and then tell you how to avoid them. …

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