Join us in exploring the world of modern development, evolving technologies, and the art of future-proof software
Summary: As web application development evolves, old development methods will not address the needs of the modern business. 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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5 big enterprise application development trends of 2016Read More »
Summary: Over the recent years, web development has changed significantly. Driven largely by the rise of recent trends (like mobile), the world of development is rapidly evolving. In this article, we’ll uncover what has changed, where development is headed, and how this effects your business.
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Web Development: What’s changed and where is it going?Read More »
Let me make a wild assumption: You probably don’t want to replace your business applications every few years. You’d like to build applications that last. You want to build applications that grow with your company and adapt to changing technology.
The big problem: Technology is evolving faster than ever, which makes business application development even more challenging. If built incorrectly, a modern application today might be outdated in just a few short years. Obviously, businesses can’t afford to replace their applications every few years.
How can you build applications that remain relevant for years to come? How can you build applications that scale with your company and adapt to changing tech trends?
To help you answer those questions, I’ve compiled a short list of tips that will help you build applications that last. Now, I’m keeping this relatively high-level. We could write pages and pages on how to implement each point below. Rather than get into all of the details, here are the key aspects to consider when building applications for the future. …
Web application development has experienced a fundamental shift over the last 5 years. Mobile devices have exploded. Consumer applications have largely surpassed business applications in both capabilities and overall simplicity. Development libraries, frameworks, languages, etc… have evolved.
The fact is, development standards have changed, yet many companies are stuck developing applications based on outdated standards and technology. If they don’t adapt, these companies will only fall further and further behind as technology rapidly evolves.
The big questions: How has development changed? What rules must developers follow when building modern web applications? What current development principles will help ensure success?
To help you answer those questions, here’s a short list of guidelines that you must follow when developing modern web applications. Of course, if you’d like to add anything to the list, please do so in the comments. …
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 productivity tips for developers, how enterprise IT gets creative, and more. I hope you find them useful:
If You Can’t Sell to Me on My iPhone, Best Buy, You Can’t Sell to Me at All
I noticed two key points in this article that businesses can’t ignore: First, the author expects to receive a mobile-optimized experience when viewing a site on his smartphone. Second, he purchased an item from Amazon, using his smartphone, while standing in a Staples store. This ties in perfectly with the article from last week: 3 new trends created by mobile (that you can’t ignore). …
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 improving application development, web accessibility, and more. I hope you find them useful:
Most data isn’t “big,” and businesses are wasting money pretending it is
It’s all over the tech sites. You’ve heard the hype. “Big Data” is the next big thing. Quick! Buy expensive software to manage all of your big data! Of course, I’m joking. The fact is, most companies don’t actually have “big data.” Unless you’re dealing with absolutely massive amounts of data, you don’t need “big data” software. You need BI software that will let you quickly analyze your data and run reports. If you’re looking for good BI software, here’s a handy guide that will help you choose the best option. …
Weekly recap: A strategy to improve application development, web accessibility, and more…Read More »
I’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: …
6 strategic development questions that many overlookRead More »
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. …
Weekly recap: 10 development predictions, the need for adaptable ERPs, and more…Read More »
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. …
Weekly recap: 5 ways devops can help companies, tablets outsell PCs, and more…Read More »
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 to improve application development, HTML5 tutorials, and more. I hope you find them useful:
Mobile developers look to cross platform development tools
A recent report highlights the current trends in mobile application development. As it turns out, developers are turning to tools that let them build one application for all platforms, rather than building separate applications for each platform. …
Weekly recap: 10 things to improve application development, HTML5 tutorials, and more…Read More »
Working in the business software industry for over 30 years, I’ve seen my fair share of pretenders–amateur software posing as professional business software.
The problem is, this “amateur software” is often hard to detect. It looks great in the demo. Unfortunately, its limitations become apparent after you’ve already purchased the software…when it’s too late to go back.
Today, I’d like to share some tips that will help you separate business-focused application development software from the “amateur” software. I’m focusing on web application development software because that’s our area of expertise (we’ve been doing this for quite a while), but I’m sure these tips apply to most any business software.
So, what separates the pretenders from the legitimate, built-for-business software? Architecture and security. The cheap amateur software focuses mainly on the look and feel, but skimps on the architecture and security. Application development software that’s truly designed for business will include flexible architecture and business-class security features.
What types of security features should good application development software include? I’ve compiled a list of 7 security features that are absolutely essential in professional business application development software: …
7 key security features of business-class development softwareRead More »
What if you could save time on development, gain more control over your applications, and make your users happier…all at the same time? Sound interesting? Let’s learn how you can make this happen.
I’m going to tell you about a relatively new feature called “user rights and privileges”. It might sound technical (and a little boring), but it’s insanely useful. What is it? Here’s a basic definition: It lets you assign custom variables to any user, and then use those variables in any application.
Does that sound too technical? Here’s another way to look at it: Think of it like a data table or a spreadsheet that contains a list of user names. You can create and assign any variable to any user, and then access those variables anywhere. For example, take a look at the image below: …
Here’s a new way to save time on development (and more)Read More »
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 things to consider before investing in BI, endangered IT species, and more. I hope you find them useful:
Beyond the smartphone: Emerging platforms developers should target
Smartphone and tablet apps may get all the press these days, but they are just the beginning of the “app age”. Apps are slowly spreading to other devices, like cars, clothes, and appliances to name a few. …
Weekly recap: 9 endangered species in IT, what to consider in a BI solution, and more…Read More »
Fill in the blank: “Our company needs to _____________, but our IT staff is too small.” Based on feedback I received from a tech conference we recently attended, this is one of the biggest problems facing IT departments these days. IT professionals know how to help their companies, they just lack the time and resources to do anything about it.
It’s a depressing thought–knowing how to help your company but realizing that you can’t. You feel stuck. But don’t worry…if you’re facing this problem, you’re not alone and you’re definitely not stuck. Here are two stories of small IT staffs that found ways to complete urgent projects despite their limited staff. I hope you find them useful:
1. This 2-person IT staff found a way to quickly modernize their green-screen interface and replace their order entry system without bringing in any outside help.
2. This 3-person IT staff built a brand new, custom extranet, and did it faster than it would’ve taken to deploy an off-the-shelf option.
Application architecture is one of the single most important, yet boring topics you’ll ever run across. You’re not going to make too many friends at a party talking about technology stacks, open frameworks, or any other architecture-related themes. In fact, you’ll probably get a lot of blank stares wherever you talk about those things.
Yet, the difference between good and bad application architecture is mind-blowing. Good architecture is nearly invisible. Everything just works, it’s easy to maintain, and all of your applications operate in perfect harmony.
On the other hand, bad architecture is only invisible at the beginning, but becomes increasingly obvious over time. When you buy a new development tool or begin using pre-built software, the applications may initially work fine. But, if they’re built on bad architecture, problems will quickly arise. What exactly can you expect? Here are 5 costly problems caused by bad application architecture: …
5 big problems caused by bad application architectureRead More »
Perhaps a better question is this: Do your end users or company executives see your IT department as slow and unresponsive? Do users complain that it takes forever to get new applications from IT? Do new development projects take months to complete?
Now, I do realize that most IT departments are swamped with work. There aren’t enough hours in the day to handle the daily duties and develop new applications in a timely manner. So, what’s the answer?
How can you turn your time-strapped IT department into the most responsive department in the company?
Rather than tell you, here’s a great story of a developer who did just that. In fact, he started completing projects so quickly, one executive in his company claimed that he was “developing solutions waiting for problems.” To find out how he did it, you can read the whole story here.
A few months into owning our first house, we learned something: The builder took some short-cuts. Unfortunately, you don’t recognize architectural defects when you buy the house. They become apparent after you’ve lived in it for some time.
Business applications are the same way.
If you’re building/buying new business apps, or buying software to build new business apps, be careful. It’s easy to fall in love with the interface and features without paying any attention to what really matters: The architecture. …
How application architecture can save time and moneyRead More »
Creating 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.
A 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: …
2 ways a portal will help business (and how to make one)Read More »
