6 questions to ask

Saw this article last week and thought it might useful.

It's a quick read and gives you the six questions you should to ask yourself before embarking on any IT project, big or small:

Read the article here

Worker Bees: Do you already have the manpower you need?

In the past, IT departments have been hesitant to empower their users with capabilities traditionally reserved for Information Technology experts.

And with good reason. You don't want people who don't have the expertise monkeying with crucial data. This article from Datamation gives some food for thought.

However, now you can create systems such as employee portals, dashboards, and intranets that interface with all of the large software packages. You can create many different kinds of reports such as those that users can pull on-the-fly, and then there are batch reports that they can download, PDF, or email to each other.

Do you use any of these devices? Do your employees?

More and more employees are using these devices, and not providing wireless applications may be affecting your productivity (and profitability) more than you think.

To learn about easier ways of going wireless that may work for you, visit:

http://www.mrc-productivity.com/products/wireless.html

Tips on selecting a Web application development tool.

Listen to this brand new (and very quick) podcast for a crash course in the criteria you need to look for (and pitfalls to avoid) when selecting a Web application development tool.

Executive dashboards gain a fresh new resource.

Executive dashboards, like this one built with m-Power, offer many benefits, not the least of which is that your top executives are able to access straight simple answers to their questions at the click of a mouse from anywhere in the world, any time, day or night.

And now, there's a brand new resource, a blog called the Dashboard Spy to help you get ideas for your own dashboards from seeing what other businesses have done.

By the way, if you see something there, that you'd like to implement/duplicate, just let us know. Our consultants can build anything you see there, or mentor you on how to build your own.

The ABCs of outsourcing: from an outside source.

CIO magazine has compiled a report on outsourcing tips.

Outsourcing is sometimes a hot button issue these days with jobs moving overseas. But, that doesn't change the fact that sometimes using a third party to get things done quickly and efficiently simply makes the most sense.

So...when you do make that choice to outsource, here are some things you should consider.

If you would like more information about outsourcing options, let us know what you have on your plate. You may be unaware of some of the choices available to you.

A big storm is coming...what's in your cart?

Wal-mart's got a pretty good idea.

In 2004, Wal-Mart decided to test what they now call "predictive technology" during hurricane season by pre-ordering the supplies that had historically been big sellers before and after a major storm.

This is a great example of harnessing the power of the data you own, and using it to drive your business.

Wal-Mart expected the usual...bottled water, batteries, flashlights, radios...

...but they got quite a jolt when the top sellers weren't what they expected.

"You're joking me."

My marketing director just shared a story from the conference she attended last week.

She was talking to a consultant with customers all over the globe, and he was floored when she told him there aren't any run-time license fees to distribute m-Power built custom applications to his customer sites.

But we weren't joking him. Nor are we joking you.

Here are the benefits other consultants are talking about.

Some quick Javascript tips for use in calcs

Neither m-Power nor the mrc-Productivity Series requires you to know Javascript. You don't need to learn any development language at all because you use a point-and-click menu.

But sometimes, when creating your Web applications, Javascript can come in handy, particularly in calculations.

Here are a few tips, specific to calculations, that were recently posted in our user forum»

Feel free to add your own!

Best practices architecture (at a glance)

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. Here's a quick way to break down the power behind n-Tier's flexibility when we follow the diagram below.



Click on the diagram above to get the quick facts.

Challenges of Leadership for CIOs podcast (and the concept of podcasts, in general)

For me, up until last week, the idea of listening to a podcast seemed like an enormous waste of work time, and a step backward from Webcasts. What, no visuals?

I couldn't quite get my head around why they were taking off all over the Web. But, I have now been converted to a podcast believer. And, here's why...

First of all, for those of you unfamiliar with them, podcasts are basically mp3 files that you can listen to via computers or mp3 players. They are often organized like interviews or talk radio shows to educate people, or entertain them, and they are changing the way we, as IT executives, are educating ourselves.

As decision-makers, we are often in meetings or on our way to meetings, sitting on the tarmac, in a cab in traffic, and in a car/train coming to or from work. And, because podcasts are so portable you can now make these unproductive gaps of time work for you.

Want to try one?

Here's one (10 min) from CIO Magazine. It's a Harvard Business School professor and his take on the Unique Leadership Challenges of the CIO.

Listen to it from your computer, or download it (your choice).