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).

All the news that's fit to print.

To do a better job of keeping you informed of major changes, we've added a new "breaking" news section added to our home page.

When we make a big announcement, include a major update to m-Power, or there's something important going on in the industry that we don't want you to miss, this section will appear to let you know what's going on.

To view this new mrc news section, just visit our home page:
http://www.mrc-productivity.com

m-Painter, how do I love thee? Let me count the top five ways...

We just announced a new feature of m-Power today: m-Painter, and I have to say...it's really cool. It can turn you into a Web designer with zero effort.

You can now easily incorporate elements like your corporate logo, a color scheme or an alternative layout, no matter what your level of Web expertise. Basically anything you want to do to the presentation layer of your applications can now be done with just a drag and drop of your mouse.

m-Painter is so much cooler than other painting alternatives... here are the top 5 ways:

1. There is nothing to download or deploy. It is entirely browser-based.

2. It hits the Productivity Sweet Spot for end-users and developers because of two modes: WYSIWYG and plain text editor. You can toggle back and forth and make alterations in the mode you feel most comfortable.

3. You can preview changes with live data without any web server reload delay before saving/deploying.

4. There is a thorough integration of WYSIWYG mode and mrc templates, allowing you to get creative with the look of your applications.

5. This browser-based solution is a built-in feature of the mrc interface and requires no mapped drive or special security.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can incorporate this new benefit, just fill out this form.

Or, for further information on features, you can get a basic overview here.

Do you have the mettle? 2006 Development challenge.

So many of you have built such cool business applications, that we have decided to sponsor a brand new 2006 Web Development Contest.

Trophy will be awarded at the end of year to winners, including press release ad promotion featuring contest winners sent to industry magazines. All previous entries in the 2005 Forum will be automatically entered into this contest.

How to enter? Just post your contest entry in the mrc User forum, with your contact information.

There's a sample entry on the forum, to help make it easy for you to enter.

If you’d like to enter, but you are concerned about revealing private company data, or aren’t sure if you can get permission to show your work publicly, simply drop us a line at mrc@mrc-productivity.com, or call us at 630-916-0662, and we’ll figure something out.

The underlying purpose of this contest is to develop a greater resource where you and fellow deveopers can visit to get ideas for your next project from best practice applications. The more of you that participate, the more you can gain from the wealth of your peers insights and knowledge and mistakes, and get comments/feedback from other users to help you make your applications stronger.

Create a Java servlet in minutes with this free online trial of m-Power.

Test drive mrc's m-Power software right now, and create a Java servlet application (or two) in a matter of minutes!

There is nothing to download, and no prior Java training necessary.

Just sign in to gain password access to m-Power's step-by-step development interface, and go for it!

2006 Trends and the Pursuit of the Frictionless Business Platform

CIO Insight recently conducted a number of in-depth surveys to break down the top 30 trends of 2006 and found that this year's CIOs have to build platforms that can make their companies flexible and frictionless.

According to CIO Insight: "By running supply-chain and logistics systems over their networks, companies seek to integrate partners, outsourcers and suppliers into their operations. Portals and collaboration software can allow employees to use the same systems wherever they go."

Here are a few ways to do that: partner extranet (Follow login instructions), an internal portal, and an e-commerce shopping cart (Select bicycles link and begin ordering to see it in action).

In the coming weeks, I'll be examining many of these top 2006 trends myself in more depth, and what these mean to you. To get a head start, here's the full article: http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,1909968,00.asp

New capabilities to make your Web applications easier to use.

We've just added a how-to article to the mrc User Forum, covering new technical capabilities and features you should check out.

These new benefits are courtesy of AJAX technology and make Web application navigation even easier. And, if you're not familiar with AJAX, don't worry... m-Power and mrc-Productivity Series customers are get AJAX technology automatically, so you just have to follow a few easy steps to use it.

Here's the cool benefit:
1) Go to http://www.crazybikes.com/mrcjava/servlet/MRCWEBDEMO.I00200s and then...

2) IMPORTANT: Click on one of the customer name links on the left to see the new capabilities. See the tabs that appear at the bottom?

3) Note that each tab correlates to a different application, but the data that appears is only to the record selected. You never have to leave the Web page which makes user navigation easier, and gives them the ability to keep application data in the context of one view.

Now, here's how you can apply it: http://forums.mrc-productivity.com/tool/post/mrcuser/vpost?id=936324. (You'll need to sign in to see it.)

If you'd like some ideas on how you could use this feature, just let us know what you do, and we'll do what we can to help.

NEW: mrc's Online application development lab

We have just added a powerful new educational feature on our Web site:
mrc's new Online lab!

Try your hand at creating Java servlets in minutes to see the power for yourself!

There is nothing to download because it's all live via the Web, and you can sign up now and do it whenever you have the time (start to finish is around 45 minutes).

If you are a current mrc customer using m-Power or mrc's Web interface, you can probably already attest to the power of this lab.

One favor. We just ask that once you have completed the lab, you let us know so we can recycle your environment and make it available to others who want to try it. So, once you're done, just click here to send us an email.

To try the online lab go here: http://www.mrconlinelab.com

If you have any questions, or you run into any problems, just give me a call at 630-916-0662, or send me an email at mrc@mrc-productivity.com.

Have fun!

New n-Tier QuickFacts

A picture is worth a thousand words.

So, to keep it short, we've just posted this handy quick fact sheet on n-tier architecture including an easy-to-follow diagram to demonstrate some of the benefits it offers.

Get the n-Tier QuickFact sheet here.

Additionally, if you would like further in-depth information on n-tier architecture as it relates to Java, you can visit our new Webinar library, and check out our n-Tier Architecture presentation right at the top.

Time to close the gap between IT shop sizes and development capabilities.

This recent article from iSeriesNetwork.com reveals some interesting facts you might want to see.

One of the most interesting facts reads as follows:
"A difference in language use shows up when we compare shops with one or two programmers to those shops having more than 50 programmers. Not surprisingly, larger shops are more likely to have significant Java use and also to do some .NET programming. And they are also far more likely to have J2EE applications as part of their strategic direction for future development — 47 percent vs. 10 percent."

But, I think it's really dumb that there is such a gap. The reason for a discrepancy no longer exists in application development.

For example, this small IT shop at a big manufacturer created an entire 100% Java-based Web system for nine plants in less than 12 weeks and that INCLUDES all their training, with team members having no prior Java experience.