To say that Steve Jobs was an inspiration to the technology industry is an understatement. When looking back on his career and the legacy he left behind, I can recall three important lessons that I have learned from Steve Jobs: 1. Perseverance – Perseverance is by far, the most important lesson that I have learned [...]
Getting the Most Out of Your Investment: Three Steps to Revitalize Your Legacy System
October 4th, 2011Companies don’t need to “rip and replace” large portions of their IT investments in order to gain the set of features they want. By taking a multi-phased approach to incrementally roll in functionality, organizations can benefit from quicker ROI without the costs and risks associated with “big bang projects”. This multi-step approach is a win-win for [...]
4 Ways to Empower a Customer
September 14th, 2011Out-of-the-box software systems from big-name software vendors are always a big contender for CIOs and other business decision-makers when selecting the best systems to power their business. As a customer, choosing what systems to best manage your business can come with unexpected repercussions. Software vendors often develop their products to “capture” their customers, tying them [...]
7 Ways to Get the Most out of your Off-Shore Team
August 31st, 2011In the IT industry, off-shore teams have been a major player in the productivity and the sheer work-force of a company. Yet companies continue to have mixed (or worse, no) approach to utilizing their potential for the greatest output. Some companies are happy with adopting a process-over-people approach, satisfied with consistent, standardized productivity in exchange [...]
Darwinism of Innovation: The Evolution of Automation and the Software Development Industry
August 24th, 2011In 50 years, will we still have armies of programmers coding business systems for companies? Will it still be necessary? In the history of industrial growth, the replacement of tedious production processes with automation is essential to the progression of invention and ingenuity. But we seem to have forgotten this key to innovation in software [...]
If “double dip recession” happens, is your IT group prepared?
August 9th, 2011I started writing this blog a couple weeks ago…so, now that the market has dropped by 10% it might not look as impressive that I am asking this question. Obviously, we’re all hopeful that the economy can stabilize and all of our budgets don’t get cut for 2012. Unfortunately, that might not be the case. [...]
20 Questions to Understand What Your Vendor Means by “Re-Architect”
July 29th, 2011I think the term “re-architect” needs to be stricken from our vocabulary. Whether you’re building a home or a system, the architecture is the first thing you decide upon. It’s fundamental. Just as the architecture for a home lays out the blue print for the physical structure, the architecture of a system lays out the [...]
How Do You Define “Good Productivity” for Software Developers?
July 22nd, 2011When I started running in my twenties, I was using a treadmill and doing 10 minute miles for three or four miles. I felt pretty good about that. Then I ran a five mile race and I found out that 8 minute miles for a longer run were kind of the minimum for a pretty [...]
What Motivates IT Professionals?
June 14th, 2011In a 2010 study by Harvard Business Review, it was referenced that the number one motivator of IT professionals was progress. According to the report, “when workers have the sense they’re making headway in their jobs, or when they receive support that helps them overcome obstacles, their emotions are most positive”. In several other studies [...]
Life Insurance Software Is Just Plain Complicated
May 9th, 2011But you need to know the difference between necessary and unnecessary complexity Life insurance software is complicated. The uninitiated or inexperienced might look at the way the life industry implements core systems and say “You’re making this overly complicated.” There is some truth to that usually, but the fundamental issue is that over complication is [...]
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