IT Solutions from the Desktop to the Data Center
I love railroads.I especially love studying the history of the Reading Railroad, a “fallen flag” that was merged into Conrail in 1976. Growing up along the Reading’s Mainline subdivision and spending many hours watching trains rumble through, I never gave a thought to the spacing of the rails – 4 ft, 8 1/2 inches to be exact, the standard gauge for all US railroads.
Where on earth did that number come from? Read more »
I’ve been trying hard to sell you on the need to have a mobile software strategy for your business. If I’ve managed to convince you thus far, you may be wondering where to begin. You do of course need a good idea to start with, but very soon you’ll need to decide not only who your ideal customer is, but what kind of device she carries. Targeting Apple’s iOS devices is a must-do, slam-dunk, no-brainer, but less obvious is what to do about the Android platform.
Before jumping into the Android pool, it would be good to take an eyes-wide-open approach to the current factors causing developer malaise in the Android world. Read more »
Earlier this week I listened to Michael Hyatt’s podcast on “How to Take Control of Your E-mail Inbox”. What he talks about is often referred to as Inbox Zero, which is code for how to keep email from controlling your life. If you’ve got the time, and you have 100+ emails in your inbox, I’d recommend grabbing the podcast – it’s concise, very well done, and very effective. If you’d rather read then listen, my own approach is closely based on the one Michael described several years ago, and I’ll lay it out for you here.
The ultimate goal of Inbox Zero is pretty simple – empty your inbox every day. Sounds impossible. Read more »
strategy |ˈstratəjē|
a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.
There is popular saying in IT circles, especially among disaster recovery planners, that “Hope is Not a Strategy.” The same is true of developing a mobile software strategy for your business. More is required than simply throwing an app into the App Store and hoping for the best. A well thought out plan is essential to getting a good return on your investment and avoid having your app die a lonely death in the App Store.
Here are some things to consider when developing your mobile software strategy: Read more »
If you follow the tech blogosphere at all, you’ve undoubtedly read that we’ve moved into a so-called “post-PC” era, where mobile devices are seen as having usurped traditional desktop/laptop technology. Whether or not you agree that such a transition has actually occurred, the exponential growth in the use of mobile devices is certainly undeniable.
The upshot of this growth is the equally undeniable ramifications for business. There is great opportunity to be had, but a bit of new thinking and a willingness to embrace new challenges is required. Read more »
While my current job title is technically (no pun intended) Chief Technology Officer, a good portion of what I do falls within the job description of a typical Chief Information Officer. As such, I have peers in both the CTO and CIO worlds. The language spoken by my CTO friends is usually laced with techno-buzzwords and acronyms, whereas the lingo of my CIO friends tends to be less technical and more process, metrics, and governance oriented. These men and women are incredibly talented in their respective positions, yet it is surprising how often I find both camps missing the mark on what IT is really all about.
Simply stated, IT is about business outcomes. A CIO/CTO is not finished when the technology is installed – he or she is finished only after the expected business outcomes are delivered. When you begin to look at IT in this light, it becomes apparent there is no such thing as an “IT project”, but rather only business initiatives focused on a particular outcome to improve business performance. Framed this way, waxing eloquent about how great new technology XYZ is, or bragging about system up-time is obviously quite out of place when the CIO is meeting with the executive management team. No one cares about how fabulous the plumbing is – they only care about how business performance is being improved. Read more »