Cloud Computing – Does Anyone Really Care?
Lately cloud computing has been getting a lot of buzz. It is a giant umbrella for either hosting your applications "out on the Internet" or acquiring software hosted by someone "out on the Internet".
It is actually quite funny in a way. An evolutionary happening is being sold as a revolution.
The cloud has been there for years. The hype is newer.
Reality
A large percentage of people don't really understand computers, hardware, software, networks and the Internet very well at all. They really don't care where something is running or where the data ends up as long as:
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It is easy to use,
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It works […]
Some Good Business Books
Sometimes you pick up a business or personal development book and you enjoy reading it, but for some reason, nothing really changes afterward. Some are read it once and never read it again.
Well, recently I was perusing my bookshelf and picked up two I had read quite a while ago for a re-read.
When reading these (or any other books), you are not likely to get magic ideas or formulas to guarantee success in your business. What works for one company will not work for yours straight out of the box.
No the thing to get out of these books are […]
Those Pesky Customers
Ever have one of those days where customers (internal or external) keep derailing something you want to get done?
If only they would go away, life would be simpler and you could accomplish all your projects.
Yup, no customers would be perfect.
No customers, no distractions… no revenue… no business.
POP!
The trick is not in making your customers go away. Unless you have no intention of growing you actually want more happy, satisfied customers receiving something they need. Your business depends on it.
So the trick, is setting up your business so you can do both; and I don't mean working 16 hours a day.
You need to […]
Continuous Improvement
Web Site Update
Thought about it some more… need to just get things done so new Sunwapta Web Site version one will focus on content and not so much on being an unusual tech site. Just not enough time to do everything.
However, we have a product launch scheduled for September and I will be creating a brand new site for that. That is where I will focus my creative energies.
Convention over Configuration
This evening I went to a Calgary .NET User Group meeting and presentation by James Kovacs (MVP) on "Convention over Configuration". Another passionate presentation by a very talented developer covering a […]
Build Versus Buy (Software)
There are two main reasons to build your own software versus buy an existing software product:
- A preexisting software product does not exist; and
- Competitive Advantage.
The impact of competitive advantage through software and automation is underestimated by most small and mid-sized companies (and many large corporations too).
Non-Existent
Despite the vast amount of software out there in the cloud and available to be run in your own enterprise, there are still a number of business problems that cannot be solved by off-the-shelf or preexisting software.
And even if that software exists, it may have been tooled to be too specific to one environment and the cost […]
Quick Update on Website – 2
In my last post on this subject I mentioned how fun it would be to do a parody of a normal website. Then I said I didn’t think I had the courage to be taking that kind of risk.
A few people have challenged me to not put out a standard (serious and boring) tech website.
Of course, they are not the ones that would be taking the risk so it is easy to say “Jump!”.
I am thinking that the parody version would not be right for me. Fun, but not really what I am about and certainly not what Sunwapta […]
A Failure to Communicate
Ever play that game where you take a secret statement, pass it on through a subsequent chain of people. The person at the end says the statement out loud and everyone laughs at how it different it is from what it started out as.
Now add in not just memory of what was said, but include an understanding of what was said, especially if the problem is complex.
The meaning and details are both important and if either aspect is lost, good communications have not happened.
This means that in any development project where there is more than one person involved, there is […]
Quick Update on Website
We have our content management system configured now and our template 90% implemented. I haven't been blogging too much lately mainly because I am busy writing content for our website while simultaneously doing application design for a couple of other web applications.
While writing site content, I was thinking about how much fun it would be to do the entire site as a parody of the normally serious and deathly boring technical corporate website… and oh yeah, throw in some of the standards for differentiation marketing:
"Our developers have been extremely agile for years, long before agile became popular as […]
Dance Through Life
Paula Callihoo's new dance studio website is now live.
The Gloves Are Off
I was off reading some blogs today and came across an interesting exchange in the comments section.
It started off on a technical argument, got nasty and then got personal.
When the insults on personal choices of cell phones started flying, I knew the gloves were off.
Yup, your choice of a cell phone says a lot about you.
The Mac, iMac, iPod and iPhone were all initially about going against the herd. Forget the technical arguments for a minute. People are proud that they are not getting what the majority are getting, it says something about you. And Apple? Brilliant at consumer marketing… they […]