Another trip around the industry: Companies are spanning testing, Big Data, collaboration, integration and more. And all were touting the same initiatives, providing businesses with solutions that improve the quality and mobility of enterprise software. Altova, which for so many years has focused on development tools around XML, last year released Mobile Together, a platform … continue reading
Over the past few years, I’ve handled hundreds of client inquiries on mobile app development approaches. The most common? “Should we go with a native development approach, use HTML5, or go hybrid?” The answer I give (“It depends”) isn’t simply an analyst’s cop-out. Legitimate reasons drive development teams to choose one (or more) approaches to … continue reading
RAD. MADP. RMAD. aPaaS. Everyday it seems that analysts are defining yet another category of products. This makes sense because it is how the industry is used to tackling something “new” (cloud platforms, mobile devices, wearables, etc.). Organizations go out and purchase tools to solve a new problem, only to find that the target is … continue reading
“Maybe instead of talking about 100x programmers, we should talk about 100x programming.” This was a recent Twitter provocation from Reginald Braithwaite (@RaganWald), author of “JavaScript Allongé.” What would it take to achieve a two-order-of-magnitude change in software development pace? The boldness of the target dwarfs the common quibbles about syntax, semantics, and maybe even … continue reading
There is a trend in the technical industry for experienced programmers to leave the security of the nest of employment and move into independence. This trend is healthy and promising, and an indication of the strength of the tech sector and related economies. This strength allows for unparalleled freedom in how coders can work on … continue reading
Developers today are looking seriously at the advantages to be had from free entry-level versions of commercial software—so-called “freemium” software. Developers often see freemiums as great test beds for potential commercial products. This is a trend that looks to be taking hold in the enterprise and developer communities. Freemium, a mix of “free” and “premium” … continue reading
The debate on test automation has always been fascinating to me. Huge supporters and practitioners of exploratory testing and other manual testing efforts have often been quick to voice their skepticism of those who touted automation as a golden ticket to “better” testing results. Those on the other side of the fence have wondered how … continue reading
With 2014 now completely past us, the mobile picture in the enterprise for 2015 is becoming more evident. After a plethora of discussions with customers, developers and pundits, I believe these will be the top trends in enterprise mobility for 2015. 1. Business analysts will create more than 25% of enterprise apps using visual development … continue reading
For all its surface frenzy, 2014 was a year in which the biggest news stories in the programming language community were about acknowledging reality and bowing to the inevitable. First, there was Java 8. For Java developers, this release is the most important since before the turn of the century—probably the most important release since … continue reading
Software-defined networks and Network Functions Virtualization will redefine enterprise computing and change the dynamics of the cloud. Data thefts and professional hacks will grow, and development teams will shift their focus from adding new features to hardening against attacks. Those are two of my predictions for 2015. Big Security: As 2014 came to a close, … continue reading
A change at the top, followed by a clearly defined focus, with an all-out embrace of open technologies and an increased update release cycle. Throw in a further commitment to consumer devices for good measure. One could argue that 2014 was the year of Microsoft. Or, at least, the year it remade itself. But it … continue reading
In October 2014, some 25 years after Tim Berners-Lee first sketched the outline of what would become the World Wide Web in 1989, the W3C HTML Working Group voted to pass the final “Recommendation” of the Open Web Platform standard known as HTML5. Five releases in 25 years is not a fast pace of evolution … continue reading
For development teams, cloud computing is enthralling. Where’s the best place for distributed developers, telecommuters and contractors to reach the code repository? In the cloud. Where do you want the high-performance build servers? At a cloud host, where you can commandeer CPU resources as needed. Storing artifacts? Use cheap cloud storage. Hosting test harness? The … continue reading
Snapchat might be all the rage right now, but if we’re being honest, it seems about as likely a candidate for enterprise software adoption as Yo or Twitter. Sure, it’s good for teenyboppers and twenty-somethings, but realistically, how could any software branded as “ephemeral” possibly be reconciled with quality business software? Before I dive into … continue reading
