OR: “What’s a Community-minded techie to do?” Yesterday I had the opportunity to go meet with a roomful of new IT folk (developers mostly) at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma about the many ways they can contribute to the…
Crossing the Rubicon
May 12, 2017 Here in the world of United Way, we’ve always stressed how we’re all locally run and managed. We pay a “license fee” if you will to share the United Way brand, with all the responsibilities and conditions…
Atoms, then Bits
March 7, 2017 A word to prospective employees: If you fancy a career in technology, you’re probably going to start off in tech support, maybe the Help Desk. You may find yourself better able to do the job if you’re…
“Frictionless Giving”…at the United Way?
February 7, 2017 Not long ago I was reading about Domino’s Pizza and their efforts with their phone apps on what they call “frictionless ordering,” or the Zero Click App. You can read about it here. The assumption is if…
Science Fiction as Predictor and Guide
February 2, 2017 I don’t know if most IT practitioners start off as Sci-Fi fans, but ever since I was a young reader, I’ve loved science fiction, but not to the point of being rabid or having a single unrelenting…
Disruption Stories
Stories abound about ways in which the Internet has been a disruptor to business and the status quo. Back in the early 90s I got to witness the carnage and bloodshed firsthand at the University of Tulsa. As I said…
“So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999…”
With apologies to the late, great Prince…RIP. You’ve all heard the hype and bluster about the Cloud. As a term, I smirk about it being a “new” concept: the AT&T reps who used to call on me at Blue Cross…
Adventures in ERP migration
August 6, 2015: Today I had a great phone call with a former colleague in the Washington State Community College system. He joined our little band of 32 IT Directors about a year after I did, and was at a similar-sized…