(This guest blog was written by Richard Gall from PacktPub.)
We’re all tired of hearing about the “rapid pace of technological change.” But it really is the one constant in today’s business world. And while it’s startups that are most commonly associated with innovation and technical ingenuity, it is, in fact, impacting businesses of every size. From the SME seeking growth and managing change in stormy economic waters to the enterprise that dismisses concepts like “digital transformation” as needlessly highfalutin, taking advantage of a growing ecosystem of tools isn’t technical hipsterism, it’s absolutely vital.
What’s particularly difficult is getting your team on the same page. Even if your team has a great skillset now, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily going to be right 12 months down the line. You need them to want to learn. You need them to be curious about technology. But that also requires a learning environment that encourages that mindset. If you don’t you’ll be missing out on opportunities to grow and improve your organization.
This is where Mapt for Teams comes in. It’s a learning platform packed with a vast range of content – 4,000 e-books and videos – which is curated around key job roles from different areas in modern software. This curation, based on industry and editorial insight from publisher Packt, ensures that you and your colleagues can stay relevant and power your business to success.
Let’s look at the reasons businesses are going to fall behind in 2017 – and how Mapt can help.
1. They’re not going to focus on the needs of their customers
A combination of technological innovation and changing user behaviour and expectations has made web development an area of restless innovation. What’s driving what isn’t always clear – but it’s a feedback cycle that you and your developers need to be well aware of. And while the framework bubble has slowed down a little, there is real pressure on teams to deliver software much more quickly, to respond and adapt to customer needs almost immediately. You might say that today, the real question is about the convergence of software and people.
On Mapt, you’ll find everything you need to manage those pressures – whether its customers and the market or management. Yes, you’ll find content to help you and your developers get to grips with React, migrate to Angular 2, or even to simply make your site responsive. But you’ll also find guidance on full-stack development to empower your team to work with increased agility across the development process. You’ll be delivering better products in a smarter way in no time.
2. They’re not going to move quickly enough when building and iterating their mobile apps
Mobile has redefined connectivity. It has changed the way we access information and communicate. That means mobile developers are in a unique position – they have the chance to potentially play a part in just about every moment of a users’ life. It’s an opportunity for any business – from content to commerce. But you’re falling behind if you’re slow to market, if you’re managing boring bugs and fixes. It sounds superficial, but if you lack style then you’re probably also going to lack edge over the competition.
Luckily Mapt has a huge range of resources – from iOS to Android development, and, of course, cross-platform tools such as Xamarin, you and your colleagues can be confident you have the content you need to keep you up to date with what’s important in modern mobile development.
Explore Skill Plans for , iOS development, and Android development in Mapt today. Get the resources your team need.
3. They’re going to underestimate the competition when it comes to the games industry
It goes without saying that gaming is today one of the most rapidly growing industries in entertainment and media. That’s good and bad news for game developers – on the one hand there’s a wave of interest (and investment) to take advantage of, but on the other all of that means competition has never been hotter.
You’re going to fall behind if you’re not up to speed with the tools that define the industry. Unity, UE4 – both enable developers to create high quality games. But more than that, the details, the design are also essential. Whether that’s gameplay or character modelling, working out what’s going to make a game stand out from the crowd is the first step to success.
You can find the Unity3D Skill Plan here – but there’s a huge range of game development resources for you to explore in the Mapt platform.
4. They’re going to be focusing on data for data’s sake. They’ll forget that insight is everything
The big data boom is over. It’s easy to think that if you’re collecting data you’re doing something right, but the truth is you’ll soon be falling behind. Today, questions around how you process, store and analyse data are absolutely crucial. From real time analytics to machine learning and artificial intelligence, you need to get smart about how data fits with your strategic needs – and the toolkit that’s going to make that happen.
You can find a huge range of big data and data science content inside Mapt. But your team can also make use of the Python Data Scientist Skill Plan, the Machine Learning Engineer Skill Plan, and the Big Data Engineer Skill Plan. Whether you want focused learning or a wealth of resources, Mapt will have you covered.
5. They’re going to ignore agile ways of working. And they’re going to think their software and systems are “secure enough”
There are two things that today’s businesses are either ignoring or underestimating. DevOps and security. Yes, DevOps might seem like a fad. And yes, you might think your systems are already secure; unfortunately, you’re wrong on both counts.
In fact, for many organizations today DevOps and security go hand in hand. That’s because for your software to remain secure and well tested, you need your team to be working in the most agile and responsive manner possible – that’s precisely what DevOps offers.
You can find your team’s DevOps Skill Plan here and the Penetration Testing Skill Plan here. If that’s not enough, there’s a massive range of content on some of the biggest and the newest virtualization, automation and security tools in modern software.
6. They’re going to dismiss IoT as a fad. They’re going to fear innovation and invention.
The Internet of Things is already transforming industries. Don’t believe us? Are you willing to risk everything to stay in the same place? If technology has taught us anything in recent years, it’s that those willing to innovate and stay ahead will usually reap the rewards. Those scared of risks go nowhere.
Thanks for reading. Find out more about Mapt for Teams here. We have tiered prices for 2-5 seats – if you need more, please reach out to us using the form on the site!
