Entertaining as they are, tablet computers and smartphones are not all fun and games. With 75 percent of all workers involved in jobs that require mobility, handheld devices are playing an increasing role in business.

Goals for the New Year typically involve getting in shape, saving money, becoming better organized or finally taking that tropical vacation. Whether you’re interested in jet-setting around the globe or simply getting more organized, you should not ignore the role the virtual world plays in your everyday life.

The sky is the limit for cloud computing as it continues to drive job growth – garnering interest from Main Street, Wall Street, corporations and governments. A 2012 Microsoft-commissioned report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) indicated that spending on cloud services will generate nearly 14 million jobs worldwide by 2015.

Owning your own business can often seem like the dream occupation, being your own boss, doing as much or little work as you desire, being in charge of your own company and personnel. While most of us are very aware that setting up our own business can be expensive, we should also remind ourselves of some of the expenses that most people tend to overlook when starting their business.

Oracle, a software giant has announced the release of Oracle's Agile Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Oracle's Agile Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for Process. These two products are designed to automate business processes for companies of all sizes. They also help companies to implement the efficient business process so that they can reduce cost and increase profitability.

Are you in control of your business? I don’t mean are you the person calling the shots. I mean as in, if you had to make some critical snap decisions, do you know your business well enough that you could you make them with total confidence? In order to be able to make these sound, informed business decisions you need an accurate and efficient operating system.

It’s a no-brainer that keeping track of your incoming and outgoing finances is a critical part of not only keeping your business running, but also of ensuring your business grows and prospers. Therefore you need accounting software that reflects an effective and efficient business - meaning, you’re going to have to upgrade from that spreadsheet. Accounting doesn’t have to be an arduous task.

Creating a sucessful branding strategy, is about brains more than it is about brawn. When it comes to building and nurturing a strong brand, having the right branding strategy is much more valuable than throwing money at a quick-fix solution.

I’m reading books on TRIZ and becoming enthusiastic about  its potential  for software development industry. Yes, it is not clear how to apply it directly, since TRIZ focuses on technical systems, but I believe we can apply general rules and even have solution patterns in the future. TRIZ has several patterns of evolution. Here are my thoughts about the most interesting patterns and their applicability to software development.