NEWS
Facebook WhatsApp messaging service written in 'exotic' Erlang
By Clint Boulton via WSJ
I have to wonder how many jaws dropped this week after hearing the news that Facebook bought the WhatsApp messaging service for $19 billion dollars. Many are speculating why Facbook would pay such a large amount. The reason Mr. Boulton uncovered actually made sense to me. "..the software (that makes) this messaging platform purr is written in Erlang. Little known outside of telecommunications, the decades-old language boasts a feature that allows developers to alter code without shutting down the system." CIOs running their company’s mobile application efforts may want to take note.
IT pros rank University of Texas San Antonio best school for cybersecurity
By Jaikumar Vijayan via CIO.com
"In a Hewlett-Packard-sponsored survey of about 2,000 certified IT professionals, UTSA's 14 undergraduate and graduate programs in areas such as digital forensics, secure design and intrusion detection and response, were ranked first for academic excellence and practical relevance."
Square acquires online scheduler BookFresh
By Lizette Chapman via WSJD
"In its latest move to expand from a mobile payment company to a one-stop logistics shop for small and mid-sized businesses, Square Inc. has acquired online scheduling startup BookFresh Inc. Based in San Francisco and competing against the likes of Booker Inc. and Appointy Inc., BookFresh allows hair stylists, contractors and other small business owners to manage online scheduling. With BookFresh, Square will offer appointment scheduling, loyalty and promotion programs and customer analytics along with Square’s point-of-payment service."
ARTICLES
Business apps are becoming disposable
By Adriaan van Wyk via InformationWeek
How often are software developers creating applications that are built for a specific need and then tossed out? Maybe more often than you think. In this article, Mr. van Wyk gives some interesting examples, including an app built in four hours that created a way for laborers to get back to work during a massive Chicago labor strike back in 2012. Another manufacturing company created a short-term app that crowdsourced feedback on a product's features and functionality.
How to make the CIO the most popular kid in the building
By Howard Baldwin via Forbes
There is no shortage of articles about how the CIO and the CMO should play nice or about how the CIO must focus on the external customers as well as the internal ones. Mr. Baldwin links to several recent articles showing that for the CIO to stay relevant he or she must do all of the above. Michael Golz, SAP CIO, states "any CMO worth his or her salt has come to realize that technology and data hold the key to measuring the return on investment for everything that marketing does... To get there, IT and marketing must come closer together."
Big security data: what to keep, for how long?
By Brian Contos via CSO Security and Risk
Brian Contos, CISSP, VP and Chief Information Security Officer within Blue Coat's Advanced Threat Protection Group debates with his collegues in Brazil about the two primary camps on the topic of data retention.
INSPIRATION
50 Inspirational Quotes for Startups and Entrepreneurs
By Richard Harroch via Forbes
I think my personal favorite is, "If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister.
