To all of our old and potential clients, partners, and community at large, we at Mega Input Data Services, Inc. would like to wish you and your company a Happy New Year 2009!

To bring in the new year, our CEO Willie Pritchett, has a nice blog post at his website http://www.stlyz3.com, about management planning for the new year.

Over the coming weeks, you will notice some dramatic changes to this website as well as the main Mega Input properties; including a newsletter powered by Absomail!

To all of our old and potential clients, partners, and community at large, we at Mega Input Data Services, Inc. would like to wish you and your company a Happy New Year 2009!

To bring in the new year, our CEO Willie Pritchett, has a nice blog post at his website http://www.stlyz3.com, about management planning for the new year.

Over the coming weeks, you will notice some dramatic changes to this website as well as the main Mega Input properties; including a newsletter powered by Absomail!

ABC News reports that a new study finds that 3% of patients risk experiencing hospital errors.  The same study also reports that of those who experience an error, 1 in 4 will likely die from the mistake.

So as a patient, what can you do?  First, know the hospital that you are going to visit.  If you are new to an area, ask around.  Second, use tools such as PatientAssist to keep track of your own medical record.

Mega Input Data Services, Inc.(MIDS), a provider of database management and web based application development services, has been awarded a contract with the State of Indiana. MIDS will work closely with the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) on various projects.

About Mega Input Data Services, Inc.
Mega Input Data Services, Inc., is an MBE Certified firm providing advanced internet technology that is easy to use. As a full-service database management entrepreneurial firm, Mega Input Data Services provides custom and proprietary web-based applications, web sites, and secure transmission of records over the internet. The business was founded in 2001, and is located in Indianapolis, Indiana.

As of 2008, the corporate structure of Mega Input Data Services, Inc. has changed dramatically. To align its business focuses, the company has been segmented into various business structures which include:

• Mega Input Data Services, Inc. - Database Management and Web Application Experts
• Mega Input Consulting LLC - Business analysts and project management Experts
• Mega Input Ventures - Custom Web Solutions brought to the general market
• Mega Input Government Services - Services for Government
• Mega Input Inc - The Parent Company of All Mega Input Endeavors

An official press release will follow shortly. With the announcement will come new websites designed by Scrambled Eggs Media and powered by software from Mega Input Data Services, Inc. The change in website structure will be as follows:

• www.megainput.com - Parent Website for Mega Input Inc.
• www.megainputdataservices.com - Home of Mega Input Data Services, Inc.
• www.megainputventures.com - Home of Mega Input Ventures
• www.megainputgovernment.com - Home of Mega Input Government Services

The corporate blog will remain at www.mids-inc.com.

“After much thought, I decided to update the theme of my blog to both showcase me as an individual and my graphic design skills as well”, says Willie Pritchett, CEO of Mega Input Data Services, Inc.  The design titled, the “Many Faces of Willie Pritchett”, is on display along with weekly content at www.stlyz3.com.

“This year, my goal is to update the blog on a regular basis to cover everything from technology, to enrepreneurship, to graphic design, and the normal day-to-day in between.”

Mega Input Data Services, Inc., a database management firm specializing in custom, data-driven web applications, has announced the development of a new XML Database Server. The purpose of the new database server will be for increased speed, efficiency and integration with other products.

We will post more information about this new database server, code named “Rascal”, in future posts.

In December 2007, Eternal Word Kingdom Ministries of Merrillville Indiana, contacted Mega Input Data Services, Inc. to build their new site after hearing about the work we did for the Gary Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

The resulting application,� utilizing our eChurcHistry product, has allowed the church to widen their target audience base through pod and video casting.� The system was further enhanced with Google Apps Integration.� Graphical Design work was performed by Scrambled Eggs Media, which included a custom layout and Flash Header.

At Mega Input Data Services, Inc., it has always been our goal to create new and useful products and services to the business community. It has been about a year since we developed such an application. Thus, we have decided to make a conscious effort in that regard. Beginning this week, we will begin the MIDS Challenge!

With the MIDS Challenge, we seek to launch a new and useful project to the public each month of 2008 beginning May 1st. Please check back here for more details!

It has been truly a pleasure to service our clients and work with our partners in 2007.  In 2007, we introduced many new and exciting products and we look forward to doing the same in 2008 and beyond.  Mega Input Data Services, Inc. understands that it takes each and every one of you to make us successful.

We look forward to the opportunity to serve you! 

In a nice interview with Gary Hamel, Allan Alter at CIO Insight writes:

The efficiency-focused management model has run its course, says strategist Gary Hamel. To see the future of management, look to the Internet, open source, free markets and democratic institutions.

It’s a good article. Some other interesting snippets:

Has management as we know it reached the end of the road? Strategy expert Gary Hamel thinks so. Yes, traditional management approaches have led us to achieve great things. “If you have a couple of cars in the garage, a television in every room and a digital device in every pocket, you can thank the inventors of modern management,” he writes in his upcoming book The Future of Management (Harvard Business School Press, October 2007; $26.95). But our century-old emphasis on planning, organizing and controlling won’t help companies solve their 21st century problems. In an era marked by global competition and commoditization, adaptability, speed and creativity are essential for survival, says Hamel, whose previous books, “Leading the Revolution” and “Competing for the Future” (with C.K. Prahalad), earned him a reputation as one of the great strategic thinkers of our time. “The old management model is simply not good enough.”

The future management model is taking shape, but some aspects are already evident, Hamel told CIO Insight executive editor Allan Alter. Companies will finally begin to be as open and democratic inside their doors as societies are outside those doors. Go/no-go decisions on projects and investments now made by a handful of executives will be made collectively by hundreds of employees.

Talent will matter far more than titles. And one of the most important catalysts and models for 21st century management will be the Internet.

If you’re a manager today, especially an IT manager, it’s a good article to check out.

The Google Android is the official software offering from Google. So while there is NO GPHONE, there is a mobile phone software platform from Google. Google is offering $10M to software providers who build innovative offerings for the Android Platform (and of course we have MANY Innovations). Take a look!

Mega Input Data Services, Inc. announces its partnership with Scrambled Eggs Media, LLC to provide their clients with more innovative design choices.  “We think the partnership with SEGS will allow us to have the designs of our applications look just as impressive as the applications themselves”, says Willie Pritchett, CEO of Mega Input.  Please check the MIDS Website for more information on the partnership.

Mega Input Data Services, inc. has donated a web application to the Greater Indianapolis NAACP #3053. Utilizing our MPLEX Content Management System, the new website showcases a new design and is 100% configurable through the administration tool. Please stop by and check them out.

This article was posted on Ajaxian.com and provides some insite on the future of the software business.

In CNN Money, Om Malik talks about the shift to online apps.

The browser is the new OS. Yes, we’ve heard this before, and if you’re quietly groaning right about now, I can understand why.

It’s been 10 years since a barefoot Marc Andreessen graced the cover of Time magazine and trumpeted how the browser would make the operating system irrelevant. By uttering the unthinkable, he brought the ire of Bill Gates down on Netscape. Now, Netscape as a Web powerhouse is gone and Andreessen is no longer a magazine cover boy. Yet his vision of computing through a browser window turns out to have been prescient, if premature.

Mobile will play a major role as well.

Things will get more exciting for entrepreneurs when we all start walking around with new Internet-ready portable devices such as the Nokia 770 Internet tablet or smartphones such as the Motorola Q and Nokia E61.

These pocket-size monsters with keyboards, luscious displays, and brisk 3G connections will soon replace laptops. All they need are browsers that can access Web-based software as easily as your desktop can. (I already use a Nokia E61 to help manage my website and write short blog posts from within the phone’s browser. Soon I’ll be able to run the whole site from my phone’s browser.)

If you’re a developer or startup, you are suddenly free to write a browser-based application and quit worrying about which operating system, chip, or device your consumers are using.

It’s a scary thought for anyone who built a business around proprietary formats. But for the end user, this is the kind of future that Andreessen on his best days - and maybe Gates on his worst - had envisioned.

It’s pretty clear that MS fended off the late-90s threat of Office-in-the-cloud. What’s not clear is whether Google, Zoho, and others will produce something compelling enough to attract the mainstream enterprise market away from MS Office. For one thing, any office product will have to ensure data is secure to gain serious market share, and that probably means a server appliance running inside the firewall. Strong compatibility with MS-Office formats will be another key factor.

EventCrunch, our online event management system developed in partnership with ROI Marketing Company, has officially been chosen as the online registration platform for the Indiana Business Diversity Councils (www.inbdc.org) Southern District Business Opportunity Fair.

The online system allows registrants to pay online, securely receive invoices, submit hotel reservations, and much, much more! “We really are excited about this new system as well as other platforms that will be unveiled at the show for corporations interested in increasing their diversity efforts”, says Willie Pritchett, CEO of Mega Input Data Services Inc.

To view the system, please visit https://inbdc.eventcrunch.com/sd2007 .

Beta testing is one of the most important aspects of software development, though its often overlooked.

The purpose of all software testing is to ensure that the application meets quality standards and it functions as it was intended. There are typically two forms of testing utilized: alpha testing and beta testing.

Alpha testing is simulated or actual operational testing by potential users or, most oftenly, quality personnel inside of the organization. Alpha testing generally catches many of the bugs and initial flaws with the software before it enters beta testing.

Beta testing allows a limited audience to test the software in “real-world” scenarios. The main purpose of the beta is to gain feedback from this limited audience on the usability, errors, pitfalls or other valuable points of the software. It is through this testing that several new versions, generally referred to as beta versions, of the software are released. Between initial scope and the final version of the software package, there may be several beta versions of the software; meaning that the initial scope of the software changed several times to accommodate the needs of the target audience. Without these valuable tests, the software may not meet the needs of the audience and ultimately fail.

At Mega Input Data Services, Inc., we thoroughly test all software applications to ensure our 15 points of excellence, meet all quality checks by our customers, and their intended audiences. If you would like to see what we can do for you, please contact us at your convenience.

Diversity. It is the new “buzz word” around the campfire. In the news, company billboards, HR portals, you name it, the word diversity is there.

The “business case for diversity”, as it is often phrased, is that in a global and diverse marketplace, a company whose staff embrace ethnic representation and gender composition which mirrors the demographics of the marketplace it serves is better equipped to thrive in that marketplace than a company whose appearance is out of step with its market’s appearance [Wikepedia Quote].

So, as a major corporation, are you able to track your minority participation to ensure you are a diverse supplier? Are you able to ensure that you have a diverse workforce? As I minority company, are you able to communicate with major corporations to let them know more about you? If the answers to these questions arent an immediate ‘yes’, then you may need a little assistance in succeeding with your diversity efforts! And of course, we have the perfect solution for you.

Mega Input Data Services, Inc., is please to announce DiversityAssist™ , a new web application that will allow businesses to communicate with a diverse pool of suppliers and job candidates!� Through its unique design, DiversityAssist allows for:

• Online Collaboration
• � Job Opportunity Listing
• Connection sharing

and much, much more!

Today, we at Mega Input Data Services, Inc. are pleased to announce that we have been certified by the Indiana Business Diversity Council.

This is an exciting opportunity for us and we look forward to working and partnering with WBE/MBE/DBE businesses as well as major corporations and companies!

Databases are the lifeline of businesses of all sizes. For SMBs, databases keep track of orders, appointments, and accounting. For larger organizations, human resource data, project management, payroll, inventory, customer data and other vital forms of information all resides in a database. Considering its importance, all businesses should take administering their databases seriously.

From the mid nineties to now, there has been a significant increase in database sophistication and complexity. Each year, companies such as Oracle, Microsoft, SAP and others add new technologies to their respective platforms. Handling of these changes and complexity requires special skills. For example, a sales department may have a system that allows them to obtain data on a specific client, track the number of phone calls made to the client, the number of campaigns ran and their success rates, and how they are meeting their quotas — all accessible at a click of a button. Not only was this type of sophistication not present 15 years ago (where Excel Spreadsheets were used heavily), today, they features that are expected in a CRM solution.

Employees expect a wealth of information and capabilities from their systems in addition to 24/7 availability. Effective database administration means keeping up with all these technology changes.

As apparent in the news as well as with initiatives such as HIPAA and Sarbanes Oxley, securing the information that resides in the database is just as important. As more and more information is stored in database systems, hackers will try to obtain unwanted access to that information. Typically the more important, the greater the threat of these dangers.

At Mega Input Data Services, Inc. we are database management experts. We manage the data for organizations everyday - from enterprises to 2 person teams. By performing services in the both the healthcare and financial services industries, we understand the importance of data security and have been securing databases and networks since our inception. Contact us today to learn how we can help your organization.

 

 Change [4:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In our first podcast, Willie Pritchett, CEO of Mega Input Data Services, Inc. discusses change and how to avoid its pitfalls.

� Web DeveloperMega Input Data Services, Inc. has an exciting opportunity for a web developer. He or she will work collaboratively with� database engineers, graphic designers, product managers and quality assurance personnel, focusing on building innovative and funtional interfaces for both internal and external projects.

Position Duties & Responsibilities:

• Develop optimized/cross-platform front-end code in CSS/XHTML, JavaScript, and AJAX
• Develop functional prototypes to demonstrate concepts and to enable rapid iterative support for evaluative research
• Collaborate with product managers, graphic designers,� database engineers, and researchers to refine the user experience
• To connect with the user interface development community to track latest trends and emerging technologies

Required Skills/Qualifications:

• ▪ Must demonstrate development skills across a range of technologies including:
  • CSS, HTML/XHTML
  • AJAX/JavaScript
  • Ruby
  • Python
  • PHP
  • XML/XSLT
  • W3C DOM methods and properties
  • Strong creative problem solving and communication skills

Desired Skills/Qualifications:

• Enthusiasm for lean and agile software development methodologies
• Adobe Photoshop, Fireworks, Dreamweaver
• Knowledge of Mega Input Product Porfolio
• Online Portfolio including a self-started web-based project
• Ability to code a web based PHP application at interview�

Experience:

• 5+ years experience in launching successful interactive web sites/applications as a key member of a user experience team
• 3 years experience in front-end web development with emphasis in building consumer products
• A proven track record of launching interactive web sites/applications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, technical writing or related field
• Equivalent work experience

Apply at http://www.helpmeapply.com or at the Mega Input HR Portal or or fax your resume and coverletter to 877-332-5532.

Mega Input Data Services, Inc. was a bronze sponsor of the Indiana Business Diversity Councils Business Opportunity Fair sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase.

We would like to thank all of you who visited our booth and spoke with either Willie Pritchett or JurJuan Walker.� To those who were unable to meet them, please contact them at 800-430-6567.

One of the main frustrations our clients have experienced with their previous web designers is their lack of being able to update the website themselves.� Generally, most web designers charge extra to make updates for a client; thus allowing to charge lower fees up front.� The result is resentment for the web designer, a website that is out of date, or a client who doesnt see the value of a website.

At Mega Input Data Services, we take the opposite approach.� We believe that a client should be able to update their own website, whenever and wherever they choose.� Thus, all of our websites are powered by our own, in-house content management system (CMS).� The MIDSCMS allows each of our clients the unique ability to have a customized control panel that they can use to update their site.� For clients wanting more control, our MPlex CMS allows for total control of the website, plus connections to over 40 applications developed by Mega Input Data Services and selected third party vendors.

We are here to meet your needs.� Our CMS powered websites begin at $2500.� Sites powered by the MPlex begin at $7500.� Better yet, if you need a customized web application, come and speak with us.

Mega Input Data Services, Inc. has turned in its MBE Certification paperwork with the Indiana Business Diversity Council.� We will update this post as well as our Corporate News section with details.