Smalltalk Digest: December “Year in Review” Edition
Welcome to the December 2019 “Year in Review” edition of the Cincom Smalltalk™ Digest. In this last, valuable edition of the year, we will review some of the highlights from this past year:
CUSTOMERS and PARTNERS
- How Can Implementing the 3X Methodology Lead to Success in Your Business or Product Group?
- What Is BPM and How Can It Help You Make Smarter Choices for Your Business?
- Can Cincom Smalltalk Be Used with SAP?
- Ways to Be Fiscally Responsible when Spending “Use It or Lose It” Budget for 2019
- Why Should You Use Social Media for Maximum Exposure to Your Company or Application?
- How Can Cincom Better Communicate with the Cincom Smalltalk Community and Our Customers?
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Cincom Putting Smalltalk on the Table
NEWBIES, FREELANCERS and DEVELOPERS
- Smalltalk Is the Most Productive Language, but Don’t Just Take Our Word for It …
- The Citizen Developer Personas
- Cincom Represented at Camp Smalltalk 2019 in Charlotte
- Celebrating the Birth of Cincom Smalltalk, Parts 1, 2, 3 and Final Installment
- Cincom Smalltalk’s Carl Gundel Presented to Seattle Meetup
- Orange County Java User Group
- What Was Accomplished at a Recent Tech Meetup in Toronto, Canada?
- How Does Cincom Smalltalk Promote Events, Conferences and Meetups for the Smalltalk Community?
- What Other Networking Opportunities Are Coming Up?
- What Is the Easiest Way to Become a Cincom Smalltalk Customer?
ACADEMIA
- Who Should Use the Academic Personal Use License Version of Cincom Smalltalk?
- What Is the Cincom Smalltalk Academic Internship Program?
- Student Project Creates an Adaptable and Flexible Smalltalk Programming Environment for the Visually Impaired
- What Academic Institutions Teach Smalltalk Using Cincom Smalltalk?
Snippets for these articles can be found below.
CUSTOMERS and PARTNERS
How Can Implementing the 3X Methodology Lead to Success in Your Business or Product Group?
Business plans help focus a company’s outlook and give clarity to its purpose. However, creating a business plan can be daunting, and some may not know where to start. The same goes for direction. For those seeking guidance on building a business plan and finding the smartest solution for a demand in the market, the 3X Methodology is a great place to start. Here, we look at how speaker, author, coach and mentor, Kent Beck, discovered this methodology.
What Is BPM and How Can It Help You Make Smarter Choices for Your Business?
Here, we discuss and show a video on Business Process Analysis (BPA), which used to be considered as simply analyzing an organization’s current processes and designing a concept of it through a modeling tool, like the modeling tool in Cincom ObjectStudio.
Cincom Smalltalk is helping its customers, partners and business users through various services and programs. Here, we offer information on how Cincom Smalltalk Services Partners can help with managing business processes as well as a video that features Suzanne Fortman, the Cincom Smalltalk Program Director and Engineering Manager, talking about how Cincom Professional Services helped one of our customers.
Can Cincom Smalltalk Be Used with SAP?
SAP is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software developed by the German company, SAP SE. SAP ERP incorporates the key business functions of an organization, which helps with business process management.
Here, we discuss the fact that Cincom Smalltalk for application development “plays well with others” including Raspberry Pi, JavaScript and SAP NetWeaver Connect. SAP and Cincom Smalltalk work well together for a variety of uses. We also discuss Suzanne Fortman’s interesting story about a customer meeting at the Cincom Corporate Headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ways to Be Fiscally Responsible when Spending “Use It or Lose It” Budget for 2019
As a Cincom Smalltalk partner or customer, there are several ways in which you can wisely spend that budget while improving the value and profitability of your company or application.
Interested? Check out our helpful list here.
Why Should You Use Social Media for Maximum Exposure to Your Company or Application?
A recent report said “… a significant 93% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses.” All businesses need exposure, but even more than that, they need paying customers where the cost to acquire that customer is less than the lifetime value of that customer in order to profitably scale their businesses. Exposure is the start, but company’s should aim for new customer acquisition, repeat purchases and referrals. Customer acquisition and loyalty should be thought about in everything from marketing to the products and even the operations of the company. Click here to read more about this valuable topic.
How Can Cincom Better Communicate with the Cincom Smalltalk Community and Our Customers?
Here, we look at how comments from strangers, tire-kickers, curious onlookers and fresh eyes at recent conferences and meetups have changed the thinking of the Cincom Smalltalk Product Team regarding how we can improve communication to attract and secure new users and the challenge to dig down deep and share our story even more.
We also look at how our team is now focused heavily on evaluating and improving all forms of communication and making it easier for prospects to get started with Cincom and Cincom Smalltalk. This is all part of an effort to make it easier for our valuable customers to do business with Cincom.
In addition, we provide a rundown of the various ways we currently communicate, as well as some of the available resources.
Cincom Putting Smalltalk on the Table
We recently shared the history of Smalltalk and how it came to Cincom in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Cincom Smalltalk. Here, Suzanne Fortman shares some thoughts about the 20th Anniversary of Cincom Smalltalk and talks about the day when Tom Nies added Smalltalk to the “table” with the other successful products at Cincom.
NEWBIES, FREELANCERS and DEVELOPERS
Smalltalk Is the Most Productive Language, but Don’t Just Take Our Word for It …
Business leaders aren’t just looking for product messaging from vendors, they need validation from third-party sources that can help them confirm that they are making the smartest choice for their programming language. These leaders can look to long-time expert and author of studies that compare programming languages, Capers Jones of Namcook Analytics, for unbiased research on the topic.
Here, we examine a recent paper where Capers Jones shows several factors that contribute to the overall value of a programming language over the full life cycle of its use. You will see that Smalltalk does very well.
The Citizen Developer Personas
Several years ago, through a research partnership, we identified a term that we felt identified a large segment of our user base—citizen developer. Many of the users who download the Personal Use License versions of Cincom Smalltalk can be considered citizen developers as well as those who are Smalltalk hobbyists. Here, we share a video of Suzanne Fortman telling the citizen developer story—the journey of two men’s success using Cincom Smalltalk.
Cincom Represented at Camp Smalltalk 2019 in Charlotte
Camp Smalltalk is a wonderful opportunity to meet and engage with a passionate community of folks who are interested in Smalltalk programming.
Here, we talk about Camp Smalltalk 2019, which was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, including the presentation that was given by Cincom’s own Carl Gundel from the Cincom Smalltalk engineering team.
Celebrating the Birth of Cincom Smalltalk, Part 1
Do you remember 1999? Were you still in grade school? College? Perhaps you were already working at Cincom.
Here, we discuss the fact that we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Cincom Smalltalk here at Cincom, and we ask you to reflect back to 1999 and follow us on a journey of two products that eventually found their way to the doorstep of Cincom Systems, Inc.: ObjectStudio and VisualWorks.
Celebrating the Birth of Cincom Smalltalk, Part 2
Here, we discuss the dramatic birth of ObjectStudio, including the mergers, name changes and other facts that make up this product’s interesting history.
Celebrating the Birth of Cincom Smalltalk, Part 3
Here, we talk about Cincom’s acquisition and ownership of ObjectStudio, the merger of ParcPlace and Digitalk and the rebranded result, ObjectShare. We also talk about the 1999 sale of VisualWorks to Cincom and why Tom Nies wanted Smalltalk at Cincom.
Celebrating the Birth of Cincom Smalltalk – Final Installment
“How Can You Help Smalltalk World Dominance?”
Here, we share a press release from Mr. Nies during the acquisitions, where he expresses his positive outlook about the benefits the new user community will receive from these excellent technologies. We also offer a full gallery of photos, articles and press releases during this time, via the Cincom Smalltalk website.
Cincom Smalltalk’s Carl Gundel Presented to Seattle Meetup
Here, we discuss how a meetup in Seattle, Washington resulted in Cincom Smalltalk Engineer and longtime Smalltalk expert, Carl Gundel, being featured in another meetup. We also talk about how Carl brought the attendees up to speed on the Smalltalk language, what it is and what makes it special.
In addition to Carl’s discussion, Suzanne Fortman discussed the Smalltalk community, partner solutions, various Cincom Smalltalk partner programs and the business side of making great software.
Orange County Java User Group
Here, we look at our team’s participation in another meetup; this time at the Orange County Java User Group in Irvine, CA. This group is for anyone who is interested in Java development, presenting opportunities for networking and featuring presentations on topics of interest to Java developers. The event featured Suzanne Fortman’s usual “thank you” to the group, followed by a Cincom Smalltalk and Cincom intro before she handed it over to Cincom Smalltalk Product Manager, Arden Thomas, who presents the benefits of using Cincom Smalltalk.
What Was Accomplished at a Recent Tech Meetup in Toronto, Canada?
On Sunday, October 20, Suzanne Fortman traveled to Toronto, Canada to have customer meetings and attend a quarterly Toronto Smalltalk User Group (TSUG) meetup that next day. After productive meetings with some customers, she had a great listening session and discussion with those in attendance at the TSUG meetup.
The attendees at the TSUG meetup are an enthusiastic and positive group who were open to many topics. They all know that Smalltalk is a blank canvas that allows for any style, platform and methodology and how well it plays with others. Some of the general topics that were discussed included mob programming, tdd, Women in Tech and #girlswhocode. As the attendees began to share their experiences, the discussions rounded out into several topics.
- Click here to read more about this enthusiastic Smalltalk event.
How Does Cincom Smalltalk Promote Events, Conferences and Meetups for the Smalltalk Community?
Do you have a Camp Smalltalk, Smalltalk conference or other event that you would like promoted? We are always happy to promote Smalltalk events around the world. These events help strengthen the Smalltalk community and provide an opportunity for Smalltalkers to work together and think of new ideas.
If this interests you, we have created a mini-survey with a few questions for you to answer. Simply complete this brief questionnaire, and we’ll begin creating your promotion right away.
- Click here to begin your free event promotion.
What Other Networking Opportunities Are Coming Up?
As we look ahead to 2020, there are several upcoming events where you can meet with Smalltalkers and programmers from around the world. These networking and learning opportunities include:
- Monday, January 13, 2020 — Toronto Smalltalk User Group Meetup (Toronto, Canada)
- February 3-7, 2020 — OOP 2020 Conference
(Munich, Germany) - March 23-26, 2020 — ‹Programming› 2020 (Porto, Portugal)
What Is the Easiest Way to Become a Cincom Smalltalk Customer?
For individuals who are looking to start a business but need a jumpstart, one exciting program we have to help you is the Cincom Smalltalk REV Program. The REV program is an opportunity for YOU to take your idea to the next level and create your own business.
We created this program for you to partner with Cincom and receive all the benefits of being a customer. As a Cincom Smalltalk customer, you receive:
- Access to the full product and all releases for 1 year/12 months
- Full support for the product during the 1 year/12 months
- An opportunity to join the Developer Program to get early beta releases of our product to see where we are taking it and comment to help us build out the future of commercial Smalltalk
- An opportunity to join the Partner Promotion Program to promote your application, help you develop the right markets or find the smartest space to promote what you have been working on
Still not sure if the REV Program is right for your needs?
- Listen to Suzanne Fortman talk about how one person used the REV program to jumpstart his business here.
- Read this article for additional details and instructions on how to begin your customer journey.
ACADEMIA
Who Should Use the Academic Personal Use License Version of Cincom Smalltalk?
This time of year is when students of all ages typically begin the next year of their educations. Whether it’s small children in elementary school or university students, the months of August and September are when the institutions of higher learning open their doors for eager students to begin the next chapter of their educations.
To learn about the Cincom Smalltalk Academic Personal Use License (APUL):
- Read this article.
- Watch this short video of Suzanne Fortman.
What Is the Cincom Smalltalk Academic Internship Program?
Another program we are highlighting this month is our internship program. Students who use our software in their classes make some pretty amazing applications for their student projects. These students have a completely different perspective of the Smalltalk programming environment and could provide valuable insight that could benefit enterprises in many ways. Because Cincom is the leading provider of commercial Smalltalk and we have many enterprise customers, we can offer this program as both a resource to the student, as well as another valuable benefit to our customers.
- Learn more as Suzanne Fortman talks about that program here.
Student Project Creates an Adaptable and Flexible Smalltalk Programming Environment for the Visually Impaired
The Lazaro Project is a student-created Smalltalk application made to enable visually impaired university students at the Universidad Nacional de Quilmes in Buenos Aires to learn object-oriented programming under the same conditions and with the same experiences as their sighted classmates. This project was a great example of what students can do when they see a need and work together to address it.
- Learn about this inspirational student-led project here.
What Academic Institutions Teach Smalltalk Using Cincom Smalltalk?
We often talk about our Academic program and the Academic Personal Use License version. Have you ever wondered which institutions teach Smalltalk using Cincom Smalltalk? We have a growing list of institutions, universities and colleges.
Don’t see your school or university on the list? Reach out to the Cincom Smalltalk Product Team here to let us know so your school can be respresented.