Tariffs have long been a tool of economic strategy, but recent escalations are impacting U.S. manufacturers, especially in the medical device industry. From 10% baseline tariffs to 245% duties on Chinese imports, companies now face inflated costs and disrupted global...
High Tech
4 Hardware Recommendations when Using VMs as a Product Development Tool
These days, there is no practical obstacle to using machine virtualization to solve computing problems without the need of acquiring additional hardware. In fact, virtual machines are a compelling product development tool. There are a variety of virtualization tools...
3 Top Trends in Product Lifecycle Engineering Tools
Overview In 2015, SPK and Associates co-founder Chris McHale spoke with Peter Thorne, Director at Cambashi, a Cambridge, England-based independent industry analyst firm. With his over 30 years of experience as a software engineer user, vendor, and now analyst, Peter’s...
Nationwide Upgrade of Critical Medical Devices for Enhanced Hospital Operations
Medical device manufacturers know how rapidly technologies can change in the field. Ensuring you provide hospitals with innovative tools that meet regulatory requirements is vital. When a leading medical device manufacturer needed help upgrading software and hardware...
Strategic Partners, Not Just Extra Hands
Today’s business environment requires companies to align with best-in-class vendors to be true, strategic partners. They need partners who understand their industry, their challenges, and their long-term goals. In the years we have partnered with our clients, some...
AI Adoption Strategies: Finding the Right Balance Between Risk and Reward
The conversation around AI adoption speed often boils down to two opposing strategies: move fast and experiment, or proceed cautiously and wait for proven use cases. But what if the real key to success isn’t speed alone, but strategic adaptability? In a world where AI...
Accelerating Product Development the SPK Way
Developing high-quality products quickly can be a challenge without the proper tools, processes, and partners to help. Dive into this eBook to discover how partnering with SPK can help you achieve product development success.What You Will Learn In this eBook, we will...
5 Reasons Why Code Refactoring is Essential
Lately, I've been refactoring some code for a software engineering project completed earlier this year and for which additional work is expected. As a result, I've come to the conclusion that doing occasional refactoring is an absolute must for any programmer. I...
The FDA UDI Rule: 5 Things You Need to Know
The release of the FDA final rule on Unique Device Identification (UDI) is expected this summer. Here are five things you need to know: 1. What is the UDI Rule? In July 2012, the FDA proposed a rule requiring medical device manufacturers to label their products with...
The Convergence of ALM and PLM in the Technology Industry
As more and more technology is embedded into products, and software continues its role as the primary driver for product innovation, the domains of application lifecycle management (ALM) and product lifecycle management (PLM) are being placed on an inevitable...
The IT Guy’s Backpack
I hate being unprepared. When I was in high school, I had a locker. I even had one of those clever plastic shelves and a magnetic mirror. You know what I stored in there? Nothing -- I spent far too much time watching MacGuyver. So I carried around all my books, pens,...
Five Techniques to Resist Hiring Temptation
Here we go again; the economy is recovering and competition is heating up for your crucial technical staff. As you interview candidates there will be temptation to hire someone who may not seem “quite right”. In normal times you wouldn't hire such a person...but darn...