For Security & Risk Professionals

Business Continuity And Disaster Recovery Are Top IT Priorities For 2010 And 2011

Six Percent Of IT Operating And Capital Budgets Goes To BC/DR

by Stephanie Balaouras, September 2, 2010

According to Forrester's recent survey of 2,803 IT decision-makers, improving their business continuity and disaster recovery (BC/DR) capabilities is the No. 1 priority for SMBs and the second highest priority for enterprises for the next 12 months. The . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Q&A: Impact Of IBM's POWER7 And PowerVM On Workload Optimized Systems Design

PowerVM Is A Critical Advantage For IBM's Power Systems

by Brad Day, August 27, 2010

IBM's POWER7 system — arguably the most dramatic server design development since the first POWER4 dual-core microprocessor architecture — makes advanced virtualization stacks a core differentiator in creating next-generation workload-optimized systems . . .

For Application Development & Delivery Professionals

zEnterprise Should Change The Role Of The Mainframe In Application Strategy Decisions

by Phil Murphy, August 27, 2010

On July 22, 2010, IBM released a series of product announcements under the banner of zEnterprise that will force firms with both mainframe and distributed systems to rethink their application strategies. The announcement heralds a vastly improved z server . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Maximize Your Energy Savings From Server Virtualization With Three Process Improvements

Virtualize More, Virtualize More Efficiently, Virtualize On More-Efficient Servers

by Doug Washburn, August 26, 2010

Server virtualization is already saving you money, so why not save some more? Reducing energy costs is among the many reasons to virtualize servers. It's increasingly attractive, since the costs to power and cool a server over its life may actually exceed . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Market Overview: Smartphone Management

Empower Workers With The Freedom To Choose Their Preferred Mobile Devices

by Benjamin Gray, Christian Kane, August 26, 2010

Within the next 12 to 18 months, most IT managers worldwide will significantly alter their client computing strategies, and this will have a profound impact on smartphone adoption and management. Necessitating this change is a significant generational . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Justifying Your Cloud Investment: Test And Development

Improve Time-To-Market And Lighten Lab Management Burdens

by James Staten, August 26, 2010

It's one thing to say infrastructure and operations (I&O) professionals need to invest in infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) cloud computing; it's quite another to justify the financial and resource commitments. This requires a business case that . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Compliance With Clouds: Caveat Emptor

by Chenxi Wang, Ph.D., August 26, 2010

Today's organizations face aggressive cost-cutting and efficiency pressures that drive businesses to consider cloud sourcing solutions. While the many properties of cloud services, such as elasticity, low entry costs, and faster time-to-market, are well . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

US Tablet Buyers Are Multi-PC Consumers

Product Strategists Must Position PCs And Peripherals Within A Multidevice Lifestyle

by Sarah Rotman Epps, August 19, 2010

The success of the Apple iPad has created a halo around tablets in general: Consumers are interested in these devices, even if they're confused about what they actually are. US online consumers who own or intend to buy iPads and other tablets fit a typical . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

The Past, Present, And Future Of Replication

Upgrade Continuity And Recovery With Replication

by Stephanie Balaouras, Rachel A. Dines, August 17, 2010

Tape is not dead, and in fact, a large number of companies still rely heavily on tape for disaster recovery (DR). Tape is affordable and removable, but as the requirement to recover IT services after a disruption has moved from days to hours, backup and . . .

For Content & Collaboration Professionals

Four Giants Compete For Your Cloud Email Business

Microsoft And Google Lead; IBM's In The Hunt; Cisco's Just Starting Out

by Ted Schadler, August 13, 2010

Google jumped into the enterprise email market in 2007 with a $50 annual subscription to its cloud email service and turned the market upside down. Microsoft quickly re-evaluated and repriced its Exchange Online offering to $5 per user per month; IBM . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

The Digital Drop: IT Opportunities In The Oil And Gas Industry

by Holger Kisker, Ph.D., August 13, 2010

The information and communications technology (ICT) industry is facing the next big wave of verticalization. With business challenges becoming increasingly complex, ICT solutions to address and solve these challenges need to become more tailored to specific . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Who's Who In IT Management Software 2.0

Mapping Top Vendors' Portfolios — And Future Perspectives

by Thomas Mendel, Ph.D., Jean-Pierre Garbani, August 12, 2010

Within the next five years, IT organizations and their role in enterprises will evolve through major structural changes. If the present IT technology sustains its exponential growth rate, IT organizations will have to shift their focus from manufacturing . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Cloud Storage Comes Down To Earth

Cloud Storage Is Ready Today, But Only For Three Limited Use Cases

by Andrew Reichman, August 5, 2010

Few advances in storage have been hyped as much as "cloud storage." Every vendor in the space is painting its products and message with a cloud veneer. But for all this hype, there is little clarity about what cloud storage really means and how it might . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Updated Q3 2010: The US Consumer PC Market In 2015

Tablets Cannibalize Netbooks; Desktops Slide But Still Live On

by Sarah Rotman Epps, August 4, 2010

As of July 2010, when this report was updated, our conclusions about the long-term implications of the growth of tablets still hold true. In the short-term, tablet growth will be even more aggressive than we previously forecast, and we are in the process . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Role Overview: I&O Release Manager

Ensuring Uninterrupted Service Availability And Performance

by Evelyn Hubbert, August 3, 2010

Service management promises to reorganize infrastructure and operations (I&O) to provide better value to the business. But, there's a catch. The service must be designed, transitioned, and delivered in such a way as to satisfy the service consumer. . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

A Market Taxonomy For ICT

Forrester's Definitions For Tech Product Categories, Industries, And Geographies

by Andrew Bartels, August 2, 2010

Forrester is expanding the breadth and depth of data that we provide to vendor strategists on the size and growth trends of the market for information and communications technology (ICT) solutions. Our goal is to provide data for vendors on the ICT market . . .

For CIOs

ANZ CIOs Should Experiment With The Cloud In 2010

by Tim Sheedy, August 2, 2010

Cloud computing is coming to your organization — if it is not there already. However, most IT organizations in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) do not have a full understanding of the impact that cloud computing will have. And unlike traditional IT outsourcing . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Apple's iPhone And iPad: Secure Enough For Business?

Better Security Options Allow Enterprises To Finally Say "Yes"

by Andrew Jaquith, August 2, 2010

Apple's iPhone and the iPad have become increasingly popular. In 2007, IT dismissed the iPhone as insecure and unsuitable for enterprises. Three years later, the iPhone (and iPad) gives enterprises enough security options to enable them to say "yes" instead . . .

For Application Development & Delivery Professionals

AP Taps Cloud To Reach Next-Generation News Consumers

News Agency Puts Content Integration API On Windows Azure To Increase Customer Reach

by James Staten, August 2, 2010

The Associated Press (AP), the world's oldest and largest news cooperative, provides up-to-the-minute reporting that is seen or heard by nearly half the world's population. However, changes in how we consume news put AP's market position and revenue model . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Green IT Plans And Activities Persist In 2010 Despite Lack Of Formal Budgets And Priorities

Position Green IT As An Enabler Of Broader Business And Technology Priorities

by Doug Washburn, July 27, 2010

Although only 26% of organizations have budget directly allocated to green IT, Forrester finds that adoption of green IT is much higher, approaching 70% in areas of the data center and distributed IT. Infrastructure and operations (I&O) professionals . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

You're Not Ready For Internal Cloud

But You Can Be: Here's How

by James Staten, July 26, 2010

Cloud computing — a standardized, self-service, pay-per-use deployment model — provides companies with rapid access to powerful and more flexible IT capabilities and at price points unreachable with traditional IT. Although many companies are benefitting . . .

For Business Process Professionals

Packaged Apps In The Cloud: Cost Of Ownership Models Evolve Toward The Transparency Of SaaS

by Paul D. Hamerman, July 23, 2010

Business process professionals responsible for packaged applications often have difficulty in getting their arms around the total costs of ownership of their business solutions. SaaS simplifies the cost of ownership equation, but most packaged applications . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Forrester's Business Impact Analysis Template

by Stephanie Balaouras, Rachel A. Dines, July 23, 2010

Although a business impact analysis (BIA) is a key part of putting together a disaster recovery plan, many companies neglect to conduct one. Forrester believes it's worthwhile to take a step back and conduct a BIA and risk assessment because it provides . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

The VSB Market Under The Magnifying Glass

The Very Small Business Profile: Growing, Young, And Mobile

by Tim Harmon, July 22, 2010

The very small business (VSB) market is growing in importance for an increasing number of tech vendors, in large part due to the fact that it is the fastest-growing company-size segment in terms of technology spending. Moreover, VSBs are broadening their . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The Future Of Configuration Management

Hint: Virtualization Changes Everything

by Galen Schreck, July 22, 2010

Configuration management has been a necessary but time-consuming function that's become increasingly important as IT has embraced better processes. Unfortunately, the tools used to track configuration items have taken a brute-force approach that required . . .