For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

How The Adoption Of Several Important Emerging Technologies Affects Sourcing

by Chris Andrews, August 31, 2010

Many sourcing and vendor management (SVM) professionals who Forrester speaks with know that they need to play a proactive role in sourcing emerging technologies but have difficulty identifying which technologies matter most for their business. Interest . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Systems Integration Spend Rebounds In 2010

Sourcing Execs Must Drive Successful Vendor Selection, Governance, And Pricing

by Liz Herbert, August 31, 2010

Forrester's Q2 2010 survey of more than 2,800 IT services buyers across the globe shows that firms are again investing in more strategic initiatives, with IT strategy consulting and systems integration spend both seeing a rebound in 2010. This means 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 Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: North American Applications Outsourcing, Q3 2010

IBM And Accenture Lead A Highly Competitive Field In A Mature Industry

by Bill Martorelli, August 25, 2010

In Forrester's 38-criteria evaluation of 12 leading providers of applications outsourcing (AO) solutions vendors, Forrester found that in this mature market IBM and Accenture lead the pack due to their superior organizational breadth and depth of capability. . . .

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 Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Right And Wrong Reasons To Work With Tier Two Offshore Providers

The Right Selection Of Tier Two Specialists Is Key To Higher Value

by Sudin Apte, August 17, 2010

As companies focus on deriving more business value from their IT services suppliers, they find that specialists often provide niche, deep domain capability and flexibility that is tough to find in top service providers. Identifying a true specialist in . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Demand Insights: The SMB Software Market 2010

Small And Medium-Size Businesses Are Defying Gravity

by Tim Harmon, August 9, 2010

Small and medium-size businesses (SMBs), like their enterprise brethren, are shifting their technology focus from IT to business technology (BT). As their focus on business solutions — as opposed to technology products — continues to grow, SMBs are now . . .

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 Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Organizing Apps Maintenance Work For Outcomes

Preparing To Reorganize Work Is Key To The Effort

by Bill Martorelli, August 2, 2010

Many customers that are seeking the next threshold of value are interested in gaining the benefits of managed outcome relationships but are still struggling to execute the transition. Why? Transitioning to managed outcomes is more than merely adjusting . . .

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 Vendor Strategy Professionals

The Coming Upheaval In Tech Services

Four Economic And Technology Factors Will Combine To Recast The Business

by John C. McCarthy, Pascal Matzke, July 29, 2010

The tech services market is about to undergo a massive transformation that will call traditional provider business models into question. Four factors will combine to dramatically change the dynamics, economics, and competitive landscape of IT services . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Market Overview: SMB eCommerce Solutions

A Guide To Selecting Your eCommerce Solution Across North America And EMEA

by Brian K. Walker, July 26, 2010

A solid technology foundation is one of the keys to success for eCommerce businesses looking to optimize their customer experiences, market effectively and creatively, and scale their business to make more meaningful contributions to their companies. . . .

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 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 Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Offshoring, Q1 2010

Q1 2010 Saw An Increase In Offshore-Related Inquiries

by Sudin Apte, July 21, 2010

Sourcing and vendor management (SVM) professionals want to gain additional benefits from incumbent offshore suppliers, particularly incremental savings and improved relationship governance. Many clients are also considering new providers, and they're . . .

For Business Process Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: CRM Suites Customer Service Solutions, Q3 2010

by William Band, James G. Kobielus, July 19, 2010

Forrester evaluated the customer service and support capabilities of 19 leading CRM suite solutions against 196 criteria. Customer service and business process professionals face a diverse range of products to sift through to support the quest to create . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Market Overview: Service-Level Management Tools For Outsourcing Governance

by Patrick M. Connaughton, Philipp Karcher, July 15, 2010

The advent of new service delivery models and the rise of multisourcing have complicated an already difficult task for clients — monitoring vendor performance and ensuring that contractual obligations are met. As a result, sourcing and vendor management . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Case Study: Dimdim Enters The Web Conferencing Market With Smart Product Design And Marketing

Dimdim Points To How Small SaaS Firms Can Thrive In Crowded Markets

by TJ Keitt, July 14, 2010

Interest in software-as-a-service (SaaS) is heating up; 55% of firms tell us they are deploying the technology, will be deploying it in the next year or so, or are interested in it. In response, large software vendors and a host of startups have emerged . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

The Evolution Of Cloud Computing Markets

by Holger Kisker, Ph.D., Pascal Matzke, Stefan Ried, Ph.D., July 6, 2010

Looking past the current industry hype surrounding all things cloud, Forrester believes that cloud computing is a sustainable, long-term IT paradigm, and the successor to previous mainframe, client/server, and network computing eras. Underpinned by both . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Tumbling Euro Adds To European Clients' Offshoring Hurdles

by Sudin Apte, July 1, 2010

In 2009 Forrester's research showed Continental European firms' increased interest in offshoring. We observed many German, Nordic, Dutch, and French companies engaging with Indian providers, possibly signaling a longer-term shift toward higher adoption . . .

For Application Development & Delivery Professionals

Case Study: Ci&T's Path To Lean Methods

Ci&T's Lean Journey Started With Failure But Has Led To Competitive Advantage

by Dave West, July 1, 2010

Application development professionals can learn about one path to a Lean approach from Ci&T, a Brazil-based midtier systems integrator that during the past four years has transformed its approach to solution delivery using Agile methods. Ci&T's . . .

For Application Development & Delivery Professionals

Right Tools. Write Requirements. Right On!

A Market Overview Of Tools That Support Improved Software Requirements

by Mary Gerush, June 24, 2010

Smart application development leaders are catching on: Good software requirements are critical to delivering high-quality software. Requirements tool vendors are getting the message too. They're responding to changing customer requirements, including . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Telecom's Central Role In Cloud Computing

Cloud Represents An Opportunity, But Not A Salvation, For Telcos

by Mike Cansfield, June 16, 2010

Without a robust communications layer, the concept of cloud computing is a nonstarter. All three dominant flavors of cloud computing — infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), software-as-a-service (SaaS), and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) — depend on fast, . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

A Strategic Review Of The Top Five Offshore Vendors

Will The Indian Big Five Deliver Business Value Post Recession?

by Sudin Apte, June 9, 2010

While almost the entire tech industry struggled with the recession, many offshore players remained upbeat as they continued growing and in fact increased profitability. Our research shows that new work that is currently coming offshore and that will come . . .