09 Aug. 2005
Information management is becoming a hot topic as firms struggle with disparate databases and content repositories spread throughout their organizations. While technologies like database management systems, data warehousing, data integration, and enterprise content management (ECM) have assisted firms in bringing some semblance of order to the information throughout their organizations, most enterprises struggle to use that information efficiently to optimize their operations. To leverage the benefits that information can provide, firms must manage data and content in such a way that business processes and functions can consume data, content, or a combination of both.
Lotus Notes Hannover: A Bridge From Old To New
The next major release of the Lotus Notes client is v.7, due to ship in the third quarter of 2005. The major release beyond that, code-named "Hannover" (likely to become commercially available in the first half of 2007), will improve core Notes capabilities and deliver innovations based on IBM Workplace Client Technology. Hannover will be a superset of the IBM Workplace Managed Client, and IBM will try to transform it from a client specifically for Domino applications into a client for composite applications that draw on both Domino and non-Domino data and application logic.
Firms Have Lofty Goals For SharePoint
Forrester recently surveyed Microsoft SharePoint shops and found that penetration within organizations is higher in Europe than in the US. We also found that organizations' main priorities for SharePoint and other collaboration solutions during the next three years are to get more use out of the software, expand rollouts, develop user training programs, beef up SharePoint infrastructure, roll out additional Microsoft products, and customize SharePoint and integrate it further into the business.
Business Process Management Meets BI And Performance Management Head On
Most business process management (BPM) vendors have integrated their products with business intelligence (BI) for analyzing historical process data; but BPM products should also integrate with BI to support decision-intensive business processes like order management, credit risk management, and sales opportunity management. The problem is that BPM vendors are not currently thinking about BI in this context. They are thinking about automating decision-intensive processes, but current performance management (xPM) products lack the capacity to define and execute business processes. The situation is about to change, however, as BI vendors begin partnering with BPM vendors or even OEMing BPM products. Within the next 12 to 18 months, this trend may even culminate in BI vendors acquiring BPM. As this unfolds, we will be on the brink of a Process to Data (P2D) explosion.
Keeping IT Sane In A Crazy BI World Of Excel
Microsoft Excel is not a BI tool; however, it is one of the most popular productivity tools used in business intelligence to consume and manipulate data. To exploit its features within the context of BI, Excel should be integrated with a BI platform to help IT establish control and eliminate consumer anarchy.
European Perspectives On The Retiring Workforce
Like their North American counterparts, European businesses and government agencies are beginning to grapple with the retiring workforce. Many European countries have an even bigger problem than the US and Canada, as declining birth rates and low immigration levels combine with early retirements to create acute skilled labor shortages in fields requiring extensive technical training and experience. European industries feeling the impact include government agencies, oil and gas, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and airlines, and -- as evidenced by recent attendees at a GigaWorld Europe executive exchange -- European banks are also feeling the pinch.
JSR 170: The Road To Universal Content Access
JSR 170, a Java standard advocated by ECM software vendors like Day and IBM, is a step in the right direction for the ECM market. A standard API for accessing content, such as JSR 170, will allow Java-based ECM application software to access any content repository that supports the standard bidirectionally, helping to pave the way for standalone content repositories that will ultimately emerge from DBMS vendors. But the ECM pure-play and infrastructure vendors are currently pushing their proprietary content repositories, hoping to grab as much market share as possible from rivals. Enterprises should demand that their content management infrastructure vendors adopt JSR 170 -- or a similar standard yet to emerge -- to hasten the day when organizations will not be tied to a proprietary content repository.
ECM Growth Outpaces The Overall Software Market
The market for ECM license software will exceed $3.9 billion in 2008, outpacing the overall software market with a forecast 19% compound annual growth rate. Fueling this growth is recognition by $1 billion-plus companies that ECM is requisite technology for addressing their compliance, governance, and process efficiency needs. As larger infrastructure vendors such as Oracle and Microsoft provide ECM capabilities, the expansion of the ECM market to currently underserved geographies and vertical markets will also drive growth.
Forecast: US ECM Market Growth, 2005 To 2008
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Upcoming Information Delivery Forrester Teleconferences Register for Forrester Teleconferences at Forrester.com. eDiscovery And Records Management: Kissing Cousins Robert Markham and Barry Murphy August 10, 2005, 1-2 p.m. Eastern time As companies gear up to address compliance issues like Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and HIPAA, enterprises must understand that records management (RM) software is not an elixir. Rather, RM helps mitigate the risks involved with enterprise content. When and if the time comes to share information with government agencies or litigation opponents, RM software needs to be complemented by electronic discovery services. Such services not only cull through enterprise content for all potentially relevant documents, but they also prepare relevant content to be available in a common, searchable format; to exist in a separate "locked down" repository; and to be produced for submission to courts, if necessary. Improving Customer Experience Through Content-Centric Applications Kyle McNabb and Connie Moore September 14, 2005, 1-2 p.m. Eastern time This teleconference will present case studies and examples of how organizations have materially improved their customer experience with the adoption of content-centric application approaches. We'll also discuss what solutions were used by organizations to implement content-centric applications, what returns these organizations have measured, and the lessons learned from their content-centric app implementations. The Emerging New Worker And The Implications For Training Claire Schooley September 27, 2005, 1-2 p.m. Eastern time As younger workers enter the workforce, the kinds of learning experiences they expect are vastly different from their predecessors. These techno-savvy, fast-paced 22-year-olds require organizations to rethink the way they provide training and instruction. This session explores some of the characteristics of the new workers and the approaches that show promise. The Information Workplace Vendor Landscape Erica Rugullies and Connie Moore September 28, 2005, 1-2 p.m. Eastern time Over the next five to eight years, the evolving IW will eventually incorporate contextual, role-based information from business systems, applications, and processes; will deliver voice, documents, rich media, process models, business intelligence, and real-time analytics; will integrate just-in-time eLearning; and will foster collaboration. Though Forrester is watching vendors like Adobe, EMC, Novell, Oracle, and SAP, those positioned to deliver IW solutions first are IBM and Microsoft. This session evaluates the IW strategies of these vendors and offers suggestions on how to select the right one. EMAIL: Email this issue to a colleague.
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