About Forrester
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With 27 years of experience at Forrester, John is a key contributor to our work on predicting the business impact of technology. As such, he covers such topics as the future of IT services and mobile apps and their impact on IT and vendors, the impact of cloud computing, the emergence of "platform" BPO offerings, and implications of SaaS on traditional services. John also has more than 12 years of insight into the development of a global delivery model for IT services and product development.
To define their mobile app, vendor management, offshore, and IT management and governance strategies, John has worked with leading-edge firms and governments in many countries and regions, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, and the UK.
In his offshore and alternative geography research, John has been to India over 25 times and has visited the major alternatives Argentina, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, and Vietnam.
In a cover story, Time named John's report on offshore a "landmark study." In January 2004, The Economist stated, "The debate on offshore has been brewing since a study by Forrester and John McCarthy in 2002 claimed that 3.3 million white-collar American jobs (500,000 of them in IT) would shift offshore to countries such as India by 2015." In addition to writing the first report in the industry defining client/server computing, he has done groundbreaking research on the Internet, privacy, and the Net's impact on government.
He has delivered keynote addresses on the Internet and distributed computing at such premier industry events as Strategic Sourcing Interest Group, Nasscom, Comdex, the Milken Institute Global Conference, BusinessWeek CIO Conference, Interop, Politics Online Conference, and Unix Expo. He has also appeared on NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, NDTV, CNBC, CNN, CNNfn, and Bloomberg TV.
Before joining Forrester, John was an industry marketing consultant with Wang Laboratories. John also served as a consultant to John Hancock's Office Automation staff, designing and implementing personal computers and distributed midrange systems.
John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in European history and economics from Connecticut College.
Firms are ramping up their vendor management capabilities, specifically in building a vendor management office (VMO). These efforts represent a key part of firms' strategy to bring more maturity and...
The forces driving offshore IT services are undeniably compelling. Companies are under intense pressure to reduce — or at least contain — IT costs. Years of downsizing have resulted in a...
Clear Hard-Dollar Savings And Soft-Dollar Benefits Make VMOs A Logical Play In A Difficult Economy
As the economic outlook darkens and IT budgets shrink, firms face the challenge of quantifying the benefits of their new vendor management initiatives. Based on our research with early vendor...
The Next Level Will Focus Less On Labor And More On IP
The adoption of and investment in a low-cost global delivery model (GDM) has accelerated over the past 36 months. We've arrived at the "hub and spoke" stage, where even the multinational corporations...
Outsourcers like Accenture, Genpact, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) are making another run at the BPO market. This new line of attack is based on a standard software "platform"...
Shifting More Staff Offshore Drives More Savings Than 5% To 10% Rate Reductions
With the economic collapse and the sudden downturn in IT budgets, we have seen a large spike in the number of inquiries from clients asking about the best mix of onshore versus offshore staff at...
Forrester's 20-Question Test Helps Firms Refine Their Vendor Management Approach
Two key vectors define the development sophistication of an organization's vendor management efforts. The first is the overall corporate support and governance acumen, and the second is the...
The template provides a framework for a senior sourcing or vendor management professional to justify the creation/continuation of a vendor management office (VMO).
The emerging set of software tools will improve the effectiveness of the VMO, if clients provide the appropriate management support and process changes.
Forrester's Survey Of 947 North American And European Enterprises Shows That VMOs Are Ascending
Forrester's Enterprise IT Services Survey, North America And Europe, Q2 2008, shows that the investment and focus on vendor management activities continues to increase. This trend shows that firms...
The Success Of The VMO Hinges On Finding A Director Who Has A Unique Set Of Skills And Capabilities
At the request of several clients, Forrester has put together a job description and hiring profile for the head of the vendor management office (VMO). This document defines the responsibilities of...
Four Innovative Practices From A Seasoned Supplier Manager
As firms look to bolster their supplier oversight capabilities, they are looking for creative ways to get the most out of their primary vendor relationships given the immaturity of the space....
Best Practices And End User Insights For Hiring Into The VMO
Late in 2007, Forrester interviewed sourcing professionals about their vendor management preferences and experience. Forrester asked respondents about the day-to-day responsibilities of staff in the...
This presentation offers Forrester clients a highlight of our best practices for hiring a consultant. Trends among client usage of consultants is included along with best practices that address...
Chairman Admits To Massive Financial Fraud; Customers Have To Assess Options And Exposure
On January 7, 2009, Satyam's chairman and founder, B. Ramalinga Raju, tendered his resignation and took responsibility for years of financial fraud. The scale of the fraud in terms of the...
Management And Governance Miscues Could Have Long-Term Impact
Earlier in December, Satyam's management team made a major miscalculation that will likely haunt the company for years. The firm announced — and then quickly canceled after a shareholder revolt...
Groups Are Small, But They Have Ever-Increasing Responsibilities
Forty-seven percent of the North American companies Forrester surveyed have vendor management offices (VMOs). These firms have a more centralized IT organization that is closely aligned with the...
Job Description for Director, Strategic Vendors
Job Descriptions for Director, IT Procurement Group
Market Demand Does Not Match Government And Service Provider Expectations
When Forrester first looked at China's offshore and global delivery model (GDM) role nearly two years ago, the country was widely viewed as the key challenger to India for offshore supremacy....
Job Description for Director, Contract Negotiations And Administration
Only meticulous planning will reap the rewards from systematic multisourcing. Forrester's 10-step checklist guides executives through the critical phases of planning, executing, and governing a...
A range of issues leaves firms looking for alternative offshore locations such as concerns regarding rising costs in India. Customers need to hedge their geopolitical risks. Many countries are...
Improved SLAs And Specifications Prove More Effective Than Ironclad Contracts
In the second quarter of this year, Forrester surveyed 1,002 North American and European IT services decision-makers to gain a better understanding of their vendor management practices and...
Firms Need To Audit Their Suppliers' Security And Business Continuity Plans
Over the past six months, there has been a steady increase in the number of terrorist attacks in India. Over time, continued political turmoil may force more firms to implement an "India Plus One"...