For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The Top 15 Technology Trends EA Should Watch

by Alex Cullen, October 6, 2009

IT organizations need to inform their annual and longer-term plans with an understanding of how changes in technology will enable business outcomes. EA groups are the logical leaders for this effort. Forrester has identified 15 technologies with the greatest . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Characterizing EA Teams And Their Challenges

by Alex Cullen, Katie Smillie, August 6, 2009

Forrester has seen that the mission and operating model of enterprise architecture teams can be characterized along two dimensions: orientation (technology-oriented or business-oriented) and focus (project-focused or strategy-focused). These two dimensions . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Next-Generation IT Requires Next-Generation EA

EA Makes The New Core Processes Of IT Work

by Alex Cullen, Gene Leganza, Jeff Scott, Jost Hoppermann, June 30, 2009

What business wants from IT is changing, and that means IT has to change how it manages itself and the IT-business relationship. Building on current project delivery and operational management competencies, CIOs are adding new core management processes: . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

EA Can Facilitate IT Cost Transparency

by Alex Cullen, June 19, 2009

IT is directly tied to most businesses' products and services, but in most cases 100% of IT's cost is allocated to the general and administrative (G&A) portions of the business' financial reports. While this produces a distorted view of financial . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Enterprise Architects Should Lead Business Service Portfolio Definition

by Alex Cullen, March 26, 2009

CIOs rank improving IT value communications as a top priority — and many are realizing that a strategy of organizing IT assets, capabilities, and costs around business-relevant services may be the best approach to doing this. Business services connect . . .

For CIOs

Closing The Business Technology Alignment Gap

Insights From CIOs In The Forrester Leadership Boards

by Alex Cullen, Alexander Peters, Ph.D., December 18, 2008

Business execs have high expectations of technology — but lower confidence that IT can deliver to these expectations. This is the new business technology alignment gap — a gap between expectations for technology and confidence in the IT organization. . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

How CIOs Evaluate Vendors

Tech Marketers Must Understand CIOs' Perspective On Fit

by Alex Cullen, November 17, 2008

Marketing and sales executives in technology firms aspire to develop a strong relationship with the CIOs in their target accounts in order to solidify a vendor's incumbent status or grease follow-on sales. But to most CIOs, the tech vendor remains "just . . .

For CIOs

The Business-IT Expectation Gap

Importance Of Technology Is Not Matched By IT Effectiveness

by Alex Cullen, November 7, 2008

Forrester's 2008 business technology (BT) survey of 600 business executives reinforces what many IT executives may sense: While technology is very important to firms, IT is not expected to meet, nor does it succeed at meeting, the technology needs of . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: Must-Read Research In Economic Downturns

by Alex Cullen, November 5, 2008

The signs all point to an economic recession having started in 2008 and continuing into 2009, although there is no useful consensus on how long or how deep this recession will be. CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs struggle to make plans in this uncertain environment, . . .

For CIOs

Measuring The Effectiveness Of Your PMO

by Alex Cullen, October 29, 2008

Program management offices (PMOs) are too frequently viewed as IT management overhead, especially when they focus on portfolio governance and oversight, rather than management of individual projects. The justification for a PMO must be just as compelling . . .

For CIOs

Adjusting Your Project Portfolio For A Tough Economy

by Alex Cullen, October 29, 2008

Given the current economic turbulence, the CIO and his or her staff must work with their business counterparts to revisit and revise their portfolio of projects. Necessity may dictate tough decisions about which projects to undertake, which projects to . . .

For CIOs

Case Study: British Airways Moves Along The BT Continuum

by Alex Cullen, October 27, 2008

In firms that recognize the degree of interdependence between business change and IT implications (what Forrester calls "business technology" or BT), new organizational structures are established to better enable change. So it is with British Airways' . . .

For CIOs

Current Practices For IT Centers Of Excellence (CoEs)  (292 KB PPT)

by Alex Cullen, October 24, 2008

This report will discuss the current state use of COEs, best practices, and common challenges.

For CIOs

In A Down Economy, Can Green IT Save Your Business Money?

by Alex Cullen, October 24, 2008

The top motivation for pursuing green IT is to reduce costs — and in a down economy, every dollar helps. But CIOs should be warned: Without upfront measurement, you cannot credibly quantify these benefits. To plan for success, CIOs should calculate their . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: Mind The Offshore Polarization Risks

by Alex Cullen, October 10, 2008

Organizations either heavily vested in or currently selecting Indian services providers face an interesting dilemma: Your provider may not need you anymore — or, it may soon no longer exist. A period of rapid polarization of the Indian service provider . . .

For CIOs

The Essential Steps Of PPM Tool Adoption

Behavioral Change Must Accompany The Right Tool

by Alex Cullen, September 29, 2008

Improving project management is high on the list of IT executives. In fact, in a 2007 survey of 503 IT decision-makers, it was rated as their most important driver. To capitalize on this goal and boost visibility, IT organizations often choose to invest . . .

For CIOs

Case Study: PepsiAmericas' CIO Enables BT Partnership With IT Operational Excellence

by Alex Cullen, August 15, 2008

All CIOs want to be valued partners to their business peers, helping with company strategy and making smarter use of IT, instead of heads-down focused on running the IT organization. PepsiAmericas' Senior Vice President and CIO Ken Johnsen has established . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: Are You Ready For Business Mobility?

by Alex Cullen, August 6, 2008

In order to keep pace with the growth of business mobility without falling prey to its potential risks, IT must be able to efficiently address complex issues ranging from service provisioning, device procurement, help desk and infrastructure support, . . .

For CIOs

Creating An M&A Integration Assessment Framework  (318 KB PPT)

by Alex Cullen, July 3, 2008

Many IT organizations struggle with planning the integration after M&A - they are not brought into M&A discussions as soon as they would like, and the discussions are tactical around the current M&A issues. IT within firms that have a strategy . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: Use An SOA Investment Road Map To Reach Strategic SOA

Avoid Duplication And Incompatibility With Justifiable Investment Increments

by Alex Cullen, June 27, 2008

Firms are turning to service-oriented architecture (SOA) for cost-effective flexibility and enhanced usage of legacy IT. But the shift to SOA doesn't come easy and doesn't come cheap. Building an effective SOA platform requires tight integration between . . .

For CIOs

CIOs Should Assess What HP+EDS Means For Their IT Services Strategy

by Alex Cullen, June 6, 2008

On May 13, HP announced its planned acquisition of EDS. While this is important news to the technology industry and a cause for questioning by current customers of EDS, it should be understood as part of a trend by large IT vendors to strengthen a services-led . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: A Capable Vendor Management Office Is A Requirement

Vendor Management Can't Remain A Hobby In Today's Complex IT Vendor Ecosystems

by Alex Cullen, May 13, 2008

Firms are ramping up their vendor management capabilities as part of an overall drive to improve IT performance and service quality while managing cost. A vendor management office (VMO) provides the organization focus to institutionalize mature processes . . .

For CIOs

Budget Adjustments For CIOs In Lean Economic Times

What To Cut And What Not To Cut When The Budget Ax Must Fall

by Phil Murphy, Alex Cullen, March 28, 2008

CIOs have faced lean economic times with regularity over the past four decades, and they will inevitably face lean times again — it isn't a question of whether they will happen but when. Forrester advises CIOs to base budget cuts on the impact to the . . .

For CIOs

Managing IT When Times Get Tough

Proactive CIOs Will Help Firms Amid Economic Uncertainties

by Alex Cullen, Phil Murphy, March 25, 2008

Macroeconomic conditions, whether they are downturns or boom times, broadly shape the CIO's job, but the firm's own context drives action. The reality is that any business at any time may need to shift its executive focus toward running lean — whether . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: So You Want To Be A Transformation Agent

Preparing For The Future — The Role Of The 21st Century CIO

by Alex Cullen, February 19, 2008

CIOs are looking at a fork in the road — and some see how they can effect change in their enterprises, becoming agents of business transformation. These 21st century CIOs realize that firms that remain the same really lose ground in a competitive economy . . .