For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Managed Global MPLS Services, Q4 2009

AT&T Leads On Strategy And Market Presence; Orange Has The Best Service Offer

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., October 27, 2009

In Forrester's 54-criteria evaluation of nine managed global MPLS service providers, the Leaders included AT&T, BT Global Services, Orange Business Services, and Verizon Business. AT&T had the highest scores in both strategy and market presence, . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Mobility User Profiles, Apps, And Devices  (98 KB XLS)

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., September 9, 2009

This workbook contains an overview of mobility user profiles (user job roles and tasks, locations, applications, devices, access and support requirements), as well as mobile applications by role (mobile applications supported) and mobile devices by role . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

A Formal Policy Is Needed To Reduce Mobility Costs

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., September 9, 2009

Corporate mobile is growing fast, which naturally increases costs — for usage, support, and administration. By 2012, nearly three-quarters of corporate employees will use mobile devices for work. To control costs while also ensuring employee productivity, . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Corporate Mobility Policy Outline — A Sample Table Of Contents  (34 KB XLS)

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., September 9, 2009

This workbook is a sample table of contents to aid sourcing professionals in the creation of a formal mobility policy.

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Companies Prepare For Growth In Telecommuting

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., July 8, 2009

During the past year, Forrester's IT sourcing and vendor management analysts have fielded a growing number of client inquiries from enterprise clients specifically about telecommuting. Most of these inquiries have come from CIOs and IT directors. The . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Enterprises Need Innovative Telecom Service Options And Flexibility To Address Cost Pressures

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., June 29, 2009

The global economic recession is extracting a heavy toll on enterprise IT budgets. As a result, sourcing and vendor management executives at multinational firms responsible for network and telecommunications (N&T) are looking for improved flexibility . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Incorporating Smaller Players And Specialists Into Your Telecom Services Sourcing Strategy

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., June 29, 2009

Most enterprises recognize that newer IP technologies are important to enable operational efficiencies. But tough economic times are causing sourcing organizations to review their approach to purchasing network and telecom (N&T) services with the . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

It's Time To Review — And Renew — Your Telecommuting Policy

The Economic Downturn Spurs Many Firms To Revisit Telecommuting Costs And Opportunities

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., April 8, 2009

Sourcing and vendor management teams should work with IT and human resources (HR) to regularly review the company's telecommuting policy. The current economic situation is pushing many companies to look for new ways to: 1) increase employee productivity; . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

RFP Template For Global Data Wide-Area Network (WAN) Infrastructure And Services  (215 KB XLS)

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., March 16, 2009

An Excel template intended to give sourcing organizations a starting point for building an RFP for outsourcing global data wide-area network (WAN) infrastructure and services.

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Deriving Value From Global Managed Network And Telecom Services

Outsourcing Helps MNCs Avoid Upfront Capital Spending And Enjoy Business Benefits From New Convergence Technologies Sooner

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., February 11, 2009

Most large multinational corporations (MNCs) will buy more provider-managed international network and telecommunication services during the next three years to help insulate their business from the anticipated multiyear global economic recession. Sourcing . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Global WAN Services Options Are Maturing And Expanding

Align Your Sourcing Strategy To Your Business Culture

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., January 23, 2009

Large multinational organizations with widely distributed operations that span several geographies want more international wide-area network (WAN) services options from telecom service providers. While most clients we've worked with on global telecom . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Reducing Risk In Global Telecom Services Sourcing

Ask The Right Questions And Follow A Disciplined Process

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., December 12, 2008

Buyers need to address four categories of risk when sourcing global telecommunication services: (1) physical risks to the network and local business operations; (2) geographic risks including local regulations and business practices; (3) commercial risks . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Domestic North American Managed MPLS Services, Q4 2008

It's A Horse Race For First Place In Each Market

by Lisa Pierce, Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., October 14, 2008

In Forrester's 48-criteria evaluation of seven US and three Canadian domestic managed multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) services providers, we found that the largest national facilities-based telecommunications service providers in each market — . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Managing Global Mobility Support Is Getting Harder

MNCs Should Consider Using Third Parties For Managed Services

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., August 11, 2008

Globalization is taking a firm hold on enterprises in every industry sector. Multinational corporation (MNC) IT sourcing experts are keen to obtain insights about what other large firms are doing to address the growing challenges to cost-effectively support . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Global VNO Vanco Falls To Reliance Globalcom

Vanco's Buy-Up Should Reassure MNC Customers And Prospects

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., June 4, 2008

Reliance Globalcom has taken a big step toward realizing its vision of becoming a top five global data services provider. It has agreed to pay $76.9 million for 100% of Vanco — the pioneer global virtual network operator (VNO) — and expects to reap $365 . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Shell Signs Megadeals With AT&T, T-Systems, And EDS For Global Network And IT Services

The Three Providers Will Be Shell's Global Strategic IT Suppliers

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., May 16, 2008

On March 31, 2008, Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) announced the signing of three separate agreements with AT&T, T-Systems, and EDS for global IT infrastructure outsourcing and managed network services. The three megadeals have a combined value of approximately . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Global IT Outsourcers And Top-Tier Telcos Partner For Converged Service Delivery

AT&T-IBM And BT-HP Deals Prove That No Provider Can Do It All Alone

by Lisa Pierce, Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., May 16, 2008

Tightening relationships between über-providers, like AT&T and IBM Global Services or British Telecommunications (BT) and Hewlett Packard (HP), are driven equally by fundamental shifts in the changing nature of both the competitive landscapes in the . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Financial Services Sourcing Teams Must Keep Up With A Managed Telecom Services Surge

Globalization And Mobility Momentum Push Firms To Buy Managed Telecom

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., April 11, 2008

Large financial services firms are finding that managing complex network migrations to an IP architecture is hard to do in-house. Moreover, once the convergent telecommunications network is up and running, they want to leverage the investment and roll . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

What MNCs Want: Real Global Mobility Support

An MNC's Wish List

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., April 8, 2008

The bigger the multinational corporation (MNC) and the broader its international business operations, the larger the challenge for IT and procurement groups to manage the company's increasingly complex mobile environment. A global manufacturer recently . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Indians Take Aim At The Global Telecom Market

Two Conglomerates Form Tata Communications And Reliance Globalcom

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., March 28, 2008

Two Indian conglomerates — Tata Group and Reliance Industries — recently announced rebranding and additional investments in their respective international telecom units in order to aggressively grow their business in the global telecom market. Tata Group . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

How To Manage Multiple Telecom Services Providers

Getting Multi-Provider Environments Right

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., January 31, 2008

Most large enterprises buy telecom services from multiple service providers even when the bulk of their telecom spending is on managed services or is outsourced. The main reasons for multi-sourcing telecom services are: 1) to benchmark and lower telecom . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

MNCs Will Prioritize Mobility Support In 2008

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., January 22, 2008

In 2008, telecommunications and networking procurement professionals at large multinational corporations (MNCs) will do more with mobile technologies and services, including enhancing IT support capabilities for their increasingly mobile global workforces. . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

MNCs Will Embrace IP Convergence In 2008

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., January 22, 2008

In 2008, telecommunications and networking procurement professionals at large global companies will continue to invest in IP networks and services. The big driver behind this trend is the desire of firms with a growing international customer base and . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

The Worrisome State Of Canadian Business Telecoms Competition

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., November 14, 2007

If TELUS and Bell Canada had merged, Canadian enterprises and SMBs would have seen competitive choices for telecom services shrink dramatically. As new IP services mature during the next three years and demand ramps up, business telecom services buyers . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Managed Services Help Enterprises Deal With Mobility Complexity

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., October 29, 2007

A growing number of enterprises are adopting convergence technologies like site-to-site voice over IP (VoIP) and IP videoconferencing to leverage multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) investments. Many enterprises are also deploying SSL remote-access VPN . . .